 |
Ramblings of A Country Vet |
|
|
Ramblings of A Country Vet |
URBAN MYTHS AND SPAYING OUR
PETS: SOME TERRIBLE CONSEQUENCES
Two events from last year’s news prompted this humble article.
Although I’m not at all a fan of the game of baseball (I’ve never watched a game from start to finish in my life), I found myself last fall being drawn into the drama that was played out between the Chicago Cubs and the Florida Marlins in their bid to make it to the 2003 World Series. It was not so much all of the hoopla of how Chicago’s hopes were dashed by the actions of a hapless spectator who unwittingly interfered with a key play, thus blowing the game for his team, but rather it had to do more with the Chicago Cub fan’s unwavering belief in the legend of the “Billy Goat Curse.”
For those not familiar with the story, it all had to do with a man named Mr. “Billy Goat” Sianis who, during the 1945 World Series playoffs, was denied access to Wrigley Field because he wanted to bring his pet goat into the stadium with him. Mad beyond all reason at being turned away, it was reported that Mr. Sianis turned around outside of the stadium, raised both his hands into the air, and declared “There will never be another World Series ever won by the Cubs in Wrigley Field ever again.” And that was that.
The next inspiration came to me while I was surfing the Internet. I read some news report that had to do with Aluminum Foil Deflector Hats for Your Pets, which unknown to me, had recently come up for sale on the EBay auction site. And I’ll quote directly from the article: “This ultra modern aluminum foil hat will protect your pet from the brain scanning rays of the NSA, FBI, and CIA satellites that are monitoring their little subversive thoughts. You may not have considered this before, but your lead lined hat is worthless if your pet can give away your secrets to the very people most dangerous to you—your government!”
Just when you thought you’d heard it all!
Apparently, and completely unknown to me, for some years now, there has been available to people who have felt the need (most of whom, I think, probably live in the high mountains of New Mexico or in southern California) a device called Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanies (AFDB). Again, quoting the Web page: “These AFDB’s are a type of head wear that can shield your brain from most electromagnetic psychotronic mind control carriers. Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanies are an inexpensive, cheap, and unobtrusive form of mind control protection that offers real security to the masses. Not only do they protect against incoming signals, but they also block most forms of brain scanning and mind reading, keeping the secrets in your head truly secret.” Gosh, what will they think of next? For those of you—and I hope there aren’t any of my dear readers who would want to do so—who want to know more about this serious threat, here is the Web page address: http://urbanlegends.about.com/
To those who aren’t familiar with the term, urban myths (sometimes they’re referred to as urban legends) are stories, anecdotes, products, or words of advice which, despite lacking any proof or scientific fact, exist in people’s minds as actual and absolute truths. These fables, which more often than not end up prognosticating (which means to foretell, predict, or promise) bad events or outcomes for us or our pets, have been with us since time immemorial, and probably will always be so. And as a veterinarian, I’m confronted with them all the time. Some of them are quite amusing, some of them are weird, but unfortunately, some are quite serious.
As a veterinarian, I’m confronted with urban legends all the time. Some of them are quite amusing, some of them are weird, but unfortunately, some are very serious. Besides the two examples mentioned above, many of the questions I get range from the absurd (“Do pet food companies use dogs in making cat food?” No!), to the concerned (“Can cats with the flu pass it on to people?” No!), to the bizarre (“Doc, is it true that cats can breed with rabbits?” No!).
The most common question I’m asked by owners of a new kitten or puppy—and the one that prompted this article in the first place—is: “Doc, I was told by my father/neighbor/dog breeder/mother-in-law/barber/boyfriend or the lady selling Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanies at the farmer’s market, that I should let my female dog or cat have a litter first before I spay her. Is this true?”
The answer, again, is no! Absolutely not! Whenever I’m asked this question, I’ll often turn the question around and ask the pet owner what the reason was his father/neighbor/breeder/ mother-in-law/barber/boyfriend or lady selling Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanies at the farmer’s market gave for making the animal have a litter first? And their answer is always the same: “Doc, they didn’t know; it was just something they always heard somewhere.”
In an attempt to answer this most frustrating of myths, I asked several of my fellow vets and former professors why, in this modern age of enlightenment, pet owners still ask this question. I wanted to know if there ever was any reason for the need to have a litter first. None of these gifted doctors had an answer; it’s just something they’d always heard. Then, because you can find out anything about everything there ever was, I did a search on the Internet. I found absolutely no probable cause for a pet to have a litter first.
This is because there isn’t any reason.
And therein lies the danger of this silly myth. If you let a young dog have a litter, you run the risk of complications in her pregnancy. If she has any congenital birth defects that don’t normally show up until adulthood, you’ve just passed them on to future generations. But even more important, because young dogs and kittens tend to have the biggest litters, you’ve just added an additional burden to the already huge excess of unwanted pets in our world.
Thanks again. Now, where did I put my hat?
Copyright © 2004 by Richard Orzeck, DVM
The information in this article is based upon the author’s personal experience and his best interpretation of veterinary data at the time of writing. It is not intended to render veterinary advice or service. Specific needs and questions concerning your pet’s health should always be addressed by his or her best friend, your local veterinarian.