...Now You Don't

All right, it's not readily apparent...yet...but Clyde went to the vet this morning with two danglers and came back this evening sans said ballos. Tonight he has two empty sacks where his testicles used to be.

I try to be a good pet owner and that means being responsible. I'm not showing Clyde (which requires a "whole" dog) and although I may have toyed with the idea of breeding him I knew that wasn't really something I was ever going to do. So the logical thing to do was to neuter him.

This county is overrun with unwanted dogs and cats as it is and I wanted to ensure that I would in no way be adding to the problem, even if it were by accident. Isn't that how a lot of these poor dogs and cats end up in the pound? Because they are "accidents".I am by no means a PETA activist, in fact I think they are a bunch of wackos. And just by virtue of my having sheep, cattle, chickens, a pony and a goat probably disqualifies me. I love eating meat and I don't have a problem with leather products. I think I'm getting off course here.

Anyhow, it really irks me when people want to breed their dog or cat before neutering them so "the kids can see the miracle of birth". Yes, I know people like that and I really tried to talk them out of it. They were able to give away all their puppies but one, the chicken/goose killer that lives next door.

I was all for neutering Clyde when we first got him but my husband and his breeder had a small panic attack about it. They thought he was too young and it would be too much for his system because he also needed a hernia repaired. I looked at it in a practical way. Two procedures for the price of one anesthesia. The vet said the only physiological difference in the early neutering would be Clyde may be a little taller and lankier than if we waited until later. To ease the breeders' and my husbands' minds I acquiesced to their entreaty. Clyde's nuts were given a reprieve.

Now, two years later, it's time to renew his county dog license. "Whole" dogs cost $60 for one year. Neutered dogs' annual tags cost $10. Taking the cost of the surgery into consideration I don't think I'll be saving any money on his licensing fees for at least eight years, but at least I can rest easy knowing I did the right thing.