The price is right, Bob

Dr. Nathan Metz  As a child I spent countless hours watching “The Price Is Right” with my grandfather. It was quality time that we both looked forward to. The games changed each episode, from Plinko to hole in one, but the ending message was always the same: “I’m Bob Barker reminding you to help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered.”The price for not spaying or neutering may not be right, but it is a reality. This reality not only affects our society but the overall wellbeing and health of our personal pets.The ever-growing population of cats and dogs has been and continues to be a severe problem. As stated in last month’s column, one cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 cats in seven years. As for the dogs, one dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 dogs in six years. This ever-growing population floods our local shelters with unwanted pets. In the U.S., approximately 4 to 8 million cats and dogs are in shelters yearly and up to half are euthanized.The U.S. is not alone in its fight against this population explosion. In 2007 Beijing authorities killed more than 50,000 dogs to halt a rabies outbreak, before uproar brought this culling to a halt.This incident raises concern about our own health and that of our children. Rabies is a growing problem that our neighbors West Virginia and Michigan have been facing for years. Ohio is starting to see numbers rise. In years past the number of reported cases was 11 to 12 animals per year. Most recently, it has risen to 45. With an estimated 1 million cats in the Columbus area, that is a potential source for spreading the disease.This large population of feral cats is also a source of spreading roundworms, a zoonotic worm that causes potential blindness and problems in children. This growing population of feral animals could affect the health of our children and us.The surgical procedure of spaying a dog or cat is called an ovariohysterectomy, which is the removal of both ovaries and the uterus. This surgical procedure stops the obvious — reproduction — but also serves as prevention for many life-threatening illnesses.A pyometra is an accumulation of infection and pus in the uterus. This typically happens in females older than 9 years of age. Left untreated it can lead to multiple organ failure, shock and death. The treatment of choice is emergency hysterectomy, but prevention is key. Spaying as an adolescent prevents this disease.Another problem that intact females face is adenocarcinomas (breast cancer). Breast tumors in cats are typically 80 percent malignant, in dogs 40 percent, and they can spread to the surrounding lymph nodes and lungs. The treatment is mastectomy and hysterectomy with or without chemotherapy, and survival times are typically six months to two years.In cats, by spaying them as adolescents it decreases occurrence by 60 percent. In dogs, females that are spayed after 2 years of age have a sevenfold greater chance of getting tumors than those spayed prior to 6 months. So the old wives tale of letting a dog have a litter of pups or go through a few heat cycles is not recommended because of this fact.Castration or neutering is the removal of the testicles in a male dog or cat. This procedure as well can prevent not only health problems in males, but also numerous behavioral problems. Inappropriate urination is a common problem seen from both male dogs and cats that are not castrated. Aggression in male dogs towards other dogs or even people is a problem that we as veterinarians see. And finally, diseases of the prostate are also observed with intact males as they age. By neutering before 6 months of age, a lot of these issues can be helped or even prevented.For nearly 35 years and 3,524 episodes, Bob Barker spoke those famous words. After all of these years, you would think we would all start to get the picture. In learning, repetition is key, so here goes 3,525 from me and Bob: “Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered.”Dr. Nathan Metz and Dr. Melissa Metz are both graduates of Ross University. They have recently reopened the former Countryside Clinic in Ada on state Route 309, now Metz Petz Veterinary Clinic. They are the proud parents of two coconut retrievers Dempsie and Bodhi, two overweight clinic cats Bob and Guido, two sugargliders Cain and Abel, and the newest addition, Leroy Brown Valentine, a Beagle pup.