Spay Neuter

Neuter Commuter Is Now Serving Prince William County!

Click here for the official Neuter Commuter Home Page

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Other Spay Neuter News!

Can't get on the Neuter Commuter this month? The Kincheloe Clinic in Fredericksburg has just been expanded to take more pets! See their web site for more information. For their fee schedule, click here. Please note they only take cash and operate M-F. You must have a reservation in advance.

Need help with finding other affordable spay/neuter options? Please click on the links bellow:

Spay, Inc. (certificate program)
Kincheloe Clinic
Fauquier SPCA
PWSPCA Cat S/N Program (free to qualified individuals; see info below)

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Spay/Neuter Program for Cats Available Year-round!
PWSPCA Partners with ACTS to Help Stop Pet Overpopulation
The Prince William SPCA is pleased to announce that it has started a new program to help low-income families spay/neuter their cats. The PWSPCA is partnering with Action in Community Through Service (ACTS) to offer approximately 200 free spay/neuter procedures for cats of low-income residents. ACTS currently serves low-income residents with their programs and welcomes this new service funded by the PWSPCA. This is the first-of-its-kind program in Prince William County. The procedures will be done in participating veterinarian offices and during single day spay/neuter clinics. Candidates must visit the ACTS office in Woodbridge (703-441-8606) to enroll in the program and meet income eligibility guidelines to receive the service. There are plans to expand the program to dogs in the near future. In addition to this low-cost spay/neuter program, the PWSPCA will conduct an ongoing spay/neuter awareness campaign to help educate the public on the need for these important procedures. Special thanks goes out to the following veterinarians for their assistance with this program: Nokesville Vet Clinic, Old Bridge Vet Hospital, and Petcalls Mobile Vet Clinic. This program is possible thanks to a donation from the Edna M. Hara Trust. Special thanks goes out to Esther Jessel and W.S. Wally Covington, III for their involvement in making this program possible. Questions? Please send an e-mail to Spay/Neuter Program.

Low-Cost Options Offered by Spay, Inc.

Looking for a way to get your cat or dog spayed or neutered at a reduced cost? The folks at Spay, Inc. offer a program that provides certificates for reduced-cost procedures. For more information, visit them at http://www.spay.org/request.html. (The PWSPCA is not affiliated with Spay, Inc. and only offers this link as a resource.)

Prince William SPCA Established a New Spay/Neuter Endowment Fund
The Prince William SPCA has established a Spay/Neuter Endowment Fund and dedicated $10,000 of its reserves to help stop pet over population within the region. It plans to develop a program to offer reduced cost spays and neuters for companion animals in the community. Spaying and neutering pets lowers the number of animals that end up in the local shelters. Many of these animals never find homes and are instead euthanized. To make a donation to this fund, please mail your check, made out to the PWSPCA to: PO Box 6631, Woodbridge, VA 22195. To help with a spay/neuter program, please e-mail pwspca@pwspca.org.

Prevent Pet Parenthood
Did you know that twenty million unwanted and homeless dogs and cats will be destroyed in the U.S. this year? About 100,000 will be killed in D.C. and Virginia alone. Please don't contribute to this staggering death toll. Neuter and Spay your pets. For information on low cost spaying and neutering, please visit: www.spay.org or www.spayusa.org.
How you can help:
~ Spay and Neuter your pets today
~ Spread the word about spaying and neutering

Why Spay or Neuter?
Did you know that a spayed or neutered animal will live a longer, healthier life?
This low-cost surgery keeps your animal healthier and helps fight pet overpopulation.

Avoid Health Problems
Spaying a female (removing the ovaries and uterus) or neutering a male (removing the testicles) are veterinary procedures performed under general anesthesia. Both surgeries usually require minimal hospitalization. The Prince William SPCA strongly recommends spaying or neutering your pet as early as possible. Besides preventing unwanted litters, neutering a male cat or dog before six months of age prevents testicular cancer and prostate disease. Spaying a female cat or dog helps prevent pyometra (a pusfilled uterus) and breast cancer. Treatment of pyometra requires hospitalization, intravenous fluids, antibiotics and spaying. Breast cancer can be fatal in about 50 percent of female dogs and 90 percent of female cats. For an older, seriously ill animal, anesthesia and surgery are complicated and costly. Spaying your pet before her first heat offers the best protection from these diseases.

Peace of Mind
Did you know that a spayed or neutered animal is better behaved?
Males: Neutered cats and dogs focus their attention on their human families. On the other hand, unsterilized, unsupervised males roam in search of a mate, risking injury in traffic and in fights with other males. They mark their territory by spraying strong-smelling urine on surfaces. Indoors, male dogs may embarrass you by mounting furniture and human legs when stimulated. Don’t confuse aggressiveness with protectiveness – a neutered dog protects his home and family just as well as an unneutered dog, and many aggression problems can be avoided by early neutering.
Females: While their cycles vary greatly, most female cats exhibit the following signs when in heat. For four or five days every three weeks during breeding season, they yowl and urinate more frequently – sometimes all over the house – advertising for mates. Female dogs generally have a bloody discharge for about a week, and can conceive for another week or so. Often, they attract unneutered males – some from great distances – who spray urine around the females’ homes.

Responsible Care
Join in the fight against pet overpopulation...
Millions of cats and dogs of all ages and breeds are euthanized annually or suffer as strays. Many of these are the result of unwanted, unplanned litters that could have been prevented by spaying or neutering. Rarely surviving for more than a few years on their own, strays die painfully by starvation, disease, freezing or being hit by cars. Please help stop pet overpopulation by spaying or neutering your pet today!

Myth Versus Fact

Myth: My female cat or dog should have a litter before she is spayed.
Fact: The sooner you spay your female, the better her health will be in the future. As long as a kitten or puppy weighs more than two pounds and is two months old, he or she can be neutered or spayed. Many veterinarians practice safe early sterilization. The longer a female goes unspayed, the greater the likelihood of developing mammary tumors or uterine infections. In fact, a female spayed before her first heat (six to nine months of age) has one-seventh the risk of developing mammary cancer as does an intact female.

Myth: Spaying or neutering will alter my pet's personality.
Fact: Regardless of the age when spayed or neutered, your pet will remain a caring, loving and protective companion. Any slight changes will be positive. Neutering will reduce the need to breed, which has a calming effect on many animals. Both neutered male canines and felines tend to stop roaming and fighting, and they also lose the desire to mark their territory with urine.

Myth: Companion animals will become fat and lazy if they are neutered.
Fact: Absolutely not! Lack of exercise and overfeeding make pets fat and lazy – not neutering. Your pet will not gain weight if you provide exercise and monitor food intake. Also, sterilized pets tend to live an average of two to three years longer than unsterilized pets.

Myth: Sterilization is a dangerous and painful surgery for my pet.
Fact: Spaying and neutering are the most common surgeries performed on animals. With a minimal amount of home care, your pet will resume normal behavior in a couple of days.

Myth: Letting my pet have a litter will allow my children to witness the miracle of birth.
Fact: Countless books and videos are available to teach your children about birth in a responsible manner. Letting your pet produce offspring that you have no intention of keeping is teaching your children irresponsibility. Anyone who has seen an animal euthanized in a shelter for lack of a home knows the truth behind this dangerous myth.