Frequently Asked Questions

It is the best solution to uncontrolled breeding and the tragic pet population problem. A spayed or neutered pet will never add to the tens of thousands of surplus puppies and kittens born each day for which there are no homes available.

• It is good for your pet. Spayed or neutered pets are healthier, happier, and more affectionate. A female dog or cat that is spayed will never develop certain types of cancer. A male dog or cat that is neutered will be less likely to roam.
• It permits your pet to live a more natural life. Unspayed and unneutered pets can be subject to almost constant frustration because their mating habits have been changed by thousands of years of civilization. Pets that are spayed or neutered live a more natural existence, more closely akin to that of animals in the wild.
• It is good for your pet's temperament. Unaltered animals often exhibit more behavior and temperament problems than those that have been spayed or neutered.
• It is convenient for you. Spayed female pets never have "heat" periods. Male dogs or cats do not congregate in your yard during certain times. Neutered male pets are less likely to roam or get into fights.

Contact your local veterinarian to have your pet spayed or neutered.

Restraint means:

• Physical confinement, for example, by leash, chain, rope, fence, or within a building.
• Under competent voice control which, if on the owner's property; requires that the owner be present and monitor the dog's activities.
• If off the owner's property, the animal must be restrained.

Rabies is a viral disease of the central nervous system that is almost always fatal. Rabies in humans is very rare in the U.S. but rabies in ground animals- especially wildlife- is common in some parts of the country. Rabies has infected ground animals in Massachusetts after 40 years of being found only in bats.