is our dog, who will be nine years old this month and we adopted from a shelter in Travis County TX, already spayed before six weeks of age. I’m a fan of early spay/neuter but five weeks is too early. Eight is OK with me.
Of course she is microchipped. Perhaps in the current Medien vs. Strickland case in Texas about what a dog is worth, they should consider our story.
I’ve spent decades bringing in homeless dogs and cats to see if we can find the owner via microchip or lost sign on a light pole, spaying and neutering feral cats and working at shelters.
We adopted our dog and she was very sick with coccidia and worms. Two months later the things she’d learned to do, like go up and down stairs, were no longer do-able. We had to amputate her hips at six and nine months. Don’t worry, she still loves the vet who did the surgeries!
If she was ever found, she’d be brought in and be euthanized as useless, while she can corner around a tree faster than any Retriever and kill a mouse in a heartbeat.
Zoe is not useless to us. She’s traveled across the country a couple of times, is a great companion and car dog, and we wouldn’t know what to do without her.
Zoe cannot be replaced. My old dog Chani will never be replaced and I have her photos, ashes and memories. I know the shelters don’t want to be held responsible for Oops! killing your dog or cat but didn’t Maddies’ Fund make any difference? The family couldn’t pay the charge immediately so they killed the dog?
Texas is not a state with many animal rights activities. Their feral cat solution is to shoot them, when in fact they may help with the mice and rats in the milk or hay barns.
My in-laws learned to deal with our “high-rise” dog and that she couldn’t be put up in a pen outside. After eight years she even gets petted or a treat from time to time, mostly when husband’s Mom and I are cooking and things get dropped.
Texans may get used to house pets once they realize they have to vacuum less often! Cheers from Dee and Z
Cooking with Dee 