Spay/Neuter: The Answer to the Pet Overpopulation Crisis

My first dog was a purebred standard poodle I named Misty, given to me as a Christmas present by a relative. My mother, a widow with a child to raise, was always trying to figure out how to make extra money, and so she decided to breed Misty. I remember the day we went to the breeder's house to have Misty bred with a pedigreed stud named Brandy. Both dogs were placed on the coffee table while my mother and the breeder casually chatted about everyday matters and I-an embarrassed teenager-tried to look elsewhere. In what I can only call assisted rape, a reluctant Brandy was induced to mount a terrified Misty. I didn't realize it at the time, but that event did more than just impregnate my dog; it also planted the seeds for my future animal advocacy work. Unfortunately, my mother didn't make the money she had hoped from the two litters of puppies Misty eventually produced. She ended up giving most of them away to friends and relatives for free. Even back in the 60s, it was hard for dogs to find homes.

Fast-forward about 35 years. I was wearily driving home after midnight from my evening shift at the hospital when I decided to stop for gas. I pulled into a convenience stop. As I walked towards the door of the outlet to pay for the gas, a handsome black dog with a bear face-a chow, I could see-approached me, curly tail wagging. I stopped and gave him a pat. A few minutes later, while I was filling my tank, he draped his furry body over the concrete island and studied me intently. I asked one of the store clerks if the dog belonged to anyone. He told a sad but all-too-common story: someone had abandoned him there a few days before and the employees had been feeding him ever since. Animal Control had been called, but for some reason they were unwilling to drive out to pick him up. I made a rash decision to take him home. I opened the car door. He jumped in. I named him Mu Shu, or Shu for short.

Shu was an abandoned dog who is now part of our family.

Credit: Ardeth Baxter

Copyright: Ardeth Baxter