Statistical data in this article is taken  from documentation provided by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)

       Communities across the United States, including our own local communities, have an overload of companion animals. Too many dogs and cats aren't wanted anywhere or by anybody, so they are treated as disposable items instead of living creatures.

            When people don't want their pets any longer because they have tired of caring for them, or they have become an inconvenience, they abandon them by dumping them along roadsides, or on doorsteps. Multitudes of companion animals suffer and die on the streets, in alleys, or in the wild. The luckier rejected pets are surrendered to animal shelters. Millions of cats and dogs are euthanized each year because loving, responsible owners cannot be found.

            The reason enough permanent homes cannot be found is clear when you realize there are only 11,000 humans born every day in the United States compared to 50,000 puppies and kittens.

            For every contented pet in this country, another 4 live out their lives hungry, miserable and at the mercy of humans. Of the 8 to 12 million dogs and cats that end up in America's shelters an estimated 30 to 60 percent are euthanized.

            Too many companion animals competing for too few good homes is the most obvious consequence of uncontrolled breeding; however, there are equally tragic problems that result from pet overpopulation. The transformation of some animal shelters into "warehouses" or cheap sources of animals for biomedical experimentation, the acceptance of cruelty to animals as a way of life in our society, and the stress that caring shelter workers suffer when they are forced to euthanize one healthy placeable animal after another. Living creatures have become throwaway items to be cuddled when cute and abandoned when they become inconvenient. Such disregard for animal life pervades and erodes our culture.

            Abandoned and stray companion animals who survive in the streets, and suburbs of cities pose a health threat to humans and other animals. They get into trash containers, defecate in public areas or on private lawns, and anger citizens who have no understanding of their misery or their needs.

            Some of these animals scare away or prey upon wildlife-such as birds. In our local rural areas abandoned dogs form packs that become a threat to wildlife such as deer, and sometimes to larger domestic animals. Dogs that have been dumped on city streets of Los Angeles have become a phenomenal problem, and are being called the newest street gangs of L.A.

            The growing number of dog bites is due in part to uncontrolled breeding of pets. Bites by so-called dangerous dogs have drawn an enormous amount of media attention, and fatalities caused by dangerous dogs are a serious concern. According to Randall Lockwood, Ph.D., The HSUS's vice president for Training Initiatives, there is a much greater incidence of biting in unsterilized animals. "Of the nearly twenty fatalities caused by dog attacks investigated between 1992 and 1994," says Dr. Lockwood, "we have found that none of the fatalities was caused by a spayed or neutered dog."

            You can help end the tragedy of overpopulation by making sure that your pet does not contribute to the overload. Have your pet spayed or neutered by a veterinarian - this is the first, most important step you can take as a responsible pet owner. Remember, even if you find a home for your pet's puppies or kittens, you are still taking a home away from another companion animal.

            Spayed and neutered pets make better, healthier companions; they are less likely to bite, to spray or mark territory, or to roam or fight. Spayed female dogs and cats do not suffer from uterine or ovarian cancer and have a much smaller incidence of breast cancer. Neutered male dogs and cats have a lower rate of prostate cancer. Contrary to popular belief, sterilized pets do not become fat and lazy. This happens because they are given to much to eat, and too little exercise. If you have a friend who wants a puppy or kitten urge that friend to adopt one from a local shelter - where there is always a wonderful selection of mixed-breed and purebred pets waiting for good homes.

            Contribute to the solution of this problem by spreading the word about the tragedy of pet overpopulation. There simply are not enough homes for them all. Please spay and neuter your pet and urge others to do the same-help reduce the pet overpopulation explosion. This problem can be solved, but not without education of the public, and the cooperation of pet owners in the community.

            Pet overpopulation is a problem created and perpetuated by humans. It is not an animal problem, because animals do what they are allowed to do by humans. They procreate because that is what is natural for them to do. It is up to us, as responsible pet owners, to curb this very serious, and escalating problem.

Armida Turk, FOA Volunteer