But I want her to experience the miracle of birth!

(may be offensive to some)

I saw the cutest chihuahua today. A customer opened her door and three chi's came running out, including this tiny little thing that couldn't have weighed more than 3 pounds. The customer said that she was full grown and (exact quote) "They want me to get her fixed, but I just want her to experience the miracle of birth one time."

*shaking my head*

Dogs do NOT get the "miracle of birth". They breed and have babies because that is their instinct. They do not do it because they want to have children, raise a litter, see them grow or anything at all like we do as humans. I know that I humanize feelings in my head some times for animals. However, they do NOT experience the miracle of birth. They experience breeding. They experience pregnancy. They experience birth. They experience nursing. There is no beauty in it for them. It's the instinct that they are born with. Period. WE see it as miraculous and yes, birth is miraculous, but dogs do not understand nor need to experience the miracle of birth.

The truth is, not only does spaying or neutering your pet lower the overpopulation of animals, it is also healthier for your animal! If you spay your female before she goes in to her first heat, it reduces the risk of breast cancer, uterine cancer and ovarian cancer. If you neuter your male, he will not develop testicular cancer and his risk for developing prostrate cancer is greatly reduced.

Also, this dog that I discussed above, that weighs less than 3lbs? Her "baby" that she "loves so much" will most likely have to have a c-section, if not die, from having a litter, due to her very slight size. That's how small she was. How is there anything miraculous about that?

If you want to experience a miracle, go down to the shelter and save a life. Experience what a rescued dog brings to your life. THAT is miraculous.

Consider this, before deciding to let your dog (or cat) "experience the miracle of birth"

The Prolific Cat		The Prolific Dog
1st year	3 litters = 12 offspring	1st year	4 offspring with 2 females
2nd year	144 offspring	2nd year	12 offspring
3rd year	1,728 offspring	3rd year	36 offspring
4th year	10,736 offspring	5th year	324 offspring