The SPCA has a ridiculous adoption policy, no wonder they are cash-strapped and over-crowded with animals who can’t find homes!
On 9 March, when we went to Roodepoort SPCA, we identified a white kitten in Kennel 3 we would like to adopt. We completed the forms with the details of the animals we already own, namely a male Teacup Yorkie – not sterilised and a male ginger cat – sterilised.
The woman looking over the form then informed us that we have to have the dog sterilised. Ridiculous, needless to say.
Pray tell, does the SPCA think that my unsterilised Yorkie is going to try hump the sterilised kitten we would be adopting?
The SPCA also does not offer to sterilise your existing unsterilised pets when adopting your animal. Instead, they refer you to your vet. One would think that an organisation always pleading and begging for funding and donations would offer that service for additional income.
Considering the cost of Yorkies, and the fact that he is a thoroughbred dog, why would we want to sterilise him? If at any point in the future we wanted to breed with the Yorkie, the SPCA’s policy would have effectively put an end to that. Considering that the SPCA is not in any way involved with the care, inoculations and cost of my animals, who gives them the right to demand that I have my dog sterilised?
I can certainly provide proof of veterinary treatment of my animals, which should be more important to them than sterilisation of any and every animal on my property. Animals with no vet record of immunisation and inoculation are more likely to spread disease than an unsterilised animal. Talk about backward thinking here.
Maybe the SPCA should reconsider their policy whereby they demand that all animals be sterilised and rather request proof of vet records, that the existing animals in the home have been immunised and inoculated. This will hold true especially for cats, seeing as they like to roam.
Further note, that despite the home inspection and everything else they insist on, they do not ask if you understand how to introduce a new animal into your home. This is very important for cats as the existing cat needs to accept the new one, and there is a 2–3 week long procedure to ensure the new cat is accepted. This is overlooked, but if the introduction is not done right, the existing cat will eventually chase away the newcomer – so creating yet another stray for the SPCA to deal with.
The animal adoption policy of the SPCA is shortsighted and wrongly focused on sterilisation.
I still want that cat but I am not sterilising my dog because it is in fact irrelevant.
So the question is, do we support the SPCA, or do we get our animals elsewhere?
Meg Wilson, public relations officer for the SPCA, responded:
We are sorry that you are frustrated with the adoption policy, however, we wish to assure you that these policies are put in place to protect the animals involved.
The matter of sterilising your purebred Teacup Yorkie has nothing to do with the potential (or lack thereof) of your dog mating with the cat that you are wishing to adopt, as you eloquently described, but rather, it is the Roodepoort SPCA’s way of ensuring that responsible pet ownership is holistic in your household.
The fact that SPCAs are, as you stated, overcrowded with animals that cannot find homes is due to the uncontrolled breeding of animals. By wishing to breed with your dog, you are adding to the volume of animals in this country, which directly impacts the SPCAs, as more unwanted animals wind up at their doors. Sterilisation prevents this. It is also proven to prevent various cancers, such as testicular cancer in males and mammary cancer in females. The benefits of sterilisation speak for themselves.
The SPCA does take veterinary treatment very seriously; you would remember that you also had to fill out a section of the form which relates to this.
The SPCA would also take great care in advising the prospective family about introductions and integration, but perhaps this wasn’t the case with you, as your adoption had not yet been finalised.
We trust that this clarifies the situation. We hope that you will still consider adoption, and that you will have your Teacup Yorkie sterilised.
