Mountain Views News          Saturday, September 1, 2012

10

JUST FOR BEST FRIENDS

 Mountain Views-News Saturday, September 1, 2012 


HEALTHY REASONS TO SPAY 
OR NEUTER YOUR PET

Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc

 
Most true animal lovers would probably agree that 
in this day and age, a responsible owner will spay 
or neuter their pet, in order to help control the 
animal overpopulation problem, however, few are 
likely aware that there are also many health benefits 
to having a domestic animal surgically sterilized. 
Indeed, in some cases having your furry four-footed 
friend’s reproductive organs removed could even 
prolong his/her life and most definitely will influence 
future behaviors in a positive way.

 Cherri Megasko, author of numerous articles 
about animals, is a featured contributor for the 
Yahoo! Contributor Network. She recently posted 
an interesting article on this very subject, entitled 
“Health Benefits of Spaying or Neutering Your Pets”. 
In her article, Megasko listed several lesser-known 
benefits to having your pet “fixed”, and if you are like 
me, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn the many 
ways that spaying and neutering can help keep your 
pet healthy and happy!

Benefits of Spaying

 One obvious benefit of spaying your female pet is 
that she will no longer have heat cycles. For dogs and 
cats, this means they will be less likely to stray. Dogs 
will no longer have the bloody discharge associated 
with coming into heat, and cats will no longer cry as 
if in pain, in an attempt to attract a male.

 For both dogs and cats, spaying prior to their 
first heat can dramatically reduce their chance of 
developing mammary cancer later in life. In fact, for 
dogs that are spayed before their first heat, their risk 
of developing mammary cancer goes down to 0.05%. 
The risk increases dramatically with each subsequent 
heat. 

 For both dogs and cats, spaying all but eliminates the 
development of uterine infections called pyometras. 
These infections can be life-threatening emergencies 
for your pet and are very expensive to treat and cure. 

Benefits of Neutering

 Both male dogs and cats mark their territories 
by urinating on objects. Neutering before this 
marking behavior begins can virtually eliminate this 
behavior. In cats, neutering also significantly reduces 
objectionable urine odor.

 Testicular cancer is a valid concern for unaltered 
pets. Obviously, neutering completely eliminates that 
health threat.

 Neutering reduces the instances of prostate issues 
and perineal hernias in dogs and can also reduce 
aggression levels associated with hormones.

Summary

 Neutering a pet is generally a faster and simpler 
procedure than spaying because the testicles are on 
the outside of the body, thus making the surgery less 
invasive. Spaying a young, healthy animal can take as 
few as seven minutes, or as much as 20 for an older, 
fatter animal. The health benefits for both dogs and 
cats are greater when the surgery is done at an early 
age and can greatly increase the chances your pet will 
live a long and healthy life.

 Be a responsible pet owner, and spay or neuter your 
pet right away, if you haven’t already. Not only will 
you be doing your part to prevent pet overpopulation, 
but it is also a proven way to make your pet healthier 
and happier for the rest of their days, and who doesn’t 
want that for their canine or kitty companion?


PET OF THE WEEK: AHSVHIKO #A4481774


Are you in the market for a fun and cute puppy? Look no further, meet 
Hachiko (A4481774)! Hachiko is a gorgeous five month old brown 
and white female Pit Bull puppy who was found in Rowland Heights 
on August 29th and brought to the Baldwin Park Animal Care Center. 
Weighing twenty-nine pounds and likely to grow to tip the scales at 
fifty-five pounds, this playful puppy has not had any training. She is 
a blank slate as far as training goes, but is ready to learn and eager to 
please! Hachiko loves children and has been great with the other dogs 
she has been introduced with. Hachiko will make a tremendous indoor 
pet for an active family living in a private home. To watch a video of 
Hachiko, please visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=53uJ_Hfr5l0

To meet Hachiko in person, please see her at the Baldwin Park Shelter, 
located at 4275 N. Elton St., Baldwin Park, CA 91706 (Phone: 626-
430-2378 or 626-962-3577). She is currently available now. For any 
inquiries about Hachiko, please reference her animal ID number: 
A4481774. The shelter is open seven days a week, 12 pm-7 pm Monday-
Thursday and 10am-5pm Friday-Sunday. This is a high-intake shelter 
with a great need for adoptions. For more information about Hachiko 
or the adoption process, contact United Hope for Animals Volunteer 
Adoption Coordinator Samantha at samanthasayon@gmail.com or 
661-309-2674. 

To learn more about United Hope for Animals’ partnership with the 
Baldwin Park Shelter through its Shelter Support Program, as well as 
the many dogs of all breeds, ages, and sizes available for adoption in 
local shelters, visit http://www.unitedhope4animals.org/about-us/
shelter-support-program/.

SPORTS


MAKE SURE YOU BUY THE RIGHT HYBRID 
GOLF CLUBS FOR YOUR GAME 


I think the hybrid golf clubs are going to wind up 
being a better invention than the sand wedge. I 
have to ad one more thought. IF you buy the right 
one for your game.

 

Can you believe how incredible it is to stand in the 
middle of the fairway 200 yards from the green 
and you get to pull out one of those beautiful replacement 
clubs instead of a 3 iron? That is exactly 
where the problems begin. You better hope that 
you bought the correct 3 iron replacement. From 
the minute I heard about the hybrids I have referred 
to them as replacement clubs.

 

Of course I have a reason why I call them replacement 
clubs. I bought three of them before it dawned on me that I was just 
buying them because I liked them, not because they were correct for my game. 
That is when I did some research that I will share with you.

 The Rules of Golf states that you are allowed to carry 14 clubs in your bag. Let’s 
do some math. You probably use a driver, putter, pitching wedge, sand wedge 
and LOB. That’s five golf clubs and nine to go. Most of you have a 9-8-7-6 
irons. Now we have nine clubs and four to go.

 

You have to make sure of two things when you are replacing your longer irons. 
If you don’t buy the hybrids in a set you are going to get different shafts from 
different companies. Even thou you bought a regular shaft from one company 
that doesn’t mean it is going to be the same regular shaft of another company. 
The second thing you have to be careful of if you don’t buy your hybrids in a 
set is the loft on the clubs.

 

That is where my problems began early on. I was buying different hybrids and 
the lofts were too close together.

 The following chart will help you understand what you have to purchase for a 
replacement club:

 

17 degree hybrid would replace a 2 iron or 5 wood

 

20 degree hyrid would replace a 3 iron or 7 wood

 

23 degree hybrid would replace a 4 iron

 

27 degree hybrid would replace a 5 iron

 

31 degree hybrid would replace a 6 iron

 

In closing I have to explain one last thing to you. Not all companys have the 
same degree of loft. Some companies might make a 24-28-32 degree set of 
hybrids. The one thing to keep in mind is that you are REPLACING a club in 
your bag. You don’t want two clubs with the same loft.

 

I hope this helps you out the next time you head out to buy a couple of hybrid 
golf clubs for your game.