Why is the Spay NOLA program important?
Spay NOLA is the only program of its kind in New Orleans. Even the SPCA doesn’t have a program like Spay NOLA. The homeless animal rate in New Orleans is probably the highest in the United States. Why do people resist having their pets fixed? There are a lot of misconceptions. People think the animals are going to get fat, they are going to get lazy, or they’re not going to be a good guard dog. People don’t understand the medical benefits far outweigh anything else. Female dogs that aren’t spayed can get an infected uterus, or they can get breast cancers. We removed six tumors from the mammary chain of a dog the other day. The male dogs get prostate problems and testicular cancer. Will we ever get the animal population under control in New Orleans? I think we’re making a big drop in it now, but I don’t think we’ll ever have shelters that are empty. Since Spay NOLA started last July, we’ve done over 10,000 animals. After Katrina, we started a low-cost program, although Spay NOLA costs a
