Spay or Neuter Facts

The Franklin County Dog Shelter is committed to reducing pet overpopulation in our community.

We spay or neuter ALL dogs adopted at our facility prior to adoption, and we strongly encourage you to spay or neuter your own pets. About 3,500 dogs are spayed or neutered annually at the Dog Shelter.

The shelter received nearly 13,000 unwanted animals in 2019!! The best way to reduce the number of unwanted animals is to spay and neuter your pets before they have a chance to accidentally reproduce.

Facts about Spaying or Neutering Your Pet

• Despite popular belief, sterilizing your dog or cat will not make it fat and lazy. Pets normally become fat and lazy because of overeating and lack of exercise, not from spaying and neutering.
• Both male and female dogs live longer healthier lives if they are spayed or neutered. Spaying a female eliminates the possibility of uterine and ovarian cancer and greatly reduces the chances of breast cancer. Neutering a male dog will make your pet more affectionate and less likely to roam, get in fights, or become lost.
• Having your dog spayed or neutered can save you money in other ways. In Franklin County, the dog license fee for a dog that has been spayed or neutered is one half the regular fee, and the impound fees at the Dog Shelter are one third those that are charged for an un-altered dog.

Pet Reproduction Facts

Think about these facts before allowing your pet to have "just one litter" of puppies or kittens!

• One female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 dogs in six years! One cat and her young can produce 420,000 kittens during the same time frame.
• For every human born, there are 7 puppies and kittens born.
• An estimated 6 to 8 million dogs and cats are euthanized in shelters each year. That's about 55 percent of the animals entering shelters, based on reports from the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy.

Ohio Pet License Plate

The Ohio Pet License Plate is a specialty plate that will help raise funds to be used for spay and neuter to prevent pet overpopulation and for education.