Contracts don’t work but are required by law from any group adopting animals that are not fixed!  Contracts are time intensive to follow-up so few rescues do it.  They are administratively costly for volunteer time because monies need to be tracked and returned.  The law requires a contract if an animals isn’t spayed/neutered for all organizations adopting animals.  The law also requires unredeemed monies to be spent for spay/neuter or spay/neuter education and this portion of the law is widely being ignored.

Most importantly - - - accidents happen and unwanted litters are the cause of overpopulation which leads to the lack of space at shelters and euthanasia of homeless pets.  If your organization is not spaying/neutering animals prior to adoption you are a part of creating the overpopulation problem.  These seem like harsh word but they are true.  What is happening is one animal’s life is being homed today with the very real possibility that a litter will be homeless in a year.  The reality is that puppies and kitties more often find homes but they fill the space that the 2-year old at the shelter may have had – but now won’t and due to lack of space will be euthanized.

Most owners would prefer that their animal is already sterilized – and sterilization certainly has major behavior and health benefits.

Animals that are too young or do not weigh enough for the spay/neuter procedure should be kept in foster until they are old enough or weigh enough which can be 8 weeks of age and 2 lbs.  If your veterinarian will not spay/neuter at this age….find one that will.  Eight weeks and two pounds are medical standards for healthy animals for this procedure.  Some veterinarians are following old practices or don’t do enough procedures where they are confident in their skills on small animals.  It is important that rescues do not buy into a belief that it is better for the animal to wait until they are six months.

The full cost of the spay/neuter procedure can be added to the adoption fee.  When rescues work with low-cost spay/neuter clinics or have a contract for this service with a veterinarian for volume the price of the procedure should be substantially lower than market rate – which is a benefit to the new guardian in the long run.