No, My Dog Is Not Broken

Insight can come from the strangest places.

Today, that insight came to me during a visit to our vet with our newest dog Pumpkin. He was our families Covid support dog, and it was time to update his shots, and make an appointment to get him fixed.

Getting a puppy at the start of this pandemic has turned out to be one of my better ideas. He has snuggled his way into the hearts of our family, a perfect furry fit.

I have had dogs my whole life, and I like to think of myself as a responsible pet owner. I grew up during the 1990s and I can still hear the voice of Bob Barker reminding the people of America to "Help control the pet population, spay and neuter your pets".

It's just what you do. It's what I have done, with every dog I have ever had.

Except that every dog that I have raised since they were a pup, has been a girl. I have taken more than one dog in to be spayed, but never have I taken in a puppy to be neutered.

You are probably thinking, So what? What's the difference?

I wasn't sure. I never thought there would be a difference either. Yet, something was bugging me about it, I couldn't quite put my finger on why.

If anything, getting a male dog neutered is less invasive than the operation to spay a female. The risks are lower, and healing time is faster. Except..... I found myself resisting making the appointment.

Honestly, I was annoyed at my reluctance. What was the big deal? This is what good pet owners do. Pretty much the whole world is united in agreement on this one, it isn't even something that is debated.

Yet here I was, feeling like the weirdo, the only woman in the world who doesn't see the obvious benefits of castrating my littlest furry friend.

So I told the Vet that I was going to hold off for now, I needed time to think it over.

"What's there to think about?" Her tone was already making me feel like I was letting Bob Barker down.

"I mean.. um, I meant to say, what concerns are you having about the procedure?" pointing at the pamphlet, "Have you seen this list of pro's and con's?"

I had see the list, but I felt bad for going against her advice, so I let her go on.

"For starters, leaving your dog intact puts him at a higher risk of being hit by a car"

Wait, what? Intact? Did she really just say that?

I must have gone a pale, because before I had a chance to wonder what "intact" had to do with car accidents, she continued.

"Well, it's been proven that an intact dog is more likely to run after a female dog in heat. Which puts them at a greater risk of running into traffic, and being hit by a car."

Hmm... okay, that seems like a stretch, but I just nod my head as she goes on.

"And, there are also many health benefits that a neutered dog enjoys. For instance it eliminates the risk for developing testicular cancer."

Is she messing with me? I wondered " Is that a real reason? From your list?"

Trying not to laugh, I realize that this list was probably put together by some petmeds marketing team in a board room somewhere, not by a group of responsible veterinarians who care.

"Anything else?" I ask

"Well, he won't be so energetic, he will sleep more"

Is that a pro, or a con?

"Will it stop him from chewing up our stuff?"

She frowns, as it occurs to her that her list was failing to make the sale, "No, probably not."

"You said there were health benefits, what about weight gain?"

"Oh definitely. Testosterone speeds up metabolism, so once he stops producing it, his metabolism is going to slow down." At this point she knew that her cause was lost.

As I was paying the bill to leave I couldn't help but wonder about this whole pet castration tradition that is so widely practiced in our culture. Is a little testosterone really such a bad thing? Is it really necessary to turn our pets into eunuchs?

The more that I thought about it, the more sure that I felt. I did not see an upside. Why would I mutilate my dog, destroying his ability to produce testosterone, causing him to loose interest in everything but food and sleep?

He can be a depressed middle aged woman in his next life, I think I'll let him finish this one out as an "intact" male dog.

Since then I have had to defend my choice. An un-neutered male dog has a way of making people uncomfortable. I am constantly getting asked "when are you going to get him fixed?"

Think about that. The language. "Fixed". As if my "intact" dog was born broken.

I have to wonder, what kind of message does this send to our boys? When kids are small, they notice things that we don't. What is little Johnny supposed to think, when his new puppy goes to the vet to get "fixed", and comes home missing his testicles?

Masculinity has become the villain in our culture, and it's a shame. Maybe we shouldn't be surprised when so many boys are growing up wanting to be girls. Masculinity is treated as something to be fixed, instead of celebrated. It's nothing short of tragic.

I don't want to live in a neutered world. The world I want is a world where boys grow up proud to be men. I can't change the world, not all at once, and not by myself, but I can take this small stand for my littlest friend. Pumpkin will remain intact, as long as he is in our house.

It's a baby step, but at least it's in the right direction.