No. These are two very different issues.

There IS a HUGE pet overpopulation issue in this country. I am very pro-spay/neuter. Every cat we have ever owned is fixed (if we had dogs, the same would be true). Every cat we have ever owned has been a rescue off the streets (because not enough people spay and neuter!). We don't spay or neuter our Dragons because it is too expensive, so we keep them separate where necessary and are careful about not overbreeding.

IF Susan and I had all the children we wanted (unfortunately for us, the opposite is true: we WANT children, but thus far have not been successful), I would not hesitate to get a vasectomy.

Communication abilities and reproduction capabilities are not equivalent!

And as someone said to me in a private comment, declawing a cat is also a bad thing. Declawing/debarking are two "convenient" (for the human) ways of taking care of an inconvenience (to the humans) that the human is too lazy/unwilling to look at at/make the extra effort to resolve the issue in more humane ways. The same cannot reasonably be said about spay/neuter of an animal.

Good explanation, but I would still argue that fixing a dog that typically doesn't roam around without the owner isn't necessary. Isn't the instinctual desire to procreate within most living things?

However, I am truly just playing devil's advocate. Fixing animals is a good thing, of course.

I will point out that I do not own a pet and I would not be a good pet owner.

The problem is the dog or cat that "typically doesn't roam around" always seems to escape into the neighborhood at the exact wrong time. This is how we ended up with our dog as a kid, her mother who never roamed around, apparently did.

Fixing a pet doesn't harm anything other than their ability to reproduce. And I think that unless you are a breeder, there is no reason not to have your pet fixed. There are so many unwanted pets out there already. One of our cats was rescued from out in the woods where someone had left her.

I'm no vet, but doesn't it do something to hormore production, particularly in males?

That's also kind of like saying all it does is stop a dog from barking if you surgically remove their ability to bark.

Poohdog isn't fixed. I can honestly say he doesn't EVER leave the yard. He has had plenty of opportunity, but he won't, just like he won't come in the house if the door is open for hours. The main reason he isn't fixed is because the only way for him to get to the vet is for me to take him. He won't walk on a leash, and he is too heavy for me to carry. I also need to get him a muzzle.

Sox will be fixed ASAP. With his personality it is the "right" thing to do.

IT'S TOO F'N HOT!!!!!!

And humid! It was 109 for criminies sake!

The thingy on the wall says 80... and the display on the front of my computer say 40... What ya talkin' bout, too f'in hot? :p

It hit 115 here, then the winds and some rain drops. Now it is down to 100 and feels almost good.

Sooo,

Today, I will be purchasing at least of two the most powerful box fans that I can find. That is, if the stores aren't sold out.

This is supposed to be a beach town. It isn't supposed to go above 90. You aren't supposed to need air conditioning. These are the thing I was repeating to myself at 4 AM when the inside of our place was still in the high 80's. Oh, there was cool air to be had. It was probably 74 outside. It's just that we couldn't coax any of that cool air into the apartment. I almost slept on the patio. If I could have fit in the refrigerator, I would have considered it.

The friggin box fans had better improve this situation or I'm going to start looking into weekly motel rates until this heat wave passes. Grrrr.