Anyone have experience with spay/neuter for stray dogs? We're still battling the problem of strays in my neighborhood. It's getting pretty bad, there are two big packs of 7-10 dogs each, and some misc. 1, 2, or 3 dog packs which avoid the big ones.

Contacted our councilwoman today by email and am trying to come up with some viable options to help curb the population growth. I know for cats you can do the TNR process (trap-neuter-release); a male cat you keep overnight for observation, females 2 nights. Keep in mind this is not the timeline for pets! Strays/Ferals only. The theory is that keeping them for after-surgery care for more than a day or two is more stressful on a feral animal than releasing them before they are fulling healed and letting them hide & heal away from humans.

Before anyone comments- we're having a really rough time with animal care services (animal control) and loose animals. The city adopted a "no-kill" policy, which is admirable. The downside is that now that the pound is full, they're not picking up any stray animals unless they bite someone... I'm trying to think outside the box here. At least if we get them spayed/neutered they won't reproduce and add to the problem.

Both my dogs were neutered when I got them so I have zero experience with this. What's a normal timeline and what might an accelerated one be? I'm thinking we might be able to enlist animal control to help capture the strays and have them taken in to get fixed. I haven't figured out who is going to observe them... or where... or for how long. I'm thinking maybe the pound would be willing to observe for a night or two before releasing?

Any other creative ideas? My other suggestion was to have ACS round up all the loose dogs on 3 or 4 neighborhood sweeps, try to find owners if possible, return said dogs and serve a warning. If the dog gets caught again the owner gets fined... no idea if that will fly or if it's even legal.

I would like to feel comfortable walking my dogs in my own neighborhood someday...

In my experience dogs irritate their incisions and stitches(they chew those) a lot more than cats. When I worked at a Humane Society all dogs got the cone collar put on them after surgery and cats only got it if they were observed licking. It's very dangerous for a female to bust her stitches after a spay surgery. If you do wind up doing something like TNR maybe only do the males? A simple neuter on an adult male is quick and easy. Most certified vet techs can do a simple neuter with no problems. I'd want a vet for cryptorchids.

There's also the possibility of vasectomizing the male dogs. I know they do it in cats and it's also a pretty simple surgery. I think the incision would be smaller.

That's the problem with a public shelter going "no kill". They hang onto 1 dog for so long they could have saved 10 if they would have just euthanized it. It's sad but working in a shelter and seeing the huge FLOOD of people coming in everyday you just can't afford to "save" them all. Private shelters and rescues are a completely different story. Animal controls job is to keep the city free of situations like yours where people can't even walk around in their own neighborhoods because of all the strays.

We do have an organization here that will spay stray cats and has a really great way of spaying and neutering dogs with internal stitches only. I love how quick the recovery is, and that no follow up is needed at the vet.

I would look strongly to private rescues to take these dogs very simply because the idea of altering and release programs for dogs seems like a dangerous idea. Most of these dogs I'm sure would die horrid deaths if left to their own to scrounge, get hit by cars, and poisoned by coyote bait. This isn't considering the danger to the community at large from having large packs of roaming dogs. Personally I'd be happier with just trapping the dogs, checking for id, hold them for 48hrs for any rescues to lay claim, and euthanizing the lot of them.

While not in your area, perhaps contact this organization for ideas:

http://spaymontana.org/

I have just finished prosecuting an animal hoarding case and this organization altered approximately 140 unsocialized dogs in the span of 2 days (4 vet teams) with only one fatality which was remarkable due to the majority of these dogs had complications due to parvo exposure and other medical issues.

This is a close up of their suture line one of the dogs:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xjvZfRDsKwY/SnWgJkQRmSI/AAAAAAAADls/hh-fPWCR-jI/s1600-h/IMG_5717.JPG

I would imagine 'they' don't do the T-N-R for dogs because packs of dogs are inheritantly dangerous. They can kill livestock, pets, AND people. Cats are not 'dangerous'. I would think trapping & euth-ing would be called for.

 Quote: Deb Collier

I would imagine 'they' don't do the T-N-R for dogs because packs of dogs are inheritantly dangerous. They can kill livestock, pets, AND people. Cats are not 'dangerous'. I would think trapping & euth-ing would be called for.

Packs should probably be euthanized now that I think about it more. The single and 2 dog groups might be able to get rescued. In my old neighborhood we had several groups of 2-3 dogs that roamed together. The owners just let them out every morning to roam. Most weren't problems but a pack of 4 terriers had to meet my asp before they'd leave my dog alone.

Cathy & Ingrid, thanks for your responses. We'll see if there are any local programs who are willing to do a TNR-like program with dogs, either only male or otherwise. Ingrid, I will check out the link.

I would encourage others to please read my original post, and understand that there is no one to catch and euthanize these dogs unless they have bitten someone and are considered "dangerous". Placing these dogs with local rescues is equally difficult. This is a short term response, not a long term answer.

If anyone has any other constructive suggestions I'd love to hear them.

Thanks!

What about doing a "Fundraiser for foster homes" first.

Have people sign up to be foster homes for these dogs. Make up an application and get 5-6 people who are versed in the dog world do home visits wherever possible. The city can provide for the vet bills and food, and the foster homes just keep the dogs until they are adopted.

You may be able to apply for funding from various gov't or city sources for vet bills and food. Other city businesses might pitch in to for some "free advertising" that you could provide at the local pound or at the vet clinic where the spay/neuters happen.

I am trying to do this where I live too. It is totally possible as long as you have a willing heart and the stubborn mind it takes to never give up!