Some of the people that live in Petsville have pets, some do not.

The people that live in Petsville, just like the people that live in San Bernardino County, are allowed to have 4 animals total.

•Seven puppies (3 boys and 4 girls) are born at the Smith house in Petsville.

•They were so cute and everyone was happy.

•In six weeks the puppies were ready for new homes, so the owner took them around the neighborhood to try to find homes for them…

Little boy is allergic to dog hair

Dog does not like other dogs

The woman that lives here does not want a pet because she travels a lot

This is the house where the puppies were born – The Smith’s will keep the mom and 3 of the female puppies

*The Joneses agree to take the rest of the puppies (3 boys, 1 girl)

This house has 4 cats

Six months later when all the female dogs (original mom + her 4 girl puppies) had puppies. The original mom had 6 puppies, 2 of the females had 4 puppies, 1 had 5 puppies, and 1 had 2 puppies. How many puppies are there now that need new homes? (6 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 2 = ____? )

*13 of the 21puppies were females.

Little boy is allergic to dog hair

Dog does not like other dogs

The woman that lives here does not want a pet because she travels a lot

This is the house where the puppies were born – The Smith’s will keep the mom and 3 of the female puppies

*The Joneses agree to take the rest of the puppies (3 boys, 1 girl)

This house has 4 cats

What do we do with the 21 puppies?

The shelter in PetsVille only has 30 kennels for dogs. The shelter already had 15 dogs in the kennel when the Smiths and the Joneses bring in their 21 puppies. The shelter only has room for how many of the puppies? 30 – 15 = ____? How many of the puppies cannot stay at the shelter? 21 – 15 = ____?

There are laws about how many animals people can own.

Too many animals can lead to:

• unsanitary conditions (i.e. bad odors/smells)

• too many flies

• animals escaping from yards/homes

• fighting

• neighborhood complaints (i.e. loud barking)

• aggression because they do not receive enough individual attention

• lack of proper vet care, which can lead to the spread of disease, illness, & even death

Building a larger animal shelter costs a lot of money

•Who is going to pay for it?

•What happens when the cages in the new animal shelter become full?

•If you put more animals into each cage you increase the chances of fighting and the spread of disease.

This is the BEST SOLUTION!

This is a simple operation that a veterinarian (pet doctor) performs on pets that makes it so they cannot have babies (females) or help make babies (males).

If the Smiths would have spayed their female dog, then none of the puppies would have been born in the first place. Although they were able to find homes for some of the first puppies born, the second time around they (along with the Joneses) had to find homes for 21 puppies!

There were not enough homes and they ended up taking them to the animal shelter, which was already half full and could not take all the puppies!

Although this was just a story, it is unfortunately a true story that happens to dogs and cats every day in the United States.

Part of the problem is that everyone thinks their animal is so cute that it should have babies and that someone else should have their pet spayed/neutered.

In reality, ALL pet owners need to be responsible and have their pets spayed/neutered to help reduce the problem of pet overpopulation.

PLEASE do your part and make sure your pet does not add to this problem by having them spayed/neutered.

Permission is granted for using this presentation for educational purposes so long as credit is given to the San Bernardino County Animal Care & Control Program.