Leashing passion

In the world of animal control, there’s no getting around sex and violence.

Like the time an unneutered adult black lab came after Boone County Animal Control Officer Jean Easley, who has been with animal control for 23 years.

Easley had responded to a call from a man who felt threatened by a male black lab. The dog was trying to get to the man’s Brittany spaniel, which was in heat and confined to a dog pen.

“It was psycho,” Easley said. “It came charging at us at full speed with its hair standing straight up. He was snarling and snapping at us.”

The lab’s owner stood by, shaking with fear at her pet’s behavior. Promptly after the incident, the owner had her dog neutered.

That’s the bottom line, animal control officers say: Their job would be a whole lot easier if pet owners would just fix their pets because when animals become violent, sex is often the reason.

And when animal shelters are too full and pets have to be euthanized, sex is also the reason.

For pit bull owners, neutering or spaying a dog will be cheaper for the entire month of October. The Central Missouri Humane Society, which cooperates with Animal Control, is offering special rates in their “Pits not being fixed” promotion. The price for the operation will drop from $40 to $30 per dog.

Pit bulls are not being singled out because they are considered dangerous, but because the Humane Society is concerned with their overpopulation.

“We’re tying to give an incentive to people to fix their pit bulls because the pit bull population is completely out of control right now,” said Teal Alt, Shelter Operations Coordinator at the Central Missouri Humane Society. “They’re the No. 1- bred dog in the country.”

But Richard Meadows, a doctor of veterinary medicine and clinical associate professor of veterinary medicine and surgery at MU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, says it’s not the price of the operation that keeps pet owners from getting their pets spayed or neutered. Many owners, especially men, cannot bear to strip their dogs of what they consider to be an essential part of the body.

“One thing we sometimes run into is a male owner that is fine having the female spayed but does not want the male neutered,” Meadows said. “I put my arm around them and say, ‘It’s not yours. It’s the dog’s.’ It is a known phenomenon.”

There’s also the procrastination problem.

“I just kind of compare it to the fact that I truly believe in changing the oil in my vehicles, but I often do not get around to it,” Meadows said.

The owner of Money, a 108-pound Presa Canario, could have used Meadows’ advice. On Sept. 20, Senior Animal Control Officer Molly Aust picked up Money at a home on Westwood Avenue. The homeowner had notified Animal Control that she’d found Money roaming the streets and now had him confined in her screened back porch.

“He’s one of those dogs that you hope will always stay friendly,” Aust said of the fierce-looking animal.

Aust speculated that Money, a male who has not been neutered, was searching for a female that was in heat.

“Male dogs can detect a female in heat from miles away,” Aust said.

“You can see the same kind of phenomenon at fraternity parties,” Meadows said. “Males are driven.”

Meadows said the key to getting people to sterilize their pets is education. “You can’t make the problem disappear by operating your way out of it,” he said. “(The public) can volunteer, they can contribute money, there are things they can do to make a difference if they are so inclined.”