Clinic Helps Control Dog Population

Diane’s Discount Pet Supplies and Adoption Center in Pottstown, Pa., announced in December 2008 that its Affordable Spay Neuter Clinic had performed 1,000 sterilization procedures since the clinic opened in February 2008.

The surgeries have been performed on both cats and dogs, helping to reduce pet overpopulation and the burden it puts on local communities.

“Through these 1,000 surgeries, the Affordable Spay Neuter Clinic has prevented the births of potentially thousands of kittens and puppies,” says Steven M. Silberman, DVM, of the Affordable Spay Neuter Clinic. “An unaltered female dog can have anywhere from 32 to 192 offspring in her lifetime depending on the breed of dog. If the offspring reproduce freely, the exponential result is staggering.”
Pet overpopulation puts pressure on taxpayers, animal shelters, and results in the deaths of millions of animals annually.

The clinic hopes to combat this problem by offering low-cost sterilization to encourage pet owners to spay and neuter their animals.

Owner Diane Dietch-Silberman is an adoption advocate, and ensures that every animal placed out of their center is sterilized.

“If we miss even one animal without seeing to it that she or he is spayed or neutered, we are turning our backs on potentially thousands of unwanted animals and more than likely condemning them to terrible fates,” Dietch-Silberman says.

With this year’s success, the clinic hopes to continue to promote its mission: helping the animal population by helping humans to be responsible owners.