#twobarklessdogs

As for spay/neuter, Québec is the worst Canadian province when it comes to puppy mills and general animal welfare. Pets were considered equal as property/furniture up until 2015, when the civil code deemed pets as sensible beings whose 5 basic protections have to be fulfilled (protection from hunger, thirst, protection from illness, etc.).

Every dog leaving a shelter is to be spayed to fight the overpopulation. Since the requirement to produce multiple dogs every year (aka puppy mills) is barely legislated, all you require is a MAPAQ permit and you're good to go! So long as no one complains, MAPAQ leaves you alone. As for byb, they simply sell their pups on kijiji or Craigslist, or on Facebook. Since the dogs aren't usually purebred, they can't register them.

There's a dangerous mentality here that before you spay, you should let your dog experience "the joy of procreating" especially male dogs. It's simply ridiculous, and it produces unwanted litters, and it's gross.

Also, we have one of the lowest, if not THE lowest, ownership span of the country. The average owner keeps their pets 18 months. Yep. A year and a half. From June 1st to July 1st 2017, aka en masse moving, a record 1 915 animals have been surrendered to shelters or abandoned in the street. That's an average of 63 animals PER DAY. In 2016, there were 10.8 THOUSANDS of DOGS abandoned. This year, in September, we were at 10k. That makes 64 shelters throughout Québec share TWENTY EIGHT THOUSAND dogs. Adoption rates are down.

The easy and most efficient solution is to make it illegal yo have an unaltered dog, so people can't breed their dogs "just to experience it once". So cats left on the streets can't breed and contribute to the overpopulation of street cats (which are themselves another problem).

So while I agree that responsible owners shouldn't be forced to alter their pets, the situation of Québec prevents the 'make your own choice' route, if only to help the animals currently alive and in need of homes. A general public education is desperately needed to, but that's not something coming soon.

Wow, thank you! I’m definitely underfeeding my betta fish because I read what I thought was a reliable source and only feed him 3 - 4 pellets a day! I feel awful :(

He also matches the pavement xD