Spaying and neutering: An antidote to dog bites
Re “Dog lovers feel bite of rejection” (Business, Feb. 8): Pit bulls can’t win. They are the most common type of dog entering Sacramento area animal shelters. And now, people interested in adopting pit bulls or pit bull mixes are being denied homeowners insurance because this type of dog is often involved in dog bite claims.
Spaying and neutering can help alleviate this conundrum. First, spaying and neutering can reduce aggression. Unaltered dogs are more likely to display dominance, territorial and protective aggressive behavior. Yet, 84 percent of dogs involved in biting incidents over a 10-year period were not spayed or neutered, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association in December 2013. Second, spaying and neutering will reduce the flow of pit bulls into our shelters, where they are difficult to adopt.
Options for low-cost spay/neuter exist in the Sacramento area, and anyone who owns a pit bull should pursue them.
Alexis Raymond, Sacramento
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This story was originally published February 10, 2015 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Spaying and neutering: An antidote to dog bites."