The Importance of Spay and Neuter: Amanda’s Story

Greater Good Charities’ Good Fix program has dedicated over 66,000 professional volunteer hours to spay and neuter more than 58,000 cats and dogs.

Sterilizing pets has a wide impact, benefiting communities, shelters, pet owners, and the pets themselves. Without this crucial medical care, we hear stories like Amanda’s.

Meet Amanda

Amanda is the result of an unplanned breeding between a male pit bull and a Yorkshire terrier mother.

The dog owners were aware their pit bull had bred with the small terrier, but they did not believe pregnancy was possible due to the size difference.

Sadly, not only did she become pregnant, but she also suffered during labor because of the single puppy’s large size. The owners rushed her to an emergency veterinarian once they realized that natural delivery would endanger both the mother and baby Amanda.

Photo © Helping Paws Animal Rescue

Vets performed emergency surgery, and both pets survived.

The owners realized they could not take care of all three dogs and chose to relinquish little Amanda to a shelter, where she became yet another neonate in need of intensive care due to unplanned breeding.

Thankfully, the shelter had bottle-baby-trained foster families to give Amanda another chance at life.

Amanda Now

Against all odds, Amanda is now thriving in her foster home, cared for by a loving family while she waits for her forever home. At just three weeks old, she has already started potty training and is enjoying snuggling and playing. Greater Good Charities has supported Amanda by providing nutritious food through our Goods Program, helping her grow big and strong. 

Photo © Helping Paws Animal Rescue

While Amanda's story has a happy ending, it is a stark reminder of the risks of not spaying and neutering pets. Both Amanda's and her mother's lives were put at risk due to the lack of sterilization, and many similar stories do not have a happy outcome. The good news is these risks are preventable. Spaying and neutering pets saves lives and prevents animal suffering. 

Saving Lives with Spay/Neuter

Good Fix, a program of Greater Good Charities, deploys specially trained, high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter surgical teams and professional trapping teams to help control pet overpopulation in communities most in need, all free of charge. 

Good Fix also provides vaccination services for owned and community pets. It educates community members on the importance of spaying/neutering and traps, neutering, and return.

Ultimately, Good Fix reduces human-animal conflict, lowers shelter intake, and alleviates the burden on animal shelters to euthanize unwanted pets.