SPAYING AND NEUTERING FACTS:
*Neutering males is as important as spaying females.  One male can father many more puppies or kittens than any female can give birth to over a lifetime.  Neutering reduces the risks involved with "roaming". It also reduces fighting and aggressive behavior and spraying. 
*Spayed and neutered animals tend to live longer since the risk of many cancers and other disorders is prevented or reduced.  Since neutering reduces the urge to "roam", many animals have a much longer lifespan because they are not running free, crossing streets and getting hit by cars, ingesting poisons, etc.
*Animals have no emotional need to reproduce. They don't suffer emotionally from being neutered. Their personality does not depend on motherhood... or fatherhood. They don't get fat and lazy after being neutered or spayed if they get proper diet and exercise. The health risks of spaying and neutering far outweigh the slight risk involved with the surgery.
*You may think that if your dog or cat has puppies or kittens you can find homes for them yourself but remember this: Many times there are 4, 5, 6, 7 or more offspring involved. Until it's time to find homes, you need to care for them all. You need to help feed them, train them, pay for the food, veterinary care - including worming and shots - and supplies...  And when it comes time to find homes... what if you can't? There are only so many homes to go around.

*Think about this. It has been shown in animal welfare studies that more than 11 million animals a year are taken into animal shelters. Only about 4 million are adopted or returned to their home...  That leaves 7 million animals left to be care for by only 6,400 shelters across the nation. There are approximately 5,500 animals born each hour in the United States. This is a massive over-population problem and spaying and neutering is essential in reducing the birth rate.
*If you think the cost of owning and caring for one or two animals is high, the cost of running an animal shelter is staggering. The animals need medical care, good food, vaccinations, operations and more. The buildings cost money to maintain and operate, heat and cool. The monetary expense is high....   emotional expense is even higher. Every day - day in and day out - the shelter staff and volunteers must deal with abused animals, sick and dying animals, the emotional stress involved with the possibility of having to euthanize animals and more heartbreaking situations than anyone should have to handle.

UNITED STATES FACTS & FIGURES
* Number of cats and dogs born every day in the U.S.: 70,000 (nearly 3,000 born every hour or 50 born every minute)
* Number of stray cats and dogs living in the U.S.: 70 million
* Number of animals in the U.S. that die each year from cruelty, neglect, and exploitation: 30 million
* Number of animal shelters in the U.S.: 4,000 — 6,000
* Number of cats and dogs entering U.S. shelters each year: 6 — 8 million
* Number of cats and dogs euthanized by U.S. shelters each year: 3 — 4 million (nearly 10,000 animals killed every day)
* Number of cats and dogs adopted by U.S. shelters each year: 3 — 4 million
* Number of cats and dogs reclaimed by owners from U. S. shelters each year: 600,000-750,000 (10% of total entering shelters — 15—30% of dogs and 2—5% of cats)
* Yearly cost to U.S. taxpayers to impound, shelter, euthanize, and dispose of homeless animals: $2 billion
* Percentage of dogs in U.S. shelters which are purebred: 25 — 30 %
* Average age of animals entering U.S. shelters: under 18 months old
* Percentage of animals entering U.S. shelters that are healthy and adoptable: 90%
* Percentage of owned dogs that were adopted from an animal shelter: 18%
* Percentage of owned cats that were adopted from an animal shelter: 16%
* Percentage of animals entering animal shelters by animal control authorities: 42.5%
* Percentage of animals entering animal shelters that were surrendered by their owners: 30%
* Percentage of people who acquire animals that end up giving them away, abandoning them, or taking them to shelters: 70%
* Percentage of animals surrendered to an animal shelter that were originally adopted from an animal shelter: 20%
* Percentage of animals received by animal shelters that have been spayed or neutered: 10%