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Real men neuter their best friends - Hooters steps up for United Action for Animals
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Anthony, a neutered pit bull, gets some lovin' from
Hooters waitresses in New York City
Courtesy of Jen Panton
Call it stubborn pride or male anxiety, but mention neutering Fido in front of a man and he will likely cringe. And it doesn’t take a Rhodes Scholar to figure out why. Since the ancient Spartans fought with swords and had six-pack abs (that wasn’t just in "300," was it?) the male libido has been associated with courage, strength, power, tail wagging and all things manly.
So when your average Joe finds out that his beloved Fido should have his manhood snipped off, well, it can be a bit disconcerting. Which is not to say that all females neuter their animals, they don’t. But men are more likely to have an awkward, knee-jerk reaction when it comes to castrating Fido.
Yes, neutering your dog means that there will be nothing to “show” between Fido’s legs. However, they now make a product called "Neuticles," which are synthetic canine implants that make it look like Fido is still intact!
Among other reasons, but perhaps most importantly, neutering your dog won’t contribute to the pet-overpopulation problem in this country -- one in which four to five million animals get euthanized yearly.
Animal Care and Control of New York City serves as a mandatory intake center that takes in roughly 110 animals per day, nearly half of which get euthanized for space constraints and the lack of loving homes.
That’s exactly why United Action for Animals, a non-profit animal advocacy group based in New York City, is hosting their inaugural Bet for Pets Casino Night at Marquee Night Club on October 1st. Proceeds from the fundraising event are dedicated to ending NYC’s animal over-population problem by setting up free and low-cost spay neuter clinics in the outer boroughs of NYC.
Jen Panton, the President of United Action for Animals and a former employee and current volunteer of AC&C, hopes the planned spay/neuter clinics will help prevent further litters and unwanted animals from arriving at AC&C, and thereby alleviate the massive flow of unwanted dogs and cats entering their shelters.
Panton states that for the event to be successful, United Action for Animals will need community support in attendance. She promises that the fun-filled casino night will include celebrities, a side walk adoption, free drinks and hors d’oeuvres, silent auction and more.
United Action for Animals has even joined forces with a local Hooters restaurant to host the event. Several Hooters waitresses dubbed “Hooters for Neuters,” will be lending their sex-appeal to the spay/neuter cause.
The “Hooters for Neuters” campaign uses the slogan, “Real men neuter their best friends.” The campaign targets men who otherwise may not consider having their male dogs altered and has been replicated by animal welfare agencies throughout the United States with great success.
The Hooters for Neuters volunteers will be selling raffle tickets and “snip-chips,” United Action for Animals’ appropriately coined name for the events “funny money,” since all proceeds will go toward the free and low-cost spay/neuter clinics in the Big Apple.
Hooters’ is not a stranger when it comes to lending a hand in the community. “While this may be our first foray into the animal welfare community in New York City, we’ve also participated in the Jerry Lewis muscular dystrophy telethon, have worked with the Ronald McDonald House, and will be doing an event to benefit children with AIDS as well as an event to raise breast cancer awareness at Madame Tussauds,” said Will LeBas, the general manager of Hooters of Manhattan.
Like many men, Mr. LeBas was unable to vocalize his thoughts on castration, but he does agree that there are a magnitude of reasons why your dog should be neutered. Those reasons boil down into two categories: behavioral or medical.
Decreasing aggression, decreasing your dog’s chances of roaming when they sense a female in heat, decreasing urine marking, and increasing your dog’s concentration or attention span are among the behavioral advantages of neutering.
The medical reasons for neutering your dog are even more advantageous – it rules out the possibility of testicular tumors, will result in far fewer hernias, perianal tumors and even prostate problems.
There are also a lot of misconceptions associated with spaying and neutering your dog. Among them are that altering makes a dog fat, it makes a dog lazy, it changes their personality and that it is a good thing for children to see the miracle of birth.
As for the miracle of birth, United Action for Animals advocates that bringing more puppies into a world already overburdened with millions of homeless dogs is not the best way to show your children the birth process or the value of life. “The real miracle is in preserving the lives of homeless animals,” said Panton. “Preventing the birth of some pets can save the lives of others,” she added.
For more info and to buy your tickets: http://www.ua4a.org/Events.html - Marquee is located at 289 Tenth Avenue between 26 and 27th streets; event starts at 6:30 p.m. on October 1st
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