Responsible Animal Owners of Tennessee advocate VOLUNTARY spay neuter programs. We do not support MANDATORY laws.  We believe, as an owner, you have the sole responsibility to determine whether or not a medical procedure is in the best interest of your pet.  This, further, is a decision that you should only make after consultation with your vet to ensure you are fully informed about the pluses and minuses of the surgery in regard to your pet.  Strangers who don't know you or your pet should not have the right to make, or make, decisions about medical procedures for your pet that you have to pay for when they do not know you, your circumstances, or your pet's needs.  Also, as the city is taking away your pet's reproductive ability, it should have to compensate you for that loss and/or pay for you to have your pet spayed or neutered by the veterinarian of your choice. 

There is a great deal of misleading information available on this subject, so we put together a presentation that would give you the full picture.  If this is the first time you have heard anything negative associated with mandatory spay neuter laws, rest assured there are many.  To learn more about such laws, go to The Truth. Be patient, it is a PDF file and takes a minute or so to load.

Know the numbers!  You cannot discuss the problems intelligently unless you know what you are talking about and how we compare to other communities.  Click here for MAS shelter stats.  BUT, under no circumstances should this be considered a negative reflection on the shelter or its staff -- they are woefully underfunded and understaffed and misdirected by a misguided administration and city council who mistakenly turned to animal rights' extremists for "expert" advice!

Certain people are willing to do anything to force their opinions on you, including make up facts and numbers.  They use false numbers for its emotional impact and to and to guilt you and elected officials into supporting ill-advised legislation.  To learn more about these folks, go to www.caare101.org. 

Now that you know what an animal rights' activist is, let's take a cursory look at their numbers in relation to real world statistics which reveals them to be astronomically false!  Read Where are 3 trillion cats & dogs? to learn how they twist numbers to manipulate you into supporting, and our elected officials into enacting, laws that are against our best interests even though a huge pet shortage is on the horizon!

Contrary to the huge and growing population crisis that we hear about constantly, the sinister truth is that there is a very limited and diminishing number of available animals in shelters and from breeders.  The numbers are shrinking so rapidly that, in the near future, obtaining a pet dog or cat will be difficult, if not impossible, especially if you want a purebred and/or are not wealthy!  Read PET UNDERPOPULATION to learn about the impending shortage of cats and dogs.     

That being said, not every pet should be bred.  Most owners are simply ill-equipped to deal with a litter of puppies or kittens, especially if the litter is unplanned.  Even planned, a litter of puppies or kittens is far more responsibility than the average person or family is prepared to cope with much less handle well.  Every pet that does not get the responsible care it deserves when young has the potential to grow up with problems, much like human children do. 

We are only opposed to MANDATORY laws.  We also encourage the spay neuter of all shelter and rescue animals prior to placement and voluntary spay neuter of most family pets.  We encourage and support VOLUNTARY spay neuter and voluntary spay neuter initiatives and programs.  Locally, there are two excellent programs.  One is the Spay in the City program that takes information and low-cost spay neuter vouchers into the very areas that most need assistance. The other is Mid-South Spay & Neuter Services which offers affordable spay neuter services.  (If you live outside the Memphis area and your city does not have a similar program(s), start one. The very best programs also vaccinate and treat pets for parasites.)  Both of these programs need and deserve your support!   

While most of us agree one should not own a pet unless one can provide for it, in reality there a many reasons people end up with pets that they cannot provide even minimal medical care for.  We can blame the people and the animal suffer, or we can TAKE THE HIGH ROAD AND HELP THESE OWNERS GET THE HELP THEY NEED TO KEEP THEIR ANIMALS HEALTHY!

if you are unfamiliar with the NO-KILL movement, we encourage you to visit these websites to learn more about it:

http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org/

http://www.nathanwinograd.com/

http://www.nokillmemphis.org/

Then, we are sure you, too, will promote and support a NO-Kill city shelter in Memphis. Those against the no-kill movement range from too lazy to try something new to murderers who have a vested interest in the continued killing because, after all, where will their funding come from if the unwanted animal problem is solved?  You will hear that we "can't adopt our way out of this program" -- that is a VICIOUS LIE that kills more animals, other cities have gone no-kill.  There is no reason Memphis cannot do so. 

And, finally, do your part to reduce the number of animals being killed!  If a shelter pet is suitable for your home, adopt one and/or donate the funds for a spay/neuter procedure (or even part of a procedure) to a local organization that provides low cost services.  There are owners who want the procedure for their pet but cannot afford to have it done.  If you have the time, provide free transport for animals to and from spay neuter programs because the very people who need the service the most often do not have access to them even if they can afford the procedure.

On 09/28/10 the Memphis City Council enacted 3 mandatory spay/neuter laws, with the possibility of a fourth being added.  Here is the tentative final copy of the 3 laws, which will become final October 12, when the minutes are approved by the City Council and after appropriate signatures are obtained:

Misguided Mandatory Laws

Please check back around the middle of October for an analysis
 of the problems inherent in the laws.

We will meet with an attorney in the near future to discuss a challenge to the laws.

We will be updating this site as additional information becomes available.

RESPONSIBLE ANIMAL OWNERS OF TENNESSEE