Spaying or neutering a pet dog is commonplace, and the majority of pet dogs in the United States (some 57.1%) are desexed. The process has some health benefits—in addition to modifying your dog's behaviour, which can make them happier and more manageable in a domestic setting. And then there's also the fact that spaying a female dog will prevent unwanted litters of puppies. But what about when you know that spaying your four-legged girl is the right thing to do, and yet you can't shake the feeling that one day, you might want her to have puppies?
Canine Lifespan
One of the bittersweet aspects of being a dog parent is their relatively short lifespan when compared to a human. Although, once a dog lover, always a dog lover, and so when your pooch departs this world, chances are that you'll want another dog, once you've had time to grieve. And since your dog was the most precious creature to ever walk the face of the earth, chances are you'll want another dog just as wonderful as its predecessor.
Clones and Descendants
Some pet parents take this idea quite literally, wanting an exact replica of their previous dog. If you happen to have the financial resources of Barbra Streisand (whose net worth is around $400 million), you could actually have your dog cloned. This is beyond the means of most people, so those who want a new dog with the best traits of their old dog will often opt to preserve the bloodline. On her 18th birthday in 1944, Queen Elizabeth II was given a corgi who she named Susan. All of the Queen's subsequent corgis are Susan's descendants. But spaying a dog and allowing her to have descendants don't seem like compatible ideas, do they?
Harvesting Ova
It's certainly not going to be anywhere near as expensive as cloning, but you still have options. If, one day, you might want to have another dog as similar as possible to your existing dog, you can have her ova (egg cells) harvested before she is spayed. The timing of the procedure is important since your dog will need to ovulate in order to produce viable ova. The ova are then cryogenically frozen. You will be charged a fee for the extraction and storage of the ova, with additional charges at a later stage if you opt to have an ovum fertilized.
In Vitro Fertilization
An ovum is fertilized with sperm (which can be from a living donor or frozen) to create an embryo, which is then implanted into another female dog for gestation and birth. This is essentially in vitro fertilization and surrogacy for dogs.
Freezing your dog's reproductive tissues isn't for everyone, but for those who want to spay their dog but who might also one day want her puppies, it's a way to achieve both goals.
To learn more about spaying, contact a local veterinarian.
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