This episode is the conclusion to the spay & neuter conversation with Dr. Wheaton. If you listened to the previous episode, you heard: a multitude of fascinating and eye-opening statistics regarding the pet overpopulation and some of the prevalent issues that are commonly seen when pets are not spayed or neutered. No punches were pulled in the first episode...and that holds true in this equally important second episode. (here's a link to that 1st episode in iTunes for you: Spaying & Neutering Part 1 Dr. Wheaton tackles one of the most pervasive myths about the very real effect that letting your female dog undergo even one heat cycle can have on her health. It's an issue that should not be ignored and, unfortunately, is not as well known by pet owners as it should be. We also discussed some recent studies out of Europe and here in California (at Dr. Wheaton's Alma Mater: UC Davis) that showed some very serious results concerning breast cancer. Dr. Wheaton even shed some light on what spaying or neutering too early in a dog's growth cycle can mean for the growth of its limbs. Perhaps oddly and surprisingly: the limbs tend to grow longer (than they otherwise may have), which can lead to lots of ACL issues. Shortly before the detailing of the surgical process here at APCC was given, Dr. Wheaton talked about how important and life-changing it can be for pet owners to get their pet insured. We created a lengthy article on our blog as a written companion piece to this podcast episode. We will do that with the second half of the episode, as well. You can read over that article and share it with others by clicking here. For the article created from the 1st episode, click here. You can learn more about our affordable spay and neuter program we have set up for new clients at www.practicallyfreespays.com You can find us on Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and Periscope with our username @APCCvet. We are on Facebook as Alicia Pet Care Center. You can send any questions and topics you'd like us to discuss on a future episode to wecare@mypetsdr.com. Our hospital's website is www.mypetsdr.com and the podcast website is www.PetTalkPodcast.com. If you want to see some of how the spay and neuter process takes place here at Alicia Pet Care Center, we have multiple videos from our Ford Petersen Spay Days we hold annually to honor a former employee. You can view Spay Day 2014, Spay Day 2015 and Spay Day 2016 by clicking on any of those links to watch. Thanks for listening!