Ethicists’ commentary on deciding whether to proceed with spaying an unexpectedly pregnant animal from a “no-kill” shelter
Ethical question of the month, March 2024
You provide veterinary services to a “no-kill” small animal shelter. A mature female bulldog crossbreed dog is presented for a spay procedure. The history supplied is that the dog was surrendered after numerous complaints about noise bylaw infractions for constant barking by the dog, which was never taken out of a fenced backyard. The dog has some fear-aggression issues and is therefore difficult to examine. Financial constraints of the shelter also limit how much preoperative workup is possible for an animal with an uncertain history. Your anesthesia team is experiencing some difficulty with both induction and maintenance of anesthesia. As you begin the surgery, it is apparent that the dog is pregnant with a large litter of puppies. The shelter manager is telephoned for direction but is unavailable.
How do you proceed? You are concerned about postponing the spay procedure, given the difficulties of both handling and anesthetizing the dog. You know the shelter is at full capacity, so you are concerned about their ability to care for a large litter of puppies. Can you override the expectations of your client in this case and spay the dog, which would effectively euthanize the litter?
Clare Palmer, Peter Sandøe, & Dan Weary comment on this dilemma and you can read it here: Ethicists’ commentary on deciding whether to proceed with spaying an unexpectedly pregnant animal from a “no-kill” shelter (pdf)