My two dogs are not spayed.  This is not because I believe they should be intact, necessarily, but because the cost of spaying them is so darned prohibitive.  We have a fenced yard out in the country, so we are able to control access to them by other dogs, thankfully, but even in the city I am not certain I could spay them.

We had dogs a few years ago that we took in to be spayed and have their dew claws removed.  There were just two dogs, one weighing 10 pounds and the other about 30.  I am told the cost of spaying depends on their weights, but these were not large dogs by any means.  The total cost for those two services?  A whopping $500.  I was appalled, to say the least.  In a procedure that takes very little time and is completely standard, I can see no reason for such ridiculous charges.While I am not saying the cost is an excuse to be irresponsible with your pets, many people simply cannot afford such exorbitant prices to spay their dogs.  I am certain I am not the only one who opts to manage my dogs during their heat cycles rather than pay to have them spayed.  Sure, an accident might happen, but the odds of it are pretty slim in our remote area.

Not spaying means we must take measures to keep our pets from being exposed to other intact dogs, because that is part of being a responsible pet owner.  That said, we should not judge too harshly those who do not spay their animals.  We can't know their personal financial situations, and those who say you shouldn't have a dog if you can't afford to care for it have obviously never been faced with a $500 bill for trying to be responsible.