Feeling bad about having Daisy neutered.
It took many months for me to decide whether or not to have Daisy spayed, but only a few minutes for the guilt trip to start.
First, the vet. When collecting Daisy immediately after the operation, the vet said “What a pity! We were all discussing in the operating room what a handsome, fit, lean and even-tempered dog Daisy is and what a lovely litter she could have produced”. Wrong thing to say! What possible purpose did she have in telling me this? To praise my dog? If so, it backfired and I told her so.
Next, friends telling me it is morally wrong to “interfere and intervene” surgically in a fit dog and subject her to such a major ordeal etc.
So, I’m going through a bit of self-examination at the moment, questioning my motive (I didn’t want to breed from her as I don’t think I have the necessary qualities and patience to whelp a litter). But it’s too late to do anything about it now, so that’s that.
But it doesn’t stop me feeling guilty (and selfish) that I may have done the wrong thing and that the pain she is now in could and maybe should have been avoided, leaving aside depriving her of being able to do the most natural thing in the world – have little Daisies.