Maryanne Dell: Breast cancer in dogs  Incidence of breast cancer
linked to not spaying.    Maryanne Dell: Breast cancer in dogs
Sandy, whose breast cancer brought home the reminder that we
need to spay our dogs at an early age or face a dreadful disease
when they age.  "The risk of developing mammary gland tumors in
dogs is significantly decreased by ovariohysterectomy at an
early age."  This statement, from a study in the Journal of
Veterinary Internal Medicine, says with big words what I've
known for a long time: Dogs spayed at a young age have a far
less likely chance of developing breast cancer than dogs that
are spayed later in life or not at all.  This isn't ground-
breaking news. In fact, it's pretty common in the veterinary
field. It's one of the reasons vets encourage their clients to
spay their female dogs (the other being, of course, to limit the
number of unwanted dogs in the world, many of whom sadly end up
at shelters where they await uncertain fates).  But I don't know
how well-known this simpl