Old Habits

So I had to take Le Puggin in for his yearly heartworm test (which he passed, and is worm free, thank Christ). He's a year and five months old, and I just never have gotten around to getting him snipped. I've told myself all this time that it's because of time constraints and just not having the extra cash free to do it, but in reality, I'm in denial (as usual). It's not about the time or the money. It's about guilt. I've gotten used to him as is, and the thought of sending him away and getting him back a little lighter than before just kinda feels wrong to me.

I'm not sure why this is a sudden issue. I've had cats, and neutered them. But I guess with dogs (and male dogs in particular) it would be more obvious and guilt inducing.

"You really wanna get this done as soon as possible," the vet advised me as he poked and prodded. "They develop habits from carrying these things around."

This just spawned a host of defensive thoughts inside my head: "This is my baby you're talking about. And anyway, I bet YOU'VE developed a few habits carrying YOURS around. And how would you feel about getting them lopped for the good of the race?"

So here I am, in this quandary. It's actually not that unusual for purebred dogs to not be altered. And I could whore, I mean, stud him out for $250.00 each time. Not that I think I could do that either, but still. It might pay for dog food some day in the event we hit the skids.

Any bollocks-lopping guidance the collective blog community could provide would be considered and appreciated.