Dog's Vasectomy Reversed

Breakthrough Could Allow Zoos To Keep Animals Happily Together

(AP) 
Vasectomies on zoo and wildlife species up to this point were designed for permanent contraception, said Paul Calle, senior veterinarian with New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society and a scientific adviser to the contraception center.

This was done with the intention of reversing it, which opens more opportunities for wildlife management, he said.

The method is not controversial, he said, but reflects a shift in zoos' focus to selective reproduction as the world's wild areas disappear.

Brent's pups — Mariana, Turi and Sherman — will probably go on public display next week.

On Tuesday, after being vaccinated and weighed, the pups were returned to their waiting parents in the zoo's makeshift den, where they pawed at their dad's mouth to indicate they were hungry. He chews their food before giving it to them.