The seven-month-old was desexed on Friday, a procedure owner Sue Lembo said was part of planning when Lenny first came home.

"I was never going to breed from him and I didn't get him with the intentions of breeding," she said.

"I did some research about the positives on desexing dogs.

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"Some of the information I found was the dogs can have a lot less health issues and can be calmer as they get older.

"He is really well socialied and I didn't want to have the hormones running through his body which can lead to dogs trying to wander."

Mrs Lembo said she "couldn't be happier" with the service from Stawell Veterinary Clinic despite feeling anxious when dropping Lenny off for his procedure.

"There are always thoughts about if it is the right thing to do or the what would life be like if I didn't do it," she said.

"But at the end of the day, the unknown is outweighed by all the information out there which suggests it is better for the animal in the long run."

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Mrs Lembo said she Lenny had been a welcoming distraction to all the news surrounding coronavirus.

"We did have a dog that we adopted through Adoptables previously," she said.

"We had to put it down and it was the most horrific thing and I vowed never to have another dog again.

"But now my kids were all grown up and I knew I had some time on my hands and could offer a loving home for a new puppy."

September is national desexing month and Northern Grampians Shire Council is encouraging pet owners to get their animals sterilised to reduce the number of litters of unwanted dogs and cats in the shire

Each year council receives many found or surrendered entire dogs and cats, and sometimes their young, into the animal shelter.

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Of all the animals received into the Stawell Animal Shelter every year, on average only 30 per cent of them have been desexed which is very concerning considering how rapidly undesexed animals, particularly cats, can reproduce.

The sheer number of animals council receives often means that many of these dogs, cats, and their offspring need to be destroyed because there are not enough people in the community who can take them on as pets.

Getting pets desexed has many benefits aside from eliminating their capacity to reproduce.

Desexing is known to improve an animal's overall health minimising the risk of some cancers, reducing aggressive and antisocial behaviors, and decreasing the urge to roam which leads many animals to end up at the shire's animal shelter.

Stawell Veterinary Clinic is the sole provider of desexing services in the shire. They can also microchip pets to help reunite them with their owners if they become lost.

Northern Grampians Shire Mayor Cr Murray Emerson encouraged all residents to jump on board the initiative.

"We cannot understate the benefits to the community of animal desexing," he said.

"Every year, particularly in spring, our animal shelter is overrun with unwanted dogs, cats and their litters.

"Cats in particular are problematic for the impact they have on our rare fauna in the Grampians and surrounds.

"We encourage all residents to be responsible with pet ownership, embrace this campaign and get their pets desexed this month."

If residents require further information on animal surrender, adoption or desexing they are encouraged to contact the community safety team on 03 5358 8700.

Residents interested in adopting an animal are welcome to browse the current list of animals at www.ngshire.vic.gov.au/Animal-services.

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