Dear Dr. John,

We recently purchased an adorable Cavapoo; he is now 12 weeks old. As part of the contract, we agreed to neuter him, but we are having second thoughts given how adorable he is. Would we face any legal liability on that if we did not neuter him?

More significantly, it appears that one of his testicles is undescended and in his abdomen. Our veterinarian insists that we should neuter him for that reason regardless of our thoughts of possibly breeding him. The vet said that there are risks associated with not doing the surgery. Could the testicle drop down later? R.N.

Dear R.N.,

The condition that your dog has is more prevalent in small dog breeds, so your finding is not too unusual. Your dog is what is called monorchid where one of his testes did not descend into his scrotal area. Developmentally, testicles originate in the abdomen and migrate down into the scrotum and usually by birth. While possible for the testicles to descend a bit later, it is typically not the case and if they are not present by six months, they will not likely ever appear.

Your veterinarian is completely correct in the advice that you received. You should neuter your dog despite your thoughts of wanting to breed him. Undescended testicles are prone to cancer or torsion. The cancer most commonly associated with undescended testicles is called a Sertoli Cell tumor and undescended testicles have at least a ten times likelihood of becoming cancerous. Secondary clinical signs of this kind of tumor include gynecomastia or breast development, pheromones that attract other male dogs sensing a female, and more severe issues. Additionally, this condition is commonly hereditary so breeding such a dog is not recommended.

As for legal liability by not honoring your contract with the breeder, I am not an attorney and would direct you to legal counsel for answers. Again, I suggest you neuter the dog to prevent any problems. Good luck!

Dr. John de Jong is President of the World Veterinary Association. He owns and operates the Boston Mobile Veterinary Clinic and can be reached at 781-899-9994.