Spays and Neuters

Spaying or neutering your pet can help them live a longer, healthier life, minimizes behavior problems and helps control the population of unwanted pets.  Did you know that spaying or neutering your dog at the right age lowers the chance of them developing various diseases? Speak with one of our knowledgable veterinarians to identify the best age for your pet to undergo their spay or neuter procedure.  

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, nearly 12,500 puppies are born in the United States each hour. Spaying or neutering your pet eliminates unwanted litters, which contribute to thousands of euthanasia procedures and millions of stray animals.

If you are shopping around for a competitive price on this procedure, be sure to question the type of anesthetic used, the type of pain management provided, the monitoring equipment utilized, and the procedures followed.  

All of our surgery patients have IV catheters placed and receive intravenous fluids throughout the procedure and during the postoperative period. The IV fluids help maintain normal blood pressure and keep your pet well hydrated.  We use several monitoring devices during your pet's anesthetic.  A veterinary technician continually assesses your pet's vital signs (i.e. oxygen level in the blood, carbon dioxide level, ECG/EKG, heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, temperature, and pain) during the procedure. Although the risk of an anesthetic death in a normal healthy pet is very rare, our monitoring devices and procedures allow us to respond to an anesthetic emergency faster. Faster responses can save lives. Please call or visit our hospital to learn more about our spay and neutering procedures.

Your pet's safety and comfort are our primary concerns when performing a spay or neuter.  We use advanced pain management techniques in conjunction with anesthesia to make sure your pet is as comfortable as possible during the procedure and after they are discharged. Our spay and neuter patients receive two or three different injectable pain medications during the procedure and always go home with oral pain medication.  We also perform local anesthetic blocks at the surgical site. We also treat your pet's surgical site with a therapeutic laser to reduce inflammation and speed up healing time.  We tailor the pain management to the needs of each patient.  Proper pain management makes the procedure as comfortable as possible and allows for faster recovery.

Spaying

Spaying (ovariohysterectomy) is a surgical procedure in which both ovaries and the uterus are removed from your female pet.  The surgery is performed while your pet is under general anesthesia.  There are many benefits associated with spaying your female companion. First, spaying will eliminate the sometimes "messy" heat cycles that attract male dogs to your house from miles away.  Second, you will help prevent diseases in your pet such as pyometra (infection in the uterus).  Additionally, spaying has been associated with reduced risk of mammary cancer as well as ovarian and uterine cancers.  Further, spaying is associated with decreased incidence of aggressive behavior.  It can also help alleviate the burden of pet overpopulation.  Finally, research has shown that pets that have been spayed live longer than pets that have not been spayed.

Neutering

Neutering refers to the surgical procedure in which both testicles are removed from your male pet.  Also, referred to as "castration", it is a relatively minor surgical procedure that is performed while your pet is under general anesthesia. There are many benefits associated with neutering your male companion.  First, you will contribute to the prevention of dog and cat overpopulation.  Second, neutering can help decrease aggressive behavior and helps to eliminate undesirable and, at times, embarrassing behavior in your male pet.  Third, you will help prevent diseases in your pet such as infectious diseases, infections and enlargement of the prostate gland, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.

If your pet has an appointment to be spayed or neutered, you will be asked to admit your pet off in the morning and your furry friend will be ready to go home that afternoon or evening.

 There will be additional costs if your pet is in heat or pregnant at the time of surgery, and/or if additional pain medication is required at home.

For additional information, please visit our Pet Health Education - Life Stage Care link.

Please call our friendly staff to learn more about pricing 480 893-0533.