We provide low-cost, quality spay and neuter surgeries for our community and local rescue groups. What to expect:
To schedule an appointment: We ask that you stop by the clinic in advance to fill out the surgical consent form and pre-pay for the procedure in order to reserve a spot. We accept cash, check, or credit card. You will then be placed on our schedule and we will go over the pre-operative
instructions at this time. You can also find a lot of that information right here on our page as a refresher! Though we will be in the clinic from 8 am -5 pm Monday through Thursday, our receptionist will only be available from 1 pm-5 pm Monday through Thursday for office hours. This is in an effort to keep overhead costs to a minimum. Outside of this time, our doors will be locked. Be sure to mark your calendar with the appointment date, as we will not be giving reminder calls. Proof of up-to-date rabies vaccination is required. Bring this with you when you come to fill out paperwork and pre-pay, so that we can make a copy for our record. If no proof or no prior vaccination, it is required by law that the animals get vaccinated on the day of surgery ($21). Bring the original, signed rabies certificate or other proof of vaccination with you to the clinic. A rabies tag is NOT an acceptable proof of vaccination. If the animal is deemed too young (less than 12 weeks of age) for a Rabies vaccination, they obviously are exempt. You are welcome to bring any other medical records with you to help us determine your pet’s other vaccination needs, but that is not a requirement. Be sure to keep your rabies certificates given on the day of vaccination, as we will NOT be able to provide additional copies. Who is eligible? All of our services are available to anyone regardless of financial status on a first come first serve basis. Once you have filled out your paperwork and paid for the procedure you are set! Animals over the age of 8 weeks and at least 2 pounds are eligible for surgery. The smaller guys will go first in our daily schedule to allow them to get additional nutrition to support their blood sugar sooner. Any animal over the age of 8 years is recommended to have bloodwork with their regular veterinarian for clearance prior to surgery. This does not mean that they cannot be considered for surgery, but can increase the risk you assume for anesthesia, as older animals are more likely to have undiagnosed underlying health concerns that they may not be symptomatic for yet. We are not performing surgery on any animal over 80 pounds at this time. Other services: When your pet is here for surgery, we do offer limited additional services. Vaccinations: In addition to the rabies vaccination, we do offer a few other additional vaccinations. Considered a core vaccination in both the cat and dog, we offer distemper vaccinations. These are a combination shot that includes protection against canine distemper, canine parvovirus, infectious canine hepatitis, respiratory disease caused by CAV-2, and canine parainfluenza in dogs and feline viral rhinotracheitis, respiratory disease caused by feline calicivirus, and feline panleukopenia in cats. If your pet has never received this vaccination before or it was never appropriately boostered, it will require a booster vaccination in 3-4 weeks after administration. Due to the scope of our clinic, we unfortunately are not able to give booster vaccinations and you should follow up with your regular veterinarian for this service. Puppies and kittens may require additional boosters in their vaccination series depending on when they receive their first dose. The other core canine vaccination we offer is bordetella, which is to aid in the prevention of a contagious respiratory disease commonly referred to as “kennel cough”. Every quarter in the year, we will be hosting a Rabies and Microchip clinic on a Saturday. We will send out additional information about these clinics when the dates are set. This is a good option for maintaining an up-to-date rabies vaccination in an animal that has already been spayed or neutered. For parasite control, we offer a broad spectrum dewormer to rid your pet of intestinal parasites. This is an oral medication that we will send home with you. If you would like to purchase topical flea and tick prevention from us, that is also available! If we find that an animal has fleas on the day of surgery, it will be required that they get flea medication. We will have a large number of animals coming and going throughout the week, and we want to limit the transmission of a nuisance such as fleas, and thus must treat them immediately when present. General minor grooming services that are available include: ear cleaning, nail trim, and a**l gland expression. While they are under anesthesia, it is a good time to get their nails trimmed especially if it is not something they enjoy. Many people are familiar with microchipping as a way to track lost pets. It is an additional service that we offer and highly recommend! They will receive their microchip while under anesthesia for their surgery and the initial registration will be started by us. You will get their identification information to keep and access to be able to adjust for any information changes such as change in address or phone number. If you are bringing a community cat to be spayed or neutered and plan to release it back into the community, make sure to request an ear tipping. This process is a universal way for others to know that this animal has already undergone surgery without having to trap the animal and further assess. Leading up to appointment: All animals should have their evening meal as usual the night before surgery. They can have water available up until they are dropped off to our clinic. If your pet is young (8-16 weeks) we recommend giving them a SMALL snack the morning of surgery (no more than ⅓ of their normal meal), as their metabolism is faster. If your pet eats an entire regular meal prior to drop-off, they will be declined for surgery that day. If you need to reschedule your appointment, you must give us at least a 24 hour notice. If no appropriate notice is given or you fail to show up for the scheduled appointment, your pre-payment will be considered a donation to the shelter. We have to maintain a tight schedule to make sure we are able to take care of as many animals as possible, as well as keep costs to a minimum, and not showing up for surgery is very detrimental to the process. Day of appointment: Drop-offs for appointments start at 8:15 am. Please allow about 30 minutes to ensure that drop-off goes smoothly. We will briefly reiterate the surgical consent information and ensure we have a good way of staying in contact with you throughout the day. Bring your cat in a secure, hard plastic carrier. Labeling the carrier ahead of time with your pet’s name and your phone number is a bonus that we would greatly appreciate! If you do not have a suitable carrier, we do have carriers available to rent for $20 (refundable upon return of the carrier.) Be sure to bring all dogs on a secure leash that they cannot easily slip out of. If they are known to be a flight risk, are skittish, or apprehensive around new people, it’s okay to give us a heads up so we can take necessary extra precautions and they feel as comfortable as possible with us. Pre-operative exam: Prior to anesthesia for their spay or neuter, each animal will be examined by the veterinarian to ensure that every animal is apparently healthy. If any concerns are identified on this exam, you will receive a call to discuss further, and surgery may be delayed or cancelled. This is not to be difficult, but for the safety of your animals. Heart murmurs, skin infections, upper respiratory infections, and cryptorchidism (only 1 descended testicle) are a few examples of concerns that may arise on the pre-operative exam. It is recommended that any animal over the age of 8 years old have bloodwork with their regular veterinarian for clearance prior to surgery with us, otherwise you are assuming a potential increased risk of anesthesia. If you know of any pre-existing conditions with your pet, please bring up this information at drop-off. You know your pet best, so help us help you. If you know that your pet has been in heat, recently weaned a litter, or is currently pregnant, definitely let us know! If it is found that your animal is indeed pregnant at time of surgery, this will accrue additional costs. During surgery: Your pet will either be spayed or neutered during the day of their appointment with us. They will have pain medication in their system at the time of surgery and will undergo general anesthesia for a short period of time while their procedure takes place. Often times some of their anesthesia will be reversed to aid in their recovery. They will be wrapped in a little kitty or doggie burrito to help them maintain a warm temperature postoperatively. Their stitches will be under the skin and will absorb over time. What exactly is a spay or neuter? Ovariohysterectomy or the typical “spay” involves removal of the female reproductive tract including both ovaries to the uterus. Orchiectomy or the typical “neuter” involves removal of both te**es from the male dog or cat. They will also receive a small green tattoo near their incision. It is about ½ inch long and a straight line. It may fade a little after it heals, but will be a permanent identification that your pet has been spayed or neutered. This would only really be an issue if your pet were lost or in a shelter without its medical history, but with the newer suture materials that dissolve it is difficult or impossible sometimes to feel whether a female has been spayed. If they had surgery at a young age, there is often no scar to see. In male dogs, without identifying a scar or tattoo, it may be assumed that their testicles never dropped into the scrotal sac (cryptorchid). Ultimately we want to prevent unnecessary surgery with a simple permanent identifying mark. Discharge: No animals will be kept at the clinic overnight. We will discharge each day’s surgery patients between 3:30 pm and 4 pm. If you fail to pick them up during this time, they will stay overnight at the clinic for an additional cost. There is no staff on site after closing overnight, therefore it is imperative that they are picked up. After closing on Thursday, if any animal is not picked up, they will be transported to the HSWC shelter for pick up on Friday as the clinic is closed that day. They may still be a little groggy after their procedure, but that should be transient and resolve within the next few hours. They likely got a small snack after surgery, but you can offer them a small amount of food when you get them home and settled. All animals receive supportive fluids under the skin after surgery to help keep them hydrated. Anesthesia can sometimes make them nauseous, so if they don’t want to eat right away or if they vomit the food you offer them, give them more time before offering any additional food. Be sure to give them their regular diet as any further changes (treats, people food, etc) to entice them to eat too early may further upset their bellies. All animals will receive a pain injection during their time with us. Both dog neuters and spays will go home with a few days of additional oral pain medications that do not need to be started until the following day. Post-op recovery period: Your pet will be healing for the next 10-14 days so it is important to keep them separated from other rambunctious housemates and limit their exercise. They should not be running or jumping during this time. All walks should be controlled leash walks to ensure that something does not spark their attention and cause havoc. You should monitor their incision for any excessive redness, swelling, or irritation. If you have any concerns, feel free to call us during business hours or send an email with a picture of a minor incision concern. If the concern cannot easily be addressed, you will be referred to a full service veterinary clinic to ensure your pet can be fully examined and treated. If you have concerns outside of our normal business hours, or you have major concerns (excessive bleeding, lethargy, weakness, severe swelling, etc) contact the local emergency clinics and have your pet seen immediately. Your pet should not lick or scratch at its incision during this healing time. It can be very detrimental to their healing and cause an infection. Dogs are often more so the culprits over cats, but any animal that is irritating their incision post-operatively needs an e-collar. We have them for purchase for $10 and some animals may require an e-collar, per the veterinarian’s discretion, especially if they are trying to irritate their incision while still in our care. If you have your own e-collar or would rather purchase one from the pet store, feel free to bring it with you. No one enjoys the “cone of shame” but tolerating it for a few days will prevent more future frustration and prolonged recovery. No bathing or swimming is permitted in this 10-14 day time frame either. You will get a full list of post-operative instructions on the day of their surgery, but this is a glimpse into what to prepare for. If the animal that is in your care for recovery is a trapped community cat that you plan to release, you must keep them in a contained, sheltered area at least overnight. After going under anesthesia, animals can still be drowsy and have difficulty regulating their temperature which would make them an easy target to predators and potentially be detrimental to their survival. Interested in helping others? We are launching a Spay-it-Forward campaign to assist those that may not be able to otherwise afford surgery for their pet. You can contribute as little as $1 towards this program and together we can make a difference. As this fund grows, we will be able to further assist the community in combating the overwhelming pet population. Have more questions? Feel free to reach out via messenger during business hours (Monday-Thursday 8 am-5 pm).
