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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth and Indy on October 16, 2012 at 12:40pm

That's a great idea on asking the vet to do the blood workup there and then going to the clinic. I know my vet has done blood work before, but I don't know what she tested for. It was just his puppy check-up. 

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Permalink Reply by Julia on October 16, 2012 at 1:54am

Hi, Elizabeth. I work at a shelter. We do about a gazillion spay/neuters a day, cats, dogs and rabbits.  We have vets on staff as well as techs. Once a month is our "spay day" when we do the low-cost surgeries for the public. It is for low income people. On those days there are volunteers in addition to our staff. It's kind of an assembly line on those days.

No, we don't do bloodwork or send home pain meds. I don't think the boys need it, anyway. They seem to bounce back easily. Girls and bunnies are another story. On the one hand it may seem impersonal, with the number of surgeries going on. On the other hand, you know our vets have a LOT of experience because of the number of surgeries.

My job is adoptions, so I see the animals on their way out of the shelter, often the same day of their surgeries. I stress to new adopters what to watch for from the anesthetic, and after-care of the surgery site. Follow-up care is to be done by the owners' own vet, although we are available on the phone for questions and worries. Stitches are dissolvable. Our clinic is clean and  up to date. I don't feel that our services are any less safe than what you would get at a vet's office. What you don't get is someone you know at the clinic, bloodwork and pain meds for the girls, and the follow up, which you should get from your own vet if necessary.

As Lemmy Winks suggested, ask around about your own humane society. Funding and staffing varies from place to place, and I can only describe what goes on here.

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth and Indy on October 16, 2012 at 12:44pm

Thanks for the input. Where we are, the service is for anyone, not just low income. Someone else mentioned that as well. I'm guessing that is some sort of state to state type of thing. It's good to hear that males recover pretty quickly. Since my husband and I both work, I was worried about his care for the few days after the surgery. 

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Permalink Reply by Carrie Baxter on October 16, 2012 at 3:35pm

It really depends on the clinic.  We called several until we found one which offered pain meds and additional services.  Our Ryno cost us over $400 and Wrigley was $85.  The extra $315 was better spent on other Corgi necessities!  They get their shots there now as it is 30% of what our vet charges.  I just cannot see paying $300 for the same thing we can get for $90.  I actually told my vet why, and she was very understanding.

 

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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth and Indy on October 16, 2012 at 10:04pm

That's what I was thinking as well. My only concern was if it really was the same thing. From what I have found out from friends and others, the Humane Society in our area is safe and they do a nice job. Thanks for the input! 

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Permalink Reply by Emily Trupiano on October 16, 2012 at 10:05pm

It's not the same thing. There is a lot more involved then pain medication. Veterinarians actually do not make a huge profit on routine surgeries.

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Permalink Reply by Sidney and Angie on October 16, 2012 at 3:43pm

I got Angie and my cat Shadow fixed at a low cost spay/neuter place and it was just fine. they didn't have any pain issues or anything.

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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth and Indy on October 16, 2012 at 10:04pm

That's good to hear. Thank you!

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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth and Indy on October 16, 2012 at 10:04pm

Haha! I think I would be a little confused too! :) 

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Permalink Reply by Emily Trupiano on October 16, 2012 at 10:03pm

It's definitely worth it to pay more at your regular vet versus the humane societies. I used to not understand why vets charged so much, until I started working at one. Now I'm horrified that I had even considered going the cheap route with my previous pets. 

The reason why low cost clinics and humane societies charge so little is because they are cutting out important things like:

1. pre anesthetic bloodwork. This tells you if your pet is safe to go under anesthesia. For instance, today we did pre-op bloodwork on a dog and saw that the white blood cell count was pretty high, which indicates infection. If we didn't do the bloodwork and spayed the dog anyway, that would have been pretty risky.

2. IV fluids and cathater. If there were complications during the surgery, the catheter and fluids are already on board to keep the dog or cat hydrated and to easily dispense emergency drugs. When animals have been under for awhile, their veins collapse and are difficult to locate. So if a catheter/fluids weren't in place before the surgery, it's kinda difficult to do during the surgery.

3. Pre-surgical pain medication and post surgical pain medication. (This is most critical for spays and canine neuters). 

4. At a good veterinary hospital (there are sketchy ones too, unfortunately) A technician or assistant will be there to monitor your pets blood pressure, temperature, respiration, etc. You would think that a low cost clinic does too, but unfortunately this is often not the case. 

5. A reliable veterinary office only schedules a few surgeries per doctor a day. Multiple staff members work as a team to ensure the dog's safety. At low cost clinics and humane societies, they will spay and neuter dozens and dozens of animals a day. It's often set up in an assembly line. They spay or neuter the dog, (while not hooked up to any monitoring equiptment) and when they're done they put them back in their cage. 

6. Sterility. Some of these places just aren't very sterile for surgery. At my work, we've had to "fix" quite a few botched surgeries done at low cost clincs. Infected surgical sites. Often dogs and cats will get upper respitory infection at low cost clinics or humane societies. A reliable vet will require that all dogs/cats undergoing surgery are fully vaccinated, healthy, and free of parasites. At a clinic you don't know what your dog will be next to. If your pet gets sick or the surgery gets botched, you may end up paying $270-400 anyway in additional vet bills! 

While I can't speak for every veterinary hospital, but at my work, we watch animals like a hawk after surgery. We wrap them in warm blankets when they wake up. We take their temperatures constantly to make sure they are warm enough to go home. If an animal wakes up scared or dysphoric, we are right there to make sure the animal doesn't thrash around in the cage or hurt itself. 

Ok I wrote a lot! Haha. Surgery is just a big deal, and I want you to know that there is definitely a difference. You pay for what you get. I really truly think it's worth it!

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Permalink Reply by Chloe's parent Liz on October 17, 2012 at 12:28am

Chloe was spayed at SPCA in our area, chipped too.  I think she had a good experience.  The staff was very good to us, and helped me put on her cone of shame.

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Permalink Reply by Julia on October 17, 2012 at 2:10am

Emily got me to thinking, what is the advantage to a humane society surgery, aside from the cost?

There is a philosophical/cultural/ethical (any more words?) aspect that has very little to do with Elizabeth's question. I live in an area that does not have the horrible overcrowding of shelters that leads to high euth rates due to time limits. There aren't packs of feral dogs running around. We have the resources to treat ill and injured animals in order to make them adoptable. We even take in transfers from shelters in other counties and states when they are overcrowded. Why the difference between here and, say, Texas? (We do take transfers from Texas.)

Among other factors, there are three organizations here that offer free/low cost spays and neuters to pets and feral cats. These groups also raise the awareness of the importance of s/n. I really do think this makes a difference in the stray population, as well as unwanted litters.

As I said, this has nothing to do with the original question, just my mind going off on a tangent. Do I ever give the impression that I live in the New Zealand of the Midwest? ;)

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