Consumer Guide to Spay and Neuter Surgery
If you call around town, you will find a big difference in the prices the various clinics charge to spay or neuter your pet.
The last time we called around town and did a survey, there was nearly a three-fold difference in the price to spay a small dog. The reason for this is that not every clinic does things the same way! Now, this is not what we are used to as humans. When we humans go to the hospital for surgery, we expect that every hospital does things pretty much the same way. Everybody gets their blood pressure monitored, everybody has an IV line in, everybody gets the best pain management there is, etc.
This is not the case in veterinary medicine. There are major differences in how the various clinics do the same procedure. It’s a pretty good bet that Dr. Low-end does things quite a bit differently than Dr. High-end. We’re talking about major differences in
- how pain and anxiety are managed
- how anesthesia is administered
- even in how the surgery itself is done.
At Sunnyside Veterinary Clinic, we focus on making your pet's procedure as safe and pain-free as possible.
We realize each patient and each client are different, so instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, we tailor each patient's protocol to best suit them. Regardless of whatever modifications to each individual plan we might make, we always include:
- Pre-emptive Pain Management, the best in pain and anxiety management
- IV Fluid support on all patients
- A dedicated anesthesia technician
- the best in anesthesia monitoring, including end-tidal CO2, O2 saturation, heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration rate.
- a free up-grade to laser surgery on all spay and neuter procedures.
This lets us do our best work at controlling pain and anxiety, managing anesthesia in a safe way, and of course there's the free laser surgery upgrade. And the price is still quite reasonable. Click here for a price sheet.
Pre-emptive pain management 
There are lots better ways to treat post-surgical pain than just taking pills after the surgery is all over. If you don't start pain medication before the pain starts, you're just playing catch-up. Same with anxiety. Pre-emptive Pain Management starts the minute they leave the pre-surgical consult. It is a much more effective way to control pre-op anxiety and post-op surgical pain, and it results in a happier, more pain-free patient. Follow the link to learn more.
IV Fluid Support
Since 40% of dogs and cats develop low blood pressure under anesthesia, it only makes sense to be prepared for that. IV Fluid Support keeps blood pressure in the healthy range so they feel good when they wake up, and it provides for a vaulable safety net if there are problems. Follow the link to learn more
Laser Surgery
Laser Surgery is cutting-edge medicine without the cutting edge. Laser Surgery results in less pain, less swelling, and much less bleeding. Follow the link to learn more.
All of this in included in our standard package!
The only other thing to consider is pre-anesthetic labwork. Pre-anesthetic labwork is a series of tests that we do just before surgery to make sure there are no hidden issues that we did not pick up in our pre-op physical exam. Most spay and neuter patients are young healthy puppies and kittens, and their risk level is not very high. However, it is not zero risk either, so we give you the option of having the additional testing done. It costs about $50, and it provides some uselful information. Most of the time it is normal. Occasionally we find things that made us glad we did the testing. Follow the link to learn more.
If you have a large-breed dog, click here to read about a potentially life-saving procedure that you might want to consider having done during the spay or neuter surgery.
If you are considering declawing your cat, click here for more information.
So what's does all this cost?
Click here for current pricing. But before you click, please note that these prices are for young (under 1year old), healthy patients that are not in heat or obese. If your pet is older, fatter, or in heat, these prices may not apply.