Spaying your pet will prevent the following:

• Unwanted litters leading to more homelessness for pets, decreases the chance of certain cancers such as cervical and mammary, pyometra (infection of the uterus), and can help decrease future vet bills associated with reproductive emergencies

Neutering your pet will help prevent the following:

• Unwanted litters leading to more homelessness for pets, eliminates the chance of testicular cancer, decreases marking and spraying behaviors, decreases roaming desires (which can lead to injury or death from being struck by a vehicle), and help decrease territorial fighting drive.

• – Cats have on average a litter of four kittens. Cats also can go into heat three times a year. Therefore, throughout their life a cat can have as many as 180 kittens.
• – Dogs have on average a litter of 5 to 6 puppies. Dogs also can go into heat twice a year. Therefore, throughout their life a dog can have as many as 70 puppies.

• While you may think this, that is not the case. Animals do not see each other as “siblings” like we like to think of them. If one of your animals is in heat and the other is not neutered, there is a very high chance of an unwanted litter.

• Research shows that pediatric spaying and neutering after 8 weeks old when the animal is greater than 2 pounds is completely acceptable. In fact, young animals typically recover from anesthesia faster than adults. Animals can also go into heat as early as 4 months old so spaying before that time will prevent them from going into heat altogether.

• Generally speaking, no. However, as age increases anesthetic risk can also increase. A physical examination with your veterinarian and bloodwork can help detect any abnormalities that otherwise would go unnoticed. We will also discuss those higher-risk pets with you and recommend any additional diagnostics to ensure that your pet has the safest anesthetic experience that we can provide.
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• Your pet will be placed under anesthesia for the duration of the procedure so they will not be aware of the surgery being performed. Also, we utilize several types of pain medications as well as nerve blocks on every pet that we treat to decrease discomfort. Occasionally a pet will be painful after surgery, but pain medications can generally be prescribed by your veterinarian if your pet does seem painful.
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• – Every pet that comes in receives a physical examination by our veterinarian (although some examinations may be brief due to patient temperament), custom anesthetic protocol, pain medications, nerve blocks, surgery, and anesthetic monitoring before during and after surgery.
• – Vaccines and other services such as deworming, bloodwork, and microchipping are also available for an additional charge.
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• Thanks to several very generous donations (especially from Judy and Doug Lowrie, for whom the clinic is named after) to help us build our facility, as well as daily and weekly sponsors we can provide a lower cost service to our community. We also only perform spay and neuter procedures, so we can keep inventory lower which decreases costs.

• Absolutely not! We take great pride in the training that our entire team has and providing your pets with the best practices available. Our lead tech has over 9 years of anesthesia specific training (including 7 years teaching anesthesia at the University of Tennessee to Vet Students), and every team member is trained in anesthesia specifics and emergency protocols. Our entire team practices gentle handling techniques and Fear Free practices to keep your pets feeling relaxed and comfortable during their time with us.