Am I being to unreasonable about where I want to have Sal neutered
 

My husband thinks that we should take him to the sprayed and neutered clinic in town. I am just not comfortable with that. I took a neighbor there to get her dog fixed. The place was clean but there were so many dogs and cats there to be sprayed or neutered that it remind me of DMV. I want to take him to Sea Island Animal Hospital instead their practice is limited to small animals . I have already schedule a check up appointment on the 17th and schedule the surgery for May 1st.
Am I just being unreasonable? and should I take him to the low cost sprayed and neutering clinic where my husband wants him to go?

I don't think that you are being unreasonable at all when I got Jasmine spayed I did the laser it cost a little bit more but they have a quicker recovery and that's what I wanted, I would tell hubby exactly how you feel and how these little ones can have problems and you would feel more comfortable with him at the animal hospital..me on the other hand I would tell hubby to kiss it and take her where I want to but, he always agrees with me on her!! Best of luck!

If the smaller hospital is in your budget and you want to go there then so be it. Sorry I work and while hubby and I share bills when it comes to things that I do on my own outside of our shared bills and he won't say a thing either way on my decisions there.

No, you aren't being unreasonable.
I would most likely never use one of those clinics and if I did, I would have a loooong list of questions.

First, I doubt they do preop bloodwork and I prefer that that is done.
I'm sure they don't do surgery on heated surfaces (better for small dogs.
Some clinics use vets that just graduated and are putting in their time.
They sometimes do so many animals in a day I would wonder if they are rushing through the surgery to get to the next.
If it is a spay/neuter clinic, they won't be pulling extra baby teeth and he would have to be put under again if they don't fall out.
How is their monitoring equipment? If it is low-cost, their equipment might be low cost too...
Since they are low-cost, do they use the best (very expensive) anesthesia (isoflurane or sevoflurane)?

Of course, I would ask these questions anywhere I took Ellie but it seems that I would be more satisfied with a regular vet office.
In fact, I was very comfortable with her vet spaying her.
I can't imagine not knowing her and letting her do such an invasive procedure on my dog (it is a little different with males though since it isn't as invasive).

Tell hubby your piece of mind is worth the extra for the small pet hospital. Say he can skip getting you a Christmas present this year ;) (that should make him feel like scrooge):D

I agree with the above, do what you fell is best for your baby.

you are not being unreasonable!!

it's better to be safe than sorry and i would have done the same thing =]

thank you
 

I will talk to him today

It all depends on what you feel comfortable with. I've never used that type of clinic before but here's my take on it:

Since they offer spay/neuter as such affordable prices, they must do A LOT of them. So that would lead me to believe that since they perform so many of these operations probably on a daily basis, they must be very good at it. You know the saying, practice makes perfect.

However, if you're really not comfortable going there, then I would do what you feel is best. Go with your gut.

you have to do what you feel is best. I dont think you are being unreasonable at all. Max was not neutered at the vet, we used the low cost programs available and I too was nervous but when we got there and I meet the vet and she answered my questions I felt at ease with my decision. He was great when we picked him up, that afternoon he was running and playing (I tried to keep him in his crate) Im sure you will decide what you feel is best :)

Sorry this is kind of long, but I have to let you know this... When I took Summerlin to be spayed, I took her to the low cost clinic in our county. I asked questions and I met the vet (a woman) who was to do the surgery. I decided everything would be okay. When I went to pick her up, a guy came out to let me know how things had gone. He said that she had done very well, and should recover nicely. I asked to speak to the vet, as I wanted to make sure she was comfortable with the way things looked as far as the surgery went and Summerlin's bloodwork. At that point, the man told me he had done the surgery; that he was required to do a certain percentage of them each week, as he was still a student and was training. Can you imagine how unhappy I was? A student!!! Operating on my baby??!! :eek:

They gave me pain meds and antibiotics. Six days go by, her incision starts to turn really pink, so I take her to her regular vet, as the low cost clinic doesn't offer follow up care. Dr Lea (regular vet) is very upset - Summerlin's stitches were too tight, and would not allow all of the skin to heal properly and completely. She had to take them out early, and Summerlin had to take more antibiotics.

Plus, after her surgery, she seems unable to jump up onto the bed any longer. I posted a while back about that, and someone reccommended I have her checked for luxating patella (sp?) so when I took her in for her booster shots last week, I explained about the jumping, and I asked them check for that. (Sorry I didn't post an update on my other thread :( ) Dr Lea said she didn't see any signs of it. Then she told me that the sutures that the low cost clinic put on the inner layer of her skin could be the same way the ones on the outside were - too tight, and it may be causing problems inside. Her muscles may not heal properly. Her suggestion was to wait a few more weeks to make sure that Summerlin is not just refraining from jumping because she "might" hurt herself, and if she does not improve, she may need another surgery to correct it.

Now, I have said all of this. Let me be the first to tell you that I am all for low cost clinics - they allow people who otherwise would not be able to afford or would not pay the amount for the procedure to have it done. My advice to you is to make sure - absolutely sure - that the person you talk to in the beginning is the one who will actually do the surgery. I thought I was doing the right thing, by asking questions and talking to the vet at the clinic, but it turns out now that it may not have been such a good idea. I don't want to scare you or anyone else, I just want you to know that sometimes things do go awry in the clinics. I hope this all helps you to decide what is the best for your baby :)

I am sorry that happen to your baby
 

This is why I do not want to take him to the low cost clinic. They are vets in training and I am not comfortable with that. I spoke to my husband and we are going to have it done at the Animal Hosiptal. I refuse to have a intern do surgery on him. I hope that all works out for your baby. Thank you are the good advice.

Not all the Vets that work in low cost clinics are interns. Max was neutered by a Vet with many years experience. I do agree that when using places like that you should ask many questions and make sure that they are not interns, because I wouldnt feel comfortable having an intern do his surgery either.

Oh my goodness!! :(Please take heed of this post. At these clinics, because of the sheer volume of procedures being done, you have no guarantee whatsoever that a student will not be doing the surgery.

Perhaps you should describe the above story to Hubby?
Good luck!
Lauren:)

Myself, I would not opt for a low-cost clinic.

In my area, the low cost is for, in your case, neuter only.

I insist on a blood panel, pain meds, as well as an experienced
Vet-Tech monitoring the anesthesia.

For the male, the actual "neuter" is nothing. It's the before testing,
and monitoring, while in surgery, that's very important to me.

Just a side note. Males are neutered. Females are spayed, not
sprayed. I've noticed this is a very common mistake with words. :)