Routine surgical procedures are performed Monday through Friday by appointment. Some patients may require hospitalization overnight for observation following the procedure. However most surgeries are performed on an out- patient basis and your friend can go home the same day.
Dr. Caldwell performs a routine Spay procedure on a young puppy.

Routine procedures require withholding food 12 hours prior to admission and withholding water the morning of your appointment.

Patient admissions are from 7am to 9am to allow for same day postoperative recovery and discharge. On site blood chemistry analysis ensures quick postoperative recoveries.

Canine Neuter procedure

General Information

Castration is the surgical removal of the testicles. Such surgery is performed to eliminate sexual activities and render the dog sterile. Castration usually reduces a dog's tendency to roam and fight. The general level of aggression may also be reduced. However, castration is not a replacement for obedience training. We recommend neutering your pet at 4 to 6 months of age.

Please do not feed your dog after 8 pm, the night before the procedure. Remove water the morning of the scheduled surgery. Surgery patients are admitted to the hospital between 7 am and 9 am to allow time to completely recover from anesthesia. A pre-surgical blood profile and a history of being tested for intestinal parasites and canine heartworm disease is strongly recommended prior to surgery. These tests help insure a rapid recovery from anesthesia and timely healing after his surgery. We routinely call our clients after surgical procedures are completed for updates and special care instructions. Discharge from the hospital occurs only after patients have completely recovered from the effects of general anesthesia (usual discharge time between 3pm-5pm).

Neutering will:

• Decrease male aggression.Your pet may not be aggressive to you now, but as some intact males get older can become aggressive with family members. (30% reduction*)
• Decrease male territorial urine marking. (39% reduction*)
• Decrease the tendency for the male to roam. (40% reduction*)
• Decrease the risk of prostate infection and prostate cancer.
• Decrease the risk of perianal adenomas. These tumors form around the rectal area and can be difficult to remove.
• Decrease the risk of perianal hernias.
• Eliminate the risk of testicular tumors, the second most common tumor in intact male dogs. 14% of testicular tumors are malignant.
• Prevent unwanted pregnancies. 11,708 animals were destroyed at the Springfield Humane Society in 1996. Neutering your pet can help prevent this.
• * A study conducted by Nielsen, Eckstein and Hart (JAVMA, July 15th, 1997)

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will it make my dog fat and lazy?
A: No. Obesity is due to excessive calorie intake. Weight can be controlled with proper feeding and exercise.

Q: Will it change his disposition, personality or intelligence?
A: Canine personalities do not fully develop until about 1-2 years of age and are influenced primarily by genetics and training. Neutering does not effect personality or intelligence and often improves disposition and behavior.

Q: Shouldn't my dog have a litter first?
A: No. There is no advantage in allowing your dog to have a litter of puppies.

Surgical Procedure

All patients receive a preoperative physical examination prior to surgery. The operation is performed under general anesthesia lasting approximately 20 minutes. One small incision is made in front of the scrotum. Each testicle is isolated and associated blood vessels and nerves are ligated. The reproductive organ is completely removed. Absorbable sutures are place under the skin to prevent your dog from chewing them out. Aftercare is minimal, but the surgery site should be checked daily, for 5 days for any excessive redness, swelling or discharge. Some male dogs obsess about their incisions and lick excessively. If you are unable to prevent this, please call the hospital for suggestions.

Canine Spay Procedure

General Information

Ovariohysterectomy is the surgical term for spaying female dogs. The procedure consists of surgical removal of the ovaries and uterus. If the ovaries are not removed, the bothersome heat periods still occur even though pregnancy is impossible. Surgery is usually performed at 4 months of age. Though it is routinely performed, ovariohysterectomy is major abdominal surgery requiring general anesthesia and sterile operating technique. Prevention of pregnancy and heat periods is the main reason for the surgery, but the procedure is also performed in treating severe uterine infections, and ovarian and uterine cancers. We recommend spaying your pet at 4 to 6 months of age.

Please do not feed your dog after 8 pm, the night before the procedure. Remove water the morning of the scheduled surgery. Surgery patients are admitted to the hospital between 7 am and 9 am to allow time to completely recover from anesthesia. A pre-surgical blood profile and a history of being tested for intestinal parasites and canine heartworm disease (over 6 months of age) is strongly recommended prior to surgery. These tests help insure a rapid recovery from anesthesia and timely healing after her surgery. We routinely call our clients after surgical procedures are completed for updates and special care instructions. Discharge from the hospital occurs only after patients have completely recovered from the effects of general anesthesia (usual discharge time between 3pm-5pm).

Spaying will:

• Decrease the risk of mammary tumors.Each of the early heat cycles increase the female's risk of mammary tumors.50% of mammary tumors in the dog are malignant.
• Eliminate the risk of ovarian tumors.
• Eliminate the risk of pyometra Pyometra is a life threatening infection of the uterus that occurs in older dogs that have gone through repeated heat cycles.
• Stop the dog's heat cycle.
• Prevent unwanted pregnancies. 11,708 animals were destroyed at the Springfield Humane Society in 1996. Spaying your animal could have helped prevent this.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will it make my dog fat and lazy?
A: No. Obesity is due to excessive calorie intake. Weight can be controlled with proper feeding and exercise.

Q: Will it change her disposition, personality or intelligence?
A: Canine personalities do not fully develop until about 1-2 years of age and are influenced primarily by genetics and training. Spaying does not effect personality or intelligence and often improves disposition and behavior.

Q:  Shouldn't my dog have a litter first?
A: No. There is no advantage in allowing your dog to have a litter of puppies.

Surgical Procedure

All patients receive a preoperative physical examination prior to surgery. The operation is performed under general anesthesia lasting approximately 20 minutes. A small incision is made on the belly, just bellow the umbilicus. The right ovary is identified and the ovarian artery and vein are ligated. This same procedure is repeated on the left side. After removing the ovaries, the cervix is identified and the uterine artery and vein is ligated, and the entire reproductive organ is removed. The abdomen is closed with 2 different layers of suture. The first layer will absorb and we remove the second layer 7 days after the procedure. Aftercare is minimal, but the surgery site should be checked daily, for 5 days for any excessive redness, swelling or discharge.

Feline Neuter procedure

General Information

Castration is the surgical removal of the testicles. When a cat is castrated before sexual maturity at 6-8 months of age, the cat's sexual instincts are reduced, and the cat becomes sterile. Fighting and night prowling, common in intact male cats, are largely eliminated however, castrated male cats may still want to go outdoors to hunt. The objectionable urine odor and familiar "spraying" behavior of the male cat is also reduced or eliminated. We recommend neutering your pet at 16 weeks of age.

Please do not feed your cat after 8 pm, the night before the procedure. Remove water the morning of the scheduled surgery. Surgery patients are admitted to the hospital between 7 am and 9 am to allow time to completely recover from anesthesia. A pre-surgical blood profile and a history of being tested for Feline Leukemia and Feline Immunodefeciency Viruses is strongly recommended prior to surgery. These tests help insure a rapid recovery from anesthesia and timely healing after his surgery. We routinely call our clients after surgical procedures are completed for updates and special care instructions. Discharge from the hospital occurs only after patients have completely recovered from the effects of general anesthesia (usual discharge time between 3pm-5pm).

Neutering will:

• Help prevent your cat from spraying urine.
• Decrease your cat's tendency to roam.
• Decrease your cat's tendency to fight with other cats.
• Eliminate the risk of testicular tumors.
• Prevent unwanted pregnancies. 11,708 animals were destroyed at the Springfield Humane Society in 1996. Neutering your pet can help prevent this.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:  Will it make my cat fat and lazy?
A: No. Obesity is due to excessive calorie intake. Weight can be controlled with proper feeding and exercise.

Q:  Will it change his disposition, personality or intelligence?
A: Feline personalities do not fully develop until about 1 year of age and are influenced primarily by genetics and training. Neutering does not effect personality or intelligence and often improves disposition and behavior.

Q: Shouldn't my cat have a litter first?
A: No. There is no advantage in allowing your cat to have a litter of kittens.

Surgical Procedure

All patients receive a preoperative physical examination prior to surgery. The operation is performed under general anesthesia lasting approximately 20 minutes. Two small incisions are made in the scrotum, and both testicles are removed. Because the incisions are so small, no sutures are required. Aftercare is minimal, but the surgery site should be checked daily, for 5 days for any excessive redness, swelling or discharge.

Feline Spay Procedure

General Information

Ovariohysterectomy is the surgical term for spaying female cats. The procedure consists of surgical removal of the ovaries and uterus. If the ovaries are not removed, the bothersome heat periods still occur even though pregnancy is impossible. Surgery is usually performed at 4 months of age. Though it is routinely performed, ovariohysterectomy is major abdominal surgery requiring general anesthesia and sterile operating technique. Prevention of pregnancy and heat periods is the main reason for the surgery, but the procedure is also performed in treating severe uterine infections, and ovarian and uterine cancers. We recommend spaying your pet at 16 weeks of age.

Please do not feed your cat after 8 pm, the night before the procedure. Remove water the morning of the scheduled surgery. Surgery patients are admitted to the hospital between 7 am and 9 am to allow time to completely recover from anesthesia. A pre-surgical blood profile and a history of being tested for Feline Leukemia and Feline Immunodefeciency Viruses is strongly recommended prior to surgery. These tests help insure a rapid recovery from anesthesia and timely healing after her surgery. We routinely call our clients after surgical procedures are completed for updates and special care instructions. Discharge from the hospital occurs only after patients have completely recovered from the effects of general anesthesia (usual discharge time between 3pm-5pm).

Spaying will:

• Decrease the risk of mammary tumors. 80% of mammary tumors in cat's are malignant.
• Eliminate the risk of ovarian tumors.
• Eliminate the risk of pyometra - a life threatening infection to the uterus.
• Stop the cat's heat cycle. A cat can cycle every 2 or 3 weeks when they are in season, which can last several months.
• Prevent unwanted pregnancies. 11,708 animals were destroyed at the Springfield Humane Society in 1996. Spaying your pet could have helped prevent this.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will it make my cat fat and lazy?
A: No. Obesity is due to excessive calorie intake. Weight can be controlled with proper feeding and exercise.

Q: Will it change her disposition, personality or intelligence?
A: Feline personalities do not fully develop until about 1 year of age and are influenced primarily by genetics and training. Neutering does not effect personality or intelligence and often improves disposition and behavior.

Q: Shouldn't my cat have a litter first?
A: No. There is no advantage in allowing your cat to have a litter of kittens.

Surgical Procedure

All patients receive a preoperative physical examination prior to surgery. The operation is performed under general anesthesia lasting approximately 20 minutes. A small incision is made on the belly, just bellow the umbilicus. The right ovary is identified and the ovarian artery and vein are ligated. This same procedure is repeated on the left side. After removing the ovaries, the cervix is identified and the uterine artery and vein is ligated, and the entire reproductive organ is removed. The abdomen is closed with 2 different layers of suture. The first layer will absorb and we remove the second layer 7 days after the procedure. Aftercare is minimal, but the surgery site should be checked daily, for 5 days for any excessive redness, swelling or discharge.

We recommend pre-surgical blood-work for all pets.  It’s our job to ensure that your pet can properly process and eliminate the anesthetic he or she is given.  Before we perform any procedure requiring anesthesia, we run tests to confirm that your pet’s organs are functioning properly and to reveal any hidden health conditions that could put your pet at risk.

To prepare your pet for surgery, do not feed your pet after 8:00 p.m. the evening before surgery.  Water can be left out overnight, but withhold water the morning of surgery.  This will help reduce the chance of gastrointestinal upset from the anesthetics and drugs your pet will receive.

Please bring your pet to the hospital for admittance between 7:00 a.m. and 8:30  a.m.

After general anesthesia and surgery, ample recovery time is required.  We ask that you leave your pet with us to recover here in the hospital until 3:00 p.m.  Cats having declaws will have to stay overnight and they can be picked up after 8:00 a.m. the next morning.  On discharge, your pet may be a little woozy.  This is a normal side effect of the drugs used during the procedure.  Keep your pet as quiet as possible the first few hours after you get home.  You may offer a small amount of water to your pet after it has been home for a half an hour or so.  Watch for any vomiting.  Wait an hour or so and offer more water and about half the amount of dinner you normally feed your pet if no vomiting occurs.  If your pet vomits the small amount of water offered initially, withhold all food and water until the next morning.  Be sure to keep your pet at a comfortable temperature the night of surgery.  Pets that have had a general anesthetic have a harder time regulating their body temperature and it is easy for them to get overheated or chilled when outdoor  temperatures are at extremes.

Your pet may want to lick and clean at the surgery site.  A little investigation of the surgery site is normal but please call if you notice an excessive amount of chewing or licking.  We may need to place an Elizabethan collar or a covering of some sort over the surgery site to keep your pet from the incision.  Be sure to check the surgery area daily.  Slight discoloration and discharge from the incision may be normal, but bleeding usually is not.  If you notice bleeding, swelling or discharge from the incision or you have any concerns please call.  Be sure to give pain relievers or other medications as directed.  Return your pet to its normal routine and offer regular amounts of food and water the day following surgery unless instructed otherwise by the doctor. 

Schedule an appointment in 7-10 days for a recheck exam and suture removal.

Thank you for entrusting us with your pet's care and surgery.