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Eligibility Criteria

 

Pets must meet certain eligibility requirements to be booked for a spay/neuter surgery or  vaccination appointment. Please read the following important information to ensure your pet is eligible prior to submitting a request to book an appointment.  The current eligibility requirements are as follows:

Dog Surgeries

  • Female dogs must be under the age of 3 years at the time of surgery; any female dogs over the age of 1 year may require a presurgical exam prior to being booked.
  • Male dogs must be under the age of 5 years at the time surgery.
  • Dogs must be under 45kg at the time of their surgical appointment and obese dogs will not be accepted.
  • Brachycephalic (flat-faced) breeds will not be accepted for surgery due to increased anesthetic risk. This includes (but is not limited to) Bulldogs (French or English), Boxers, Boston Terriers, Pugs, and Bullmastiffs (or crosses of these breeds).
  • We do not accept dogs with heart murmurs or retained testicles (cryptorchid).
  • We do not accept Dobermans without proof of a normal VonWillebrand’s test result.
  • We do not accept dogs in heat – if your dog goes into heat prior to their spay appointment please contact us. Female dogs that have recently had a litter may not be accepted – please contact us to discuss.

Note: As a limited-service clinic, our surgery spots are reserved for young, healthy, lower-risk animals only, and we recommend spay/neuter at the traditional age of 5-6 months. If you choose to delay  until your dog is older, please note that they must be under 3 (females) or 5 (males) years of age at the time of surgery and a mature fee will apply for both males and females.

Cat Surgeries

  • Cats must be under the age of 5 years at the time of surgery.
  • We do not accept cats with heart murmurs or retained testicles (cryptorchid).
  • Brachycephalic (flat-faced) breeds may not be accepted for surgery depending on the severity of their respiratory compromise. This includes (but is not limited to) Persians, Exotic Shorthairs, and Himalayans.
  • Cats that are late-term pregnant will not be accepted for surgery. Cats that have had a litter of kittens must be at least 3 months post-partum to ensure her milk is fully dry. Please inform the clinic if think your cat may be pregnant or if she has been nursing so we can book appropriately

Other Important Notes

Many clients bring their pets to us at the clinic for spay/neuter services, even though they have a regular vet for routine and medical care. While we definitely encourage everyone to develop a relationship with a full service clinic for their pets long term care, please note that their recommendations may be different than ours, and we may not be able to handle cases that are commonplace for them.

For example, if your full service veterinarian detects a heart murmur on exam, or determines that one of your pets testicles is not descended, they will probably book you in for surgery anyway and discuss any additional risks. However, if you decide to book with us instead, and we not made aware of these issues, you will end up being turned away in the morning of surgery as they are beyond our scope of practice. Other medical issues and medications can also impact our ability to perform surgery on your pet, even if they would not be a problem with your regular vet.

It is very important that you let us know about any medical issues your pet has before booking, or well in advance of the appointment (if diagnosed after booking). If a known medical condition is not disclosed to us in advance and we have to turn away your pet last minute, a cancellation fee will be applied to your account and the surgical deposit will not be returned (it will be used to pay the fee).