One of my best friends is afraid to have her dog spayed. Her dog is about 1 year old now, weight less than 10# and she keeps saying, I know I should but I’m afraid something will happen to her. She has a huge fear of leaving her dog at the animal hospital and a fear of the surgery.
I have explained a few of the many benefits of spaying to her. My friend is a cancer survivor herself so she seems to understand the surgery would be best for her doggy!
She is going to take a tour of the vet hospital next month, meet the doctors and consider scheduling the procedure. I wish I could calm her fears. There’s risk involved with any surgery so there’s not a guarantee to give her that her dog will do just fine although there’s no known or seen reason why a young dog would have a problem.
If you have any ideas for me to pass on to her, please let me know!
How about putting out a request for stories from folks who have had their animals spayed? I’ll send a note out to my Twitter & Facebook friends, and share their stories with you, if I receive any.
I can tell you about a cat we rescued in November. A couple months ago, she went into heat and she was totally miserable. We think it was probably her first time, as we’re pretty sure she’s under a year old. Her hormones were so out of control that she was almost insane. Poor thing. We had her spayed when she went out of heat, and she’s been so much happier! Calm and relaxed. If we would have let it go, she would have continued going into heat over & over again. Not only did she howl and wail, she also sprayed all over in the house. We’re still cleaning up the urine smell.
If your friend does a little research online, or asks a vet tech, she can find out that there are serious health risks for animals that aren’t spayed. Sorry I don’t have that info at the top of my head at the moment.
She might want to interview a couple different vets and find one she’s most comfortable with. We have a holistic vet here in Minneapolis who does acupuncture for the animal after the procedure, which helps the healing process. Your friend might also be able to contact folks who have gone to a particular vet, and find out what their experiences were.
I think that getting solid information can really help us move through fear. I agree that spaying is a major procedure and not to be taken lightly. So I would encourage her to find a vet that respects her concerns. Also, the vet MUST agree that the dog will need pain meds afterwards. If the vet doesn’t prescribe pain meds, I would find another vet. And your friend can ask what she can do during aftercare to help her dog heal in the best way possible.
I hope this helps. I’m sending hugs to your friend and her sweet little pup.
Liz
Comment by lizardt — April 18, 2008 @ 3:17 am