Spays & Neuters

Spaying & Neutering your family pet has many benefits for the animal and family.

Spays (Ovariohysterectomies) and Neuters (Castrations) are performed under general anesthesia at a minimum age of 6 months. A spay is recommended to prevent pregnancy, mammary cancer, and development of pyometra which is a life-threatening condition in which the uterus becomes infected and requires emergency surgery.

Neutering prevents pregnancy, may reduce aggression, helps prevent inappropriate marking, prevents testicular tumors, and prevents benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate) in male dogs. Spaying or neutering your pet will benefit their long-term health and reduce the stray population (or overpopulation of strays).

There is a condition in male dogs and cats called cryptorchidism in which one or both testicles do not descend into the scrotal sac, but are still inside the abdomen. With this condition, there is an increased incidence of abdominal testicular cancer. In order to prevent this condition, an abdominal exploratory is necessitated to remove the testicular tissue in question.

At the time of spay/neuter, pets are microchipped at no cost to owner, however, the owner is responsible for the activation fee for Home Again Microchipping. Microchipping is highly recommended as it has allowed several lost pets to be reunited with their family.

Upper Arlington Veterinary Hospital is one of the only animal hospitals in central Ohio to perform spays using this laparoscopic technique. Love Spay® is a minimally-invasive surgical procedure shown to reduce pain and risk of bleeding thanks to small surgical cuts and precise visibility provided to the physician. As a result, recovery time is greatly accelerated.