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  1. #1
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    question about spaying a dog

    so it is time for me to get my lab spayed. she is currently 15 months old, finished her first heat near end of December, and I want to schedule the surgery for February, which would put her just under 16 months at time of surgery

    I planned to use my local vet that I use for everything else. Their cost is around $350. I was talking to my parents about it and they said they use the local SPCA. They said the last 3 dogs they had spayed were done at the SPCA, including the lab they currently have.

    I looked up cost and it is $75, huge price difference. I believe they get subsidized with tax and they also get grants so I guess that explains cost difference.

    With SPCA get a lower cost and they probably do a lot more spay surgeries. With my vet I get someone I know but higher cost.

    Is it worth the extra money to use vet or would the SPCA be a good option?

  2. #2
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    I guess for me it would partly depend upon what other services are covered by your vet that aren't covered by the SPCA. My girl's spay surgery bill was $191 and it included pre-op bloodwork and an overnight stay in a staffed facility for monitoring post-op. Admittedly, my vet is ridiculously reasonable but I would still have gone to him for the surgery even if it cost $350 and the SPCA rates were lower, just because of the additional care provided. I think the SPCA does a high volume of spays and neuters, so I don't really question their skill at doing the surgery, since probably all adopted pets are spayed or neutered before the adoption actually occurs. And a 15 month old is probably young and healthy and pre-op blood work might be considered optional by some. I know many pups go home the evening of the surgery, too, without particular problems. I guess I'd ask your vet what else is included in that $350, aside from the actual procedure, and decide if the extra cost is worth it to you.

  3. #3
    Best Friend Retriever silverfz's Avatar
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    We have a spay mobile that visits a few location and does this. My wife told me NO ...and we paid 600$ - 350$ for surgery and add on meds and other stuff..
    The mobile does tonnes of them and i actually felt they will do a better job than the banfield/petsmart where we did gigi due to the volume they do. but they do charge 300$


    Affordable spay/neuter on the Spay Waggin'

  4. #4
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    I'd rather just go with my vet.

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  6. #5
    Senior Dog zd262's Avatar
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    I went with the "low cost" neuter option instead of my regular vet, but the price difference was $800 versus $170 (welcome to San Francisco!). I felt comfortable with the "low cost" option because they almost exclusively perform spay and neuters & my dog walker recommended them to me. All went well!
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  7. #6
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    My daughter works with Vets who do large volume spay and neuter clinics. She said they do great work on healthy dogs. They have to turn away dogs that aren't healthy. Vets run a business and while I want to support them I would take advantage of the low cost spay option and use the savings for any future treatments at the regular Vet.

  8. #7
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Boy, we pay a lot more here. It would be $600 something, with bloodwork, at the Vet's.

    Maybe your Vet would match or lower the price, if you don't want bloodwork. Mine did, though mind you, I had the mother cat done as soon as I could and then the two remaining kittens later. He gave me a breeder's discount, not quite as low as OSPCA, but better than usual. I have put quite few animals through there too, so maybe he sees future $ in me, which he did indeed get when Joey showed up.
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  9. #8
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    I guess I need to decide if $275ish is worth going to vet for

    That is a lot of money I can use towards something else

  10. #9
    Senior Dog Shelley's Avatar
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    Gosh, I pay way more than that for a spay!

    Two schools of though here, the spay/neuter clinic do a lot of spay and neuter surgeries, therefore, they are very good and efficient at them. A 16 month old girl should be fine at the SPCA clinic, as long as you aren't taking resources away from people that need low cost spays and neuters. I have had a few cats and a puppy spayed/neutered at the clinic, and they did a fine job. If there is any reason to think the surgery might be complex, (prior litters, pyometra etc...) I would rather have my regular vet do the surgery, so I have follow up care, possible hospitalization, and trust.

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  12. #10
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    Have never used a low cost clinic. Our cost has been about $400 with pre op blood work, surgery, meds and follow up visit. Since my vet knows my dogs and is close I prefer to go there. Also, if there is a problem after I bring the dog home and it after hours, my vet has an agreement with the local E-vet to lower cost treatment.
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