Everyone uses the term “spay” when they are getting their dog “fixed” so she can’t have puppies. But do you know what an actual “spay” is and how we do it, and why it is called a “spay”? Well we are here to answer all of these questions!

The origin of the word “spay”, according to Dictionary.com is from the “Middle English spaien , from Anglo-Norman espeier , to cut with a sword , from espee , sword , from Latin spatha ; see ‘spathe’ “. So to “spay” means “to cut”. But what are we cutting? When we do a spay, we are removing the ovaries and the uterus from the dog or cat. So we are doing what would be a called an ovariohysterectomy. The same surgery is done often in women for various reasons as well. The way we do this is by making an incision on your pet’s belly that is long enough for us to open up and get inside her abdomen and be able to reach the ovaries as well as the entire uterus. The uterus is shaped like the letter “Y” and at the top of each point on the “Y” is where the ovaries are. So all of this “Y”, including the ovaries, is removed when we do the surgery. This is a major surgical procedure, just as it is in women. It is done under complete anesthesia, in our surgical room under sterile surgical conditions. Once the uterus is removed and the incision is closed, your pet is allowed to recover at our hospital overnight. You wouldn’t want to be sent home right after you had your belly completely opened up! This allows your pet to get a good night of rest, we can check her incision in the morning, make sure she is not licking, and keep her from doing any strenuous activity, like jumping around, immediately after her surgery.

So, now you know what a “spay” really is! Go out and share your knowledge! The next time you hear someone say, my dog is getting “spayed”, you can tell them why it’s called a spay, what it really is, and how it is done and you will impress your friends and family!

Chewaca is a 10 year old Schnauzer who is a regular patient of ours. She came for her 6 month examination and Bordetella vaccination in May. Her owner said she had been doing very well and nothing had changed with her. Because she was a senior patient (7 years and older) and her last senior blood work and been done almost a year ago, we advised her mom that she was due to have her blood tested again so we took a little blood from Chewaca and sent it in to our lab to have some Senior Blood Testing run.

When we received the results, there were some abnormalities that made us suspicious that Chewaca could have a disorder called Cushing’s Disease. The first signs of Cushing’s are usually drinking and urinating more than usual, neither of which she was doing. Despite this, the blood work was pretty convincing, so we pursued more testing to confirm our suspicions. Sure enough, she DID have Cushing’s Disease! We did a few other tests to look for problems that Cushing’s Disease can cause, such as urinary infection and high blood pressure. Fortunately, she did not have either at this point. With Cushing’s Disease, we only treat if the pet is having complications from the disease. The great thing is, now that we know Chewaca has it, we know what to look for and will be able to treat her symptoms much sooner, increasing her quality of life!

So, why does your pet need to have bloodwork at least once a year? We want your pet live as long and as healthy a life as possible. We can do so by finding and preventing disease early on. Having your pet’s blood tested at least once a year is one of the easiest and best ways to do this. This helps us to find early signs of illness, just like we did with Chewaca, BEFORE your pet is showing signs of illness. Often, by the time a pet is showing signs of being sick, it is too late to treat them. Just as our doctors screen us for heart disease, breast cancer, prostate cancer, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc to find things or prevent them before they become a bigger problem, our pets need and deserve the very same! Call to schedule to have your pet’s blood tested today!

Then look no further.  Radiocat has it! One injection injection of Radioiodine (I-131) cures 98-99% of Feline Hyperthyroidism cases. Traditionally, we have treated cats with either surgery or with medication. Surgery can be risky and there can be side effects and it doesn’t always cure the cat. Medication is life long, does not cure the disease, and can have potential side effects and require blood monitoring.

Hyperthyroid cats have a tumor that is producing too much thyroid hormone. Almost all of these turmors are benign but they are speeding up the cat’s metabolism, causing an increase in water consumption and urination, increase or decrease in appetite, hyeractivity or lethargy, weight loss, vomiting, diarrhea, increased heart rate, abnormal heart rhythm, even death!

Radioiodine is now the treatment of choice. It requires only one injection to cure your cat of hyperthyroidism. It destroys the thyroid tumor, wherever it may be, safely and effectively. Having cured over 35,000 cats, it is the best and most cost effective treatment for your cat! Learn more at www.radiocat.com.