question about "fixing"

[Puppy Madness]

I talked to our vet's office this morning about scheduling Duke's surgery to get fixed.  They told me we would drop him off between 7:30 - 8 am and pick him up the next day at 3:30 pm.  I did not expect him to spend the night.  They don't staff the office all night, so he would be alone for about 12 hours and away from us for over 30 hours.  Is this normal?  I am NOT comfortable with this.  She said the vet might let him go home that night if we prefer.....  Just wondering what other think about that, or how your vet's scheduled?

[Bonnie and Kona]

This makes no sense to me at all. I am perfectly capable of keeping my dog from eating after 9 pm and my dogs are calmer at home than caged in some strange place.

[Michele & Kallie]

Kallie was spayed at 6 months, went in at 8 in the morning, and we picked her up around 5 that evening. I wouldn't have wanted her to spend the night there. She was sore, but did fine at home. Glad you are checking with the vet to make sure you can bring him home.

[Debi and Monty Moose]

I am dropping off Monty early and picking him up in the afternoon this Thursday for neutering.  No overnight stay.

[KLN]

Kira,

I've had two dogs neutered and neither have stayed over night. I've picked them both up by five pm the day I dropped them off. I agree with you 100% about leaving them there overnight without supervision. I think he would be in MUCH better hands at home. It does not even make sense that they would want you to leave him if they are not there watching him?? I've had one occasion where my older dog had to spend the night (she got into unrisen rolls) but I transported her to an eclinic for the night so she was watched the entire time. I won't leave them at my vet unsupervised, not an option. Especially for a procedure as simple as a nueter. I've been through A LOT with my vet with one of my dogs, I trust every decision he makes, and he told me this procedure is so simple, the dogs are fine even the day of. The only concern they may have is making sure he comes off the anesthesia ok but as long as they complete the surgery by the afternoon, duke should be fine to come home later that day. If it were me and they pushed the overnight issue I would find another vet.

[Linda And Loo]

Both my dogs were spayed and they went in first thing in the morning and I picked them by four. Now my son had his golden spayed and she was over a year old. They keep her over nite. They said they wanted to keep her quiet, little distractions or no distractions so she would not tear any stitches. That was more because of her size and not because of the type of surgery. That was the first time I had heard of a vet wanting to keep the dog over nite. Maybe your vet is just being overly cautious. I would want my dog home so I could be there if there is a problem that develops. Good luck!

[Kimberly Cook]

That is what we did with Chopper and he was fine. He was doped up so I'm sure he slept through the night ok. ;) I trust our vet clinic and that is what they recommended. I too have the puppy plus plan that included the neutering so there was no extra charge. He had the laparoscopic procedure then got micro-chipped at the same time and all went well. He was back to normal in a couple days. It was hard to keep him quiet that week. He acted like his normal crazy puppy self. If you feel more comfortable taking him home I'm sure they would not have a problem with it.

[Kimberly Cook]

Sorry it was the laser procedure. I got confused when I saw another thread. :S

[Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie]

My two were in and out the same day?  I agree I would not be a fan of an overnighter?  We didn't go through our vet but a spay and neuter program through the city, it cost less and they were wonderful even gave Sassy the extra attention/process needed due to her heart murmur.  Good luck.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Two thoughts here.  Our foster stayed overnight when he was neutered because he chewed the stitches out before he was picked up so he needed a 'second' round of stitches.  And, yes, he was wearing a cone.  He did the same thing at home, and, yes, he was wearing a cone.  He was a difficult case I guess.  The second thought is that your vet may do his surgeries as he can throughout the day. If so, he may not get to Duke until too late to send him home.

[April S.]

I had my puppy spayed at Banfield Pet Hospital @ PetSmart - drop off was by 7:30am and pick-up was anytime after 5:30.   I have to say it was very stressful for me to bringing her home right after surgery with this big cone on her head - i was so afraid of her bumping her stitches getting in and out of the car because she's so clumsy so I picked her up carefully - add the lampshade they put on her and it was just a nightmare for me.   At the time she was about 30lbs.   When I got her home - all she did was sleep in her crate which she hung out in on her own with the door open  but I checked on her a lot and throughout the night.  I wouldn't want my puppy to have been alone for 12 hours overnight that is for sure.

[Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie]

Josie is mellow so she was a breeze then there is my baby girl Sassparilla!  She was out cold the first day (NEVER seen her sleep like that) she was so adorable before climbing on to the couch she collected all her toys and curled up with them!  By morning she was on the move and wanting to play nonstop.  She HATES the crate so we had to crate poor Josie to keep them from wrestling and running.  Sassparilla is very high strung so it was really difficult keeping her calm but somehow we made it through?   Glad to see you get to bring him home, I think he'll be much happier.

[Miss Ellie]

I too completely agree with Lori.  Trust your gut instinct...you should definitely not be comfortable with leaving a pet overnight without someone with him.  When we were searching out a vet, we made sure we looked for one that was open 24 hours. This way if there was ever a situation that one of our pets had to stay overnight, we were assured that there was always a vet on duty and that our loved one would be properly cared for.