another dog spay question
this seems to be the topic of choice lately! 8) So, my two foster dogs have an "appointment" to meet their prospective adoptive mom tomarrow. I have decided that, instead of asking for an adoption fee, I will instead require the new family to have the dogs spayed. I've been wanting to have this done for some time, but the low-cost spay clinics have waiting lists that are months long. (in retrospect, I should have just signed up for it months ago when I learned that.) But, there is going to be a low-cost spay/neuter clinic on the 22nd here in town. Its first come, first served. So, i was thinking that instead of having the new owners take them to be spayed...wether or not I decide they are suitable "parents" I'll keep the dogs at my house so that I can be SURE they get spayed. Then transfer ownership.
but the site said that the animal must not be over 5...when I got their rabies shots back in like August the vet estimated they were 5 at the time. What happens if the dog are 5.5 or 6 years old? Would it be dangerous? heres the link I found... http://tucson.craigslist.org/pet/539126492.html You guys ever heard of this before?
What I'm guessing is that since it is a low-cost deal, they are trying to get as many spays and neuters done that they can in a day. Since dogs that are older than 5 have gone through several estrus cycles and may have had a litter or more, their uteri (uteruses?) are larger. For males, their testicles are much more developed. This can sometimes make the surgery more time consuming and/or difficult (not necessarily dangerous, though). Since they want to do as many surgeries as possible on those low-cost days, having a dog or cat that has enlarged reproductive organs limits the number of animals they can "fix".
At the vet I work at, they will not spay dogs or cats on our low cost day that were recently pregnant or in heat because the surgery takes longer (I think it mentions this in the link you posted). They will schedule these surgeries on non low cost days, though.
I'm not a vet, so I can't say for sure, but this would be my best guess.
I absolutely positively would NOT given those dogs to someone unspayed. I trust no one...if they still have heat cycles, accidents (and on purposes) can still happen.
Since they are older, there are more risks with the anethesia/surgery/recovery time. Those free clinics are fantastic, but you have to be VERY careful, especially the "first come first served" clinics..their mission is to spay/neuter as many as they possibly can in the time they are there. That makes me wary..too many things can go wrong, cross contamination, lack of clenliness, lack of care. It IS surgery, no matter how routine a vet feels it is.
If it were me personally, I would find a good local vet to do the spays and charge an adoption fee to at least cover the cost of the spay. The one rescue i charged me $190 and the local HS charged me $150 to adopt. That covered neuters.