For more than 20 years, SNYP worked closely with the veterinary community using vouchers that provided spay/neuter services at reduced rates for SNYP clients.

However, due to the pressures created by these much-needed SNYP programs on the local veterinary community, SNYP knew it was time to open its own low-cost spay/neuter clinic.

The clinic opened in February of 2019 with the same goal: to save lives through prevention. While SNYP no longer offers vouchers, SNYP prices are about 40% less than private veterinary spay/neuter costs, and the clinic serves owned pets (including clients who qualify for low-income subsidies), community and feral cats, and shelter partners.

Spaying or neutering your pet provides many benefits for you, your pet, and the community overall.  For males, neutering can reduce spraying or marking behavior, as well as the urge to run away to seek out females in heat.  For females, spaying will greatly decrease their chances of developing mammary tumors, and prevents the life-threatening disease of the uterus called pyometra.  Most importantly, spaying and neutering is the most effective method we can use to prevent the birth of unplanned litters, reduce the numbers of unwanted animals entering our area shelters, and work toward an end to pet homelessness.

SNYP presently offers spay/neuter services Tuesday through Friday.  Appointments are required. Patient check-in and drop-off occurs between 7 and 8 a.m.  Pets arriving after 8 a.m. will be required to have their appointment re-scheduled for another day.  Pet pick-up typically occurs between 3 to 5 p.m. the same day. A more exact pick-up time for your pet will be determined the day of their surgery.

Kittens must be at least 2 pounds in weight, roughly 8 – 10 weeks of age.  However, we strongly recommend that kittens receive their full series of kitten vaccines (usually completed by 4 – 5 months of age) from their primary care veterinarian prior to visiting SNYP for their spay/neuter surgery.  For adult cats greater than 5 years old, we may recommend a recent wellness exam +/- bloodwork be performed by your pet’s primary care veterinarian in order to determine their suitability to undergo anesthesia for spay/neuter surgery at SNYP.  Clients unable to meet these recommendations for older cats may be required to sign an additional waiver in order to have SNYP perform their pet’s surgery despite any potentially increased anesthetic risks.

Puppies must be a minimum of 8 weeks old in order to be spayed/neutered.  However, we strongly recommend that puppies receive their full series of puppy vaccines (usually completed by 4 – 5 months of age) from their primary care veterinarian prior to visiting SNYP for their spay/neuter surgery.  For adult dogs greater than 5 years old, we recommend a recent wellness exam +/- bloodwork be performed by your pet’s primary care veterinarian in order to determine their suitability to undergo anesthesia for spay/neuter surgery at SNYP.  Clients unable to meet these recommendations for older dogs may be required to sign an additional waiver in order to have SNYP perform their pet’s surgery despite any potentially increased anesthetic risks.

Yes, SNYP will spay dogs and cats in heat, but we charge an additional fee due to the additional time that is required to safely perform these surgeries.  There is an increased risk of surgical complications during heat and in the weeks afterwards as the uterus becomes vascular and thin.  To minimize the risk of surgical complications and avoid the extra fee, we recommend you wait for at least 2 – 3 weeks after bleeding has ended before spaying a dog.

No, SNYP is focused solely on providing high-quality, high-volume spay and neuter surgeries for cats and dogs.  However, SNYP’s first concern during surgery is the health and wellbeing of your pet.  Minor surgical interventions that are ideally addressed at the time of spay/neuter surgery, such as umbilical hernia repair and cryptorchid (undescended) testicles, can be performed at additional charge.   If you are concerned that your pet may have an umbilical hernia or cryptorchid (undescended) testicles, please contact us prior to scheduling their spay or neuter surgery.

Plan for 7-10 days of very restricted activity for pets.  Dogs must be restricted to short walks on a leash during this time, and cats may need to be confined to a small area of the home in order to prevent excessive jumping and running. Visit our post-surgery recovery page for details.  This does not apply to feral cats – please download our community cat care instructions.

Yes.  SNYP provides vaccines and a limited number of additional services, but only at the time of surgery and for the safety and health of the animal. Click here for additional pricing for vaccinations, microchips, and other services.

Yes, for the safety of your pet SNYP offers microchipping during surgery. Registration in the national database is included in the microchipping service.  Visit our Services webpage for microchip pricing a la carte and included in our Wellness Packages.

We highly recommend your dog be vaccinated for rabies when they reach the age of three months or older, as is required by Oregon law (OAR 333-019-0017).  Jackson County requires all dogs that are 6 months of age or older be licensed and vaccinated for rabies.  For your convenience, SNYP will provide licensing paperwork at time of discharge.

Cats and dogs need to be at least 3 months (12 weeks) of age to receive a rabies vaccine.

No.

No. Single-dose anti-parasite treatments can be administered only at the time of surgery for an additional charge, if needed and approved by you.  SNYP does not want to compete with the many outstanding veterinary offices in the valley. For all of your pet’s medical care, we recommend you work with your personal veterinarian.

Yes, all dogs and cats spayed or neutered by SNYP will receive a small, green tattoo near their incision site.  This tattoo will ensure that anyone examining your pet can easily identify them as previously spayed/neutered should they ever become lost and found, thus preventing unnecessary surgery in the future. If you do not want your pet tattooed, you will need to take them elsewhere for their spay/neuter surgery.

Some recent studies have shown that large or giant breed dogs that are spayed/neutered before full skeletal maturity may have an increased risk of developing orthopedic diseases later in life.  For this reason, many veterinarians are recommending that owners of large or giant breed dogs wait to have them spayed/neutered until they’re bones have finished growing, which may be anywhere from 9 – 14 months of age, depending on breed.  However, this may not be practical for many families for a variety of reasons, and may put dogs at risk for unplanned pregnancies or developing other diseases (like mammary cancer in females) later in life.  Ultimately, the age at which to spay/neuter is a decision that is unique to each individual animal, and should be made by owners in conjunction with their primary care veterinarian.  For more information on this topic, please refer to this article (https://files.brief.vet/migration/article/30161/amo_age-of-neutering-in-large–giant-breed-dogs-30161-article.pdf).  SNYP is happy to provide spay/neuter services for owners of large or giant breed dogs at whatever age is deemed most appropriate for their individual circumstances by their family and their veterinarian.

Because we perform a large number of surgeries per day, our staff must be able to work efficiently and safely in the relatively small square footage of our clinic.  For this reason, we request that all dogs admitted to SNYP are capable of being easily handled by our staff in order for us to safely perform their spay or neuter surgery.  If you have concerns about your dog’s behavior while at SNYP, please contact us prior to scheduling their surgery in order to discuss options/accommodations that we might be able to provide.  Dogs that display overt aggression to our staff may have their surgery rescheduled or may be referred to a full service clinic for their surgery.

If requested, SNYP can provide an oral sedative medication to go home with hyper-active dogs at an additional charge.  Please note that sedative medication should not be used as a substitute for activity restriction while your pet heals during the first 7-10 days after their surgery. More about post-surgery care.