Pre-Surgical Protocol

Low-Cost Pre-Surgical Protocol

If the clinic staff have any questions regarding your pet's information, they will e-mail you prior to the appointment. Please note that spay/neuter is an elective surgery - proceeding with any anesthesia or surgery is at the discretion of the attending veterinarian. You should receive a series of reminder emails before your appointment. If you are not receiving the reminder, emails, and confirmations, please email us so we can confirm there is a correct email in your file.

Pre-Surgical Feeding Protocol:

Please do not feed your pet after midnight the night before surgery; free access to water is ok.

Rabies Verification:

If your pet is current on his/her Rabies vaccination, please bring a copy of their Rabies certificate (rabies tags are NOT a valid form of proof) along for a clinic staff member to verify. Due to PA state law, if you are unable to show proof of current Rabies vaccination, your pet will have to be vaccinated the day of surgery. This is an additional fee of $20. Please do not send proof of rabies via email before the appointment. You will be asked the day of surgery during drop off for the proof of vaccination.

Required Paperwork:

Our clinic has recently transitioned to electronic medical records. Please e-sign the surgery consent form that will be emailed to you. A veterinary technician will review your pet's medical history and optional additional services such as microchipping, vaccines, and pre-operative bloodwork with you when you bring your pet to the clinic.

Multiple Pets:

If you are bringing multiple pets in for a procedure on the same day, each pet will need the following:

A separate appointment must be scheduled for each pet.
A surgery consent form must be signed for each pet.
Owned cats need to be in individual carriers. If you do not have enough carriers, we can provide you with a cardboard carrier to go home with for $6 per carrier.

Charges and Fees:

Please be prepared to pay for any additional services that you have requested at Check-in. If your dog weighs more than the weight range that you paid a deposit for, you will be expected to pay the difference in price. Payment is due at pickup.

For pricing and additional services please visit: Services & Pricing

Important Notes:

There are circumstances in which your pet may be declined for surgery, even if you wish to proceed. Each pet receives an exam before surgery and you will be contacted with any questions or concerns that are found. Proceeding with any treatment, anesthesia, or surgery is at the discretion of the attending veterinarian.

Aggressive/Reactive Pets: Our staff needs to be able to safely handle each pet. Reactive/aggressive pets may be sent home with oral sedation and rescheduled to a different date and time.
- If your pet regularly takes medication for anxiety or veterinary visits OR if you have concerns about behavior prior to your visit, please email clinic@ycspca.org.
Medication Protocol: If your pet is currently on medications or has been on any medications (except flea/heartworm preventatives) 30 days prior to the appointment, please let the clinic know before the day of surgery.
- Some medications can interact with our anesthetic protocol, so to ensure your pet's safety please let us know in advance of any medications that have been administered.

Check-In & Discharge Information

Dear Spay/Neuter Client,

Thank you for entrusting us with the care of your pet during their spay/neuter procedure. For the safety of all individuals and animals, NO clients will be admitted into the building.

Clinic Address: 3159 Susquehanna Trail North, York PA 17406
Arrival: When you arrive at the SPCA, the spay/neuter clinic is located on the left side of the building. There is a lower parking lot in front of the Low-Cost Clinic door with numbered parking spaces.
- Please park in a parking space and remain in your vehicle. A technician will come to you to start the check-in process.
Important: Due to the volume of daily appointments and limited staff, the Check-in and Discharge process can take time. Please allow for 30 minutes or more for the entire process. Please be courteous and patient with our volunteers and staff as they are trying to help all clients as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Surgery Check-in Information:

Drop-off for DOGS is 7:00 - 7:30 am
Drop off for CATS is 7:30 - 8:00 am
- Veterinary technicians will review your pets medical history and confirm the veterinary services you have elected for your pet.
- If you were unable to e-sign the surgical consent form prior to your pet's appointment, you will be asked to e-sign at the time of drop off.
Please remain in your vehicle. DO NOT remove pets from the vehicle until a staff member has requested you to do so. Many pets that arrive at our facility may be people/pet reactive, so for safety purposes we need everyone to remain in their vehicle.
- We do request that all dogs are on leashes. We will put a secure slip lead on your dog to go into the building, and then you will remove and keep any collars and leashes with you.
- Cats MUST be in their own individual carriers. A staff member will not assist you unless cats are safely secured in carriers. Please do not allow cats to roam free in the vehicle, it is not safe and can cause stress or injury before surgery.

Surgery Discharge Information:

Pick-up from surgery is 3:15 - 4:00pm
Please park in a parking space and remain in your vehicle for a staff member to come to you.
- We DO NOT call. We will only call there is a specific question or concern, so please arrive at the designated pickup time.
- Staff will start the discharge process at the first parking space by the dumpsters and work their way up the parking lot, then go back to the beginning and start over again. Please be patient as we do 30+ discharges daily.
- The clinic closes at 4pm. Please arrive on time for pickup. We are not equipped to board pets overnight, and it is not safe for them to be alone after surgery. It is imperative that you arrive on time. If you arrive after 4:00pm you will be charged a $25 late fee per pet.
Identification: Please write your pet’s name and your last name (large and legibly) on a piece of paper and place it in your front window. This helps staff know who you are picking up.
Discharge instructions: Instructions with Rabies and spay/neuter certificates will be emailed to the email address you provided when scheduling your appointment. Please read these thoroughly before coming to pick up your pet so you may ask any questions you may have at pickup.
Please bring your pet’s collar/harness/leash along so that your pet can be safely secured in your vehicle.

Rechecks:

If your pet requires follow-up care related to their procedure/the incision, we offer courtesy rechecks. The clinic is open Monday - Friday 9am - 2pm, no appointment necessary. Ring the doorbell at the low-cost clinic door for assistance. There is no charge for the recheck unless we send home additional medications.

Should you have any questions prior to your pet’s appointment or need to reschedule, please email us at clinic@ycspca.org. We thank you for your understanding and patience as we help all of our clients and patients as efficiently as possible.

Dogs in Heat:

If your dog is currently in heat or her heat cycle has ended within the past six weeks, it is strongly recommended to delay her surgery until the uterus and ovaries have returned to their normal state. Being in estrus (in heat) can put your pet at an increased risk for intraoperative and postoperative bleeding. Being in heat will also increase your pet's time under anesthesia and increase the size of her surgical incision.

If you need to reschedule your appointment, please email clinic@ycspca.org and we can reschedule your pet to a later date. If you wish to proceed with the surgery despite your pet being in heat or recently being in heat, there will be an additional waiver to sign at check-in stating that you are aware of the increased anesthetic risks involved.