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Frequently Asked Questions Q. When should my dog or cat get her ovariohysterectomy (Spay)? A. We currently recommend if you do not plan on having puppies or kittens, to have your dog or cat's Ovariohysterectomy surgery at six (6) months of age. That is before their first heat cycle. We used to think it was beneficial to have the dogs or cats have one heat cycle, or have one litter before performing the Ovariohysterectomy. However we have determined that if we perform the Ovariohysterectomy before their first cycle, we virtually eliminate the occurance of mammary tumors later in life. Q. So does this mean that if we do not have the Ovariohysterectomy done before their first cycle, they will have cancer? A. That is a good question. The short answer is no, it is not a guarantee of mammary cancer. As in humans, there are many factors that account for mammary cancer in dogs and cats. The incidence is very low - slightly less than 3% in 'intact' animals (from the latest studies). There are so few 'intact' at an old age animals, it is hard to get a good representative scientific sample. What was found in that study:
Q. So does that mean after the dog or cat's third cycle, I should not bother with an Ovariohysterectomy? A. The benefit of an Ovariohysterectomy is not gone after the pet's third cycle. True, the reduction in mammary cancer is no longer a benefit. However, pyometritis is a major concern in our middle age and older dogs and cats. Pyometritis is an infection in the uterus. The condition is caused from bacteria moving 'retrograde' from the outside world into the vagina and into the uterus (typically during a heat cycle) and then the bacteria multiply and create a disease situation. And where you may have had a relatively typical surgical procedure, now, with the infection and all the secondary toxic changes to the body, we have a very sick patient, and serious condition. Q.  With a last name of Ramirez, where are you from? A. I was born in Orange, New Jersey, and my parents moved to Springfield when I was 2 so my dad could take advantage of the GI bill. He obtained his Masters degree in social work from the University of Illinois in 1963 . That is me on the left with my brother, Bill, our dad's graduation from the University of Illinois. My grandfather (dad's dad) came to America to work on the railroad in the 1900's, and when WWI broke out, he enlisted for his newfound home country. Upon his honorable discharge at the end of WWI, he received his citizenship papers. Those citizenship papers were one of only three papers my grandmother had kept of my grandfathers (his baptismal certificate, and his marriage license, were the other two). Q. Will you board dogs and cats again? A. At this time, we are training staff to properly care for dogs and cats, and we want to make sure all of us are prepared to take care of them if they stay here. Once we are able to get the staff trained properly, we will consider opening up for boarding again. Update: March 26, 2008 We are now accepting boarding reservations! Q. What about Saturday hours? A. One of the important things to me is my family. As I learned about veterinary medicine, I saw it could get all encompassing. I saw many veterinarians get caught up with work hours and miss their children's activities. When I did relief (temp) work, it was to enable me to be at home with my family. My current plan is to spend Saturday's at many of my children's activities I have missed the past 18 years of doing relief work. We have an excellent emergency facility that handles many of our overnight emergencies. Q. Do you do billing? A. We gladly take Visa, Mastercard and Discover card payments. We also take personal checks with appropriate ID, and of course, cash is always accepted. :-) At this time, there are no in house billing options. Q. What happened to Dr Huwe? A. He died in an automobile accident as he was driving to their lake home in the Ozarks. He died instantly killed on May 11, 2007. Q. Sometimes the phone keeps ringing and it's during the day. Why? A. Please accept my apologies for this problem. As I mentioned earlier, the practice had seven staff members in May, and the 2 months before I bought the practice, Mallory was the only one here. So sometimes if we were in the middle of an important procedure, the phone had to not be answered. We did set up an answering machine to pick up, and we did return all calls. Again we apologize for the inconvenience. |
