How to Save Hundreds off the Price of Spaying or Neutering Your Pet

It’s done, the dirty deed and it was done dirt cheap! We had our golden retriever puppy neutered last week 🙁  

Let me start off by saying that I have mixed feelings about the procedure. I feel awful for our 9 month old Bentley, who had no choice or say in this matter, we made the decision to castrate him. Geez! We cut off his testicles!! I mean WTF?! Really?!

I feel so bad about that aspect of the decision. Why did we do it? I mean, at this stage in his life, he isn’t aggressive and doesn’t leave his mark by randomly peeing inside our house. The main reason we decided on neutering is to prevent unwanted births and to help control the pet population. I believe that is the main reason most of us choose to neuter and spay our pets. Right?

As a child I grew up with a German Shepard we raised from a puppy. He was never neutered and was very aggressive to others outside our family. We had a 6 foot wooden fence surrounding our backyard but at times we was able to escape and do God knows what 😬

We always got him back fairly quickly but I always thought he was searching for females in heat. We never heard of any issues he caused but I always wondered had he been neutered would he have been less aggressive? In the back of my mind, this childhood experience played into my decision to get Bentley neutered. Although I realize that Golden Retrievers and German Shepards are different breeds, and their temperaments are not the same, I will forever wonder what if.

The day of the procedure was tough for our pup. He came home very disoriented and appeared drunk.

It took a good 24 hours for the anesthesia to wear off before he was back to his normal self.

And OMG! This god awful cone is killing me!! It’s so BIG, obtrusive and utterly obnoxious!

Poor Bentley hates this thing! Who can blame him, no peripheral vision, he can’t smell like he used to and he bumps into everything! I despise this thing too, and can’t wait to remove it. The plastic is very hard and hurts like hell when he bumps into any of us. This cone is pure misery but we use it knowing the alternative could be worse. If he licks the surgical area and the stitches pop open…yikes..that would be a whole mess of problems!

Anyway, the point of this article isn’t to unload my angst about Bentley losing his masculinity but instead to pass on information on how you can save hundreds off the procedure!

When I started thinking about his dreaded operation, I just went to my Vet and asked for a quote..having never done this before, I figured it was a good place to start.

I was shocked to learn the procedure was going to cost almost $700! And if I wanted to add on a few extras like micro chipping and nail trimming, the staggering cost would rise to $850!

How are these costs encouraging people to help control the pet population? I considered foregoing the operation just based on cost.

I started thinking about it more and doing some research and found out there is a way to lower the cost of the procedure while still providing my pet with the best possible care. Our local Humane Society has partnered with several Vet’s in our area to provide a low cost spay/neuter option. I went to our County’s Humane Society website and printed off a spay/neuter certificate that states my cost for the procedure, based on sex and weight of our dog is $85!!!! Let me repeat…85 dollars!!

There is a list of participating Vet’s in the area who will accept this certificate and wouldn’t you know it….my Vet was on the list! I couldn’t believe it! My cost for the procedure went from $662 to $267! That’s more than a 50% savings! Yes there are other charges such as pain medication, the cone etc…but the cost of the procedure including anesthesia was only $85! All because I printed off a piece of paper!!

I just had to share this with you all, I had no idea this was an option but so glad I looked into it. I hope it helps you too if you decide to go this route for your pet!! Good Luck

Denise

XO

Happy Haute Home will be creating a blog section only for subscribers, exclusive access will be granted with a password. So get subscribed so you won’t miss out on any money savings tips!

Please Subscribe to Happy Haute Home

For more posts about interior decor ideas, please subscribe to Happy Haute Home and follow along on Pinterest HERE, and Twitter HERE and feel free to pin and tweet your favorite pics from Happy Haute Home.

You can also get daily home decor inspiration by following along on Instagram HERE. If you use any of my tips to transform a room, tag me on Instagram, I would love to see it!