10/15/2025
Updated tips on Scheduling spay/neuter & euthanasia appointments
Spay/neuter appointments
We are so pleased you are planning to spay or neuter your pet. Scheduling an appointment for spay or neuter can be a bit of a challenge. With veterinary shortages nationwide, there are limited appointments available. Prior to scheduling, please refer to our website for information on fees, vaccine requirements, and pre-surgical information https://hssbv.org/Our-Veterinary-Clinic. Here are a few tips to prepare you for scheduling your pet’s appointment as efficiently as possible.
Age
Spay and neuter appointments are available for healthy cats and dogs from the age of 4 months and up.
All pets 8 years and older will require a consultation one week to one month prior to your surgery appointment. These pets will require additional bloodwork at the time of this consultation. All pets 6 to 7 years old will require pre-anesthetic bloodwork on the day of their surgery appointment.
Breed Requirements
All Doberman pinschers and mixes are prone to Von Willebrand’s disease. This disease is a bleeding disorder that makes it difficult for blood to clot. All Doberman pinschers and mixes should be screened for von Willebrand’s factor at least 2 weeks prior to surgery. Please be prepared to schedule this at time of booking.
Deposit
Please be prepared to pay a deposit to secure an appointment, $50 for dogs and $20 per cat for groups of 3 or more. This deposit is non-transferable. It will be applied to the fees on the day of your appointment. It will be forfeited if you do not show up for your appointment or you cancel less than 72 hours before your scheduled appointment.
When to schedule
Surgery appointments are available one the first business day of each month for the following month. On November 3rd, all December appointments will be available. All of the appointments available will be Monday – Friday with a check-in time of 7:30 and a pick-up time of 4p.m. All of the appointments for dogs are taken on the first or second day of scheduling. Cat appointments are typically available for the first week or two of the month.
How to schedule
In person
On the first days of the month, you may come in person to schedule your pet’s appointment. You will need to join the line at the cat entrance. Keep an eye out for signs when you arrive. We open our doors at 9 a.m., but the line usually starts forming as soon as our gates open at 7:30 a.m. Please be prepared for the weather as wait times can be long.
Please be aware we may run out of appointments during your wait in line to schedule. Staff and volunteers make every effort to update clients waiting in line when a certain type of appointment is no longer available.
Over the phone
Due to demand, we receive about 1,000 calls on the first day of the month. You will need to be patient to reach someone to assist you. You may need to call more than once. We are doing our best to assist all of our clients, but our resources are limited. Please do not try to dial through to individual extensions as the staff you reach will redirect you to the main line. Messages left at individual extensions will not receive return calls.
Voicemail and Waitlists
Due to limited staffing, we are unable to take voicemails or maintain a waitlist. You must reach us by phone or in person to schedule your appointment.
Euthanasia
Effective November 1, 2025 there will be a $35 fee for euthanasia services.
Euthanasia services will be performed by appointment only (between the hours of 9:00 am and 3:00 pm Monday – Friday) and the $35 fee will be required when the appointment is made. If your pet is experiencing a medical emergency, please contact us immediately.
Euthanasia can be performed only when official ownership of the pet is established. This is done with the pet owner’s state issued photo identification card which must match either: pet license documents, paperwork with the pet’s information and owners name from a veterinary office, or official adoption/purchase records. These supporting documents must be a minimum of 2 months old. If the pet is a patient at our clinic with the appropriate pet owner’s information, no other documentation is needed.
We understand that there are situations when a deceased family member’s pet has to be put to sleep. In these cases, we ask that you have power of attorney for property, provide a death certificate, and the proper proof of ownership.
There are no exceptions to this rule and photos of/with the pet will not be used to establish ownership, regardless of the photo’s time/date stamp. If you are unable to establish ownership for your pet, you will need to seek assistance from your local full-service veterinary hospital.
If you find a stray that is injured or suffering, you should take them directly to your local animal control. Should a patient arrive in such condition, it will be evaluated for humane euthanasia or transfer to the appropriate animal control agency.
We understand this decision is never easy. We appreciate your understanding of our updated policy.
Optional cremation services are available through Gateway Pet Cemetery for a fee, paid directly to them (cash or credit accepted). While we will assist with facilitating this process for you, we do not charge a fee for this service.
The HSSBV is comprised of dedicated staff and unpaid volunteers who care deeply for animals (and their owners). We ask that our staff is treated with respect and kindness at all times, but especially as they assist you with the difficult process of saying goodbye to your beloved pet as they cross the rainbow bridge. While this is emotional for you, it is also emotional for us. Veterinarians and veterinary staff often suffer from compassion fatigue.
If you have an issue with our euthanasia process, policies or experience, we must insist you communicate this with kindness. We always do our best to help our clients and their pets, but our resources do have limitations.
Offensive language or other inappropriate behavior toward staff, volunteers or other clients and their pets will not be tolerated.
