Spay/neuter clinics

[Adogloveralways]

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Howdy! I would love to get more experience doing a lot of dog and cat spays and neuters in a high volume shelter/rescue setting. I am in Orlando, Florida so I would preferably like to stay local. However, if anyone knows of a great place to go to, for this, I am willing to travel. I could do a weekend or week long trip. I have contacted a lot of different shelters in my area and no one is returning my calls or emails so I have been having difficulty around here. Any help is appreciated!

 

[BigCats]

Have you tried reaching out to Operation Catnip in Gainesville? Of course you’re unlikely to get a lot of dog experience there lol but you can definitely do a bunch of cat spays!

 

[Adogloveralways]

Have you tried reaching out to Operation Catnip in Gainesville? Of course you’re unlikely to get a lot of dog experience there lol but you can definitely do a bunch of cat spays!

Hi! I haven’t heard of them but I will definitely reach out! Thank you for the suggestion 🙂

 

[Koffeekat]

Hi! I haven’t heard of them but I will definitely reach out! Thank you for the suggestion 🙂

Hey, I know this was a while ago, but I'm curious if you reached out to or spent any time at Operation Catnip?

 

[Adogloveralways]

Hey, I know this was a while ago, but I'm curious if you reached out to or spent any time at Operation Catnip?

I haven’t reached out to them and I will today. Thank you so much for the reminder!

 

[Koffeekat]

I haven’t reached out to them and I will today. Thank you so much for the reminder!

Would love to know what your experience is like if you go! I'm considering trying to do my winter break there!

 

[katiemcat]

Would love to know what your experience is like if you go! I'm considering trying to do my winter break there!

I am a UF 4th year and have volunteered with them multiple times if you have any questions

 

[Koffeekat]

I am a UF 4th year and have volunteered with them multiple times if you have any questions

Oh great! Because I have so many questions....

Do you know if they base what kind of surgeries you're allowed to do on how far you are in school?

Is it possible to volunteer for a month for Christmas break or for just a summer (I don't live in the area)?

Do you know what kind of anesthetic protocols they're using? (For instance, I've done some HQHVSN that does straight injectable protocols and some that uses very low dose injectables and then masks down cats which are still fairly awake and that's something I don't really love.)

Anything else you can share about your experiences?

 

[katiemcat]

Oh great! Because I have so many questions....

Do you know if they base what kind of surgeries you're allowed to do on how far you are in school?

Is it possible to volunteer for a month for Christmas break or for just a summer (I don't live in the area)?

Do you know what kind of anesthetic protocols they're using? (For instance, I've done some HQHVSN that does straight injectable protocols and some that uses very low dose injectables and then masks down cats which are still fairly awake and that's something I don't really love.)

Anything else you can share about your experiences?

-It’s not really about how far you are in school so much as your experience as surgery is taught at different points at different schools etc. Usually 1st year students they will start on neuters initially. I already had spay experience going in so they let me spay going in and as I got faster they started teaching me other surgeries (ie. Enucleation, exploratory, amputation).
-You can literally volunteer as much as you want. They always need student volunteers. They also have focused externships.
-Last time I was there they were still using potent injectable with no masking down. I believe it was TTD at one point but I don’t really run anesthesia as that’s usually the technicians. I have always found the plane of anesthesia to be sufficient.

 

[Koffeekat]

-It’s not really about how far you are in school so much as your experience as surgery is taught at different points at different schools etc. Usually 1st year students they will start on neuters initially. I already had spay experience going in so they let me spay going in and as I got faster they started teaching me other surgeries (ie. Enucleation, exploratory, amputation).
-You can literally volunteer as much as you want. They always need student volunteers. They also have focused externships.
-Last time I was there they were still using potent injectable with no masking down. I believe it was TTD at one point but I don’t really run anesthesia as that’s usually the technicians. I have always found the plane of anesthesia to be sufficient.

Thanks so much for all the info!!! Still working out my plans for winter break, but I think I'll reach out!

 

[katiemcat]

Thanks so much for all the info!!! Still working out my plans for winter break, but I think I'll reach out!

No problem! Best of luck

 

[Adogloveralways]

-It’s not really about how far you are in school so much as your experience as surgery is taught at different points at different schools etc. Usually 1st year students they will start on neuters initially. I already had spay experience going in so they let me spay going in and as I got faster they started teaching me other surgeries (ie. Enucleation, exploratory, amputation).
-You can literally volunteer as much as you want. They always need student volunteers. They also have focused externships.
-Last time I was there they were still using potent injectable with no masking down. I believe it was TTD at one point but I don’t really run anesthesia as that’s usually the technicians. I have always found the plane of anesthesia to be sufficient.

Hi, thank you for your reply. Just getting around to responding. I’m going to be reaching out to them, but was curious about if there are other resident doctors on staff who work there who are on shift whenever you do space and neuters if you have questions. My main reason for going and doing this is to get lots of spay and neuter surgical experience since I did not get that at my last job, so I am not comfortable doing them solely alone and would need to have a seasoned doctor there and available to ask questions. Thanks!

 

[katiemcat]

Hi, thank you for your reply. Just getting around to responding. I’m going to be reaching out to them, but was curious about if there are other resident doctors on staff who work there who are on shift whenever you do space and neuters if you have questions. My main reason for going and doing this is to get lots of spay and neuter surgical experience since I did not get that at my last job, so I am not comfortable doing them solely alone and would need to have a seasoned doctor there and available to ask questions. Thanks!

Yes! There is always a senior doctor on site supervising. If I ever found something weird or I needed advice I could just call them over

 

[Adogloveralways]

Yes! There is always a senior doctor on site supervising. If I ever found something weird or I needed advice I could just call them over

Sounds great, thank you so much!