I'd like to add a couple of things if I may :wave:
Having had a lot of ill buns, disabled buns etc - I have found that having them spayed is a great idea - and I have had a lot of spayed 9 and 10 year olds
Today something happened that will hopefully give you food for thought.
Just on two weeks ago our beloved Rosebud started with a partial prolapse
Now, Rosebud must be nearly 6 years old or more, but due to her size and weight vets had been very reluctant to spay her. Although Rosebud (or Buds as we call her) - does not eat a great deal she is overweight and funny shaped due to a hormone imbalance. The vets have always been against spaying her as the spay would make her put on more weight and would then compromise her heart and lungs - plus, Buds is also a pasturella bun as well as a bun with no nose:shock: Bud's sneezes at the slightest thing due to having no covering on her nose - so any operations where going to be highly risky.
Now then, as I said, she had a partial prolapse and was taken to our vets at Premier Vets - there they told us that she had a prolapse and took x-rays to see what was going on. Due to her being such a high risk bun they gave us Fibreplex:shock: and left her as she was:shock: . They also checked her teeth and said they where fine but the biggest shock was leaving her with a prolapse
We eventually got in touch with Sally (our old vet and the one that we believe has helped so many of our buns to live free from pain - she is a saint to us) - anyway, we took Bud's x-rays to her and she could see immediately that something was there:shock: Sally only has access to an operating room once a week at the moment as she is doing locum work and also trying to set up a practice for small animals
So, we booked Buds in today for Sally to see what she could do.
John got there at 10am this morning with Buds and Sally examined her very carefully. She could feel lumps and bumps in her uterus on palpitating and was extremely worried
She also found that Buds had two overgrown back molars
The only thing that Sally could do was bite the bullet and spay Buds - but she told us to prepare for the worst
( We where devesated but we knew that we had to give Buds a chance - no matter how slim
Buds got through her operation
and is now home and tucking into food
She has not been eating well at all these last few days and I am not surprised as Sally found a large tumour in her womb
( The womb also had fluid filled cysts all over it
Sally is very, very hopeful that all of the tumour and cysts have been removed but obviously can't stake her reputation on it. Buds also had the two molars burred down while she was under.
Most of the vets around here (including Premier who have been our vets for years) would not touch Buds due to her high risk - but Sally did and she has given her a chance. Buds was also quite anemic due to fighting off this illness and infection.
If all blood tests and x-rays come back normal for older or compromised buns then go for the spay - having nearly lost Buds and having lost Violet (who was 9 when she developed uterine cancer) - I would go for a spay at any time. Obviously we have some buns here who cannot be spayed - little Fliss can't as her legs are crossed under and over her - there is no way that you could even get a scalpel where it was needed. But for all other buns, I would spay - they deserve that chance and as a carer of the Hairy Mob then I am going to give them every chance all the time.
Our hearts have been in our boots today and we have felt sick - but to see Buds home and alive is the most amazing thing - and we are truly grateful to Sally for giving her the chance. Buds is home, she's eating, she's comfortable - what more could we ask for?
