Sanchez the pugalier was 6 months old when he was presented to our clinic for a routine castration as he was now old enough to do so. Sanchez had a pre general anaesthetic blood test done prior to the castration to ensure he was well enough to have the procedure.

A pre general anaesthetic blood test requires a sample of blood to be taken. This enables our veterinarian to have knowledge of the internal health of Sanchez to tailor make the procedure to best suit him. This helps to detect any abnormalities in the kidneys, liver or blood which can increase the risk when having an anaesthetic. Sanchez's blood test showed that all results were within normal limits and he was booked in to have the castration performed.

Photo courtesy of Tim Arch Photography: Flying SanchezThe night before the procedure, Sanchez had his dinner as usual but was restricted from snacks and treats after dinner. He was fasted to reduce the risk of vomiting on recovery after a general anaesthetic.

Sanchez arrived at the clinic in the morning and was admitted for the procedure. Dr Alex performed a health check up of Sanchez to ensure all of his vital signs were within normal limits before he was taken to our hospital ward and prepared for surgery.

A routine desexing involves removing part of the reproductive tract of an animal whilst under general anaesthetic. For Sanchez, a castration involves the removal of the testicles through a skin incision. Once the surgery was completed, Sanchez was placed back in our hospital ward with some warm and comfortable bedding.

Sanchez recovered extremely well after the procedure and was back to his usual self the following day. As you can also see in the picture, Sanchez is also back to enjoying his thrill seeking ways by riding alongside his dad!

Related article:

• Desexing - about the sterilisation procedure
• Desexing - the medical and behavioural benefits of sterilisation