Pierce College’s Spay and Neuter program at the Veterinary Technology Department, is an affordable class that has taught surgical nursing at Pierce College for more than 25 years.
Surgical procedures are performed by Dr. Jennifer Adeline. The procedures are taught in a teaching environment in the Clinical Procedures in Animal Care laboratory. Students are involved in the whole process from preparation of the patient to surgical assistance and their recovery.
Department and Agriculture Chair, Elizabeth White, Registered Veterinary Technology (RVT) Director, graduated from the program and has been a part of it since then.
“This program has been here a long time, at least 25 or 30 years,” said White. “I graduated in 1978, and I did this training here, so this program has always been here.”
Dean of Academic Affairs, Donna-Mae Villanueva, has been a part of the program since she started at Pierce College.
“The RVT students were very nurturing. They made me feel calm and that my two puppies were very well taken care of,” said Villanueva.
Villanueva recommends this program to people from all walks of life.
“Absolutely, especially for anyone who may not be able to afford to go to a veterinarian. These I believe, are low cost spay and neuter clinics,” Villanueva said. “It’s a great service that the RVT students give to the community and it also gives our students the experience of what it is like. I think it’s a fabulous program.”
To qualify, the patient needs to be friendly, easy to handle and between six months and four years old. Cats may be any weight and dogs must weigh between 10 and 60 pounds. Vaccinations, microchip placement, heartworm and viral testing are also offered.
Adeline is an Instructor of animal science and a licensed veterinarian.
“I’ve worked here part time for about five years. This is my first year full time,” Adeline said. “I actually perform the surgeries because the students are still technicians. Students learn all the skills they need to assist with surgeries.”
“In fact, I’ve had my friends bring their pets in because it’s a great program and a great opportunity for someone to get high quality care for a low cost.” said Adeline. “They benefit, the pets benefits and our students benefits from having the opportunity to learn.”
“This is a really nice facility, we have state of the art equipment,” said Adeline.“It’s not low cost because of lack of quality that’s for sure.”
The surgeries are every Thursday and Friday through June 3rd. Surgeries are scheduled one surgery per Thursday and three surgeries per Friday. Arrival times are crucial, due to the classes scheduled time. Pickup time will vary depending on which surgery appointment time is scheduled.
Angela Killips, Instructional Assistant RVT of the program, and has been in the veterinary field for 19 years.
“It’s a class that teaches surgical nursing, in the class they learn surgical nursing skills and then they have to perform those to gain experience,” Killips said.
Killips has been working at Pierce for eight years and recommends this program to anyone.
“You have a licensed veterinarian and a license technician and ten or more students, all concentrating on one animal, no distractions,” Killips said.
Killips recommends to withhold food from your pet after midnight before the scheduled appointment and have access to water until two hours before the appointment. Space is limited, and will be performing four surgeries per week throughout the semester.
For more information or schedule an appointment, contact the veterinary technology instructional assistant Angela Killips, at killipsa@piercecollege.edu.