Meet Emily!  She is a 9-year-old female Yorkie that started becoming lethargic and didn’t want to eat and her pet parents noticed a bloody discharge from her vulva.  Emily had a pyometra – an infected uterus – which is VERY common in dogs that are not spayed.  She had been referred to Animal Services to get spayed, but since removing an infected uterus is much more involved – and much more expensive – they could not perform the surgery.  Emily found her way to VCA Animal Care Clinic where the veterinarians could perform the procedure, but Emily’s mom did not have the funds.  SAGE Compassion for Animals partnered with the veterinary team to offer the necessary funds and Emily had her surgery that day.  Emily also had 2 tiny nodules in her breasts that were removed – likely to be benign mammary tumors.  Mammary tumors are as common in dogs that have not been spayed as breast cancer is in women!  Spaying your dogs prior to their first heat prevents pyometra AND breast cancer!