This page is the day-of guide for scheduled procedures at The Pet Advocate in Tracy. It covers low-cost spay and neuter and dog or cat dental cleanings.
Cats drop off between 8:00 and 8:30. Dogs drop off between 8:30 and 9:00. Dental patients arrive at 8:00.
Fill out the consent form at home after it arrives by email. That saves time at check-in.
Your pet stays in an individual kennel, never in direct contact with other pets, and under staff supervision all day.
We call when your pet is in recovery and give you a pickup time, usually between 3:00 and 4:00. A late fee applies after 4:15.
A technician reviews go-home instructions before bringing your pet out so you can listen before the reunion.
Most pets come in the morning and go home the same afternoon. You do not stay in the building during the procedure.
1. After you book, we email a consent form. Fill it out at home if you can.
2. Cats arrive between 8:00 and 8:30. Dogs arrive between 8:30 and 9:00. Dental patients arrive at 8:00.
3. Staff take a health history and a veterinarian performs a pre-surgical exam.
4. Your pet goes to an individual kennel. Pets are never in direct contact with other pets and stay under staff supervision.
5. After the procedure, we call to say your pet is in recovery and give you a pickup time. Pickup is generally between 3:00 and 4:00.
6. When you return, a technician reviews go-home instructions before bringing your pet out. A late fee applies after 4:15.
Keep your phone on all day. That recovery call is how you get the exact pickup time.
Shortly after you schedule, a consent form is emailed to you. You can complete it online or in person. Filling it out at home makes check-in faster.
A $20 deposit holds a spay or neuter appointment. A $50 deposit holds a dental appointment. The deposit comes off the total on procedure day and is not refunded for no-shows, so reschedule at least 72 hours ahead if your plans change.
Bring what the appointment type requires:
Dogs on a leash
Owned cats in their own carrier, one cat per carrier
Community or feral cats in a humane trap, not a carrier
A phone we can reach during the day
Any medication list or records you already have
Dogs over 100 pounds, certain flat-faced breeds, and pets outside our age and health windows are not candidates here. Confirm eligibility on surgery requirements or dental requirements before you drive.
Follow the fasting instructions in your confirmation email. For dental, spay, and neuter patients we withhold food and water from midnight the night before the procedure. If your pet ate when they were not supposed to, tell us at check-in. We may need to reschedule for safety.
Our clinic is at 1973 N. Tracy Blvd., Tracy, CA 95376. Get directions. Hours for scheduled procedures are Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 4:30.
Arrive in the window for your species and appointment type.
Cats for spay or neuter
8:00 to 8:30
Dogs for spay or neuter
8:30 to 9:00
Dog or cat dental
8:00
Community or feral cats
8:00 to 8:30, in a trap
The parking lot can be busy during drop-off times. Most owners wait with their pet in the vehicle until staff are ready, then hand the pet over.
If you are running late, please call 209-879-9367.
After check-in, staff ask about your pet’s health history. Typical questions include whether your pet ate, whether anything changed since you booked, and what medications they take. Answer those questions honestly, because the exam only works if we know what we are walking into.
A veterinarian then performs a pre-surgical exam. This is the most important step of the morning. Bloodwork can look normal and the exam can still find a reason not to anesthetize that day. Pets five years and older coming for spay or neuter have pre-anesthetic bloodwork. Every dental patient has bloodwork, regardless of age, because the procedure runs longer.
If the exam or bloodwork raises a concern, we will talk with you before proceeding. Some pets are better served at a full-service hospital.
Once the exam is done, we take your pet to get them settled into their kennel for the day. You can leave and wait for our call.
When you arrive, it is important to stop by our reception without your pet to notify our staff you have arrived. We will ask you where you parked and what vehicle you drive. You will then return to your car so one of our team members can check your pet in from the comfort of your car.
Your pet is in an individual kennel. They are never in direct contact with other pets. They stay under direct staff supervision.
Spay and neuter patients go through anesthesia, the surgery, and monitored recovery. A routine dog neuter is often only a few minutes of surgical time. A spay takes longer because it is an abdominal procedure. Most of the day is spent in recovery under staff monitoring.
Pain medication during the procedure is part of our anesthetic plan. Go-home pain tablets and an E-collar are recommended, but optional. Current add-on prices are on our prices and rates page.
We do not leave pets overnight. There is no overnight staff. Same-day pickup is the plan unless we tell you otherwise.
If you want a look at the space before you book, watch our clinic video tour.
Dental day uses the same building and the same morning start. The steps before drop-off are different.
You submit an online history form plus three photos of the teeth, one from the front and one from each side, or a short video. We review those photos, then call to book. The $50 deposit is due when the appointment is reserved.
Those photos help us sort a likely cleaning from a likely complex case. We still will not know the full picture until the pet is under anesthesia with X-rays and probing done.
Dental patients arrive at 8:00. Food and water have been withheld since midnight. An RVT does the car-side check-in. You then meet the veterinarian for the pre-anesthetic exam and a preliminary oral exam while you are still present.
You pay the cleaning portion up front. If we later recommend extractions, that conversation happens by phone after X-rays and probing, and you decide what you'd like to do. Cleaning includes pre-anesthetic bloodwork, full-mouth digital X-rays, scaling, and polishing. Extractions, if needed, are billed separately.
Keep your phone on you throughout the day. If extractions are recommended, we must receive verbal consent before we can move forward.
Pickup is generally between 3-4 unless indicated otherwise.
Full booking rules live on dental requirements.
After the procedure we call to tell you your pet is in recovery and to give you a pickup time. That call usually comes about two hours before you need to be back. Most pickups fall between 3:00 and 4:00.
When you arrive, a technician reviews go-home instructions with you before bringing your pet out. We do it in that order on purpose. Once the pet is in front of you, attention shifts to the reunion. The instructions are easier to hear first.
There is a late fee for pets picked up after 4:15. Call us if you are stuck in traffic. We still need the pet picked up the same day.
At pickup you can ask anything about the incision, the cone, food, and activity. Take the printed discharge instructions with you. Read the email instructions again when you get home.
The most common call we get is that the pet will not eat the night of surgery. That is usually normal. Offer water about 30 minutes after you arrive. Offer a small amount of food an hour later. Many pets take half portions that evening or skip the meal and eat the next day.
The incision may look slightly red or swollen the day of and the day after. Redness should fade over three to five days, and bruising, if it appears, usually fades within a week. Tissue adhesive over the incision can peel. That is expected. You should not see external sutures.
Keep the cone on. The most frequent complication we see is a cat licking her incision after the cone comes off, and cat tongues can open a fresh incision quickly. The cone stays on for 14 days even though the incision is largely sealed by day 7.
Restrict activity for 10 days and keep the pet away from other household pets for three to five days so they are not wrestling or licking the site. Large mature male dogs need a longer quiet period, because too much running in the first two weeks is how scrotal swelling shows up.
Fewer than 1 in 100 patients come back for a post-surgical complication. Call us during business hours if you see bleeding from the incision more than 24 hours after surgery, pale gums, or pus at the site. After hours, emergency care is referred to Sage Veterinary Centers at 925-574-7243 at the owner’s expense.
For a longer day-by-day timeline, see our dog spay recovery, dog neuter recovery, and cat spay recovery guides.
Trap-neuter-return appointments use the cat drop-off window, 8:00 to 8:30. The cat must arrive in a humane trap. We do not accept community cats in carriers.
We accept TNR from individual caregivers and from rescue groups. Booking is still required. Recovery holds and trap-training steps are on our feral cat spay and neuter page.
