Folks...
> One thing sticks out in my mind: The
> absolute lack of any sign that they'd
> just had surgery
The dog may well be in pain, but it's "keeping up appearances". It's a survival mechanism in the wild. It is pretty well-known now that dogs and other animals - esp pack animals -hide outward signs of pain because that'd be revealing a weakness to a prospective aggressor or predator. It's a genetic carryover from their wild days, when dogs showing signs of pain might be shunned from the pack or be another predator's dinner.
So vets need to dispense pain medication to the animal with this behavior in mind.
Cats do the same thing. I've seen female cats right after surgery (after anesthesia wears off, of course) "act normal". But you notice they rest more and don't play like they used to (until they're healed up).
Spaying is MAJOR surgery and is most definitely nontrivial. Vets do get to be old hands at it because they do so much of it, but it's equivalent in scale & complexity to other abdominal work. Since they do have a lot of practice at it, I think complications/losses are less than for other kinds of complex surgery. By comparison, think what a hysterectomy for a human involves/costs, then think of whatever you pay for spaying as a bargain. Vets also lose money on it, and just help out due to stopping unwanted litters. Many vets volunteer for low-cost spay/neuter clinics for SPCA, etc.
Buy your vet a beer, and kick the PETA a*shole on the way out the door. I belong to the 'other' PETA: People for the Eating of Tasty Animals ;-)
Bill Wiese
San Mateo, CA