Article by Diana Gorin

 

Almost 50 Pets. Spayed and Neutered. For free. 

You heard that right. 

Free Veterinary Care. 

If you haven’t been following our social media, then you may have missed that we just had our 9th Annual Ford Petersen Spay Day, where we spay/neuter up to 50 cats and dogs at zero cost to the pet parent. 

Dr. Wheaton and Management with Ford Petersen’s Family on Spay Day.

This day is incredibly important to our team. We created the first annual Ford Petersen Spay Day after our beloved friend, coworker, and future veterinarian, Ford Petersen, passed away while at Vet School in UC Davis. 

He worked on our treatment team for 4 summers, and to quote Dr. Wheaton, was “a gentle giant.” Standing at 6’4” he was also described as a teddy bear who loved animals. And 2 weeks after he passed, we felt the best way to honor his memory was by serving the pet community that he loved so dearly. 

Our day started at 6 am, where the team met for breakfast at Denny’s and talked about the upcoming day, excitement building amongst the best breakfast that 6 am can carry! 

Everyone met at the hospital at 7 am, where we all began final preparations for the day. We have been preparing for weeks, getting the necessary amount of surgery kits ready, preparing our surgery suites, and prepping all cages, and all that work proved valuable in letting the day go off without a hitch.

apcc doctor team

After our first wave of people and pets came in at 7:30, we immediately started with doctor exams, blood work and optional treatments. 

Dr. Wheaton pulled our team into a huddle to remind us amongst all the chaos, the whole reason for the day, providing veterinary services to the pet community to honor the legacy of Ford Petersen. After concluding with everyone showing off their “Fresh Socks” (Ford was famous for wearing his fresh socks) the team got back to work! 

3 surgery suites were operational at once. Spays and Neuters happening left and right. Pets getting anesthetized and woken up. Everyone worked succinctly together, it was like witnessing a well rehearsed ballet, but vet med edition. 

And before we knew it, the first patient was all finished and ready to go home by 11 am!

The rest of the day ran beautifully and it ended around 6 pm. We are so thankful for this opportunity to serve the community and remember our friend together.

Since Ford has passed, around 400 pets have been spayed or neutered in his memory.

We already can’t wait for next year’s Ford Petersen Spay Day! 

FLO. Ford Lives On. 

If you want to keep up to date on events like Ford Petersen Spay Day, be sure to follow us on social media @apccvet on all platforms and subscribe to our newsletter!

About The Author

Diana Gorin, Social Media and Marketing Specialist | Diana started at APCC in February of 2022, after previously working in social media and branding. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film & Television and has worked in Georgia, New York City, Yellowstone National Park, but she loves California above all.  She also has an insane flamepoint kitten named Charlotte that completely runs her life.