I have a 11yo min foxy called Lucky; whom had an open pyometra in January 2011 and our normal vet failed to advise me of the future dangers, but said he never operates on cats or dogs over the age of 8yo as the risks are too high. In July 2011 Lucky missed her next heat and became very sick, so I rushed her to another local vet, whom suspected a closed pyometra and wanted $900 up front to operate which I could not afford so I rushed Lucky to the Lort Smith hospital where they did an ultra sound and found no sign of a pyometra; but said I need to urgently have Lucky speyed to prevent a pyometra and death in the forseeable future and said I can pay the speying bill gradually overtime. This initial visit costed only $71 including consultation and ultrasound. I had to wait 7 weeks for the speying appointment and then on the day Lucky and I tavelled 2 hours to get there at which time the Lort Smith hospital demanded FULL payment of $260 before Lucky was to be speyed. Upon saying I was told I can gradually pay the bill in instalments they refused and said it must be paid in FULL in advance. After pushing them, they accepted a minimum of $160 in advance and the balance in 2 fortnightly payments. Apart from this problem I found the staff to be helpful, friendly and they really care about animals, however, the written "surgery" aftercare letter they hand you does not give much aftercare information; so anyone having thier dog or cat speyed should go there prepared with a list of questions to ask them and should seek further surgery after care information from the internet. Considering the local vets wanted $900 up front for the speying surgery and the Lort Smith only charged $260, the Lort Smith is much better, cost wise. One other vital fact is that the initial ultrasound showed no sign of a pyometra and the blood test 3 weeks later showed no signs of a pyometra, however the surgeons notes after the surgery stated "suspected" pyometra; due to the uterus being enlarged at the time of surgery; therefore ultra sounds and blood tests DO NOT always show the underlying problem.