Local Spring veterinarian headed to Ukraine to perform spay/neuter surgeries to curb animal overpopulation
SPRING, Texas - "It can be amazing and horrible all in one hour," said Dr. Todd Hayden.
We witnessed that ourselves before our interview with Dr. Hayden, co-owner of Rayford Animal Wellness Clinic.
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When we arrived, he was doing exploratory surgery on a 9-year-old dog.
"Unfortunately, it turned out to be cancer," Dr Hayden said. "Those are never easy."
On Sunday, Dr. Hayden will go to Ukraine to become part of a spay/neuter surgical team.
It marks the second time Greater Good Charities Global non-profit has made such a trip possible.
Animals in shelters in the front-line areas of Ukraine have increased 100% since the war began.
"It's a war-torn country. People have evacuated. Young men have gone off to fight, families are sent away to other countries," said Hayden.
The veterinarian didn't think twice about saying yes to the two-week trip.
"I just have a certain set of skills," Hayden said. "I'm really fast at surgery in the spay/neuter game, not everybody can do that. It's something I have the ability to do, so I should do it. At first, I thought that's crazy, and then I thought that's exactly what he's going to do," Dr. Corey Hayden, Todd's wife and co-owner of Rayford Animal Wellness Clinic, said.
"At first, I was like no big deal. But then he started talking about all the requirements and all the rules," Dr. Corey Hayden said. "Just this morning, I thought I should probably be a little more worried about this. But it's amazing, I'm so proud of him."
Specific locations times and dates of the surgeries are not disclosed for security reasons.
"We had a Zoom call the other day, and they were joking about the 20-hour workdays. I was like, 'Man, I'm in.' You must be a veterinarian, let's go," said Dr Hayden.
He wants to remind everyone we don't have to travel to Ukraine to make a difference.
"I always encourage people to take a few minutes out of their day to do something good," Dr. Todd Hayden said.
For more information about the Greater Good Charities, click here.