About SANSTEP
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SANSTEP was founded by Dr. Laura Paris, DVM in 2025. Many shelters are filling over capacity and it is clear there is a problem. The answer is the same as it's been for over 50 years: spay and neuter to reduce pet overpopulation. So, what's changed? It seems that there are less veterinarians that are willing and/or comfortable with providing this essential service at a cost that is affordable to the general public. Most veterinarians graduate from vet school having performed less than 10 spay/neuter surgeries. They can gain more experience by volunteering or working at a shelter or a spay/neuter clinic but unfortunately, their learning may be limited by the types of surgeries that are presented. In general practice, many veterinarians worry, "what if I am presented with a non-routine spay/neuter surgery" or "what if a complication happens during surgery, the animal is bleeding out, and I don't have anyone to help me?". These are all common concerns. In order to become a proficient spay/neuter surgeon, the veterinarian needs to become educated and skilled at performing routine AND complicated surgeries. SANSTEP was founded with these concerns in mind: providing veterinarians with the knowledge and skills to perform these surgeries with the guidance and support of a HVHQSN surgeon in an environment that is dedicated to this training.
Dr. Laura Paris - SANSTEP Founder and HVHQSN Trainer and Educator
Our founder, Dr. Laura Paris started her veterinary career as a general practitioner in 2004. Although she enjoyed practicing medicine, Dr. Paris realized that surgery was her true passion and began doing more spay and neuter surgeries. In 2010, Dr. Paris began working as a HVHQSN surgeon. In 2013, she joined Animal Friends of the Valleys Spay/Neuter Clinic in Lake Elsinore, California and became the Chief Surgeon, Medical Director, and Operations Director. Dr. Paris grew the Spay/Neuter Clinic from 2 days a week and 40 surgeries to 7 days a week and 275 surgeries. No matter how many surgeries the clinic completed, it seemed like there was a never-ending demand. In 2021, Dr. Paris joined the non-profit Spay Neuter Action Project (SNAP) in San Diego and worked as Chief Surgeon and Medical Director of SNAP’s North County Mobile Unit. Dr. Paris continues to work for SNAP and also works part time for other high volume spay/neuter clinics.
In her 15 years as a HVHQSN surgeon, Dr. Paris has performed over 70,000 spays and neuters on dogs, cats, rabbits, and even a guinea pig. She is extremely proficient which results in few post-surgical complications. She also makes the tiniest of incisions as noted by the many clients who question whether their animal even had surgery.
Dr. Paris has trained veterinarians on spay/neuter techniques since 2016. The positive feedback and gratitude of these veterinarians motivated her to start this non-profit training program. Through the years and thousands of surgeries, she has learned many "tips and tricks" to handle challenging spay/neuter surgeries, prevent complications, and how to handle complications when they do inevitably happen. Dr. Paris wants the opportunity to share her knowledge and skills with other veterinarians with the goal of increasing the number and proficiency of spay/neuter surgeons within the United States.
