SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Dakin Humane Society hit a big milestone as they celebrate their 100,000th patient at their spay and neuter clinic.

The 100,000th patient was Sadie, a five-year-old beagle.

"I was very nervous dropping her off. This is the first day I have been without her," said Sadie's owner, Christina Procon.

Procon and her fiance David Gondek rescued Sadie in 2019. But if you ask the couple, they would say Sadie rescued them. 

"When I have bad pain days, she lays on top of me like 'Okay mom, I will take care of you,'" Procon said. "She is a blessing, we love her."

"We have been blessed with her. She has helped us out a lot, and with Christina with her conditions, she is a good support dog for her. So she saved all of us," Gondek said.

They had previously tried to get Sadie spayed since they got her, but because of coronavirus they had trouble getting an appointment at other places. The need became more urgent when their pup had an infection in her uterus and reproductive organs.

"With that they said it could have been fatal, so we needed to get it immediately done so she didn't have another infection," Procon said.

Due to the pandemic, Dakin set up a safe way for owners to pick up their pets since no one is allowed in the building at this time. Although Dakin is New England's largest spay neuter provider, their staff takes pride in caring for each one of the 100,000 pets they have treated. 

"Even though on any given day there might be 30 animals in front of our team, they treat it as if there is one in front of them all the time and they do a wonderful job," said Carmine DiCenso, Executive Director at Dakin Humane Society.

For Sadie and her family, and the Dakin Staff, Tuesday's surgery was an unforgettable moment to say the least. 

"It's really great. People come here and embrace this. We have such high demand for this. Beyond spay, neuter, they also receive vaccines to keep them healthy, keep the public healthy," said DiCenso.

Gondek said they were happy they could bring Sadie safely with the curbside drop-off and was thankful for the care she received.

"It's a blessing," said Gondek. "We have been trying for over a year."

Dakin first opened their clinic in 2009. It was modeled after the ASPCA spay neuter alliance program which provides high quality surgery at low costs.

For more information about Dakin's spay and nueter clinic, or to book an appointment, you can visit their website.