Findlay is a lucky man dog.

The small, white-brown Chilean terrier is one of the first dogs in the world to be sterilized without surgery.

The procedure took place at his home in Santiago, while his owner held him in her arms and fed him treats before and after. Then Findlay started to skip around, as if nothing had happened.

There was no anesthesia, no surgery, just an injection of what scientists say is an “immune castration vaccine” called Egalitte.

Leonardo Saenz, a veterinarian and professor at the University of Chile, where the vaccine was developed, says it blocks the hormone responsible for reproduction and is reversible.

“If we block this hormone, no gonadotropin is produced and therefore the animal is in a state of sterilization,” he explained.

The vaccine can be used in both female and male animals and costs 50,000 Chilean pesos (about 50 euros). A vet’s prescription and examination of the animal is required to determine if it is fit to receive the vaccine.

Saenz said the vaccine could help sterilize animals on a large scale since the procedure is not as complicated as surgery.

“One injection is much easier and you can vaccinate a much larger number of animals if you need to control breeding rates,” he said.

The ability to reverse the sterilization is what prompted Findlay’s owner, Tamara Zamorano, to choose this method.

“With the other procedure, the castration, I was a little afraid. “As well as being simple, it’s also reversible, so if we want it to mate, when the time comes, we can,” he explained.

Findlay made no comment about the procedure but was a little nervous at the time of the injection. Later, he happily licked the vet’s hand and went about his day.