What happens when a basketball court becomes an operating room? At dawn, the scoreboard’s off and the surgeries begin. There are no fans, jerseys, or screaming crowds. Instead, there are rows of cats and dogs about to get care they may never have gotten otherwise.

For animals like Gusion, who arrived at a field clinic with a painful, bulging eye after being struck by a drunk passerby, this veterinary care makes all the difference in the world.

To help Gusion, the veterinarian performed a delicate dual surgery—neutering him while simultaneously removing his severely injured eye. Time was critical.…