Our dog might go through surgery and I have questions about anesthesia?

They say it depends on the anesthetic skills of the vet. Does that actually have to be a "skill"? I mean, don't they do blood work and they administer anesthesia based on the results of the blood work?

Anesthesia is risky business, even for humans. Sometimes an animal will go into shock due to anesthesia and die. That being said, I have owned dogs for years that have been sedated for any number of reasons (being neutered or spayed, cancer surgery, wound repair, dental cleaning), even old dogs, and they have all come through with no problems.

My dog once went into surgery and had to be put to sleep. The surgery went fine but my dog seemed sluggish and braindead. The vet said give it a week but its been 2 years and she's still not the dog I left in the operating room...

My puppy had his before his leg surgery. I think it wouldn't hurt. Every pet needs blood testing before surgery to ensure that the liver and kidneys can handle the anesthetic. Even apparently healthy animals can have serious organ system problems that cannot be detected without blood testing. If there is a problem, it is much better to find it before it causes anesthetic or surgical complications.