Your companions are important to us, and we treat them like they are our own. As such, we know you have lots of questions regarding their care while at the hospital. Prior to your appointment, please review the following list of Frequently Asked Questions we get from clients. As ever, if you have additional questions, don’t hesitate to ask us.
The cost of a new appointment with the Small Animal Surgical Service and having your pet examined followed by a consultation with a surgeon is $180. Should your pet need to undergo surgery, this fee would be applied to the overall estimate.
Our goals are to offer the earliest available appointments to all of our patients and minimize clients’ wait time at the Veterinary Health Center. By leaving a deposit, clients can secure an appointment and guarantee they will be present at the scheduled date and time. If a client elects to cancel an appointment, the deposit will be returned as long as the cancellation is made more than 24 hours prior to the appointment. The deposit will be applied to the client’s bill at checkout.
We work constantly to shorten the wait for our clients and apologize for the delay to get an appointment. If you ever perceive that your pet is experiencing a surgical emergency, please call us and we can see you immediately. As ever, we appreciate your patience.
You should bring any medications your pet is taking in their original bottles. Make sure to have documentation of your pet’s vaccination schedule as well. If your veterinarian has completed any recent diagnostics like blood work or X-rays, please bring those in with you. Often, we can use these diagnostics if they were done recently enough, allowing us to avoid having to repeat them, which saves you money. If your pet eats a prescription diet, please bring in enough to feed them if you anticipate that they will be hospitalized. Lastly, bring a list of questions you might have so we can be sure to address your concerns. Please do not bring toys, blankets or bones. We avoid putting anything in their cages with them that might be a choking hazard. All bedding is changed frequently, so it is likely that your personal blankets will be incorporated with our laundry and lost to you if you leave it. Thank you for understanding.
Yes. In the event we need to perform any diagnostics that require sedation or general anesthesia your pet will need to be fasted.
Please withhold food and water starting at 10pm the night before your scheduled appointment.
There are several options for those individuals who have pets with correctable conditions and who possess financial constraints. Please call us ahead of time to alert us of this possibility so that we might explore those options and try to find an assistance plan for you.
This depends on the nature of your pet’s condition. Occasionally surgery will need to be delayed to allow for surgical planning or additional diagnostics if the condition is somewhat more involved. In addition, if the procedure is relatively simple and can be handled as an outpatient procedure, we may set up a time when you can drop your pet off with us in the morning to allow us to do the procedure and send them home later that same day.
Unless it is a simple ovariohysterectomy (spay) or castration, which the students may do under the supervision of an intern or resident, all major surgeries are completed by the attending board-certified surgery faculty or residents. If you have any questions about this, please don’t hesitate to ask during your appointment.
This depends on the condition your pet is presenting for and the type of surgery it may need. We are doing more outpatient procedures these days, as many of our techniques are now minimally invasive; however, we frequently need to hospitalize companion animals following major procedures to observe them and keep them comfortable. Hospital times for most major orthopedic and soft-tissue procedures range between two and four days. Your surgeon will review this with you during your appointment, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask them.
Absolutely. We cannot allow visitations the day of surgery, because we will want them to rest quietly after their procedure and seeing you may get them overly excited. But we typically can allow visitations starting the day after surgery and will provide a quiet room for you to spend some time together if their hospitalization will be protracted.
