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What to Expect When Your Pet is With Us

 

Hospitalization

If your pet requires hospitalization as part of their treatment plan, you can take comfort in knowing that one of our registered technicians and technician assistants will be there with them every minute. We provide continuous assessment and treatment to ensure your pet receives the best care to help get them back home to you.

Dogs and cats have separate quarters in our hospital, and each patient is ensured clean, comfortable and safe accommodation. Discuss with your veterinarian whether bringing some of your pets' normal diet is appropriate. You are welcome to bring a familiar item along with your pet to keep them comfy and cozy during their day of hospitalization. You are welcome to call at any time throughout the day for an update on your loved one.

Surgery

It is normal to be concerned when your pet requires surgery and anesthesia. Understanding our procedures may help to lessen some of the worries. Pre-Visit Pharmaceuticals (PVPs) are medications that pets receive at home before coming to the veterinary hospital.

PVPs can make a better experience for your pet, you and your veterinarian. They help your pet feel calmer, more relaxed and less worried, which facilitate positive veterinary experiences resulting in reduced anxiety for future visits. They also reduce the doses of anesthetic drugs required for surgical or dental procedures which results in a safer and smoother surgery with a more comfortable recovery.

An overnight fast is important prior to anesthesia. Our fasting protocol is no food or treats after 8 pm the night before, but be sure to have fresh water available at all times. If your pet is on medication, check with his or her veterinarian whether those medications should be given the morning of the procedure. We admit our elective surgical patients between 8:00 and 8:15 am in the morning. Our reception and registered technician teams will confirm the procedure, review the estimate and make sure all your questions are answered. Please provide a phone number where we can reach you throughout the day. You are welcome to call at any time for an update.

Once your pet is admitted, and after a few minutes of getting to know our technicians and technician assistances, a small area of hair on the front leg is shaved so we can place a sterile intravenous catheter. This allows us to collect a blood sample, administer medications and provide fluid support painlessly while with us. In order to create a safe custom anesthetic plan for your pet and their needs, some data needs to be collected, including but not limited to a physical examination, bloodwork and chest radiographs for senior pets or those with heart disease.

Up to 4 procedures are scheduled on any given day. We consider the patient's anesthetic risk, anxiety, age, and type of procedure when triaging the patients' order to receive their procedure.

We advocate for appropriate pain control and ensure our patients experience no discomfort post-surgery. This often means they are just too groggy to return home immediately. Post surgery, our trained team monitor them closely for a few hours till it is safe for them to return home with you. Discharge times vary, throughout the afternoon and early evening.

Ultrasound procedures

If this diagnostic has been prescribed by your veterinarian, we can arrange it with a boarded veterinary radiologist who is scheduled to come in once monthly. Ultrasound admission time is between 8:00 and 9:00 am. Our fasting protocol is no food or treats after 8 pm the night before, but be sure to have fresh water available at all times. If your pet is on medication, check with his or her veterinarian whether those medications should be given the morning of the procedure. Patients receiving an abdominal ultrasound must have the hair on their belly shaved - the ultrasound probe cannot see through hair. Cardiac ultrasound patients will be shaved in two smaller spots on the left and right sides of their chest. Sedation may be necessary to safely perform your pet’s ultrasound, especially if any ultrasound guided sampling of abnormal tissue is required. If abnormalities are found that require sampling, your veterinarian will call to discuss. Be sure that we can reach you at the number you have provided us.

Ultrasounds are performed on multiple patients throughout the day, including your pet.  The order in which ultrasounds occur is solely up to the radiologist. Once the procedure is complete, and the veterinarian has had an opportunity to review the findings, you will receive a phone call to discuss and arrange a discharge time.

We ask that clients not wait at the hospital for their pet’s ultrasound procedure to be complete. Our veterinarians are still attending to their busy caseload, and we cannot comfortably accommodate you.

Please call the hospital (604-734-7744) if you have any questions. Thank you.