General FAQs

General FAQs

Monday – Thursday: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday: 8:00 am – 2:00 pm
Saturday: CLOSED
Sunday: CLOSED
We are also closed on most major holidays.

Please call us at 775-870-1800 for any questions regarding our schedule.

Cash, checks, CareCredit, and all major credit cards.

Spaying or neutering can be done at approximately 6 months of age. Your pet is given an exam prior to surgery to help determine whether your pet is healthy enough to undergo the surgical procedure. Current vaccinations are required at the time of surgery. Also, a pre-anesthetic blood screen is recommended prior to undergoing anesthesia and surgery.

Procedures involving sutures require them to stay in for 10-14 days following the surgery. Most sutures are absorbable and do not need to be removed.

We have chosen not to offer boarding in order to focus on providing the best possible care for our clients and patients.

Yes, patients are seen by appointment only.

The only exception is in the event of an emergency. Clients will need to call into the hospital to discuss care options, click here schedule an appointment.

Payment is required at the time of service.

This is a blood test that is run here in the hospital prior to surgery. It tests the organ functions, blood counts, and clotting function of your pet. The pre-anesthetic blood screening is done to assure safety during surgery and the ability to heal following surgery.

No, there is no advantage to letting your pet have one litter. However, there are plenty of benefits to having your pet spayed or neutered. These advantages include decreasing the chance of breast and ovarian cancers, decreasing the chance of uterine infections, decreasing the desire to roam the neighborhood, decreasing the incidence of prostate and testicular cancer, helping prevent spraying and marking, and also decreasing pet overpopulation and the surplus of unwanted puppies and kittens.

Our dog kennels are all indoor. Our cat patients are housed in a separate cat-only room away from the dogs. We provide blankets and cage pads for the comfort of our patients, and we ensure that our patients have ample water and food, if appropriate, during their visit.

Surgical FAQs

Surgical FAQs

Today’s modern anesthetic monitors have made surgery much safer than in the past. We do a thorough physical exam on your pet before administering anesthetics, to ensure that a fever or other illness won’t be a problem. We also tailor the amount and anesthetic used to your individual pet, taking into account their specific health needs. The handout on anesthesia explains this in greater detail.

Pre-anesthetic blood testing is important in reducing the risk of anesthesia. 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. Animals that have minor dysfunction will handle the anesthetic better if they receive IV fluids during surgery. If serious problems are detected, surgery can be postponed until the problem is corrected.

We offer three levels of in-house blood testing before surgery, which we will go over with you when you bring your pet in. Our doctors prefer the more comprehensive screen, because it gives them the most information to ensure the safety of your pet. For geriatric or ill pets, additional blood tests, electrocardiograms, or x-rays may be required before surgery as well.

It is important that surgery be done on an empty stomach to reduce the risk of vomiting during and after anesthesia. You will need to withhold food for at least 8 to 10 hours before surgery. Water can be left down for the pet until the morning of surgery.

Anything that causes pain in people can be expected to cause pain in animals. Pets may not show the same symptoms of pain as people do; they usually don’t whine or cry, but you can be sure they feel it. Pain medications needed will depend on the surgery performed. Major procedures require more pain relief than things like minor lacerations.
For dogs, we may recommend an oral anti-inflammatory the day after surgery and several days after to lessen the risk of discomfort and swelling. We use newer medications, which are less likely to cause stomach upset and can be given even the morning of surgery.

Because cats do not tolerate standard pain medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or Tylenol, we are limited in what we can give them. Recent advances in pain medications have allowed for better pain control in cats than ever before. We administer a pain injection 10 minutes prior to surgery. After surgery, pain medication is given on a case-by-case basis. Any animal that appears painful will receive additional pain medication.

We use narcotic patches for some surgeries in dogs as well. The cost will depend on the size of the dog. Injectable pain medications may also be used after surgery on both dogs and cats. Providing whatever pain relief is appropriate is a humane and caring thing to do for your pet.

For many surgeries, we use absorbable sutures underneath the skin. These will dissolve on their own, and do not need to be removed later. Some surgeries, especially tumor removals, do require skin stitches. With either type of suture, you will need to keep an eye on the incision for excessive pain, heat, redness, swelling or discharge. Please do not allow your pet to chew at or lick their incision, as this will interfere with healing. Our veterinarians usually send home an E-Collar following surgery to prevent your pet from licking at their incision. If there are skin sutures, these will usually be removed 10 to 14 days after surgery. You will also need to limit your pet’s activity level for a time and no baths are allowed for the first 10 days after surgery.

While your pet is under anesthesia, it is the ideal time to perform other minor procedures, such as nail trims, ear cleaning, anal sac expressions, or implanting an identification microchip. If you would like an estimate for these extra services, please call ahead of time. This is especially important if the person dropping the pet off for surgery is not the primary decision maker for the pet’s care.

When you bring your pet in for surgery, we will need 5 to 10 minutes of time to fill out paperwork and make decisions on the blood testing and other options available. We typically perform all planned surgeries in the morning to allow ample time for your pet to recover safely under our supervision and be returned home to your care in the afternoon. When you pick up your pet after surgery you can also plan to spend about 10 minutes to go over your pet’s home care needs.

We will call you the night before your scheduled surgery appointment, to confirm the time you will be dropping your pet off and to answer any questions you might have. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions about your pet’s health or surgery. We will call the day after surgery to ensure your pet is doing well and answer any questions you may have.