If your pet has a surgery booked, please have a look through these instructions at least 24 hours prior to your appointment.  Don't worry, this is just for review, we cover all of this with you at the time of booking.

• Food and Water:

  • Please withhold food after 8pm the night before surgery.  Your pet may have access water up until bedtime, but nothing by mouth after that.   If it is a particularly hot summer day, we may make an exception and allow a small amount of water in the morning before surgery.  You may also give a small treat in the morning if your pet requires medication.  Please check with us if your pet is on medication, to make sure it is ok to be given before surgery.

• Check in at Hospital:

  • Please arrive at the hospital between 8:30 - 9:00 am.  Upon your arrival at the clinic, we will take a few minutes with you to make sure there have been no new concerns since we last saw your pet or spoke with you.  We will also ask for your best contact phone number in case we need to reach you during the day.  Please try your best to be available to answer should we need to call you.  Sometimes new information can reveal itself once an animal is under anesthetic and we can do a thorough check of everything.  We may require additional information or consent from you to assure we can provide the BEST care for your pet. Our surgeries usually happen between 10 am and noon, this is when we would be most likely to call, should the need arise.

• Pre-Anesthetic exam:

  • After we check you in on the phone, we will take the patient into an exam room for a pre-anesthetic check up.  This is normally done with the owners' present, however in our current situation we are asking that owners wait outside while we perform the exam, in case any additional questions arise.  We will listen to the heart and lungs, check circulation, hydration, and weight.  This acts as a double check to make sure the pet can receive its initial sedation which starts the anesthetic process.  Each dose is tailored to the specific animal, so these initial check ups are very important.

• Pre-Anesthetic Diagnostics: 

  • If you have chosen to have any pre-anesthetic wellness screening done (which we always recommend, as it leads to a safer anesthetic), this will be performed during the pre-anesthetic exam (if they have not been done previously).  Getting results is a pretty quick procedure, and we usually have results within 30 minutes.  For more information on pre-anesthetic diagnostics please check our resources page where you will find a downloadable brochure.

• Afternoon Pick up:

  • Pick up times vary, but are usually between 2:30 to 3:30pm.  Feel free to call us at any time to check in with how your pet is doing.  Your pet may still be a little bit drowsy when you pick them up, so please take care to make sure they are able to have a quiet and comfortable evening.  We will go over lots of care and feeding instructions with you, so please be prepared to spend a few minutes with us to go over that.  If your pet is going home with any medication you will be counselled on that as well.  And don't worry, we will send you home with a copy of the care instructions! You do not have to memorize all of it!

Thank you for choosing us to look after your pet's surgical procedure.  I know it is very difficult to leave your animal with us.  They are in good hands though.  We make every effort to ensure our surgeries are as safe as they can be, and we will work with you to help ease any concerns you may have.  And as always, do not hesitate to call if you have questions, or want to check in on your pet!  We also love to get follow-up feedback, so let us know how their recovery goes, and send us pictures!  We love seeing our patients cozy in their homes.