Preparation

Fasting

In general, you should withhold food for 12 hours prior to your pet’s appointment. This will allow for additional diagnostic testing, such as X-rays, to be performed under sedation or light anesthesia. Please confirm with your primary care veterinarian that it is safe for your pet to go without food. Water should always be available for your pet.

What to bring

Please bring all pertinent medical history to the consultation, including information about medications, previous laboratory results and X-rays. These may be faxed by your referring veterinarian prior to your appointment, or you may bring them with you. We recommend calling your referring veterinarian’s office the day prior to your visit at the DVSC to reconfirm that X-rays, lab work, etc. have been sent to our office.

Personal items

We prefer if you do not leave personal items with your pet. If you find this absolutely necessary, we will attempt to keep track of them while your pet is here. We cannot guarantee the return of any items, or that they will not become soiled while your pet is at the DVSC.

During hospitalization, most of our patients receive either Science Diet or Iams canned and/or dry food that we provide. If you would like your pet to receive a special diet, please provide it at the time  your pet is hospitalized. Please bring any medications your pet is currently receiving, as well as a brief note on the dose and frequency that the medications are to be given.