Family Pet Animal Hospital is a full-service facility, complete with a laboratory, whole-body and dental radiology capabilities, a surgical suite equipped with full instrumentation, two endoscopes, and an entire pharmacy of prescription drugs and foods.

Pharmacy and Prescription Foods

You will find that our pharmacy is stocked with all the routine medications your pet may need on a day-to-day basis as well as a wide variety of emergency and critical care drugs found in human hospitals. We also carry a wide variety of prescription foods, which can help manage conditions such as kidney disease, obesity, gastrointestinal disorders, and bladder stones. If we don’t have the item you need in stock, most products can be special ordered.

We offer a convenient voicemail ordering system for routine prescription refills and food orders. Press 2 in our voicemail menu for more information.

Anesthesia and Surgery

We use only the two safest types of gas anesthesia: isoflurane, the best choice for most patients undergoing general anesthesia; and sevoflurane, which is faster acting and affords quicker recovery for older or debilitated patients. We suggest that all animals have pre-anesthetic blood work analyzed. Patients are monitored throughout anesthesia with an electrocardiac monitor, pulse oximeter, and a respiratory monitor. Patients are treated with pain medication to ensure as smooth and pain-free recovery as possible. All animals which are anesthetized, excluding those undergoing minor procedures, have an intravenous catheter and fluids which helps support blood pressure, organ function, and minimizes anesthetic risks.

We recommend that each anesthetized patient be placed on intravenous fluids at higher than normal maintenance rates to maintain normal blood pressure levels and ensure that all the body organs get the blood they need. This also helps to speed your pet's recovery, as well as providing access for emergency intravenous medications if they should become necessary. As an extra benefit, our patients feel better after recovery because they are well hydrated. Human hospitals would never consider anesthetizing you without placing an intravenous catheter and administering fluids.

During surgery, your pet will be placed on a heated water mat. Additional hot water bottles will be added for very small patients. We use a pulse oximeter to monitor your pet's oxygen level, an ECG to watch your pet's heart rate and cardiac rhythm, a blood pressure monitor and a respiratory monitor. These monitoring devices help us protect you pet during the procedure, yet we do not rely on high tech monitors alone. Trained technicians are watching your pet continuously, listening to the heart with a stethoscope, checking all the electronic monitors, and constantly checking your pet's gum color, respiration, and depth of anesthesia. Additionally, we suggest that most pets have pre-anesthetic blood work analyzed within two months of any elective procedure. This helps us detect subclinical problems so that we can address your pet's special needs and minimize any complications. We do make this lab work mandatory for patients over 10 years of age.

Laboratory

Besides the anesthetic and surgical equipment, our doctors and technicians have access to a number of laboratory aids. Our in-house laboratory can be of immediate assistance if your pet has an emergency or acute illness. Stat complete blood counts, serum chemistries and electrolytes, blood gases, clotting tests, and urinalyses can all be handled within minutes. We also have a cytology microscope for more accurate cell assessments of our in house growth evaluations.

Radiology

In radiology we offer our standard x-ray film as well as special mammography film for better detail when looking at x-rays of the skull or feline chest cavity. We also have dental x-ray capabilities to evaluate tooth roots. This has been invaluable in identifying painful teeth that may look normal on the surface. The dental x-ray machine is also excellent at radiographing your pocket pets.

Safety and Sanitation

At Family Pet Animal Hospital we are committed to the highest quality of patient care, from comforting your pet with warm towels in their cages to all the safety precautions we follow for your pet during medical procedures. Did you know that your dog will be walked 3-4 times when he or she is dropped off for the day? Did you know all dogs are walked with double leads as a safety precaution?

Cleanliness is critical to running a safe hospital and is extremely important to Family Pet Animal Hospital. We use two kinds of sterilization techniques for our equipment to insure that no germs will be passed between patients. Besides autoclaving or heat sterilizing supplies, we are one of the few veterinary hospitals that use gas sterilization for supplies that cannot be autoclaved. Gas sterilization may be costly, but our patients are worth the expense. In addition, our dental equipment is flushed and the fluid drained so that there is no accumulation of bacteria and therefore no germs passed between patients. A new prophy tip for polishing is provided for each patient.

Did you know that Family Pet has two separate isolation wards? Each room is equipped with a special fan system that pulls air into the rooms as you enter keeping germs away from other pets in the hospital.

We have an intensive care unit that allows us temperature control as well as the delivery of oxygen and nebulized drugs to critical patients. This unit is in our main treatment or work area so that the staff is always monitoring our critical patients. The unit can accomodate animals of all sizes.

FAMILY PET ANIMAL HOSPITAL POLICY

In order to give the best possible medical attention, we make every effort to adhere to the following guidelines:

1. A true emergency such as an animal that has been injured by a car, has breathing difficulties, or has an obstructed urinary tract, will be taken immediately with or without a previously scheduled appointment.

2. Patients with urgent medical problems will be seen the day they call. Appointment times are purposely left open and designated for this need. A receptionist must get the doctors’ permission to fill these appointment slots. It is important to see the doctor who is most available, even if it is not your regular doctor, so your pet can benefit from immediate intervention.

3. Annual vaccinations and other routine care must wait for the first available appointment. It is in your best interest to schedule routine appointments as early in advance as possible so we can accommodate you by giving you the day and time you request.

4. Our clientele will always be given first priority before scheduling new clients. We will remain dedicated to your loyalty.

We understand how important your time is and apologize if we keep you waiting. Unfortunately, we cannot predict emergencies or the seriousness of each appointment and this can cause us to run late. We appreciate your patience and hope we fulfill your expectations.

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