​We usually ask that you give us a call between 2-4pm to check how everything has gone and organise a time to come back in and pick up your pet. 

​It is a great idea to have a nice warm cosy indoor area at home set up for your pet before you come pick them up. Ideally you’ll also be able to keep them relatively confined here to stop them being too active during their recovery. Somewhere warm and quiet is great for them to come home to as they’re likely going to be tired from their big day at the vets!

​Your pet will likely be quite sleepy, this is very normal after an anaesthetic as some of the drugs can take hours to completely wear off. They’ll also probably be missing some fur! If they’ve had surgery this area will be shaved and they may have a shaved forearm too. Their forearm is where we give some of the injections and place catheters into their veins. They might have a little bandage over it; this is fine to come off that night or the next day. 

Unfortunately our pets don’t realise that licking at their wound isn’t going to help! In fact they risk pulling out their stitches or infecting the wound if they are licking or biting at it too much. If you see your pet repeatedly bothering their wound then they may need the dreaded cone around their head to stop this. Despite its reputation most pets actually quickly get used to this cone around their head and aren’t too bothered by it after a short period of adjusting. It’s a great way to protect their wound and protect you from an emergency trip to the vet because they’ve pulled their stitches out. Once it is on its better to leave it on rather  

than take it on and off again as that can be annoying for your pet and it also only takes a moment for them to go back to chewing. If you weren’t given an Elizabethan Collar (cone) at the time of discharge but your pet is chewing the wound call the clinic and organise to pick one up. ​

The wound should be clean and pink to reddish pink in colour. Seeing a small amount of blood seep from the wound in the first 24 hours is no reason to panic, especially if your pet isn’t obeying the rest and recuperation order and is being quite active. Some bruising may develop over the first few days, this is also normal. Things that would make 

​It depends. This will be dictated by the procedure your pet has had. At least keep your pet quiet overnight to recover from the anaesthesia. If your pet has had surgery the extent of the operation will determine how long they should be quiet. 

That’s okay. All your pets medications will have labels detailing how often they should be given and if they need to be given with food or not. Sometimes it helps to write them on the calendar if the frequency is going to change as it is important to get this right. If you’re still confused don’t hesitate to call your vet and confirm what you should be giving. This is better than giving the wrong thing!

​Similar yes! Many of the anaesthetics we use in animals are very similar if not the same to those used in people. There are differences in the protocols used but the concept is the same. 

and protocol used will then depend on what procedure your pet is getting. For longer procedures, your pet then gets a drug straight into the vein that makes them fall asleep so we can place a tube down their wind pipe to give them a gaseous anaesthetic. Shorter procedures just involve an injection into the muscle. ​

​Yes. Your pet can have dinner as normal the night before but after they’ve eaten take their food away so they don’t

​Ideally your dog should have a bath sometime in the few days before surgery especially if they love rolling around in the mud. We want your pet as clean and dry as possible when they come to us to decrease the bacteria around that can potentially cause infection. Cats are usually great at keeping themselves clean so they don’t normally need a bath, phew!

​We always recommend pre-anaesthetic blood tests to screen for some potential diseases that could make your pets procedure more risky. A really common disease up here is tick fever (Babesia and Anaplasma). Tick fever can