My pet is having surgery
What do I need to know?

  • Pets scheduled for anaesthesia at RVC are prepared by withholding food (but not water) for a minimum of 6 hours before the surgery. Your vet will speak to you about any other special treatment or actions that may be required prior to surgery. If possible, we ask that dogs have the opportunity to go to the toilet before they come into the clinic.

  • You can drop your pet off between 8:00 and 8:30am, or at the time specified with your booking. The admit team will discuss your pet’s procedure or proposed treatment, the associated costs and give you an opportunity to ask any questions. If your pet has a special toy or blanket, you can it bring with you, we have a system in place to identify these special items and keep them safe.

  • As our surgery lists can change a little if an emergency arrives, we often cannot give you an exact time when your pet’s surgery will be performed. We can usually give an indication as to if it will be performed in the morning or afternoon, but we will keep in touch with you during the day to let you know our progress. For many reasons, it is really important that you have your phone on you whilst your pet is with us, this saves time if we need to contact you for any reason.

  • Once surgery has been completed and your pet is in recovery, we will call you to let you know and give you an indication of the time you can pick your pet up, if this has not already been prearranged. Each individual case and procedure requires slightly different after care. Your vet or nurse will speak with you about this at your discharge appointment.

 
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Your pet is in the best hands

Hospital standards are the highest level of Best Practice accreditation available in New Zealand and clients are assured of a high standard of service and professionalism. The accreditation is more demanding and represents an advanced level of veterinary treatment and care.

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At RVC we have great purpose-built facilities. We have several operating theatres and a special recovery area where animals are monitored by a nurse until they are awake enough to go back to the hospital. Your pet will be in their own private kennel or cattery compartment and we have an Animal Care Assistant who is dedicated to keeping them happy and comfortable. This includes plenty of TLC, taking dogs for walks, providing food for patients after recovery and ensuring they are as relaxed and comfortable as possible.

As we need to safeguard our patients and staff in our hospital, in addition to looking after the health and safety of our clients, we are unable to offer routine client visiting for our surgery patients, especially whilst they are recovering. Under special circumstances, we can sometimes arrange for visits with your pet if they are staying in the hospital.

Pets may sometimes need to stay in overnight after their procedure. Your vet will give you an indication if this is likely or not. If this is necessary, it would be with your pet’s best interests at heart. Sometimes they need further pain relief, fluids, monitoring or recovery time that require hospital nursing care. We always try to get your pet back home to you as soon as is safe to do so.

Take a tour of “out back” this is where your pet will be when they have their surgery.

 

WATCH: Have you ever wondered what happens when your dog comes in for a spay surgery? Follow Scruff’s big day out at our Rangiora Clinic to find out!