Anaesthetic safety
Safety is our number one priority during anaesthesia of your pet and we are proud of our excellent safety record. We use fast acting anaesthetic agents that wear off very quickly after surgery so that your pet has a quick and safe recovery. A pre-medication injection given before surgery ensures your pet remains stress free leading up to surgery and during the recovery period.
A qualified and experienced nurse is dedicated to the care and safety of your pet throughout the entire anaesthetic and recovery period. To enhance safety throughout anaethesia we monitor blod pressure, blood oxygen saturation, body temperature, heart and breathing rate.
During longer surgeries, including all bitch speys, or surgery of older pets, we routinely administer intravenous fluids during anaesthesia.This allows us to control blood pressure during surgery and in the rare event of an anaesthetic complication allows us to quickly administer the drugs needed to control the situation.
We also have in-house blood testing facilities and for improved safety we recommend patients have a routine blood test prior to anaesthesia so that we are aware of any internal problems that might cause anaesthetic complications allowing us to manage the situation appropriately.
Patient comfort
During your pets stay with us in our hospital, whether as a day patient or longer term, we aim to make their stay as comfortable as possible. Under-floor heating ensures the wards are comfortably warm all year. Air conditioning provides cooling in summer. All cats and dogs are provided with comfortable bedding including well-padded mats or beds for the more immobile patients. Cages and dirt-trays are cleaned as often as is necessary to keep the patient clean and comfortable which may mean several changes of bedding a day. Dogs are toilet walked regularly. Our cages are spacious and we also have large runs outside for dogs. Long stay cats have the use of double sized accommodation which includes one room for a bedroom and another room for their dirt-tray. Pain relief for those patients in need is also a top priority.
We also have an isolation unit for pets with contagious disease so that we can house them safely away from other pets to avoid spreading disease.
Pet owners are welcome to view our facilities at any time and visiting of your pet whilst in hospital is something we encourage.
Qualified nurses
All of our nurses love their job and show great compassion towards both patient and pet owner. They enjoy a great deal of satisfaction in being able to help pets and their owners. We are very fortunate to have such a great nursing team and like human hospitals we would be lost without our nurses! All our nurses are qualified to national certificate or diploma level in veterinary nursing and registered through the NZVNA. We encourage continuing education to advance knowledge and skill levels and some of our nurses have trained to the diploma level which is the highest recognised vet nurse qualification available in New Zealand.
Payment facilities
Skilled vets and referral services
All of our vets have a great deal of experience and keep themselves at the leading edge of veterinary clinical science by attending national and international conferences, studying towards post-graduate qualifications, participating in workshops and courses and communicating with other vets aruond the world as part of an international veterinary network. Each of our vets has their own special interests and we accept referrals from other veterinary clinics that may not be able to offer the same skills or services. There is no need to be referred out of marlborough in many situations as we are very well equipped to tackle most problems at The Vet Centre.
Some of the procedures that other vet clinics might refer to us include:
- Stem cell technology for treatment of arthritis
- Complicated fracture repairs
- Tie-back surgery for paralysed larynx
- TTO surgery for cruciate ligament injuries
- Arificial insemination procedures for dogs
- Endoscopy
- Ultrasound and radiography
- ECG and echocardiography examination of the heart
- Intradermal Skin Testing for allergy diagnosis
- PennHip radiography for accurate screening of hip dysplasia
Pet Supplies
No matter what your pet supply needs are you are likely to find it at The Vet Centre and if we don’t carry an item in stock we can order it for you. We have a large range of top quality foods, bowls, treats, muzzles, collars, leads, toys, dog clothing including life jackets, shampoos, dietary supplements, flea and worm treatments that work, cat doors, dental healthcare and grooming products etc.
Nutrition
Providing a good quality, complete balanced diet for your pet is one of the most important things you can do for their overall health. Sub-standard diets can cause all sorts of health issues. The easiest way to provide a complete balanced diet is to use a good quality commmercial pet food. At the Vet Centre we stock what we consider to be the highest quality pet foods on the market (Eukanuba, Hills, Royal Canin). As no two pets are the same we stock a full range of diets to suit all ages, sizes and lifestyle of pet. A young, very active large breed dog needs a very different diet to a more senior and sedentary toy breed. Our reception team is very well trained in the nutritional qualities of the foods we sell and can give you professional advice on which is the best diet for your particular pet. We also stock a full range of veterinary therapeutic diets for those pets that have specialist needs due to a specific health condition. Our vets are well trained in the use of these veterinary diets.