Happy Summer, Everyone!
Anyone who has visited our hospital is likely aware of our appointment routine. Come at your scheduled time, and hopefully you are escorted to a room fairly efficiently. Soon after you are placed in an exam room, one of our technicians comes in and begins a conversation. This usually includes the reason for your visit, any services that may be due and sometimes an estimate of expected fees. Once this has taken place, your pet is usually taken “to the back” for some reason or another. I expect many of you are wondering… what actually happens “in the back”, and why do we take your pet from you? Today I hope to ease your mind and will explain exactly what goes on “in the back”. You can keep an eye out for YouTube videos in the near future as well that actually show you what “in the back” looks like!
To begin with, “in the back” is a quick description that refers to our treatment areas, our surgical suite, our diagnostic suites and our pharmacy. There are many things that happen in these areas, and I will give a brief rundown of what we do in each of them and how we may use them during your pet’s appointment.
Scale: We have 2 large floor scales and a small baby scale that we can weigh cats/kittens/small exotics. This is your pet’s first stop after leaving the exam room.
Treatment: We actually have 3 different treatment areas. Each treatment area consists of a wet table (specialized exam table with a top grate that allows for washing/rinsing areas without getting the entire pet wet), an overhead treatment or surgical light and a multitude of small items including syringes, needles, catheters, blood collection tubes, etc. We also have swabs for ear specimens, gauze for wound care, gloves for anal gland expressions, nail trimmers and anything else we may need for small/minor procedures. This is an ideal place for us to take blood samples due to the height of the table, overhead light and proximity to supplies (syringes, blood tubes, needles). In addition, we take your pet’s temperature, heart rate and respirations at this time. Nail trims and anal gland expressions are done at this time as well.
Most times, this is the extent of what we do with your pet. If you have a dog and we need a urine sample, we usually walk them out in our fenced hospital yard and collect a sample with a plastic tray. However, if you bring a cat and we need a urine sample, we may take your cat to our ultrasound suite.
Ultrasound Suite: We have a small room dedicated to our ultrasound machine as well as our companion laser. It is important that these sensitive machines stay as clean and hair free as possible. It also keeps them protected from the daily bumps that our other equipment endures in the treatment area. We use the ultrasound for diagnostic imaging (abdomen and heart), but we also use it to aid in urine collection in cats. We are able to visualize the bladder to see if there is enough urine for collection. If there is enough, we are able to withdraw a small amount with a needle using the ultrasound as a guide. This is well tolerated in cats, and allows us to get a sterile sample.
X-Ray Suite: In certain circumstances, we may recommend an x-ray of your pet. We have a dedicated suite for full body radiography that includes both the x-ray machine as well as a software station for viewing and uploading images.
Just For Cats: As most of you know, Dogwood can be a very busy place. With people bustling around and dogs barking, how is taking your cat to the back a beneficial practice? We have your cat’s best interest in mind, and have prepared a special room away from the general treatment area where we perform most if not all of your cat’s treatments. This room is equipped with toys, catnip, treats and soft blankets treated with pheromone (Feliway). In this room, we take blood samples, get temperature, heart rate and respiration and can do preliminary exams. All of this is done out of view of dogs, other cats and the general traffic of the hospital.
Hopefully, this helps ease your mind as to what is happening to your pet “in the back”. In our experience, we have found that briefly removing your pet from the exam room expedites the process in regards to sample collection, etc. Most pets actually settle quite a bit when they are out of sight of their owners which allows for less restraint and quicker treatments. As always, you are encouraged to engage any of our team with questions or concerns during your visit. As I mentioned in the beginning, keep an eye out in the coming weeks for YouTube videos including a hospital tour, and an actual scenario of what happens to your pet “in the back.”
Hope to see you soon!
Dr. Cher Canaday