Additional Services

Our team of veterinarians and veterinary technicians provides many services at our clinic, ranging from routine to advanced procedures. Although we handle the majority of your pet’s medical and surgical needs in-house, we occasionally refer patients to veterinary specialists or specialty clinics when advanced training or equipment will be beneficial.

Board-certified specialists, such as oncologists, ophthalmologists, and neurologists, have extensive experience and training in a particular area of veterinary medicine or surgery. Specialty clinics and university-affiliated referral centres have specialized equipment to perform procedures that are not routinely performed by general veterinary practitioners.

We make referral decisions because we want to ensure that our patients receive a high standard of care and the best possible outcome. Be assured that when we refer a patient to another hospital, we continue to stay involved with his or her care, consulting with the treating specialist and often providing any needed follow-up care and rehabilitation.

Nutrition makes a huge difference in how your pet feels and their health and wellness. A pet’s nutritional requirements vary depending on life-stage, breed, activity level, and specific health conditions. Your veterinarian can provide guidance on your pet’s nutritional needs and diet recommendations. We can determine your pet’s ideal weight range and provide feeding directions to achieve this.

Some pets with chronic health conditions will benefit specific prescription diets, designed solely for use through veterinarians. These diets are created to prevent or delay onset of many medical conditions and help control existing diseases, including dental and joint health, weight control, urinary and gastrointestinal tract disorders, diabetes and heart disease, food allergies, etc. Your vet may recommend one of these diets for your pet.

The Revelstoke Veterinary Clinic provides a wide selection of high-quality diets to help you ensure your pet’s nutritional needs are met. These are available both in-clinic and through our web store. The web store <link> offers free home delivery and a convenient, repeating order option.

We maintain a fully stocked in-house pharmacy with veterinary pharmaceutical products and medications, including flea, tick, and heartworm preventive products, and medications your veterinarian may prescribe for your pet. This allows us to dispense your pet’s necessary medications at the time of your visit and to ensure that proper directions are given. On occasion, your pet may require a medication that we do not keep in stock. We provide special orders for these medications or can write a script for you to have filled at a human pharmacy. In some cases, it may be necessary to have a medicine specially prepared by a compounding pharmacy. This may be for dosing, palatability or to provide an alternative mode of delivery such as liquid suspension or transdermal gel or patch.

Refills of prescribed medications can be ordered through our web store or phoned into the clinic for later pickup.

Fleas can cause problems for pets ranging from minor to life-threatening. Not only can these parasites cause severe itching, irritation, and allergies, but they can also transmit tapeworms and diseases. Fleas can infest dogs, cats, ferrets, mice, and rats. And fleas don’t just stay on pets; they can bite people, too. For more information, contact us or see the flea article in the Pet Health Library on our site.

You don’t want these blood-sucking parasites on your pet or in your home. We can help keep them away or help you get rid of them if they’ve already found their way inside. Call us to find out how to eliminate and control fleas or to start your pet on a preventive today.

When they bite, mosquitoes can transmit heartworm infection. And those heartworms can wreak havoc on your dog or cat. These parasites can severely and sometimes fatally damage the heart, lungs, and blood vessels. Some pets may not show any signs of infection; in those that do, symptoms can vary widely.

In dogs, signs of heartworm disease can range from coughing, fatigue, and weight loss to difficulty breathing and a swollen abdomen (caused by fluid accumulation from heart failure). Canine heartworm infection can also lead to a life-threatening complication called “caval syndrome” (a form of liver failure); without prompt surgical intervention, this condition usually causes death.

Although often thought to not be susceptible to heartworm infection, cats can indeed get heartworms. Cats can suffer from a syndrome referred to as heartworm-associated respiratory disease (HARD); the symptoms can be subtle and may mimic those of asthma or allergic bronchitis. Signs of respiratory distress, such as rapid or difficult breathing, wheezing, and panting, are common. Other symptoms include coughing, vomiting (typically unrelated to eating), and loss of appetite or weight. Heartworm infection is more difficult to diagnose in cats than it is in dogs.

Treatment for heartworm infection is far more expensive than prevention—and it can actually kill your dog. There is no approved treatment for cats. Some cats spontaneously rid themselves of the infection; others might not survive it. And even one or two adult heartworms in a cat can cause serious problems.

Fortunately, there’s a way to keep your dog or cat safe: by administering monthly heartworm preventives. Most heartworm medications also protect your pet against other parasites, such as roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, ear mites, fleas, and ticks. We can recommend a regimen of prevention for your pet.

Ticks are becoming more and more prevalent in North America, and they’re now being found in areas where people and pets didn’t previously encounter ticks. These parasites aren’t just a nuisance; they can cause serious—and sometimes deadly—diseases, including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, and tick paralysis. Contact us immediately if your pet starts coughing or has joint pain, trouble breathing, fever, weakness, or loss of appetite, weight, energy, or coordination.

Keep ticks off your pet by keeping your dog or cat on a tick preventive. Even indoor-only pets are at risk because ticks can hitch a ride inside on your clothing or shoes. Tick preventives are safe and effective at controlling ticks and the diseases they carry. Call us to get your pet protected today!

Don’t panic if you find a tick on your dog or cat, even if your pet is on a preventive. Some preventives kill ticks after they’ve come in contact with your pet. Ticks can hide under your pet’s fur, so as an added measure of protection, we recommend checking your pet for ticks every time your pet comes in from outside. And don’t hesitate to ask us any questions you might have.

Pets experience pain just like people do, and we believe prevention and alleviation of their pain is a top priority in veterinary care. The type of pain they experience can be acute or chronic. Acute pain comes on suddenly as a result of injury, surgery, or an infection. Chronic pain is long lasting and typically develops slowly and is often associated with arthritis and neurogenic causes.

You play a key role in monitoring your pet to determine whether they suffer from pain. Your observations of their day-to-day behaviour are valuable indicators you should share with your vet. Remember that pets may not clearly indicate pain when they’re experiencing it. A good rule of thumb is that if something would hurt you, it  probably hurts your pet.

We will work with you to design an individualized pain management protocol specific to your pet’s age, condition and lifestyle. This can involve diet, therapeutic procedures, activity and behaviour modification, and pharmaceutical treatments.