Services

The practice holds veterinary consultations six days a week. All consultations are by appointment, in order to minimise waiting.

During a consultation our vets will take a complete medical history and carry out a full clinical examination. They will then discuss their findings with you, and help you make a decision about an appropriate course of action.

Consultations also provide an opportunity for you to discuss any general issues you may have regarding your pet’s health.

Veterinary dentistry is often ignored, however our pets can suffer from dental pain and bad breath just as we do. Infections from unhealthy teeth and gums can also spread through the blood stream to other organs such as the heart and kidneys. Our nurses provide dental health checks and can advise on home dental care. Dental extractions are performed by our veterinary surgeons, while our nurses carry out scaling and polishing. As our patients will rarely sit still enough, these procedures routinely require general anaesthesia.

A discount of 10% on dental fees is available with our healthcare plan (includes dental and anaesthetic fees, but excludes all medication).

Hawthorne Lodge is pleased to provide home visits, and has a dedicated veterinary ambulance for this service.

We run scheduled visits from 10am to 5pm, Tuesday to Friday. These are organised on a “Zone basis” which enables us to reduce the cost of visits, and also provide an approximate time for the visit.

“Urgent” visits can be arranged from Monday to Saturday. These are normally carried out between 11am and 1pm, and between 3pm and 5pm.

In some instances, it may be preferable to bring your pet into the practice; for example if we feel a home visit would delay urgent treatment, or if the condition requires specialist equipment that is only available at the practice.

Whatever the situation, we will always try to accommodate your requests for home visits.

We also offer a delivery service for medication and food, as well as a pet transport service to and from the practice.

The care and comfort of our patients is as important to us as their medical treatment.

We have six wards, enabling us to separate different patient species, as well as isolating contagious or nervous animals, so reducing patient stress. A critical care unit, complete with incubator and oxygen, is used to monitor the most needy pets.

Infusion pumps are used for accurate administration of fluids and medication to critically ill pets. Extensive patient monitoring equipment enables us to check their progress.

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has registered us as a tier 2 practice in recognition of the level of care we provide.

When first introduced in human medicine, keyhole surgery was viewed with skepticism – however by the mid 1990’s it was in common use, with well-established advantages over conventional surgery including reduced pain, reduced complication rates and quicker recovery times. In the USA approximately one million human laparoscopic gall bladder removals are now performed every year. Most of us will have either experienced the benefits of keyhole surgery ourselves, or know someone who has.

The cost of specialist equipment and the need to learn the techniques of keyhole surgery have meant that there has been a delayed uptake of laparoscopy in veterinary practice. However it is now recognised that the same benefits apply to veterinary patients as to human patients.

Keyhole surgery is most commonly used to perform bitch spays, however the technique has many other uses, including the investigation and biopsy of diseases of the liver, pancreas and intestines. It can also be used in the chest, and in joints. New uses of keyhole surgery are being discovered all the time, limited only by our imagination and the development of appropriate instruments.

Since investing in the facilities in 2013, the three vets at Hawthorne Lodge who carry out keyhole surgery have performed over 250 keyhole bitch spays, with patients ranging from a 2.5kg Yorkshire Terrier to a 50kg Great Dane.  We have also carried out a range of non-routine keyhole procedures, including biopsy collection and even heart surgery!

Microchipping provides an invaluable insurance against loss of a pet – thousands of pets are needlessly re-homed or destroyed each year because their owners cannot be traced. It is a quick procedure that can be carried out during a routine consultation, or while pets are hospitalised for other reasons.

Microchipping is also the first stage of the pet passport scheme.

Nurse consultations are available by appointment six days a week, for the following procedures:

• Microchipping
• Claw clipping
• Medicine administration
• Dietary advice
• Dental advice
• Post-operative checks and suture removal
• Blood pressure checks
• Bandage changes

Our head nurse Steina, who is a trained behaviourist, also offers behavioural appointments.

Please call the surgery to make an appointment.

Annual vaccinations are important to reduce the risk of infection to our pets. They also provide a chance for an annual health check, and to discuss any concerns you may have regarding your pet’s health. Vaccinations are included as part of our practice healthcare plan.

Vaccinations are available against the following diseases:

Dogs

Parvo, distemper, kennel cough, hepatitis, leptospirosis, rabies, leishmania

Cats

Flu, enteritis, leukaemia, rabies

Rabbits

Myxomatosis, viral haemorrhagic disease

In addition to a free health check, our puppy and kitten vaccination courses include a pack with free wormer, flea treatment and neutering discount voucher.