O’Dowd Veterinary Hospital's home page
Dunleer Clinic 041 686 3895
Ardee Veterinary Hospital 041 685 3722

Preparing for a procedure

Please, follow our pre-op guidelines

If your pet is booked in for a procedure that will require a general anesthetic or sedation, these are the guidelines you need to follow:

1. NO food should be given to your pet after midnight (12am) the night before surgery. This includes removing food that your pet hasn’t eaten after this time. This also means your pet is NOT allowed breakfast the following morning unless you’ve been directed otherwise by a member of the veterinary team.

2. Water SHOULD be left overnight with your pet and removed early in the morning.

3. If your pet is a cat - please ensure you have a cat carrier or suitable secure container in which to transport them to hospital - this is for your safety and theirs. Cats can become stressed during travel and can potentially meet dogs in our waiting area upon your initial arrival. A cat carrier keeps them safe.

4. Please ensure you have your dog on a lead. This is for your dog's safety, your safety and other members of the public and pets you may meet upon visiting our hospital. Uncontrolled dogs are a real and potential hazard.

What to expect upon arrival?

1. You will have been given a time to arrive to the hospital with your pet, please arrive at this time to avoid potential delays.

2. Please ensure you leave an accessible contact number for the day of your pet’s procedure.

3. One of our vets or veterinary nurses will admit your pet upon your arrival and have a chat with you and ask you to sign our admittance form.

4. We will re-confirm with you an estimate of the expected cost of your pet's procedure during this chat.

During this chat we will discuss with you a few things, some of which are the options of pre-anaesthetic bloods. These blood tests do come at an extra charge, but they are very beneficial for your pet. See below for the benefits of the pre-anaesthetic bloods.

Why do we highlight these options?

  • Pre-anaesthetic bloods

We strongly recommend these blood tests to all patients OVER 7 years of age, patient with ongoing medical conditions and for large breed dogs of any age undergoing a general anaesthetic or surgical procedure.

Remember, your pet is undergoing sedation/general anaesthetic and this requires drugs. So, these blood tests help the vet to assess how good your pet’s kidney and liver function is. These organs are were most drugs are processed by the body.

Additionally, if your dog isn’t a large breed or is UNDER 7 years of age and is deemed otherwise healthy there is still a benefit to these blood tests.

If your pet is healthy and undergoing an elective procedure, these blood tests form a baseline for your pet’s normal health status for our vets to reference should your pet ever become ill in the future.

After your pet is admitted

Your pet will receive a full clinical exam the morning of their procedure where all their vitals will be checked.
We then give your pet some pre-medication to help them feel relaxed and they are placed in a warm kennel with comfortable bedding.

When it is time for the procedure, we induce and maintain your pet into anaesthesia using the safest methods available.

Your pet will receive pain relief medication.

Depending on what procedure/surgery your pet is undergoing, they may receive intra-operative intravenous fluids.

Post-operative care

After the procedure is completed, your pet is returned to their kennel to be monitored. We keep them warm and comfortable with blankets, bedding, heat pads etc.

We will contact you once your pet is in recovery with an update on how they got on and to organise a time to collect your pet.

During discharge we will discuss with you your pet's specific requirements which may include things such as medication, bandage care etc.

We will happily discuss any queries you may have when your pet is being discharged.