The following is a short list of common laboratory tests that we perform to monitor different disease therapies, or as part of a diagnosis work up. For some of these tests, timing of medication and fasting is required, and some samples may be dropped off by you, the owner, so please read our guidelines for how to collect and store your pet’s samples.
When a sterile urine sample is required, we need to collect the urine directly from your pet via a urinary catheter or by a collection method called “cystocentesis”. Both of these methods are minimally invasive and performed routinely in the hospital.
In order for the sampling to be successful we need our patients to arrive at the hospital with a full bladder, this means our canine patients must be brought in, first thing in the morning without having a chance to go out the bathroom at home. For our feline patients, this means they need to be without access to a litter box for a few hours and more importantly brought in, first thing in the morning.
All urine samples should be brought to the hospital for testing as soon after collection as possible- If necessary the sample can be refrigerated.
Canines: Please collect the first morning sample, in a clean container (or provided urine container).
Felines: Dump out current litter in the litter box and clean. Replace litter with “Nosorb”. Once your cat has urinated in the box, pour the urine and “Nosorb” back into the original “Nosorb” container. You may have to limit your cat to a confined area, such as a bedroom, or bathroom in a multi cat household.
Canines: Please collect the first morning sample, in a clean container (or provided urine container).
Ultrasounds, x-rays, and all types of surgeries: All of these procedures require sedation/general anesthesia so all patients must be fasted after 10 pm the night before, water is permitted.
Rabbits and other pocket pets do not require fasting and you are required to bring their regular food for the duration of their, this includes their water bottle if they use one, hay, kibble and any fresh foods they typically enjoy.
In addition to all of the typical services listed above, DVH is now able to offer services that traditionally required bringing in veterinarians with specialized training or referring our patients to larger referral hospitals in Victoria or Vancouver. We are excited to now offer abdominal ultrasound and endoscopic procedures such as; foreign body retrieval, intestinal biopsies, rhinoscopy, cystoscopy, colonoscopy and otoscopy. Moreover, DVH is now one of only a few veterinary hospitals on Vancouver Island performing laparoscopic surgeries including spays, cryptorchid neuters, laparoscopic assisted gastropexies and liver biopsies.
DVH is now accepting referrals from other local veterinary clinics for these procedures.
This information is to be used as a guide, and all patients scheduled will receive their instructions upon booking the appointment. We encourage any and all questions and concerns!
Note: At this time, cystoscopy and rhinoscopy is not available for cats or small dogs (<10kg) but we plan to be able to offer this in the future for our smaller patients.
Laparoscopic surgery is less invasive than the traditional approach to surgery. One or two small incisions are made to introduce the rigid endoscope and instruments to visualize and remove the ovaries, uterus, retained testicle or obtain biopsies.
Laparoscopy requires specialized equipment and training resulting in higher costs than traditional elective surgeries but it is less painful and results in faster recovery times.
A rigid endoscope is passed through the urethra and into the bladder. This procedure is used to directly visualize the inside of the bladder and urethra for abnormalities.
This procedure is currently limited to medium to large female dogs due to the size of the equipment and is mainly for diagnostic procedures only. Referral is still needed to perform cystoscopy in male dogs and to remove bladder stones endoscopically.
Gastrointestinal Endoscopy involves the passage of a flexible endoscope to inspect the esophagus, stomach and a portion of the intestines. This is a non invasive method to retrieve foreign objects in the stomach, avoiding the need for surgery. It is also used for obtaining biopsies to increase our ability to diagnose and treat many causes of gastrointestinal diseases that would otherwise be missed without this procedure.
A flexible endoscope is used to visualize the inside of the colon and obtain biopsies for analysis. This procedure is conducted to diagnose causes of chronic diarrhea and/or gastrointestinal disease.
This procedure requires prolonged fasting and repeated enemas.