Frequently Asked Questions
Roanoke Animal Hospital FAQs
At Roanoke Animal Hospital, the health and well-being of your pet and family are our top priority. As the situation around COVID-19 continues to evolve, we have taken measures to reduce potential exposure to our clients, patients, and team members.
If you feel your pet is having an emergency that requires immediate medical attention, read no further and immediately bring your pet to Roanoke Animal Hospital.
If possible, please call us at 540-343-8021 to let us know you’re on your way so that we can prepare for your arrival. Emergencies can be stressful when they happen to your pet, so if you forget to call before bringing your pet in, we understand.
If you feel your pet is having an emergency that requires immediate medical attention and it’s after hours, call Emergency Veterinary Services at 540-563-8575. Emergency Veterinary Services is a fully staffed 24-hour emergency clinic.
At Roanoke Animal Hospital we welcome all breeds of dogs and cats as well as:
- Rabbits
- Guinea Pigs
- Chinchillas
- Ferrets
- Sugar Gliders
- Hedgehogs
- Hamsters
- Rats & Mice
- And other rodents
We are open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 7:30am-6pm and Saturday from 7:30am-1pm. Please note a veterinarian is typically not available until 8am. We accept drop-off appointments and surgery check-ins as early as 7:30am; although, we are unable to treat pets until a veterinarian is present. We are closed on Sundays and certain holidays including New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
While we welcome walk-ins and drop-offs, we DO operate by scheduled appointments. We understand your time is valuable. To help limit the time you may have to wait, we recommend you call our office at 540-343-8021 to schedule an appointment. If no available appointment slots fit your schedule, we welcome drop-off appointments, though we ask you call to schedule these.
If your pet is having an urgent problem, we will do our best to see your pet as a walk-in but ask you to please call ahead to notify our hospital before showing up in order to allow us to prepare for your arrival. While we try our best to be flexible and accommodating to serve you and your pet’s needs, unless your pet has a life-threatening emergency, we place priority on scheduled appointments. To schedule an appointment, please call 540-343-8021.
We are a full-service AAHA-accredited small animal hospital with an on-site surgery suite, dentistry area, imaging room with digital radiography and ultrasonography, an on-site laboratory and pharmacy. Please visit our services for more information or call our hospital for specific questions at 540-343-8021. Should you be in need of grooming or boarding services, please call our hospital for a referral.
No. We close weekdays at 6pm, Saturday at 1pm and are closed on Sundays. No staff is available in the hospital outside of office hours. Therefore, if your pet requires overnight care, you will be responsible for transferring your pet to a 24-hour veterinary hospital for continued care.
Payment in full is expected at the time services are rendered. We accept various methods of payment including cash, check, debit, and most credit cards (VISA, Mastercard). We will also accept Care Credit. Please click here for more information regarding payment options.
Your pet should be examined at least once yearly to ensure he/she is in good health, necessary vaccines are updated, and wellness tests performed. As your pet ages, it is often recommended to have an exam every 6 months to help in the early diagnosis of medical conditions commonly seen in older pets.
Yes! Mosquitos, fleas and ticks are present year-round in the Roanoke Valley. We typically have warm spells in the winter, allowing for the presence of these insects to infect your pet. These parasites can spread many diseases to both pets and people; therefore, it is important that your pet is protected year-round.
It is recommended that a fecal sample be provided at annual/wellness visits, all new puppy/kitten exams, and whenever gastrointestinal signs are present (not eating, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss). Parasitic worms are rarely visible in a stool specimen. When we perform a fecal test, we are actually performing a microscopic examination to look for the characteristic eggs of the various worm species. In some cases, such as with Giardia, more advanced laboratory testing is performed. Many times, animals with intestinal parasites are asymptomatic, meaning they do not show signs of vomiting, diarrhea or weight loss. However, these intestinal parasites can affect your pet’s health as well as may be transmittable to people. Therefore, it is essential that we routinely examine your pet’s fecal material for intestinal parasites.
We ask you notify us 24 hours prior to any prescription refills. We understand that sometimes this is not possible so we will do our best to accommodate your needs. However, every prescription must be approved by a doctor. Because the doctors are typically seeing appointments during the day, they are not always available to review the record and approve prescription refill requests immediately. In addition, a regulation of the Virginia Board of Veterinary Medicine requires that a pet be examined by one of our veterinarians within the past 12 months in order to fill any prescription medication. If your pet has not had an exam in the past 12 months, please call to schedule an appointment at 540-343-8021.