RESOURCES
Plan ahead for your appointment, review our policies or learn what to expect with surgery.
RESOURCES
Plan ahead for your appointment, review our policies or learn what to expect with surgery.
Whether you are coming to Academy Animal Care for your pet’s first appointment, an outpatient procedure or a hospital stay, we have resources to help you prepare for your visit or house call. These include our clinic forms, policies, virtual tour, what to expect during surgery, online pharmacy and pet portal.
Clinic Forms
Clinic Tour
Online Pharmacy
ACADEMY ANIMAL CARE
3372 Pruden Blvd, Suffolk, VA 23434
Phone: 757-934-2273
Fax: 757-539-6512
Hours of operation:
Monday—Thursday: 7:30 am to 6:30 pm
Friday: 7:30 am to 5:30 pm
Saturday: 8:00 am to 1:00 pm
Sunday: CLOSED
*Closed daily from 1 pm to 2 pm for lunch
Clinic Forms
Online Pharmacy
Request appointments and prescription refills, access pet records 24/7, view upcoming services due and more!
Request appointments and prescription refills, access pet records 24/7, view upcoming services due and more!
Our Policies
To allow ample time for all patients and scheduled surgical procedures, we operate primarily by appointment. Emergency cases shall always receive top priority, which is why occasional appointment delay is inevitable. Please realize that we make a sincere attempt to see each client on time.
For your convenience, “Drop-off” appointments are available. A “Drop-off‘ means you could bring your pet at a time that works best for you and leave him/her with us for a couple of hours. Usually, we will ask you to “Drop-off” sometime in the morning so our doctors can examine the patient in between appointments or at the time purposely reserved for admitted patients. There will be some necessary forms to complete prior to leaving your pet, so please allot extra time. Once the doctor has completed the exam or tests, they will give you a call to go over the diagnosis and give you discharge instructions.
For the safety of all animals in our care, we require that all vaccinations be up to date. Even though we make every effort to make our patients feel comfortable during visits, they may be a little uneasy about new people, new surroundings and other pets. This is one of the reasons we ask you to restrain your pet on a leash or in a carrier. We require pet patients to be placed on a leash or in pet carriers whenever traveling between the car and the exam room.
We require full payment at the time that services are rendered. Please feel free to ask for an estimate for services at any time. For your convenience, we accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Cash and CareCredit.
CareCredit provides simple and friendly veterinary payment plans and flexible coverage options for pet health and wellness.
Surgery FAQ
Today’s modern anesthetic monitors have made surgery much safer than in the past. Here at Academy Animal Care, we do a thorough physical exam on your pet before administering anesthetics, to ensure that a fever or other illness won’t be a problem. We also adjust the amount and type of anesthetic used depending on the health of your pet.
Pre-anesthetic blood testing is important in reducing the risk of anesthesia. Every pet needs blood testing before surgery to ensure that the liver and kidneys can handle the anesthetic. Even apparently healthy animals can have serious organ system problems that cannot be detected without blood testing. If there is a problem, it is much better to find it before it causes anesthetic or surgical complications. Animals that have minor dysfunction will handle the anesthetic better if they receive IV fluids during surgery. If serious problems are detected, surgery can be postponed until the problem is corrected.
We offer three levels of in-house blood testing before surgery, which we will go over with you when you bring your pet in. Our doctors prefer the more comprehensive screen, because it gives them the most information to ensure the safety of your pet. For geriatric or ill pets, additional blood tests, electrocardiograms, or x-rays may be required before surgery as well.
It is important that surgery be done on an empty stomach to reduce the risk of vomiting during and after anesthesia. You will need to withhold food for at least 8 to 10 hours before surgery. Water can be left down for the pet until the morning of surgery.
For many surgeries, we use absorbable sutures underneath the skin. These will dissolve on their own, and do not need to be removed later. Some surgeries, especially tumor removals, do require skin stitches. With either type of suture, you will need to keep an eye on the incision for swelling or discharge. Most dogs and cats do not lick excessively or chew at the incision, but this is an occasional problem you will also need to watch for. If there are skin sutures, these will usually be removed 10 to 14 days after surgery. You will also need to limit your pet’s activity level for a time and no baths are allowed for the first 10 days after surgery.
Anything that causes pain in people can be expected to cause pain in animals. Pets may not show the same symptoms of pain as people do; they usually don’t whine or cry, but you can be sure they feel it. Pain medications needed will depend on the surgery performed. Major procedures require more pain relief than things like minor lacerations.
For dogs, we may recommend an oral anti-inflammatory the day after surgery and several days after to lessen the risk of discomfort and swelling. We use newer medications, which are less likely to cause stomach upset and can be given even on the morning of surgery.
Recent advances in pain medications have allowed for better pain control in cats than ever before. We administer pain medication prior to surgery. After surgery, additional pain medication is administered in the clinic or sent home for continued pain control.
To prevent self-trauma to the incision, we highly recommend an Elizabethan collar surgical suit. Chewing or licking an incision prior to healing can result in infection and incisional dehiscence. We hope to avoid additional visits and procedures that will prolong your pet’s full recovery. Surgical suits can be ordered online prior to the scheduled surgery.
While your pet is under anesthesia, it is the ideal time to perform other minor procedures, such as dentistry, ear cleaning, or implanting an identification microchip. If you would like an estimate for these extra services, please call ahead of time. This is especially important if the person dropping the pet off for surgery is not the primary decision-maker for the pet’s care.
When you bring your pet in for surgery, we will need 5 to 10 minutes of time to fill out paperwork and make decisions on the blood testing and other options available. When you pick up your pet after surgery you can also plan to spend about 10 minutes to go over your pet’s home care needs.
We will call you the night before your scheduled surgery appointment, to confirm the time you will be dropping your pet off and to answer any questions you might have. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to call us with any questions about your pet’s health or surgery.
- Please arrive between 7:30 and 8:15 for the surgery check-in.
- After reception check-in, a technician will come to review the plan, estimate, and consent form. Surgery check-in may take up to 20 minutes.
- Your pet will be assessed. His or her pre-surgery labs will be drawn if not completed already.
- A pre-surgery pain medication will be administered to assist with discomfort and stress.
- Most surgeries are completed in the morning.
- Patients are monitored in-clinic for several hours after their anesthesia. Patients are discharged to their family for care at home on the day of their procedure once they have recovered from anesthesia.
- We will contact you with an update and anticipated discharge time through the number(s) you provide at surgery intake.
- At discharge, our reception team will be available to schedule your pet’s post-surgery follow-up appointment and complete the checkout process.
- A technician will review your pet’s post-procedure medications and a written care summary.
- We often recommend an Elizabethan collar or collar alternative (inflatable collar, surgisuit) to prevent self-trauma to a healing incision during the first 14 days of the recovery. We keep simple hard plastic Elizabethan collars as well as some soft Elizabethan collars in the clinic to send home on the day of procedure. Consider visiting pet retailers in person or online for Elizabethan collar alternatives for your pet’s recovery period.