The Durham Veterinary Hospital offers medical, surgical, dental and behavioral care for pets and their families living in Durham and surrounding communities. We are proud to see pets who travel from as far away as East Hampton and Ivoryton for our care. We are dedicated to preventive care for your pets, as well as handling emergencies and illnesses as they arise.

We believe that routine care can prevent small problems from becoming big ones. Our hospital is equipped with modern medical equipment, and a skilled staff who care deeply about the best care for your pet. We provide a full range of services to maintain health and intervene for treatment of illness and injuries. Specialist consultations and referrals are available.

Preventive Care
Preventive care starts with kitten and puppy physical examinations, parasite control and immunizations. We provide new pet/owner counseling and training to help you get started with feeding, house training and basic obedience training. Heartworm, intestinal parasite, and flea and tick prevention are all part of the comprehensive approach to providing a healthy start for a puppy, kitten, or a new pet.

Pharmacy
Our pharmacy provides veterinary medications for our patients. We prepare prescriptions immediately during visits and upon telephone request for refills. For pets who don't like to swallow medicine, we provide FlavoRx™, a system for creating flavored liquid medications. We provide special compounding services for unique prescription needs.

We carry a full line of flea and tick control products and a variety of heartworm preventives. All our medications are delivered directly from ethical sources to avoid the transshipping so common with Internet pharmacies. For safe and effective treatment, the best source for pet medicines is your pet’s doctor.

Foods
We have the full range of Hills Prescription® diets, Science Diet®, and special diets to treat diabetes and other medical conditions. Please call so we can help with any feeding questions. Today's pet food is not just a meal; it is a means of maintaining health, ensuring proper growth and treating illnesses. Nutritional services are best provided by our trained veterinary staff.

Dental Procedures
Dental disease in dogs and cats can cause bad breath, tooth abscesses and risk of infection bacteria spreads to other organs. We perform full dental cleanings using an ultrasonic scaler and a high-speed dental drill and polisher to remove all plaque and tarter. We extract infected or abscessed teeth and provide appropriate antibiotic and continuing oral care.

Laboratory
We have a full, in-house diagnostic laboratory. Our blood analyzer can provide thyroid levels, blood chemistry and blood counts in as little as 30 minutes. We can perform urinalysis, and fecal parasite check while you wait for results. We use rapid assay technology to diagnose and screen for heartworm and tick-borne disease in dogs. In cats, rapid assay tests can detect feline leukemia and immunodeficiency virus in 10 to 20 minutes.

Radiology
Our radiology department has a new X-ray machine with a moveable table. Automatic processing allows for immediate reading of films. Generally, we schedule X-rays for diagnosis of lameness or non-emergency problems in advance. Often dogs and cats require sedation or anesthesia for X-rays. We take films of sick and injured pets as part of the emergency care and stabilization process.

Surgery
Our hospital is fully equipped for routine and emergency surgery. Our dedicated surgery room has an adjustable operating table and specialized surgical lighting. We routinely perform spay and neuter surgeries for our patients. Spaying and neutering are best performed before pets mature and have been proven to prevent breast cancer in females and prostatic disease in males. Other procedures include:

• Skin tumor removal
• Repair of lacerations
• Removal of bladder stones
• Gastrointestinal foreign body removal
• Exploratory surgeries for diagnosis and treatment of abdominal diseases.
• Specialty surgery such as orthopedics may be scheduled with a consulting Board Certified Veterinary Surgeon in our surgery.

Anesthesia
We use a wide range of medications for sedation and general anesthesia. We monitor both blood pressure and blood oxygen levels during anesthesia.

Intensive Care
If your pet requires long-term critical care, we recommend special facilities that are staffed and equipped for this purpose.

Behavioral Consultation
Much “bad” pet behavior is actually normal dog or cat behavior that conflicts with the human family's needs or expectations. We work with you and your pet to understand behavior and correct annoying problems.

It can be difficult to diagnose behavioral problems. Often there are medical reasons for abnormal behavior, so proper diagnosis and treatment are essential. We provide therapy with medical, behavioral and training approaches. In cases of dangerous aggression, we will refer you to specialists who are trained to help with this kind of problem.

Training
We provide:

• Puppy coaching
• Basic Obedience classes
• Gentle Leader Training
• Behavioral Counseling