FAQs

We make every effort to accommodate our clients’ requests. However, there may be circumstances that prevent a certain veterinary team member from being available during your pet’s visit. Scheduling conflicts, farm calls, emergency situations, and vacation schedules all play a role in their availability. Please feel free to ask for a specific veterinarian or veterinary technician when you schedule your appointment, and we will do what we can to facilitate your request. However, please be understanding if we can’t. All of our team members are highly skilled professionals who look forward to your pet’s visit.

Our top priority is to make sure that our patients receive the highest standard of care and the best possible outcome. This is why we sometimes make the decision to refer patients to veterinary specialists or specialty clinics when advanced training or equipment is beneficial.

Our veterinarians make every effort to stay current and skilled in many aspects of animal health, providing comprehensive care for your pet. However, board-certified specialists have extensive experience and training in a particular area of veterinary medicine or surgery. And specialty clinics and university-affiliated referral centers have specialized equipment to perform procedures that are not routinely undertaken by general practitioners.

Be assured that when we refer a patient to another hospital, we continue to stay involved with his or her care, consulting with the treating specialist and often providing any needed follow-up care and rehabilitation.

We’d be happy to send proof of vaccination to your pet’s kennel. Just let us know the fax number or email address.

We require that dogs be vaccinated against rabies, distemper, parvovirus, and Bordetella (kennel cough) and that cats be vaccinated against rabies and panleukopenia (feline distemper). We also require your pet to have a yearly stool sample checked to prevent the spread of intestinal parasites, be flea free or treated for fleas, and that dogs are current on heartworm testing and preventative.

We do. If you would prefer to have a veterinarian come to your home, please call to schedule an appointment. We also offer counseling if you want to discuss your decision or have any questions about the process. Additional house call fees apply.

Unfortunately, we can’t offer refunds for veterinary care. Our fees cover the cost of examining, testing, diagnosing, and treating your pet.

Not all health problems have a straightforward solution. Some may be chronic, requiring a long-term management plan; others may be more difficult to diagnose or may involve several causes. A cure may not always be possible, and treatment may be ongoing. Before you get frustrated when a medical issue is not resolved, please talk with us. If the treatment is difficult, we can often suggest different forms of medication that suit you and your pet better. We can also offer alternative therapies, such as Eastern medical treatments. We want to help in any way we can. Our veterinary team will do everything they can to find answers and continue to help your pet.

Your pet’s comfort is a priority for us. Using our knowledge of pain medication and pain relief strategies, we do everything we can to prevent and manage your pet’s pain under all circumstances. By taking a proactive approach to pain management, we try to stop pain before it starts. For ongoing pain management, we often use multiple medications, which allows us to use lower doses, but get a synergistic effect and better pain control than a high dose of just one drug. Local anesthetics and topical treatments are great alternatives for pets who do not tolerate oral medications as well. We also offer nutritional supplements, acupuncture and chiropractic services, which can help control pain in some pets.We will tailor a pain management plan to your pet’s medical condition and individual needs.

Our veterinary team takes every precaution so that your pet receives the highest-quality care. We perform a physical exam and pre-anesthetic testing before surgery and monitor your pet during surgery. During the procedure, a veterinary technician will continually assess your pet’s heart and respiratory rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, temperature, and other vital signs to help prevent any anesthetic risk.

Galax Veterinary Services is proud to offer Sevoflurane anesthetic gas as well at both our Galax, VA, and Mount Airy, NC, locations as well. This is the same gas anesthetic agent that is used in many human pediatric surgeries. It is slightly more expensive than our regular gas anesthetic, Isoflurane, but gives us another option to make surgery as safe as possible.

We also provide appropriate pain medication to keep your pet comfortable during recovery.

During normal business hours, bring your pet in immediately. Call us right before you leave or while you’re on your way to help us prepare for the situation.

If your pet gets sick outside our normal hours, call our emergency line at (276) 236-4212 or Carolina Veterinary Specialist Emergency Clinic at (336) 896-0902.

For the safety and protection of all clients, patients, and veterinary team members, we require all pets to be on a leash or in a carrier when they arrive at our hospital. They must continue to be restrained while they are in the reception area and while traveling to and from the exam rooms. Your veterinarian or veterinary technician will let you know when it’s OK to let your pet off leash or out of his or her carrier.

There is often a lot going on at our hospital. Combine that with the unfamiliar surroundings and new animals, and any pet—even one that is well-trained—might become uneasy or overly excited. We want you and your pet to stay safe and have as pleasant an experience as possible every time you visit our hospital, so we ask all our clients to respect our policy.

YES! Although we can’t provide lengthy consultations or a diagnosis over the phone, we welcome questions from our clients. Please feel free to call or stop by anytime.

Unless it is an emergency situation, allow 24 hours for the nurse or doctor to return your call.

Without pre-approval of this financing option, we request that you pay for services provided at the time of your pet’s in-hospital or farm call visit. We do accept major credit cards, as well as veterinary insurance plans, which can help cover many routine and emergency services. We highly recommend Trupanion Pet Health Insurance to reduce unplanned expenses from illnesses.

We recommend that you include the cost of veterinary care in your annual expenses. However, we understand that this sometimes isn’t possible. If you contact us ahead of time, we can help you determine ways to keep costs down and stay within your budget. For instance, some preventive veterinary care can be spread out over several visits. Your veterinarian will work with you to come up with a cost-effective plan to keep your pet current on vaccinations and other necessary services.

If you have any questions about our payment policy, please feel free to ask.

We can accept any of the following payment methods:

• Cash
• Personal checks
• Visa
• MasterCard
• Discover
• Care Credit

We also accept most pet insurance plans.

For our Galax, VA office, Galax Veterinary Clinic, call (276) 236-4212.