Small Animal Services: About Your Visit

• Hospital visitors are NOT required to obtain a Virginia Tech visitor parking permit to use the Veterinary Teaching Hospital's parking area. If you plan to visit other areas of the Virginia Tech campus, a visitor permit will be required.
• When you enter the main driveway to the college, you will see parking areas on the left for faculty/staff and client vehicles. Follow the signage for Small Animal Client Parking, and park only in those spaces designated for hospital clients. If you park in a spot designated for faculty/staff, you will be ticketed. Please visit the Small Animal Hospital reception desk if you receive a parking ticket.
• If you are unable to find a client parking space, enter the circular drive and pull up to the hospital entrance. Visit the Small Animal Hospital reception desk, where a receptionist will issue a parking pass for other parking areas.
• If you have other questions about client parking, please call 540-231-4621.

The following check-in procedures apply to all clients visiting the Veterinary Teaching Hospital:

• All dogs and cats must be leashed, crated, or carried at all times. For the safety of all hospital patients, please keep retractable leashes locked at all times.
• Clients will be asked to sign a treatment authorization form and to verify client and patient information.
• Clients being referred by their primary care veterinarian should present referral paperwork (e.g., letter, radiographs, lab work, or other necessary medical information) when checking in.

Patient status updates

• A member of your Patient Care Team will call you with a status update. These calls are made at the least-busy times, which in many cases will be after 5:00 p.m.
• For surgical cases, you will be called after your pet has recovered from anesthesia. Because the surgical Patient Care Team will be in surgery throughout the day, please anticipate a status call later in the day.

Patient inquiry procedures and considerations

• Inquiries should be placed with your senior veterinary student by calling the hospital at 540-231-4621.
• Inquiries regarding your hospitalized pet are best placed between 9:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Most Patient Care Team members are in clinical rounds in the morning and late afternoon and are unavailable except for emergency phone calls.
• Depending on caseload and scheduling, your Patient Care Team may be unavailable for patient status inquiries for periods throughout the day.
• For emergency or general patient inquiries, we require the following information:
  • Owner's name
  • The animal's name as listed in the medical record
  • The Small Animal Hospital veterinarian and student associated with the case

All visitation arrangements must be prearranged with a member of your Patient Care Team. We understand and value the bond you have with your pet, but the stress and excitement caused by visitation may be counterproductive to sound case management, particularly in cases of ophthalmic surgery, general surgery, and critical care medical cases. Your Patient Care Team will work with you to maximize your contact with your pet, relative to its best health care interests.

Procedures and considerations

• Discharge times and dates should be arranged directly with your Patient Care Team.
• All clients will review and sign a discharge summary with a member of their Patient Care Team. Because many discharges require detailed after-care instructions and clients may have a number of questions, proper scheduling of discharge is essential.
• Please inform your Patient Care Team if you are running late or need to reschedule your pet's pickup.
• If you have any post-discharge questions or concerns, you may leave a message for your Patient Care Team between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday - Friday, by calling 540-231-4621.

Post-discharge emergencies

If you feel that you have an emergency situation with your animal after discharge, the following is your best course of action:

• Contact your primary care veterinarian for an evaluation of your pet's condition.
• If your veterinarian feels that your animal requires an emergency appointment or your veterinarian would like to consult with one of our "emergency on-duty" doctors, s/he may contact the hospital 24/7 by calling 540-231-4621.
• Clients using our Small Animal Community Practice service for primary care should call 540-231-4621.

Outpatient services

All small animal outpatient services, including spay/neuter procedures, are to be paid in full upon the patient's discharge.

Inpatient services

• Before small animal services requiring an overnight stay are rendered, clients will receive an "Estimate of Fees."
• All small animal inpatient services require a prepayment or deposit in the amount of 75% of the "Estimate of Fees." The remaining balance is due upon the patient's discharge.
• As of September 3, 2024 the VTH will no longer be charging finance charges. 

Supplemental charges

Please be aware that the Business Office may not know all the charges for which you will be responsible at the time of patient discharge. As a result, you may be billed by mail for supplemental charges after patient discharge.

Payment options

• In-person: Cash, personal check, money orders, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover
  
• CareCredit
• Online payments: eCheck, Visa, MasterCard, and American Express
  
• By phone: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover

Refund requests will be reviewed and determined on a case-by-case basis.

Please call our Business Office at 540-231-6027 if you have questions.