Regular business hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00AM to 5:30PM. These hours can vary due to holidays or other events, so please confirm with reception if there is any question.

Drop off is between 9:00-9:30AM at our Adoption Center at the Botstiber Pavilion. Pick-up is at the same location on the same day between 4:00-5:00PM. Our receptionists work very hard during the day to be sure we can help others who also need us, so please rest assured you will be contacted if your pet is ready to go home earlier.

A late fee will be included if you arrive after the schedule drop off or pick-up times.

For pets over 5 pounds, please make sure your pet does not eat anything after 10:00PM the evening before, but it is okay to give water on the morning of your appointment. If your pet is 5 pounds or under, please give a small snack (3 pieces of dry food or 1tsp of wet food) in the morning to prevent low blood sugar.

If they are dirty or have fleas, give them a bath. A dirty pet prior to surgery can lead to infection post-op. We do not have a surgical bathing area. Your pet must arrive on a leash or in a pet carrier. We encourage you to remove any clothing or other extra items (e.g. decorative collars, bandanas, etc.) that may be at risk of becoming dirty during your pet’s visit as our staff cannot guarantee your items will be returned in the same condition they came to us.

We offer high-quality pet surgery and pet dental care services. We offer advanced surgeries at affordable prices. Because surgery and dental care are a big part of what we do, we are able to do a higher volume safely and efficiently.

We are a day facility meaning all of the pets arrive in the morning and all the pets go home in the afternoon on the same day. We offer consultations for surgeries and dentals through our Wellness Clinic; however these are not done with our Surgery Department. Our focus is on doing the procedures, meaning there will be no meeting with the doctors or having your pet hospitalized at Providence Animal Center. Because these services are not done, you are not being charged for these services, allowing us to keep our costs as low as possible.

Unfortunately not. One of the ways we can keep our costs low is to cut out the office visits and consultations where additional fees and time would normally be incurred. When your pet arrives at Providence Animal Center, you already know what your pet needs because you have been somewhere else for an exam and testing. If it is a more detailed or challenging case, we have already received your full-service veterinarian’s notes telling us what your pet needs, and our doctors are just waiting in the back to get started.

If your pet is not feeling well, you must visit your full-service veterinarian or an emergency room first. At that visit elsewhere, a veterinarian will perform a comprehensive exam and recommend any testing (e.g. x-rays, bloodwork, ultrasound) to determine the cause of your illness. If it is determined that your pet needs surgery, we ask that you have medical records send to vetservices@providenceac.org and reach out to us via text message at 610-566-1370, and we will work with you to schedule the procedure.

How often does your pet need a dental? It is recommended for most animals to have a dental cleaning every 1-2 years. A good way to determine is by taking a look at the teeth for build-up of tartar and smelling the breath. Another sign may be a pet who is chewing on one side or crying in pain while eating.

How can I schedule a dental? In order to schedule a dental with us, your pet will need a recent examination by a veterinarian. A dental consultation appointment can be schedule in our Wellness Clinic at any time by texting 610-566-1370. If your dog has been to your veterinarian within the last 30 days, we can schedule a dental after we receive medical records. Records should be emailed to vetservices@providenceac.org, and please text us to let us know to watch for them. We are unable to schedule you cat’s dental unless they have been to our Wellness Clinic for a consultation, regardless of how recent your appointment with your regular veterinarian.

What’s involved in the process of a dental? You pet will be put under anesthesia and a technician will remove all plaque from the teeth. At that time, the veterinarian will examine your pet’s mouth and determine if any teeth need to be removed (e.g. loose, decaying teeth). If you paid for extractions with your dental procedure, we will remove any diseased teeth. If you did not pay for extractions, we will either call or text you to inform you that extractions are needed and any additional fee will be collected at the time of pickup. We will not wait for confirmation if we are unable to reach you before removing any diseased teeth deemed necessary for removal by the veterinarian. You will be sent home with a dental chart describing your pet’s mouth and any needed medications.

What can I expect after my pet’s dental? If your pet came in for a routine dental cleaning and no teeth were removed, then we expect you should see any change in their eating/drinking or behavior following the procedure. If your pet did have teeth removed, we recommend switching to a softer food for the next 3-5 days as their mouth may be sore. This can be either soaking their kibble in a small amount of water, feeding canned wet food or switching to a bland diet like boiled chicken and rice. After 5 days, you can slowly transition them back to their regular food by adding small amounts to the “soft diet” for a few days.

A technician will be doing your pet’s discharge in the same place you dropped off in the morning. When you arrive, we ask that you text us at 610-566-1370 and say, “I’m here for (your pet’s name).” You will receive written discharge instructions, medications and a “cone” (if necessary). Depending on your pet’s procedure or their reaction to anesthesia, they may or may not be mildly sedate when you pick them up. If they appear a little sleepy, we ask that you take them home and put them in quiet place to check on them often as they slowly wake up. If your pet is having surgery, the area will be shaved, and if they were spayed/neutered they will have a green tattoo to indicate they have been sterilized.

We are a day facility only. Pets are discharged at the end of the day. We may recommend that your pet needs overnight care if they are very sick. This may be done with your regular veterinarian (you will have to contact to set this up) or a local veterinary emergency center. Our services are intended to get your pet through surgery at a lower cost so that you will hopefully be able to afford post-op care, if needed. We will make ourselves available during normal business hours for suture removals or rechecks if related to a procedure performed in our hospital. This can be set up by texting us at 610-566-1370.

Our doctors and staff are great at what they do because they limit what they do and spend their entire day doing it well. They are efficient, which means your pet is under sedation for a shorter amount of time. This is safer for your pet and allows us to help more pets in a day. This also means the doctors and staff spend their entire day helping the pets and not spending it with their owners or accompanying pets overnight. Because we do many procedures throughout the day, you should not expect that a staff member will send updates or be available to speak to you, as we have many pets to care for and need to be able to focus on providing them the best care.

If you want to have an examination/consultation performed for your pet, have diagnostics (e.g. x-rays, ultrasound, bloodwork) performed or have a procedure explained with expectations for post-op care or complications, this should be done with your regular full-service veterinarian or an emergency veterinary hospital. You should already know what your pet needs are when you arrive, and we will give you post-op care instructions when you leave, so the money you pay is for our doctors to care for your pet for the day. You are not being charged for an office visit or hospitalization, allowing us to keep our costs as low as possible.

Acceptable forms of payment include cash or credit cards. We DO NOT accept personal checks or CareCredit. We encourage you to reach out to us via text at 610-566-1370 for an estimate for the cost of surgery. Unfortunately, Providence Animal Center cannot extend credit. As much as we wish we could do it for free, our fees are as low as we can possibly make them and still be available for the next pet who needs us. If you need to borrow money, turn to your personal network to lend you money, and make arrangements to pay them back. Your pet is your responsibility, and we will do what we can to help you through a difficult time, but we cannot be financially responsible for you and your pet.

We do not have the ability to do any testing, such as bloodwork, x-rays, or other tests, at our facility. This is why these tests must be done at your veterinarian or another facility prior to coming to us for surgery. For a majority of pets, no testing is needed after the surgery, as long as they are recovering normally. If diagnostic tests (e.g. bloodwork, x-rays) are recommended following surgery, we will work with you to coordinate with your veterinarian or nearby veterinary hospital to have these performed.