The Veterinary Teaching Hospital provides full-service outpatient preventive health care to small animal clients within a 35-mile radius of Blacksburg through the Small Animal Community Practice. Clients from outside a 35-mile radius of the hospital must be referred by their veterinarian.

Regardless of where you live, a referral from your pet's primary care veterinarian is required to receive an appointment with one of our specialty services. If your pet receives primary care through our Small Animal Community Practice, the service can initiate a referral.  

Your pet can be seen by our Community Practice clinic if you live within a 35-mile radius of Blacksburg; however, it is in your pet's best interest to have only one primary care veterinarian. As a result, we would request that your pet's records and care be transferred to our hospital.

Please refer to our About Your Visit page for information about parking, patient check-in, patient status inquiries, patient visitation, payment and fees, and patient discharge.

Please visit Your Animal Health Care Team to learn more about the roles and responsibilities of each member of your Patient Care Team.

Your pet's initial examination will include a complete evaluation that requires a minimum of 1.5 to 2 hours.

  • You will provide a fourth-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine student with your pet's accurate history.
  • The student will conduct a physical exam of your pet.
  • The student will present findings to the supervising veterinarian.
  • The veterinarian will talk to you about recommendations for your pet's treatment.
  • You will work with the veterinarian to decide how to proceed with the care plan that has been designed for your pet.

Your pet's stay in the hospital is determined by the physical problem and the type of procedure, test, and/or surgery to be performed. For most non-surgical cases, it is best to be prepared for an overnight or longer stay. Cases requiring anesthesia and surgery will generally stay for three to five days.

All tests results are forwarded directly to the attending Patient Care Team members to share with their clients. Please be aware that some tests are performed by outside laboratories and a waiting period of a few days is not uncommon. A member of your Patient Care Team will contact you when pending test results become available.

Necropsy (autopsy) results can take up to two weeks to be finalized, depending on which tests have been requested. If you are a client who has been referred to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital by your primary care veterinarian, necropsy results will be sent directly to your veterinarian, who will explain them to you.

Small Animal Client Waiting Area