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, 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 the best we can to facilitate your request. However, please be understanding if we can’t. All of our team members are skilled professionals who look forward to your pet’s visit.

We want our patients to have 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 will be beneficial.

Our veterinarians make every effort to stay current and skilled in many aspects of animal health. 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 centres 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 can 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, Leptospirosis and Bordetella (kennel cough) and that cats be vaccinated against rabies, and panleukopenia (feline distemper).

We do, within a 1/2 hour drive of the Hospital. 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.

If you would like to have a veterinarian come to your home, wherever possible we will try to accommodate your request. Please call to talk to our reception staff and schedule an appointment. We also offer counseling if you want to discuss your decision or have any questions about the process.

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. Your veterinary team will do everything they can to find answers and continue to help your pet.

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. We will tailor a pain management plan to your pet’s medical condition and individual needs.

We also offer chiropractic services, which can help control pain in some pets.

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, and other vital signs to help prevent any anesthetic risk. We also provide appropriate pain medication 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, take your pet immediately to an emergency veterinary clinic.

QUESTIONS TO ASK A PET

FOOD COMPANY

Dr. Joe Bartges is a Professor of Veterinary Medicine and Nutrition at The University of Tennessee. He is Board Certified in both Internal medicine (ACVIM) and Nutrition (ACVN). He is a frequent lecturer at conferences across North America. In answer to the many questions he receives about how to validate the quality of commercially produced pet foods, he offers the following advice:

If we call a company and they can’t provide reasonable answers to these questions –It’s a huge red flag.

Do you have a Veterinary Nutritionist or some equivalent on staff in your company? Are they available for consultation or questions? Royal Canin is a worldwide company providing diets to pets in 91 countries with 12 manufacturing facilities situated throughout the globe. Diet formulation is determined by a team of veterinary nutritionists, Ph.D. Nutritionists and Masters of Nutrition primarily stationed at the Royal Canin Research Campus in Aimargues, France but also in a number of other countries. In Canada, veterinarians, internists, Masters in Nutrition, processing engineers, etc. are available to answer questions about nutrition and the manufacture of the diets. There is also a Technical Service team made up of veterinarians who are dedicated to the Canadian veterinary market for consultation regarding medical cases and dietary recommendations. A Veterinary Internist/Clinical Pathology Consult team is also available to address clinical cases that are particularly challenging. In 2012 over 11,400 calls were taken from veterinary clinics- a growth rate of 20% over the previous year-a clear testimony to the importance of this service for the Canadian veterinary community. Who formulates your diets and what are their credentials? Using the knowledge gleaned from the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition, as well as the worldwide body of research, the diet formulation team develops and validates new diet formulations at the Royal Canin Campus in Aimargues, France. Which of your diets is AAFCO Feed Trial tested? Which of your diets meets AAFCO Nutritional requirements? There are over 50 dry and wet canine and over 35 dry and wet feline diets. 35 of the diets have been through growth and/or maintenance AAFCO feeding trials. Most of the other diets have been validated according to AAFCO nutrient profiles though there are some diets with specific therapeutic formulations that preclude meeting the AAFCO nutrient profile. These diets have all gone through alternate product testing and many have been proven through clinical trials to be efficacious in managing the disease processes for which they were intended. All have been fed to pets for the long term and the pets have thrived. Examples would be Hepatic and Renal LP. What testing do you do beyond AAFCO trials?

• Palatability trials

• Digestibility trials

• Blood parameters

• Relative Supersaturation trials

• Stool conformation

• Amino acid analysis

• Fatty acid analysis

• Toxicology studies and stability data

• Clinical trials for efficacy in conjunction with vets and pet owners

• Peer-reviewed research

Can you give me the caloric value per can or cup of your diet? The calories/cup are printed on the bag. The calories per cup and per can are available in the Product Guide, on the website, and on the client brochure for each product. What specific quality control measures do you use to assure the consistency and quality of your product line? What safety measures do you use? Product quality begins with the audit of suppliers of the almost 120 ingredients used in over 95 different diets. Currently, over 60% of the ingredients used are sourced in Canada (with a goal of 90% by 2015) – a patriotic practice but one that also delivers a strategic benefit should there be issues at the border. Each ingredient is subjected to analyses conducted by trained technicians to confirm quality and safety before being allowed into the actual plant facility. The centrepiece of the laboratory in terms of product safety is the use of Near InfraRed Spectroscopy (NIRS), a system that compares the “fingerprint”of an ingredient to a database of standards (3 years to establish). If the NIRS results for the incoming ingredient do not match the standard, then the ingredient is rejected prior to unloading. The consequence of this remarkable technology is that pet owners can be assured that Royal Canin Veterinary Exclusive products are free of any contamination and are 100% safe. The manufacturing facility is composed of 3 separate, but interconnected parts. The vertical arrangement of the process allows for an energy-efficient flow, while the computerized formulation management ensures that the formulations are precise. In the first area of the facility, dry ingredients are received and stored. All incoming ingredients are sampled and tagged to allow traceability – right to the source. To show further vigilance in this process, the contents of every bag of our diets can be traced back to the delivery of each ingredient and the supplier, as well as to each stage of the manufacturing process. Ingredients are precisely weighed, ground, and mixed to create a homogenous mixture. To enhance the level of biologic vigilance the floors of the dry ingredient area are painted red and employees working in that area cannot cross into the blue zone. The blue zone defines the area of the plant involved in the cooking and the packaging of finished product which has been sterilized by the extruder. Employees in this area wear special footwear, hair nets, and require hand sanitization before entering the blue zone. The mixed ingredients are then delivered to the “kitchen” where heat and pressure will be supplied in the extruder to produce the kibble. A minimum temperature of 90o C is reached to ensure the control of bacteria, such as Salmonella and Listeria. Access to this area is strictly limited to skilled and authorized personnel. Positive pressure, just as in veterinary surgeries, reduces the possibility of bacterial contamination. Pneumatic pressure moves the kibble to the dryer, which, again, is arranged vertically for greater energy efficiency and more uniform drying. The kibble descends through 7 graduated zones until the correct moisture content is achieved. The Royal Canin Veterinary Exclusive finished product is packaged in the 3rd area of the facility. Metal detectors are used during the process to provide a final safety check before the kibble is packaged. As the bags are filled, nitrogen is forced into the packaging to displace oxygen. Consequently, once the bag is sealed, there is minimal contact between the kibble and oxygen. Because of this, the food maintains a higher degree of freshness and palatability. The Americas satellite laboratory is situated in Guelph, Ontario. It is a state-of-the-art laboratory that conducts detailed analyses of ingredients and finished products from plants in North and South America. The lab is integrated with labs in Asia and France ensuring the quality and safety of all Royal Canin products worldwide. Where are your diets produced and manufactured? Can this plant be visited? The majority of the dry diets for the Canadian market are produced at our new facility in Guelph, Ontario. This facility is part of a plant network in North America, where specific diets may be assigned to different plants for production for the entire North American market. For example, Canine and Feline Mobility Support are produced for North America in Guelph; Canine Hepatic is produced for North America in our U.S. plant. While every plant can produce any of the diets (they have all been validated and tested at each plant), this network provides an opportunity for the plants to specialize in some areas, improves the efficiency of production, and enables us to continue to supply the market if there were a situation that resulted in supply interruption from a particular plant. The wet diets are made in our wholly-owned plant in North Sioux City, South Dakota. The plants are all dedicated to the manufacture of Royal Canin products. There is no third-party co-packing/subcontracting. The contracts, technologies, quality controls, and product testing that help ensure safety, nutritional precision, and performance are in place at all of these facilities. And yes, tours can be arranged. Approximately 600 veterinarians, veterinary technicians, office managers, and associates of customer service teams have visited the plant in Guelph since its opening. Can you provide a complete product nutrient analysis of your best-selling canine and feline pet food? This information can be provided for every Royal Canin Veterinary Exclusive product on the market.

QUESTIONS TO ASK A PET

FOOD COMPANY

Dr. Joe Bartges is a Professor of Veterinary Medicine and Nutrition at The University of Tennessee. He is Board Certified in both Internal medicine (ACVIM) and Nutrition (ACVN). He is a frequent lecturer at conferences across North America. In answer to the many questions he receives about how to validate the quality of commercially produced pet foods, he offers the following advice:

If we call a company and they can’t provide reasonable answers to these questions –It’s a huge red flag.

Do you have a Veterinary Nutritionist or some equivalent on staff in your company? Are they available for consultation or questions? Royal Canin is a worldwide company providing diets to pets in 91 countries with 12 manufacturing facilities situated throughout the globe. Diet formulation is determined by a team of veterinary nutritionists, Ph.D. Nutritionists and Masters of Nutrition primarily stationed at the Royal Canin Research Campus in Aimargues, France but also in a number of other countries. In Canada, veterinarians, internists, Masters in Nutrition, processing engineers, etc. are available to answer questions about nutrition and the manufacture of the diets. There is also a Technical Service team made up of veterinarians who are dedicated to the Canadian veterinary market for consultation regarding medical cases and dietary recommendations. A Veterinary Internist/Clinical Pathology Consult team is also available to address clinical cases that are particularly challenging. In 2012 over 11,400 calls were taken from veterinary clinics- a growth rate of 20% over the previous year-a clear testimony to the importance of this service for the Canadian veterinary community. Who formulates your diets and what are their credentials? Using the knowledge gleaned from the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition, as well as the worldwide body of research, the diet formulation team develops and validates new diet formulations at the Royal Canin Campus in Aimargues, France. Which of your diets is AAFCO Feed Trial tested? Which of your diets meets AAFCO Nutritional requirements? There are over 50 dry and wet canine and over 35 dry and wet feline diets. 35 of the diets have been through growth and/or maintenance AAFCO feeding trials. Most of the other diets have been validated according to AAFCO nutrient profiles though there are some diets with specific therapeutic formulations that preclude meeting the AAFCO nutrient profile. These diets have all gone through alternate product testing and many have been proven through clinical trials to be efficacious in managing the disease processes for which they were intended. All have been fed to pets for the long term and the pets have thrived. Examples would be Hepatic and Renal LP. What testing do you do beyond AAFCO trials?

• Palatability trials

• Digestibility trials

• Blood parameters

• Relative Supersaturation trials

• Stool conformation

• Amino acid analysis

• Fatty acid analysis

• Toxicology studies and stability data

• Clinical trials for efficacy in conjunction with vets and pet owners

• Peer-reviewed research

Can you give me the caloric value per can or cup of your diet? The calories/cup are printed on the bag. The calories per cup and per can are available in the Product Guide, on the website, and on the client brochure for each product. What specific quality control measures do you use to assure the consistency and quality of your product line? What safety measures do you use? Product quality begins with the audit of suppliers of the almost 120 ingredients used in over 95 different diets. Currently, over 60% of the ingredients used are sourced in Canada (with a goal of 90% by 2015) – a patriotic practice but one that also delivers a strategic benefit should there be issues at the border. Each ingredient is subjected to analyses conducted by trained technicians to confirm quality and safety before being allowed into the actual plant facility. The centrepiece of the laboratory in terms of product safety is the use of Near InfraRed Spectroscopy (NIRS), a system that compares the “fingerprint”of an ingredient to a database of standards (3 years to establish). If the NIRS results for the incoming ingredient do not match the standard, then the ingredient is rejected prior to unloading. The consequence of this remarkable technology is that pet owners can be assured that Royal Canin Veterinary Exclusive products are free of any contamination and are 100% safe. The manufacturing facility is composed of 3 separate, but interconnected parts. The vertical arrangement of the process allows for an energy-efficient flow, while the computerized formulation management ensures that the formulations are precise. In the first area of the facility, dry ingredients are received and stored. All incoming ingredients are sampled and tagged to allow traceability – right to the source. To show further vigilance in this process, the contents of every bag of our diets can be traced back to the delivery of each ingredient and the supplier, as well as to each stage of the manufacturing process. Ingredients are precisely weighed, ground, and mixed to create a homogenous mixture. To enhance the level of biologic vigilance the floors of the dry ingredient area are painted red and employees working in that area cannot cross into the blue zone. The blue zone defines the area of the plant involved in the cooking and the packaging of finished product which has been sterilized by the extruder. Employees in this area wear special footwear, hair nets, and require hand sanitization before entering the blue zone. The mixed ingredients are then delivered to the “kitchen” where heat and pressure will be supplied in the extruder to produce the kibble. A minimum temperature of 90o C is reached to ensure the control of bacteria, such as Salmonella and Listeria. Access to this area is strictly limited to skilled and authorized personnel. Positive pressure, just as in veterinary surgeries, reduces the possibility of bacterial contamination. Pneumatic pressure moves the kibble to the dryer, which, again, is arranged vertically for greater energy efficiency and more uniform drying. The kibble descends through 7 graduated zones until the correct moisture content is achieved. The Royal Canin Veterinary Exclusive finished product is packaged in the 3rd area of the facility. Metal detectors are used during the process to provide a final safety check before the kibble is packaged. As the bags are filled, nitrogen is forced into the packaging to displace oxygen. Consequently, once the bag is sealed, there is minimal contact between the kibble and oxygen. Because of this, the food maintains a higher degree of freshness and palatability. The Americas satellite laboratory is situated in Guelph, Ontario. It is a state-of-the-art laboratory that conducts detailed analyses of ingredients and finished products from plants in North and South America. The lab is integrated with labs in Asia and France ensuring the quality and safety of all Royal Canin products worldwide. Where are your diets produced and manufactured? Can this plant be visited? The majority of the dry diets for the Canadian market are produced at our new facility in Guelph, Ontario. This facility is part of a plant network in North America, where specific diets may be assigned to different plants for production for the entire North American market. For example, Canine and Feline Mobility Support are produced for North America in Guelph; Canine Hepatic is produced for North America in our U.S. plant. While every plant can produce any of the diets (they have all been validated and tested at each plant), this network provides an opportunity for the plants to specialize in some areas, improves the efficiency of production, and enables us to continue to supply the market if there were a situation that resulted in supply interruption from a particular plant. The wet diets are made in our wholly-owned plant in North Sioux City, South Dakota. The plants are all dedicated to the manufacture of Royal Canin products. There is no third-party co-packing/subcontracting. The contracts, technologies, quality controls, and product testing that help ensure safety, nutritional precision, and performance are in place at all of these facilities. And yes, tours can be arranged. Approximately 600 veterinarians, veterinary technicians, office managers, and associates of customer service teams have visited the plant in Guelph since its opening. Can you provide a complete product nutrient analysis of your best-selling canine and feline pet food? This information can be provided for every Royal Canin Veterinary Exclusive product on the market.

Read this Article to Learn More >

Rabies is an endemic disease in Canada. This means that it is always present, to some degree, in wild animals. Raccoons, foxes, bats, and skunks are the most common species to carry rabies in Ontario – most of the positive submissions to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are bats and skunks in this province.

Rabies management in Canada has the goal of protection of the public, since rabies is an invariably fatal disease once the symptoms start. This means educating people about the importance of proper and continuing rabies vaccination of our household pets and livestock (about 60% of human exposure to rabies is due to contact with rabid dogs or cats), minimizing contact between our pets and wildlife, and teaching children, in particular, not to touch or pick up wild animals or unfamiliar pets, as well as refraining from trying to raise orphaned or injured wildlife. There have also been a number of oral rabies vaccination programs over the years, where rabies vaccine has been incorporated into bait that is spread out for wildlife to eat.

Symptoms of rabies can vary – there are two common forms. “Dumb” rabies can show up as a change in behaviour – the animal becomes more withdrawn or more affectionate, hides, has difficulty swallowing, and dies after a few days. These animals don’t exhibit any aggression or biting behaviours, and if the owner has not sought veterinary care, the presence of rabies may go undiagnosed – a major danger to the family in contact with the dog. “Furious” rabies is what we think of as the classical form – the animal is restless, wanders aimlessly, drools/slathers and bites anything in its way, and eventually becomes paralyzed in the throat and hind legs before dying. Cats are often very violent when rabid.

There is no treatment for rabies, once symptoms appear. However, a person who is exposed to a rabid animal can receive a vaccine immediately to help prevent the disease.

To protect the public, dogs, and cats that have bitten a human must be quarantined for 10 days, while observed for signs of rabies. The virus has an incubation period (the time between the introduction of the virus into the animal through a bite and the appearance of the virus in the animal’s saliva) of several weeks to many months, depending, in part, on the strain of rabies and where the animal may have been bitten. This post-bite quarantine is designed to be able to treat the person as early as possible if it is determined that the pet may have been infected and able to transmit the virus at the time of the bite. Although most pets that bite are not rabid, this quarantine is a very important protocol that is mandated by our Public Health Department and is enforced for the safety of the person who was bitten.

An animal that has been exposed to rabies is quarantined for 3 months if properly vaccinated, and 6 months, if not properly vaccinated, or overdue for vaccination, and can have NO human contact. This is a terrible situation for a family pet – how much easier and safer to keep rabies vaccine current, according to municipal laws and veterinary direction, and protect your pets from exposure to wildlife that may carry the disease.