Services and Info
Lisa Beitler, DVM
Chere Ernest, DVM
Leslie Davis, DVM
Mark Royer, DVM
Holly Bartels, DVM
Joey Durr, DVM
Heath Belk, DVM
Chris Kurtz, DVM
Gregory Strand, DVM
Veterinary Services ▪ Pensacola, FL
While we do see walk-ins, appointments are always recommended. As a comprehensive health care facility, we offer a full range of veterinary services, including an on-site lab, pharmacy, digital X-ray and EKG. In addition to surgeries, with a special interest in orthopedics, we also offer full-service dental care.
Emergencies
A doctor is available for emergencies during hospital hours. After hospital hours, do not drive to the hospital. Please call the regular hospital telephone number, 850-477-6225, for instructions on emergencies.
Surgeries
Clients must make appointments in advance for all except emergency surgeries. Most surgery patients will spend 24 hours in the hospital from the time they are admitted until they are released. To protect everyone’s pet, we require that your animal’s vaccinations be current before they are admitted for elective surgeries. Specific handouts are available for routine and post-op surgeries.
Dogs
– minimum age for elective surgeries:
- Dog spay – 6 months
- Dog neuter – 6 months
- Tail docking – ideally, 3-7 days
- Dewclaw removal – ideally, 3-7 days
Cats
– minimum age for elective surgeries:
- Cat spay – 6 months
- Cat neuter – 7 months
- Cat de-claw – 3 months
Spay:
A spay is a complete ovario-hysterectomy in female cats and dogs. It is major surgery, requiring general anesthesia with minimal risks. Cats and dogs usually feel fine the day after surgery and require no special care, except checking the stitches twice each day and returning to Scenic Hills Veterinary Hospital
for suture removal eight to 10 days following surgery. There are many advantages to spaying your pets. They cannot become pregnant and will not attract male cats/dogs. Spayed animals cannot develop uterine infections, uterine tumors or ovarian tumors. The chance of breast cancer is greatly reduced. Generally, spayed animals make better pets and usually live longer.
Neuter:
A neuter is the removal of the testicles in male cats and dogs. Neutering cats and dogs is a minor surgery requiring general anesthesia with minimal risks. Both cats and dogs usually feel fine the day after surgery. Dogs have sutures that should be checked twice daily and should be returned to Scenic Hills Veterinary Hospital
for suture removal eight to 10 days after surgery. There are no sutures involved in a cat neuter and generally no follow-up is needed. There are many advantages to neutering pets; they are less likely to fight, roam, get lost or be hit by a car. Neutering removes the sex drive and prevents sexual frustration, plus helps to prevent prostatitis and prostatic cancer. The most important benefit of neutering is that the neutered males cannot father unwanted puppies or kittens.
De-claw (cats):
A de-claw is the removal of the portion of bone that produces the claw. It is generally done on the front feet only, which protects furniture and curtains, but allows the cat some protection if it should accidentally get outside. You should plan to keep any de-clawed cat inside. De-clawing cats is a minor surgery requiring general anesthesia with minimal risks and only minimal temporary discomfort with our procedures.
Nutrition
We recommend that the majority of your pet’s diet consist of commercial pet food. Human food will not ensure a balanced diet for your pet. If you choose to give your pets human food, they should be given occasionally as treats and not on a regular basis. Milk, ice cream, spicy foods and greasy foods should be avoided because they are hard for pets to digest. Spoiled and rotten foods should not be fed to pets since animals can suffer from food poisoning just like humans. We offer a full line of Hill’s Prescription and Science Diet products for your pet.
Kittens:
The commercial pet foods for kittens should be fed for approximately six months.
Puppies:
The commercial pet foods for puppies should be fed for approximately six months; this will vary with the particular breed, so ask the veterinarian. Larger breeds generally switch to adult dog food when they reach a weight of approximately 25 pounds.
Boarding
Our space is reserved for medical and surgical cases; therefore, we are unable to accept boarding animals unless they have medical conditions that require doctor’s supervision during boarding. In these medical boarding cases, pets must be owned by one of our regular clients. A supervisor can arrange boarding for animals owned by regular clients, but the time should be reserved well in advance. When bringing your pet in for boarding, make sure that you inform the receptionist of any special problems or needs.
Fees
Payments are expected at the time the services are rendered. Scenic Hills Veterinary Hospital
accepts cash, VISA, MasterCard and Discover. Charges are permitted only in special circumstances, and then only for emergency treatments or emergency surgeries. In all cases where payments cannot be made in full, arrangements must be made with a supervisor or doctor, prior to receiving treatment or surgery.