Neurology & Neurosurgery

A referral from your primary veterinarian is required for your pet to be seen by the Neurology service on an appointment basis. Once the referral has been made, you can call to schedule an appointment or we will call you. There is typically a 1-2 month wait time to be seen by our service following referral.

Many neurological diseases require immediate attention. Some examples include paralysis due to spinal cord injury, uncontrolled seizures, and abrupt changes in mental attitude. These cases should be sent to our immediately Emergency Receiving (ER) service. The ER service will work with the Neurology service to determine if your pet should be transferred to the Neurology service for further care, or if your pet can be sent home and wait to be seen by the Neurology service on an appointment basis. Please note that a referral is NOT needed to be seen by the ER service.

All appointments are supervised by a board-certified neurologist. However, we are a teaching hospital, and residents, interns, and senior veterinary students are heavily involved in the appointment process. Initial appointments can last anywhere from 2-5 hours to allow for the teaching process to occur. Typically, there is an opportunity for clients to step out of the hospital to grab a bite to eat or relax after having an initial conversation with their doctor.

After checking in for your pet’s appointment, a senior veterinary student will obtain a thorough medical history from you regarding your pet. While you discuss the medical history with the student, your pet will receive comprehensive physical and neurologic examinations by the rest of the neurology team (neurologist, residents, & interns) in a separate area. Performing these exams away from you (their owner) is crucial as it allows for a more accurate assessment your pet’s true neurologic status.

Following acquisition of the medical history, the senior veterinary student will join the rest of the team and perform supervised examinations on your pet as well. Following this, the entire care team will discuss your pet’s case, and create an appropriate diagnostic and treatment plan to present to you.

It is important to note that we are unable to provide an MRI scan for your pet on the same day as their initial appointment. Pets require general anesthesia for MRI scans, which takes significant planning to provide safely. The earliest we can offer an MRI scan is typically the day following the initial appointment, although this can be variable based on the rest of our case load. However, many other diagnostic tests (e.g. bloodwork, x-rays) can be completed ‘same-day’.