We are dedicated to providing your pet with the very best veterinary specialty care available anywhere, and to work closely with you and your primary care veterinarian each step of the way. Together, we will create the best diagnostic and therapeutic plan to provide your pet with the best possible outcome. We also understand what it is to have a sick or injured pet. We’ve been there. And we’ll ensure that your experience at CUVS is as smooth, efficient and as stress-free as possible - for your pet and for you. To that end, here follows some information regarding specialty appointments.

APPOINTMENT SCHEDULING

Please call us to schedule an appointment with one of our specialists. We will always do our best to accommodate you. Please know that, even though there can sometimes be a wait for an available appointment in some specialties, we manage dynamic wait lists that almost invariably enables us to get pets in significantly sooner, especially for more urgent needs. 

Please note that we now require a deposit for new specialty consultations. This is fully refundable if the consult is cancelled more than 48 hours in advance. The goal is to encourage people who need to cancel to do so with sufficient notice so that we can see other pets who need us.

BEFORE YOUR APPOINTMENT

• If this is your first visit to CUVS, please plan to arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment time to complete registration paperwork.

• Please let us know all veterinarians you have seen with this pet, including specialists. In that way, we can reach out to them for all medical records so that our specialty teams can review them in preparation for your appointment. 

• We will email you 3 days before your appointment with preparation instructions. This will include whether your appointment is scheduled at the MAIN HOSPITAL or THE ANNEX. Appointments for Ophthalmology and for Dentistry, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery are at our Annex. All other appointments, and all procedures are at the main hospital. See the map to the right for Annex location.

• We will reach out via text, 3 days prior to your appointment, for confirmation. Please respond to confirm, or call to let us know if plans have changed.

• Please bring all medications with you, in their original packaging, so we can accurately record them. Also, in case your pet stays overnight for any reason.

• For most appointments, we will ask that you withhold food after 10 pm the night before your appointment, unless otherwise directed by a veterinarian. If so, this information will be in the email you receive before the appointment. Fasting is necessary in case we need to perform imaging studies (e.g., ultrasound) or bloodwork. (It is also good for pets that suffer car sickness.) You should not withhold water.

WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT THE MAIN HOSPITAL OR THE ANNEX

• Please park in any of the parking bays in front of the Main Hospital or The Annex, depending on the location of your appointment.

• Proceed through the entrance to our reception area.

• A Client Service Representative will welcome and assist you, and inform the medical team of your arrival. A member of our clinical team will then meet you in the reception area and proceed from there, usually escorting you and your pet into an exam room.

• Please do not hesitate to let us know if you have any particular needs or wishes, or need any help. We are here to make this experience as easy and as stress-free as possible for you so that you can focus on what matters – your pet.

CANCELLING/RESCHEDULING

We require 48 hours’ notice for cancellations or rescheduling. If you are no longer able to make the appointment, PLEASE inform us as soon as possible as we have a waitlist of sick pets that could really benefit from being seen if we know you can't make it.

If an appointment is not cancelled more than 48 hours in advance, the deposit for that appointment will be forfeited. Refunds for canceled appointments with more than 48 hours’ notice will be processed within 3-5 business days.

If you need to cancel or reschedule, please call us at (203) 595-2777.