Healthy Pet Club – If you want the best for your pets then our Healthy Pet Club is a must! All preventative care (vaccinations, flea prevention and worming treatment) for a simple monthly charge. This allows you to make savings and spread the cost – there is a raft of other benefits as well! Please see more details here

• Vaccinations – Protect your pets against common and deadly diseases through vaccinating them. This is especially important for young animals but dogs, cats and rabbits need vaccinating each year of their lives as well!
• Flea Prevention – Keep these itchy critters out of your hair and house! We offer either a tablet or spot-on solution with a regime tailored to your pet’s needs and lifestyle. We can also provide protection from mites, ticks and lice
• Worm Prevention – Many animals can carry worms with few or no signs; they can cause disease in their own right and some can even affect humans! Speak to us today to find out whether your pet is at risk or not.
• Fly-strike – Particularly relevant to rabbits during the spring and summer, this is a nasty condition that involves maggot infestations. We can provide simple treatment to prevent it happening.

Travelling abroad with your pet has become increasingly more difficult since Brexit with the loss of UK Pet Passports. We can advise on pet travel, vaccinate your pet against rabies, and can provide Animal Health Certificates for travel in the EU and import paperwork for elsewhere in the world. Please contact us at least 2 months in advance of travel to the EU and at least 6 months in advance of travel elsewhere to establish a timeline for your pet’s journey.

Much as everyone tries to avoid them, sickness and accidents do occur, and our furry friends are no exception. Rest assured, Riverport Vets are experts at dealing with all manner of ailments that can befall pets. Simply give us a ring or book online (if it is not urgent) and we can soon have Fido back on track! We are here for you and your animals in their hour of need.

Not sure if you need to see a vet or not? Maybe consider a nurse consultation instead and they can easily assess whether further input is needed.

In an emergency or if you have an urgent need for a vet then please ring us immediately on 01480772950

Blood tests can be useful for a number of reasons: to find out what is wrong with an animal, to monitor the effectiveness of medications, or to screen internal organs as part of a health check. We run the majority of our blood tests on site so we can have results back the same day, meaning we can diagnose and correct problems faster for you and your loved ones. We may send more complex blood tests to a specialist laboratory and these can have longer turnaround times, but usually no more than 24 hours.

We perform all routine surgeries here in our state of the art theatres. As well as routine neutering (castration and spay), we also perform more complex surgeries on animals who are unwell. Our team of vets and nurses are skilled and proficient and every effort is made to make a stressful period for you and your pet go as smoothly as possible. This care extends after Tiddles is discharged, with our comprehensive aftercare packages making sure they get back to normality ASAP.

Sometimes the cause of a problem is not immediately obvious. At times like this, X-ray and ultrasound can be an invaluable aid in finding a diagnosis. Our skilled team are experts at interpreting these and we have access to second opinions from certified specialists if things are still not clear. Our modern and well equipped imaging suite is one of the most useful areas of the practice!

Our nursing team at Riverport Vets is second to none. While they are not allowed to diagnose or prescribe without a vet’s input, there are many things that they can do to make your and your pets’ lives easier. Some more common procedures that our nurses carry out include:

• Nail clips
• Dematts
• Microchipping
• Expressing anal glands
• Post-operative checks and stitch removal
• Dental checks
• 2nd vaccinations
• Tick removal

These procedures are all free of charge to members of our Healthy Pet Club.

Our nurses also run clinics for pets with long term conditions:

• Weight clinics – help the more portly pet shed a few pounds!
• Diabetic clinics – blood and urine tests as well as a health check to ensure your animal’s diabetes is as well controlled as possible
• Renal clinics – Older animals with kidney disease also need regular blood, urine and blood pressure checks to make sure they are as healthy as we can manage
• Geriatric clinics – Regular check ups on arthritis, weight, appetite etc. This can include screening blood tests to ensure there are no underlying conditions preventing your pet living their best life

Please note that all of our nurse clinics have the input of a vet when it comes to diagnosing or changing treatment regimes and it may be that the nurse recommends a consultation with the vet on the basis of their findings.

Dental disease is one of the most common diseases affecting pet cats and dogs (and rabbits!). It becomes much more common in middle aged to older animals and as such, should be regularly checked for. We strongly recommend preventative dental care from a young age to reduce the chances of needing dental treatment when older – please speak to one of our nurses regarding what can be done to keep your pets smiling with pearly whites!

In the event that a clean-up is needed, or even extractions, we are again well equipped to help return Rover’s smile to its best – our dental suite has all the tools needed and we have years of experience giving pets something to smile about.

While the crazy days of lockdown are behind us (hopefully…), there is still an under-served need for remote consultations. Performing a video consultation can reduce the stress on both you and your pet, is far more convenient and reduces the risk of contracting or spreading Covid-19. There are however only some types of consults which can adequately be performed without a vet/nurse laying hands on an animal:

• Some post operative checks (provided we performed the operation)
• Long term medication checks (provided no blood test or blood pressure measurement is needed and the animal has been seen within the past year)
• If you aren’t sure whether you need to bring your pet in to see a vet
• Behavioural issues

As a general rule, ill or injured animals will need to be seen by a vet directly rather than remotely, and any animal that needs medication given via an injection, or tests performed would need to come into the practice. There are occasions where new cases may be seen by video consultation and given veterinary attention this way, but they are reserved for situations where there are no reasonable alternatives (eg owner is isolating and no alternative courier can bring the animal).

Please see our online booking system to see when our next video consult slot is available. We offer them twice weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 1400-1500. Note that you will need a device connected to the internet with a good quality camera and microphone for video consultations (eg smart phone or tablet).

This is the worst part of owning a pet, but in many ways the most important. Here at Riverport Vets we are pet owners ourselves and understand the strength of the bond between owner and animal. When it comes to your final moments together, you will both be treated with respect, dignity and compassion. We will guide you through the process and options and what to expect in an unhurried atmosphere. Rest assured, we are here for you at this lowest point and will support you all the way through.