Our in house laboratory provides a wide range of diagnostic tests to help us treat our patients. From blood and urine tests to virus antibody detection, our dedicated and highly skilled team is proficient in the use of automated and manual laboratory techniques.

Our commitment to you

• We will ensure the high standard of our work with internal and external quality control and assessments.
• We will provide a same day service for routine in-house tests on samples. This includes haematology and biochemistry.
• We will liaise with other laboratories to provide a broad spectrum of tests and we will report your results to you as soon as they are available

Computerised Radiography

We are proud to offer modern, state of the art X-ray facilities including computerised radiography. Instead of being developed on film, computerised images are produced on a computer monitor.

The advantages of this system for your pets are...

• Creating an image takes seconds compared to minutes for film processing. This means it takes considerably less time to get all the views we need, meaning less sedation or anaesthetic time for your pet.
• Once processed the images can be manipulated to visualise hard or soft tissues, something that would previously have required separate exposures. Again, this minimises anaesthesia time.

The advantages for you are...

• Fewer exposures mean smaller bills.
• Peace of mind that your pet’s sedation/anaesthesia duration is being kept to a minimum.
• We can and will take the time to show you the images on computer screens so you can better understand your pet’s problem.
• We can send the images for reading by a specialist at the touch of a button instead of relying on the post.

Hip and Elbow scoring

Hip and elbow dysplasia are both problems that develop as a puppy grows leading to painful joints and permanent arthritis. These conditions are largely hereditary and certain large breeds such as the Labrador, German Shepherd and Retriever are more likely to suffer.

If you are considering breeding a dog of a breed predisposed to these conditions it would be the responsible thing to do to have him or her hip scored. Equally, if you are considering buying a puppy you should enquire if the parents have been scored and what their scores are. The lower a hip or elbow scores the better. The BVA’s guidance is only to breed from individuals considerably below the breed average to reduce the likelihood of producing pups that go on to develop problems. A breeder or vet will be able to tell you the breed average.

Hip and Elbow scoring is a national scheme run by the British Veterinary Association. We are able to take the required x-rays under sedation or anaesthesia and then send them to be scored. It would be wrong to think that a dog’s score can depend on who performs the x-rays as the BVA insist on very specific positioning which leaves no room for variation between radiographers. This is also the reason that it is necessary to at least sedate your dog.