For Clients

Hotel Information

We can provide you with a list of pet friendly hotels nearby.

The following hotels have pet friendly accommodation and will give a special rate to VCA Canada Tri Lake Animal Hospital & Referral Centre clients – please quote ‘LCVSH‘ at time of booking:

Best Western Kelowna:
www.bestwesternkelownahotel.com 
250-860-1212

If your pet will be flying into the Kelowna airport (YLW), with or without you, we can arrange transport to our hospital.

Appointments are made by referral, just like your own family doctor may send to you to see a specialist. Your family veterinarian may recommend referral to us, based on their assessment of your pet’s condition. You may also request referral, after discussing treatment options with your family veterinarian. After we receive the referral, our client services team will contact you to set up your appointment.

We recognize that having a sick pet can at times be overwhelming and that you may wish to visit your pet in hospital. Your encouraging words and soft touch can go a long way in the healing process. We try to be flexible on visiting times with your pet but we have general guidelines that allow us to care for all our patients.
Visiting hours are between noon and 5:30 p.m. daily

In general, we ask that visits be no more than 30 minutes daily. Please speak with your veterinarian about alternative arrangements. We recognize how important it is for you to spend time with your sick friend.  You may telephone us for an update on your pet. If possible, we would appreciate you to call between 10 am – 4 pm. Please designate one member of your family as the primary contact person for your pet.  If at all possible, we will bring your pet to our Visiting Room on the first floor so that you can have a private visit in a quiet space.

Visits are not recommended on the day of your pet’s surgery as they are generally kept sedated for the first 12 hours. Please plan to visit the following day.  Special procedures may need to be performed on your pet while you are visiting. At these times, we may ask you to wait in the Reception area.  Patient confidentiality and infection control is very important to us. Please confine your visits to your pet only.

We are located in Winfield – please visit Google maps for directions.

We are a referral hospital so we do need a referral form from your family vet before we can make an appointment for you. If you have any questions on the referral process or the services we offer, please contact hospital team on 250-766-3236.

Yes, if they have been taken, please bring your pet’s radiographs (x-rays) with you. Sometimes these will have been taken digitally and your family vet can email them to us – just check with your vet as to whether this has been done. Other useful information can include bloodwork results, biopsy results and ultrasound reports.

Yes you can – we have client and patient information forms on our website. Please note that there is a specific form for Dermatology patients. Many clients find these easier to complete at home as you have all your pet’s records easily available. You can bring the completed forms with you or email or fax them to our hospital coordinator on 250-766-3236.

This depends on the procedure. Almost all surgical patients remain in the hospital for at least one night after their procedure. This is to ensure that their pain relief and nursing needs are met, and that they are comfortable enough to be easily managed at home with oral medications. Examples of surgeries which need an overnight stay include TPLO, FCP, and fracture repair. Some surgeries such as spinal, abdominal or thoracic surgery may need more than one overnight stay. CT scans, ultrasounds and ECG’s do not usually require an overnight stay unless your pet is scheduled for further tests or an operation. For more information, contact our hospital team at 250-766-3236.

24 hour care is provided 7 days a week. Overnight, a registered veterinary technologist (RVT) and nursing assistant ensure that all patients are stable, comfortable, clean, walked, and get some love! The doctor will come in if there are concerns about your pet’s progress.

Ultrasound examinations are provided by Dr. Linda Kaplan, a general practitioner experienced in performing ultrasounds.

Absolutely!! Visitation is very beneficial to you, your pet and to us, as owners give useful feedback on how close to normal their pet is. We do discourage visitation the day of anesthesia and surgery, as this often leads to a hyper-excitable state in patients recovering from anesthesia; visitation is encouraged the day after surgery if your pet is not going home. If your pet is staying for more than one night you can spend time with him in our visiting room which has blankets and comfy sofas for you, your family and your pet. Please see our ‘While Your Pet is With Us’ section above for more information.

For major diagnostic or surgical procedures we ask for a 75% deposit once your pet is admitted. For consultations and ultrasounds, no deposit is required.

Yes, we accept Mastercard, Visa and American Express. We also accept debit, cash and bank drafts. We do not accept personal cheques. For more information, please visit our payment and financing page. 

We offer in house financing through Paybright. Approval is instant with renewable credit once approved you can access the credit for up to 1 year. Repayment options are available available over either 3, 6 or 12 months. See our payments/financing page for more information.

We also accept pet plans with flexible re-payment options are available from external providers i.e. Petcard and Medicard. We would recommend comparing the rates from these companies with those from the standard credit card companies.

Yes, we accept pet insurance. Please check whether your provider requires preapproval before major procedures.