Ashcroft Road Surgery, Ipswich 01473 743460
The Barn Vet Practice, Copdock 01473 730213

Small Animals Vet Services

Providing the best possible veterinary care for pets in the Ipswich area

  • Small Animals
  • Travelling with your pet
  • Saying Goodbye

Small Animals

We have a team of seven veterinary surgeons dealing with the small animal caseload at our two surgeries, which are equipped to offer a full service to your pets, including consultations, diagnostic procedures and tests, surgical operations, dentistry, x rays, ultrasound scanning, preventative healthcare and Pet Passport issue. They are backed up by a team of experienced qualified veterinary nurses who also offer clinics giving advice on a wide range of matters such as diet, strategies for controlling fleas and internal parasites, preventative dental care and geriatric care, to name but a few.

Surgeries are available, on an appointment basis, seven days a week. Outside normal surgery hours, we provide our own emergency cover rather than referring it to a third party ’out of hours’ provider. This ensures that your pet will be dealt with by our own vets and nurses who will have access to the pet`s up to date medical records at all times.

Nurse Clinics

Our nurse clinics cover various aspects of pet health, such as routine pet care, dental care, weight & nutrition. The clinics are by appointment and are held by our qualified, registered veterinary nurses. This is an opportunity to talk about any of the more routine pet care concerns with our veterinary team. Our veterinary nurses will also help you by spotting any symptoms that could be treated before developing further. If a minor procedure is required such as nail clipping, there is a modest charge.

Pet care advice is available by appointment at our Vet Nurse Clinics and we provide many regular routine pet care services.

  • Therapeutic grooming
  • Ear cleaning
  • Nail clipping
  • Checking for fleas and worming
  • Wound dressing change
  • Dental / oral hygiene
  • Dietary advice
  • Laser Therapy
  • Trimming your pet’s claws
  • Administering medications to your pet if you are having problems managing on your own
  • Removing ticks or parasites from your pet’s skin
  • Advising on worming and flea treatment protocols and recommending the best products to use
  • Microchipping your pet
  • Assessing your pet’s behaviour and recommending ways to manage it
  • Removing stitches and follow up checks after a surgical procedure
  • Teaching you how to perform injections on a diabetic pet
  • Showing you the best way of handling and managing your pet

Travelling with your pet

Taking your pet Dog or Cat to European Union [EU] and Northern Ireland [NI] 

Now the UK has left the European Union, the rules around taking your pet abroad have changed. You can no longer use a Pet Passport issued in Great Britain [GB] for travel to EU or NI, instead you need an Animal Health Certificate [AHC] for each trip. 

Before travelling, your pet needs: 

  1. Microchipping 
  2. Rabies Vaccination – they must be at least 12 weeks old and it must be done at least 21 days before AHC is completed. All rabies vaccinations must be in date. 
  3. AHCs are issued within 10 days of travel. You can use them for onward travel within the EU for 4 months and for return to the UK within 4 months. 
  4. Tapeworm treatment should be given by a vet if travelling directly to Finland, Ireland, NI, Norway & Malta. This should occur 1 to 5 days before arriving in these countries, and recorded in the AHC.  
  5. Tapeworm treatment is still required for re-entry to the UK, this is administered 1-5 days before returning home. 

When booking a pet in for an AHC, we need:  

  • Your date of travel 
  • Your ultimate destination 
  • The EU country the pet is travelling to first, as AHC is produced in a bilingual format 
  • Proof of Rabies vaccination, which will need to be photocopied and certified for the AHC.  

A maximum 5 pets are allowed on an AHC and owners must declare the purpose of the trip is for non-commercial purposes. 

Further information is available at www.gov.uk/taking-your-pet-abroad 

We encourage all owners to check the rules of the country they are travelling to for any additional restrictions or requirements before travel.  

If travelling further afield to a non-EU country, an Export Health Certificate [EHC] is required and the owner will need to complete an Export Application Form. 

Saying Goodbye

At the Barn Veterinary Practice, we are here to support the health of your much loved pet throughout its life and we strive to provide the best advice for our clients at all times - especially when coping with a very sick or very old pet.

As pet owners, one of the hardest decisions that we might face is when to say goodbye to our pet. In many cases, several conversations will have been had with vets and within the family regarding their pet’s quality of life - all the same making an appointment for euthanasia can be extremely difficult and upsetting.

People approach euthanasia in different ways - particularly if the appointment has been planned in advance. We like to offer longer appointment slots where possible to answer any questions and for there to be time and privacy for you and your pet. Home visits can be arranged for those who might find it difficult to come into the surgery - please enquire with reception regarding additional costs.

Some of our clients opt to take their pet home for burial but we can also offer a cremation service with the Norfolk Pet Crematorium.

We can arrange for a communal cremation or clients can request an individual cremation and to have their pet’s ashes returned. Ashes are returned in a carved wooden box with the name of the pet on the front.

Prices for these services vary depending on the animal and in some cases its weight (dogs) and our staff can help by providing you with the cost for your pet so you can make a decision beforehand if possible. Some people, of course, need a little time to decide and we fully understand this.

As people will grieve for their pets, cats and dogs may also miss their lost ’family’ member. If you have any concerns about the health and well-being of a grieving pet please do feel you can contact us for advice.

The link below will take you to our cremation service provider.

Cambridge Pet Crematorium