Our Services.
Stephen Terrace Veterinary Clinic offers a range of health care, medical, wellbeing, surgical, and diagnostic Services to help keep your pet in their best health.
Health Care & Medical Services
We provide exemplary care to our patients, in order that they may live quality, healthy, comfortable and lengthy lives. We all know that our animals age faster than humans. The cornerstone of any lifelong healthcare plan is based on regular health checks, relevant to their age and stage of life.
All health care at Stephen Terrace Veterinary Clinic is based around our healthcare (or wellness) consultation. These are performed twice yearly. Some services are combined with these visits, eg. when your pet’s vaccination falls due. If there are concerns which require extra support, further visits, consultations or hospital services can be scheduled appropriately.
Consultations are performed during our advertised hours, by appointment. Please arrive 5 minutes before your appointment to check in. Consultations at Stephen Terrace Veterinary Clinic are 20 minutes. You may also request an extended consultation if you have multiple concerns to discuss.
We understand that for a variety of reasons there are times when it is difficult or just not possible for you to bring your pet in to the practice.
Whether your 4 legged family member is immobile, travels badly or becomes very anxious out of home surroundings, to have the option for one of our veterinary team to visit your pet at home may be the best solution for you.
If you are less able to travel, or it is too difficult for you to manage to bring your friend to the practice, we are here to try to help you with the best solution for veterinary care.
One of the best times to consider a house call, may be when it is time to finally say goodbye to your beloved pet. We offer home euthanasia whenever and wherever it is possible for you.
Having a well-mannered happy pet as part of the family, does not necessarily “just happen”. We provide a comprehensive Pet Behaviour Service to help pet owners achieve a vision of calm pets living in happy homes!
Our pharmacy is fully stocked to ensure that we can prescribe appropriate medicines to your pet when you visit the practice. Occasionally, there may be an unusual medication which may need to be ordered in especially. On most occasions, these can be provided via our veterinary medicine supplier, the following day. Sometimes, we may need to organise a specific prescription to be filled and supplied from our compounding chemist.
For pets who are on permanent or repeat medications we advise to contact the practice several days ahead, so that we can prepare these medications and have them ready when you come in, to ensure there is no gap in treatments.
Pets on long term medications, will require a health review at least every 6 months, prior to further repeats of medicines being dispensed. Your pet’s ongoing health is our priority.
Helping pet owners to say goodbye to a family member is one of the most important things we do at Stephen Terrace Veterinary Clinic. We call this Final Care.
We offer Laser Therapy and Acupuncture services on site here at Stephen Terrace Veterinary Clinic.
Obesity is the most common nutritional disorder seen in cats and dogs. Overweight pets have a tendency to have shorter lives. We want your pets to be happy, healthy, active and comfortable for as many years as possible.
Research has shown that overweight pets are much more likely to suffer from conditions such as Diabetes Mellitus (sugar diabetes), heart disease, skin and joint problems.
Slimmers @ Stephen provides owners with support and the perfect motivation to get your pet from flab to fab and enjoying a better lifestyle today.
Don’t be embarrassed to open the conversation. You are most certainly not alone and we are here to support your quest for your pet’s trim and terrific waistline!
Dr Angus Brown and colleagues have been offering chemotherapy at Stephen Terrace Veterinary Clinic for over twenty years now.
Wellbeing Services
Appropriate up to date vaccination protocols are a cornerstone of health care for your pet. Your veterinary team can assess and advise what your pet’s particular needs will be. Long gone are the days where there is a blanket recommendation for vaccinations.
Vaccinations are given to pets at the time of health check appointments. Dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets, birds and pocket pets have entirely different requirements. Please discuss the appropriate protocol for your individual pet with our veterinary team. Some species do not receive vaccinations.
Modern day vaccines are safe and work very well. Thankfully with advances in this area, some vaccines do not need to be given as regularly as they used to.
Please ensure you continue discussions with our veterinary team regarding what vaccinations are going to be relevant for your pet. Remember that recommendations may change in your pet’s lifetime. We want to ensure the best protection for your pet at all times, and we certainly do not want to be giving or prescribing any health care medicines which may not be required.
Microchipping your pet provides you with a permanent identification for your 4 legged family member. This permanent identification – a unique number embedded in the copper coil coated in silicone – links your address and contact details to a national pet registry. The number in effect becomes your pet’s fingerprint and provides a failsafe identification for its lifetime.
Since 1st July 2018, it is compulsory by South Australian legislation, to have your pet microchipped, by the time they are 12 weeks of age.
Detecting the presence of a microchip with its unique number is easily achieved with a scanner. Today almost all veterinary clinics and hospitals, animal refuges and welfare agencies own appropriate scanning devices.
Even the best loved and cared for pets can escape, stray or be stolen from their homes and become lost. If collars and tags come off, or become worn or unreadable, the conventional identification is immediately lost. Scanning their microchip provides a quick and accurate method to reunite you and your pet.
Our microchips are also heat sensitive which allows us to obtain your pet’s current temperature at the time of scanning. No more rectal thermometers!
It’s vital that for our pets, and us, to have a comprehensive and appropriate parasite prevention in place for our dogs and cats.
The aim of puppy preschool is to help owners teach their puppy to become a well mannered and happy member of the family.
Our policy has always been to use Australian made wherever possible. We are proud to endorse the Australian made Advance range. Advance combines world leading research with quality ingredients to provide an exceptional diet for your pet to ensure a healthy, long and active life. We stock the full range for dogs and cats and also have a frequent feeder program where you are rewarded with free product after repeat purchases.
Our nursing team are provided with ongoing training updates about this range on a regular basis. They are here to help and educate you about pet diets generally, and wellness diets specifically. They will help guide you to the right wellness diet for your pet, for all life stages.
We offer a full range of both Hills and Royal Canin Veterinary Prescription Diets which are prescribed by the veterinary team for pets with specific medical conditions. These special needs diets are available in both dry and wet formulations and are made with a precise balance of essential nutrients to meet the specific needs.
Our vets will make considered decisions about supporting pet diseases though specific nutrition, and if required, will guide you through prescription diet choices.
Our nurses are trained to advise appropriate shampoo and or conditioning regimes for your pet.
Our veterinarians are always available to prescribe specific medicated treatments as part of the management of any sensitive skin, eczema or dermatitis cases. Bookings are essential.
Surgical Services
It is well known that pets live longer healthier, less painful lives when they have a healthy mouth. Your pet’s teeth and oral hygiene are important to us, that is why we offer free dental checks to ensure that any issues are detected and addressed early.
Soft tissue surgery includes all procedures not involving bones or joints or teeth. These surgeries are vast and various in their relative complexities. Some of the soft tissue surgeries performed at Stephen Terrace Veterinary Clinic include:
- Routine desexing/ neutering (spay and castration)
- Lump removals – either benign growths or tumours
- Abscesses – fighting, puncture wounds or other
- Exploratory Surgery – laparotomy (the abdominal cavity), intestinal obstruction, Caesarian
- Biopsies – skin, beneath the skin, internal organs
- Trauma – cuts, deep lacerations, exposed joints, internal organs
- Reconstructive – after trauma, cancer removal, facial for other due to excess skin
- Eyelid and eye – corneal ulceration, entropian, ectropian
- Ear – canal reconstruction managing chronic infection, tumours
- Mouth, nose, head – soft palate, other airway disease, facial lifts due to excess skin
- Hernias – umbilical, inguinal, perineal, diaphragmatic
- Bladder surgery
- Urethral obstruction
Orthopaedic surgeries involve bones and joints. Some of these surgeries are very complex. In some situations, our veterinarians may choose to offer referral to a highly trained or specialist orthopaedic surgeon.
There are many orthopaedic surgeries performed at Stephen Terrace Veterinary Clinic. These include:
- Some bone fractures, including femoral head excisions
- Some anterior cruciate repairs
- Patella luxation and stabilisation procedures
- Trochleoplasty and tibial crest transposition
- Arthrodesis
- Some bone tumour removals, including limb amputations and some jaw tumours
Diagnostic Services
Endoscopy has been used broadly in human medicine as a diagnostic tool for years. The use of endoscopes have also become more routine in veterinary practice.
Endoscopy involves insertion of a fibre optic tube into a space (eg stomach, throat, nose, intestine, rectum, joint) to examine the organ or tissue area being explored. At times we may collect tissue samples (eg biopsy tissue) to assist in the diagnosis of various diseases or illnesses.
For our pets, this almost without exception, requires a general anaesthetic. Endoscopy, can at times provide enough information by what we see, or via the collection of samples, so that we might be able to avoid a full exploratory surgery. When we can do this, recovery times from this type of procedure are usually shorter and less painful.
X – rays (or radiographs) have been used since their invention to assist diagnosis, for a huge array of diseases and illnesses as well as the more obvious bone fractures
Radiographs are used to look at bones and soft tissues. Our veterinarians are trained to take and interpret radiographic images we take of your pet. Whether we are looking for heart problems, bladder stones, eaten corn cobs, or broken bones or a variety of tumours, radiographs form a key part of our diagnostic tool kit.
We have state of the art digital X-ray equipment, which allows us to collect instant quality images. These are stored on your patient’s file forever, for permanent reference should this be required.
Additionally, we have a dedicated separate, digital dental X – ray unit.
We also have access to specialist radiologists who can provide expert second opinions for more complex issues and more subtle changes on images taken at the practice. We can drop box images and have further opinions in a timely manner.
Ultrasound imaging is often used together with xrays, however there are many times when investigating soft tissue structures, that ultrasound is able to give us more detailed information, and at times is the primary recommendation for imaging.
Ultrasound is especially beneficial when we are trying to understand about texture and size of soft tissue structures, particularly in the abdominal cavity, but increasingly it is used to investigate heart problems, and can also be really helpful looking at tendons. It is particularly helpful for organs including the spleen, liver, pancreas, stomach, intestines, kidneys, and adrenal glands.
Our veterinarians attend specialist training workshops, to continue upgrading skills so we can do more for your pets.
This diagnostic modality is non- invasive and not painful in any way for your pet. Many times, it is possible to perform ultrasound investigations without anaesthetic. Frequently, only mild sedation is needed and sometimes nothing at all is required.
Ultrasound involves placing a special probe in direct contact with your pet’s skin and usually requires clipping an area of hair.
Ready to book your appointment?
- Bookings can be made online 24 hours a day, or by calling during our opening hours. Please advise us about any particular concerns when booking your appointment.
- If you are a first time client, please complete the online registration below.
- We request new clients arrive 10 minutes early with any relevant notes and certificates in order to complete the registration process.