Bringing Your Pet Home

Girl with dog and cat

Prepare your house for your pet's arrival. A special place should be designated for it to eat, sleep, and eliminate. Obtain any necessary accessories (eg, collar, leash, ID tag, crate, cage, aquarium and dishes) before you bring your pet home. For most pets, you will need to pet-proof your home just as you would child-proof your home to avoid accidents. Harmful cleansers, plants, electrical cords, and breakable objects should be kept out of reach. Open windows should be screened.

Roaming pets are prime candidates for fights with other animals, traffic accidents, and communicable diseases from other animals. Their life span can be expected to be considerably shorter as a result.

Most pets are strictly indoor pets and are perfectly content, as long as they have access to food and fresh water at all times. AVMA strongly recommends that for a healthier, happier pet you consider keeping your pets indoors only. If your pet must go outside, make sure you know where it is at all times, that the pet is old enough to manage on its own, that it is identified in some fashion (microchip ID or breakaway collar and tag), current on vaccinations, and not outdoors in extremely cold, hot, or inclement weather.

If you don't want your pet in certain areas of the house, start training it immediately to avoid those areas. When choosing where your pet will sleep, keep in mind some pets are nocturnal animals and will be active at night. Placing soft bedding materials in secluded corners will help your pet to feel at home.

  • Create an Environment Your Cat Will Love

    The Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery confirms that feline emotional wellbeing, behavior and physical health are a result of how comfortable they are in their environment. Understanding how our cats interact with their environment can help us create a space for owners and cats to mutually thrive

    Read more
  • Exams and Vaccinations

    Experts agree that widespread use of vaccines within the last century has prevented death and disease in millions of animals. Pets, like people, can be protected from some diseases by vaccination. Although this resource provides basic information about vaccinations for your dog or cat, your veterinarian

    Read more
  • Obedience and Training

    Obedience training helps prevent negative encounters between family members and the dog. It reinforces the bond between the handler(s) and pet. Obedience Training A MUST for every good family dog, regardless of size or breed! Puppies may start classes when they are as young as 8 weeks old. Obedience

    Read more

Office Hours

Monday:

7:30 AM-5:30 PM

Tuesday:

7:30 AM-5:30 PM

Wednesday:

7:30 AM-5:30 PM

Thursday:

7:30 AM-5:30 PM

Friday:

7:30 AM-5:30 PM

Saturday:

Closed

Sunday:

Closed

Find Us

Check out the map below to locate SWVH!

Testimonials

We love to hear your feedback!

  • "Southwest Vet is a wonderful place to take our animals. The front desk ladies are knowledgeable, patient, and compassionate. The vet techs are so wonderful with our animals. And Drs. Sargent and Rasmussen are just the tops!! The care our animals receive is extraordinary!!"
    Sarah S.
  • "Thank you so much for all that you do. You have always gone above and beyond for my pets and I. I feel truly blessed to have found you when I moved to Reno. Tank thinks you’re pretty awesome, too!"
    Ashley D.
  • "Thank you to each and every one of you who helped care for Gus while he was recovering during his long and scary week with Parvo. We can’t thank you enough for everything you did to get our loving and playful guy home."
    Aaron and Lisa C.
  • "So rare it seems to encounter an entire professional office who are as smart as they are kind. We are so grateful to have you care for Einstein. Thank you for your excellent care, patience and generosity."
    Leah R.

Featured Services

Newsletter Sign Up