Greater Victoria pets will soon have state-of-the-art options for medical care.
A brand new, 20,000 sq.-ft 24-hour emergency veterinary hospital is set to open in Saanich in 2020.
The current VCA Central Victoria Veterinary hospital at 760 Roderick St. will be replaced with a three-storey facility with specialized medical treatment options.
“It will have the ability to house both emergency and specialty vet services,” said Dr. Jonathan Leicht, senior operations director for western Canada with the VCA Canada. “It will have all three modalities of advanced specialized care.”
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These include tools for electrophysiology – to monitor heart problems – an MRI machine, and a linear accelerator, which allows for radiation therapy.
Presently, the only radiation therapy option for animals in Western Canada is in Calgary.
“Really, only a small per cent of people can pursue that option,” Leicht said. “Without doubt this will allow us to have world-class specialists to both keep the equipment needed, and to allow for future expansions.”
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Along with radiation, the hospital hopes to offer a fuller line of cancer treatment options .
The new facility, which will hold the same name as the current hospital, will also have five surgical suites, a full ER treatment set up, specialized treatment rooms, an intensive care unit, and rehabilitation specialists who will access tools such as a water treadmill for physical therapy.
The privately-funded expansion will cost $7.5 million to build, and another $3-5 million for equipment.
Construction just began, and will likely take 14 months to complete. Throughout construction, the current–and only– 24-hour emergency vet office in Victoria will remain open.
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