STVS is a 100% referral practice and will not take appointments without referral from a veterinarian.  We work closely with the referring veterinarian to maximize the care of our patients.  STVS is an extension of the care provided by our patient's primary veterinarian, and the best results are achieved when the primary veterinarian, pet owner and veterinary specialist work as a team.  

All relevant laboratory reports, radiographs and pertinent records should be obtained from your referring veterinarian prior to your pet's appointment with the STVS specialist.

Please be sure to arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment time to complete additional paperwork and to have your pet's medical record created.  Arrival at your appointment time may result in a delay in your being seen by a doctor.  We will do our best to keep all of our schedules in mind, but we will always put our patients' needs first.

Please complete the client forms associated with the doctor that you will be seeing and bring this with you to the appointment.

If your pet will be having surgery or a procedure under anesthesia, please do not feed after 10:00pm the night before.  Water is ok.

Your First Visit
Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to care for your pet. We know this is a stressful time for you and we want to help you through this process. You have been referred by your veterinarian to take advantage of advanced treatment options for your pet available through South Texas Veterinary Specialist’s doctors and staff. The facility, the Veterinary Referral and Emergency Center (VREC), which we share with other practices, is larger than most veterinary hospitals and offers many advantages to pet owners. Occasionally, some confusion exists over how the system works. Hopefully this information will assist you in understanding our practice and VREC. VREC (the hospital) houses multiple specialty practices, an emergency practice, and a national diagnostic laboratory. STVS (a specialty practice) encompasses the disciplines of Surgery/Physical Therapy, Internal Medicine, Critical Care, Oncology, Ophthalmology and Dermatology. Your STVS doctor may use the resources of another VREC practice, such as radiology, to treat or diagnose your pet’s condition. Accordingly, your pet may receive care from a specialist other than your STVS doctor while in the hospital. This process is much like a human hospital in the sense that doctors work within their specialty and seek to have the most qualified veterinary specialist at VREC provide the needed care or procedure.

Staffing is provided by each practice, therefore, staff from practices not providing care to your pet will not be informed regarding your pet’s status.  Financial records are maintained separately by each practice so occasionally multiple invoices may exist. The best plan for keeping up with your pet’s progress is to refer all of your questions to the STVS doctor in charge of your pet’s care or to a nurse with whom you have become specifically acquainted. Feel free to ask any staff member for assistance in navigating to the appropriate information source. We are all here to help.