Veterinary Hospital

Dear OVAH clients

Our veterinary team of specialists, residents, interns, final year veterinary students, veterinary sisters, veterinary nursing students and support staff are all dedicated to the optimal well-being of every patient in the OVAH. 

Students are here to learn and observe, and are always under supervision. They play a very important role in primary patient care by walking, feeding, monitoring, playing with and cuddling patients. They also learn to perform basic procedures like placing an IV catheter, making a blood smear, taking a radiograph, and monitoring patients in the ICU and High Care units. 

Aside from directly supervised training sterilisations and castrations (please email [email protected] for more information), students do not operate on any patient in the OVAH. All surgical, invasive, complicated or special procedures on patients are performed by qualified, registered and highly trained veterinary and para-veterinary professionals.
 

Please take note of our availability for both routine appointments and emergency visits:

 

SMALL ANIMALS (dogs and cats)

There is a veterinarian on duty weekdays from 06:00 to 19:00 and on weekends from 09:00 to 19:00.

There is no veterinarian available at night from 19:00 to 06:00

 

Normal rates

Weekdays 08:00 to 16:00 and Saturdays 09:00 to 12:00

Emergencies take priority

Consultations by appointment

Walk-ins may be required to wait 45 mins to 2 hours depending on patient load

 

After-hours rates

Weekdays 06:00 to 08:00 and 16:00 to 19:00

Saturday 12h00 to 19h00

Sunday 09h00 to 19h00

 

To make an appointment:

Outpatients Clinic

Service includes routine consultations, vaccinations, minor procedures, care of isolation cases

Call 086 100 8387 and choose option 1 to talk to front desk staff regarding appointments or queries.

 

Referred cases  

If your dog or cat has already been seen by a vet who wants to refer it to one of our specialists for a work-up or consultation, please call the clinic below to make an appointment.

Medicine referral clinic:

Tel +27 (0)12 529 8302/8292/8280

Surgery referral clinic:

Tel +27 (0)12 529 8087/8100

Reproduction clinic:

Tel +27 (0)12 529 8273

 

FOR ANIMALS SUCH AS HORSES, FARM ANIMALS AND WILDLIFE WE RENDER SERVICE 24/7!

Horses

Please call +27 (0)12 529 8124/8284

Farm animals

08:00 – 16:30 please call +27 (0)12 529 8274/8480

After-hours please call +27 (0) 82 908 3016

Wildlife

Please call +27 (0) 76 361 7164

 


The Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital (OVAH) is one of a kind in Southern Africa – possibly even on the African continent.

Part of the University of Pretoria, and designed primarily to provide world class practical training to final year veterinary and veterinary nursing students studying at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, the hospital nevertheless succeeds in providing, at the same time, a unique and highly valued service to the greater veterinary and pet-owning community.

From a tiny, helpless domestic shorthair kitten, to a stately and economically important stud bull, all companion and production animals are optimally cared for in species-specific clinics, and treated by clinicians and specialists of national and international repute.

The OVAH is the only veterinary hospital is South Africa where veterinary specialists of so many different disciplines practice under one roof. Our scope of services is very broad and includes:

  • Medical and surgical oncology for dogs and cats
  • Critical care (including ventilation) for dogs and cats
  • Tracheal stenting in small breed dogs
  • Total hip replacement and other implant-driven orthopaedic procedures for dogs and cats
  • Dentistry, all species (including specialised maxillofacial reconstructive surgery)
  • Ophthalmology, all species
  • Horses, medical and surgical colic management
  • Horses, standing tie-backs
  • Horses lameness assessment and management
  • Cattle, hoof health
  • Cattle, general medicine and surgery
  • Small stock, (calves, sheep goats) medicine and surgery

In order to perform such diverse and challenging veterinary work, the OVAH boasts 10 theatres, a dog/cat ICU, referral clinics for various species, a bustling first-opinion Outpatient clinic and an impressive array of diagnostic imaging equipment ranging from digital radiography, to computed tomography. Furthermore, the OVAH is the only veterinary facility in Africa to perform diagnostic nuclear imaging, known as scintigraphy. All this ensures the OVAH never lacks for patients to heal or opportunities to train students to the highest standards.

Host to over 70 trained and dedicated support staff, together with a number of enthusiastic and animal-loving veterinary and veterinary nursing students, the OVAH is an academic yet very client- and patient-focused hospital which strives to provide professional, skilled and compassionate patient care and client service at all times.

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