Animal clinic or veterinary hospital? What is the difference and does it matter to you? In Alberta naming veterinary clinics is controlled by the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association (Ab.VMA). Many years ago there were strict regulations about the name of the clinic. The first word in the name had to represent the geographic location of the clinic or the name of the veterinarian. The second word in the name had to be veterinary or animal. The last word was to be services.

Today these requirements are not in place. The name of the clinic is up the imagination of the owner, but the Ab.VMA has the final say on whether it can be used. There is no definition for what a veterinary clinic or a veterinary hospital must have for equipment or offer as services. If a veterinary service has “specialist” in the name at least one of the veterinarians employed there must be a specialist. These guidelines are likely different if you don’t live in Alberta.

The best thing to do to decide if your local veterinary hospital or animal clinic is right for you would be to go and visit them. Most will be happy to give you a tour of their animal hospital. Ask to meet with the veterinarians and owner of the veterinary clinic. Larger veterinary clinics will have more veterinarians and this can result in potentially seeing a different veterinarian with each visit. Smaller animal hospitals will often have one or two veterinarians working and can be more consistent with who helps your pet. Ask them about whether they provide services that are important to you.

Feel free tocontact us. We look forward to helping you!

Yours in health,

Dr. Kent Morley