At Downe Vets we are committed to providing comprehensive care for both large and small animals. Our experienced team offers a wide range of services, from preventative treatments to advanced medical procedures, ensuring your animals receive the best possible care. Whether you’re seeking routine check-ups, emergency care, or specialized treatments, Downe Vets is here to support the health and well-being of your animals every step of the way.
Vaccinating pets is essential for immunity, helping protect dogs from diseases like parvovirus, distemper, hepatitis, parainfluenza, and leptospirosis. Rabies and Kennel cough vaccines are also available for travel and kennel stays. For cats, whether indoors or outdoors, vaccines boost immunity against Feline Panleukopenia, herpes virus, calicivirus, and feline leukaemia.
If you are looking to head abroad with your pet it is important to read up on what is required for their travel. If you are travelling outside of Northern Ireland you are required to have a passport and full rabies vaccination. Before travelling you also need to have a veterinary check up where the vet gives the animal worm and flea coverage.
In Northern Ireland it is now a legal requirement for all dogs to have a microchip, a microchip can be very helpful for identifying missing or lost pets if they are handed in to a rescue centre or veterinary clinic. Having a microchip is only effective if the owner’s details are up to date which would include a valid contact number and an address.
Urinalysis is a routine test that helps assess the health of your pet’s kidneys, bladder, and other organs. We use a fully automated urine sediment analyser, offering high-resolution imaging and advanced bacteria detection. Pet Health Club members receive one free urine analysis annually, especially beneficial for elderly pets.
Within our practice we are able to run our patients bloods using Idexx haematology and biochemistry machinery. Blood chemistries give us an insight into the function of your pets organs, their electrolyte levels and more.
We recommend neutering for both dogs and cats. This is for their own wellbeing and also to prevent unwanted kittens and puppies adding to shelter populations. We carry out a range of humane and effective surgical procedures in neutering including traditional “open surgery” down to advanced keyhole surgery.
If your pet has smelly breath or tooth decay, they may need a dental procedure, which involves sedation for a full oral exam, tooth scaling, polishing, and possible extractions. Always request an estimate, and if you’re unsure about the process, contact the clinic for more information from our team.
Downe Vets is excited to introduce the ultrasonic scalpel, a cutting-edge tool originally developed for human surgery and now adapted for veterinary use. This device uses ultrasonic energy to cut and coagulate tissue simultaneously, improving precision and reducing surgery time. It’s especially beneficial in keyhole surgeries, where minimal invasiveness leads to faster recovery and less pain for pets. For more information on this advanced technology, feel free to visit us.
For unwell patients we offer many different forms of investigations such as in-house blood analysis, urine analysis, x-rays and scanning all of which can provide us with an in depth look into your pets health.
The practice benefits from two endoscopes – these are cameras used for looking inside the body. They can be used as a relatively non-invasive investigation technique to check the mouth, ears, nose, oesophagus and stomach.
Keyhole surgery, or laparoscopy, is a minimally invasive technique that uses small incisions and advanced instruments to perform procedures, offering less postoperative pain, fewer stitches, and quicker recovery compared to traditional surgery. Commonly used for spaying bitches, it results in smaller incisions and reduced recovery time. Laparoscopy is also used for other procedures like removing retained testicles, biopsies, and even spleen removal. Downe Vets is proud to offer this advanced technique, ensuring a better, less painful experience for pets. Contact us for more information or to book a procedure.
Within both branches we offer x-rays which is a diagnostic procedure which allows us to analyse your pets bones and organs and check for any abnormalities.
Ultrasound imaging technology can allow us to diagnose and evaluate your pets health, it can also allow us to check for pregnancies (however we cannot guarantee exact numbers of babies through ultrasound scanning)
Our vets work on a rotational basis to provide the best care possible for your pet. We offer an out of hours service for emergencies from our Downpatrick branch, if you have an emergency ring 02844614225 and there you will be provided with the contact number for the out of hours vet.
Sadly our beloved pets cannot be with us forever and there may come a time where they need to be put to sleep. Euthanasia is a painless and peaceful procedure for your pet. When the time comes we offer euthanasia from the clinic or we can do a visit to your home, we also offer private and general cremation through an outside company who do collection and delivery from our clinic.
