Anesthesia is necessary for many surgical procedures in pets and to ensure a pain-free experience. Although many pet owners fear anesthesia and worry their pet may never wake up, modern anesthetic protocols are extremely low-risk. Studies show that when safety precautions are closely followed, a healthy dog’s risk of dying under anesthesia is 0.05% and a healthy cat’s is 0.1%. Sick pets have a slightly higher 1.3% risk. Overall, these risks are minimal compared with the benefits of surgical and dental procedures.

Neighborhood Veterinary Centers teams take your pet’s anesthetic experience seriously. As pet owners ourselves, we understand how you worry about your four-legged friend, and we strive to care for each anesthetic patient as if they were our own. Here is an overview of the six ways that we minimize anesthetic risks for pets under our care.

#1: Pre-anesthetic diagnostic testing to assess pet health

A complete physical examination and diagnostic testing provide our veterinarians with the information required to assess your pet’s individual anesthetic risk. We check pre-anesthetic blood work on all pets to learn about their kidney and liver function, blood clotting ability, and overall health status. Depending on your pet’s health history and blood work results, we may also recommend additional tests, including:

  • Urinalysis
  • Blood pressure testing
  • Chest X-ray
  • Heart ultrasound (i.e., echocardiogram)

We use this information to determine a risk versus reward profile, especially for elective procedures. Most health conditions do not completely preclude anesthesia but may require us to adjust our protocol for maximum safety.

#2: Customized anesthetic protocols for each pet

Our team creates a customized protocol for each pet, choosing drugs, drug doses, and fluids based on species, breed, age, size, body condition, and health status. Your pet’s temperament may also influence their protocol, because we prioritize sedation for anxious or fearful pets before moving forward. 

We include the following in every anesthetic protocol:

  • A pre-anesthetic injectable drug “cocktail” to relax your pet and reduce gas anesthesia requirements, because a combination of multiple drugs minimizes the individual doses required and reduces side effects
  • Injectable anesthetic induction, followed by breathing tube placement to protect the airway
  • Intravenous catheter to administer drugs and fluids that support blood pressure and circulation

#3: Continuous monitoring throughout your pet’s procedure

We dedicate one team member to continuously monitor your pet’s vitals, including heart rate, heart rhythm, blood oxygen saturation, blood pressure, breathing rate, expired carbon dioxide, and temperature. Team members use this information to adjust the anesthesia percentage that we administer with oxygen to keep your pet at the ideal anesthetic depth. If we notice abnormal values, such as a low heart rate or low blood pressure, we can administer counteracting medications. We can also support ventilation, which is often suppressed under anesthesia, manually or with an electronic ventilator.

#4: State-of-the-art surgical and anesthetic equipment designed for pets

Our monitors, surgery tables, instruments, and anesthetic machines are designed specifically for pets. Neighborhood Veterinary Centers hospitals invest in the newest, most advanced technology, which ensures accurate vitals recording, shorter surgery times, less bleeding and trauma, and better overall outcomes.

#5: Heat support during pet procedures

Pets under anesthesia cannot regulate their temperature and can lose body heat quickly, especially during open-abdomen procedures, which can delay recovery and affect other vitals. Our surgery suites are equipped with heated surgery tables, and we can provide additional external heat support with circulating warm water and warm air blankets. Small, young, and thin pets lose heat faster, and we are always proactive in maintaining adequate body temperature. 

#6: Comprehensive pet pain management protocols

Pain can significantly complicate a pet’s anesthesia and impact their recovery, both immediately and during the following days. Our teams use comprehensive pain management protocols that combine multiple drugs to achieve synergistic effects and reduce side effects. We provide pets with pain control before, during, and after surgery to ensure comfort, and we reduce the gas amount needed to maintain anesthesia to speed up recovery. Also, every pet whom we expect will have post-operative pain goes home with oral pain or anti-inflammatory medications.

Our Neighborhood Veterinary Centers teams treat each pet individually, assessing a risk-to-benefit ratio and adhering to strict safety standards for all surgical and dental procedures. Visit or contact the location nearest you to schedule a surgical consultation, tour our facilities, or learn more about our anesthetic protocols.