Small-town vet. Full-hospital capability.
Comprehensive medical, surgical and dental care for the dogs, cats, cattle and horses of the Mission Valley — with in-house IDEXX bloodwork, digital radiology, ultrasound and a stocked pharmacy.
What we do here, and how we do it.
Mission Valley Veterinary Clinic is a full-service veterinary hospital providing comprehensive medical, surgical and dental care for small and large animals. Most diagnostics happen here on-site — pre-anesthetic blood panels, digital radiographs, ultrasound, and a well-stocked pharmacy. For specialty work we don't do, we refer you to people we trust (the Animal Eye Clinic of Spokane, Bridger Veterinary Specialists in Bozeman, and the Pet ERs in Missoula and Kalispell).
The aim isn't just to treat your animal when something goes wrong — it's to help you keep them healthy long enough that you get to enjoy them for as many years as possible.
A few things that help us care for everyone
Appointment Policy
To allow ample time for all patients and scheduled surgical procedures, we operate primarily by appointment. Emergency cases shall always receive top priority, which is why occasional appointment delay is inevitable. Please realize that we make a sincere attempt to see each patient on time.
For your convenience, 'drop-off' appointments are available. A 'drop-off' means you could bring your pet in the morning, and leave him/her with us for a few hours (length of stay depends on the case). We typically do drop-off exams between other scheduled procedures and surgeries.
For the safety of all animals in our care, we require that all vaccinations be up to date. Even though we make every effort to make our patients feel comfortable during visits, they may be a little uneasy about new people, new surroundings and other pets. This is one of the reasons we ask that all dogs are on a leash and all cats are presented in a carrier or on a leash.
Payment Policy
Mission Valley Veterinary Clinic requires full payment at the time that services are rendered. For your convenience, we accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Care Credit, American Express, cash and personal checks.
Patient Arrival Policy
For your protection, and that of others, all dogs must be on a leash and properly controlled while in the waiting area or exam rooms.
All cats must be presented in an appropriate cat carrier or on a leash.
VCPR — Veterinarian/Client/Patient Relationship
As you may have noticed, some medications you used to be able to purchase OTC from local feed stores such as Murdochs or Cenex are no longer available without a vet's prescription which requires a current VCPR (veterinarian/client/patient relationship). The Montana State Board of Veterinary Medicine defines a current VCPR as one that meets all of the following:
- The licensed veterinarian has assumed the responsibility for making medical judgments regarding the health of the patient(s) and the need for medical therapy, and has instructed the client on a course of appropriate therapy.
- The veterinarian has sufficient knowledge of the patient(s) to initiate at least a general or preliminary diagnosis of their medical condition.
- The client has agreed to follow the veterinarian's recommendations.
- The veterinarian is readily available for follow-up evaluation, or has arranged for emergency or urgent care coverage, or has designated continuing care and treatment to another licensed veterinarian who has access to the patient's medical records and/or can provide reasonable and appropriate medical care.
- The veterinarian provides oversight of treatment.
- The veterinarian has performed a timely physical examination of the patient(s) and/or is personally acquainted with their keeping and care by virtue of medically appropriate and timely visits to the operation where they are kept.
- Patient records are maintained.
Dr. Detwiler does still work on large animals, and he loves being able to help during calving seasons, for instance. However, in order to provide/prescribe medication, there must be a current VCPR in place; i.e. if we have never seen your animal(s)/herd, we cannot prescribe medications for them.
If you need to establish a VCPR, we are happy to come out to your place for a herd health check. Many clients will get annual pregnancy checking of cows, Brucellosis vaccinating or bull semen testing for example. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call. We appreciate the opportunity to provide veterinary services for the Mission Valley community.
If we're closed, call ahead.
During open hours, we try to see all our own patients' emergencies. Limited 24-hour on-call services are available — call the clinic first.