Give us a call at 773-697-9757 and speak with our reception team to set up an appointment. New clients or patients must call to register and review history. For current clients who need non-emergent appointments, you can also fill out an appointment request here, request an appointment through your patient portal, text us at 773-697-757, or email us at info@dukeanimalhospital.com.

We are a general medicine facility, and when able to we do accept emergency appointments. This is done so on a case by case basis and is dependent on our current patient load, our staffing, and what is going on with your pet - after all, we want to ensure all patients in our care receive the time and attention they deserve.

If you feel you have an emergency, please give us a call to see if we can accommodate you and your pet or if we would refer you to a 24 hour emergency facility.

When emergency appointments are offered, you should expect to work primarily with a technician as the middle-person between you and the doctor. The technician will be working closely with your pet and relaying information to and from the doctor, who will examine your pet but will still be in with other appointments. Your pet will be taken to the treatment area to have its vitals checked, and we'll update you until we can get you into a room if one becomes available. Once in a room, we will work to keep your pet's appointment moving and to make sure your pet is as comfortable as possible while in our care. The doctor seeing your pet will try to stop in during your visit to say hello to you and discuss your pet's case, but this cannot always be guaranteed.

Our emergency exams come at an elevated fee due to the fact that we are squeezing in a patient when we do not have the availability on the schedule. The exam fee can vary depending on the severity and urgency of the case, and we will provide pricing throughout your visit. Emergency appointments take longer than regularly scheduled appointment.s

All of our doctors see cats wand dogs, and each of our doctors see a variety of exotics. In our clinic, we see:

• Rodents (guinea pigs, rats, hamsters, gerbils, etc.)
• Ferrets
• Rabbits
• Insectivores (hedgehogs)
• Chinchillas
• Sugar gliders
• Snakes
• Lizards
• Turtles
• Birds

At this time we do not see wildlife, farm animals, amphibians, fish, or arachnids.

We have a free parking lot just south of our building between the Play it Again Sports shop and Ten Cat Tavern. It is only accessible if you're coming Northbound on Ashland due to a medium in the street.

We do have 1 handicap parking spot.

Our parking lot is only for customers of Duke Animal Hospital and Play it Again Sports - you cannot park here if you're going to any other business in the area, even Ten Cat Tavern.

The parking lot is monitored by a third party towing company and violators will be towed at the vehicle owner's expense.

If you're wondering who you should try to establish care with, it's best to consider your own typical availability and ask the receptionists which veterinarians tend to be in clinic when you're most likely to make appointments. You don't have to stick with one veterinarian for every visit, although it is recommended if there is a complicated medical history.

When scheduling, we'll ask if you have a doctor preference. It's fine if you do, and if you don't we'll book you with the doctor that either your pet has seen most recently, or who has availability that matches your time request. You can take a look at our Meet the Staff page to learn more about our veterinarians.

For every appointment, you'll be greeted by our receptionists and if you have a dog with you they'll help you get their weight. The receptionists will notify the medical team that you've arrived and you can grab a refreshment while your technician prepares a room.

Once in a room, your technician will review your pet's history, go over their at-home care, and get a baseline summary of the reason for that day's visit. Once your technician has gotten a history, they'll update the doctor, who will come in to greet you. The doctor may ask some similar questions to verify information, and will perform a physical exam looking at the eyes, ears, and teeth, feeling the lymph nodes and general body condition, and taking a temperature. This physical will help determine diagnostics or treatments to recommend.

Dogs must be on leashes at all times in the lobby, and small pets (cats, ferrets, etc) should be kept in a carrier.

This is not only for your pet's safety, but for the safety and well-being of other pets in the lobby. An accident can quickly occur when our doors open to Ashland, and we would not want to risk an aggressive animal walking through the door, your pet darting outside, or a small animal being injured by a pet in our lobby if they're wandering outside of a carrier.

If you do not have a carrier, you should keep your pet on your lap until we can get you into a room. If you know in advance that you are coming in without a carrier, we recommend calling ahead to see if we'll have a room ready to go straight into.

We provide estimates for vaccines and annual wellness items.

For quotes for additional services, please schedule an exam with a doctor. Once the doctor assesses your pet, they'll be able to provide an estimate and quote for a diagnostic and treatment plan.

We do not offer quotes on diagnostics, medications, or procedures for pets we have not established care with.

In the event that you need medical advice, we recommend reaching out to your current veterinarian. Unfortunately, we cannot recommend medical advice for patients we have not seen before. Give us a call to schedule an exam so we can assess your pet's needs.

Give us a call to see if our veterinarians know if what your pet ingested is toxic. There are a myriad of items that may or may not be safe for your pet's health, so if we are not sure if symptoms will occur we will advise you to reach out to the ASPCA Poison Control Hotline at (888) 426-4435. 

The ASPCA has certified toxicologists who are equipped to help you determine if your pet needs medical attention or can be monitored at home. We recommend to them at times because they have a large database for checking your pet's weight, amount ingested, likely ingredients, and symptoms to watch out for, and they are an invaluable resource to veterinarians all over the country. The ASPCA does charge a consultation fee*, so be prepared with your credit or debit card. If the toxicologists recommend an exam with a veterinarian for immediate treatment, please obtain a Case Number from them - this will be vital for us to communicate with them about your case and get the treatment your pet needs.

For general information, you can also download their Animal Poison app for iOS or Android - this should not be used to replace veterinary advice.

*As of May 2023, the ASPCA consultation fee is $90. This pricing may change, and we may not always have the most current pricing from the ASPCA.

For any wildlife that is injured, we recommend reaching out to local wildlife rescues. For birds, the Chicago Bird and Collision Monitors can be reached at(773) 988-1867. For all other wildlife you can reach out to Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation at (847) 842-8000.

We will see severely injured wildlife for humane euthanasia services in order to end suffering. We accept donations for this service to go towards our good samaritan fund.

Surgeries and dentals are scheduled after an exam with a doctor, and must be scheduled within a month of a staging exam and pre-operative bloodwork. We recommended scheduling procedures at the close of your exam to ensure your pet is appropriately scheduled with their veterinarian. At the time of scheduling, we collect a non-refundable scheduling fee to hold the procedure slot. This fee is applied directly to the costs of your pet's procedures unless the surgery is missed or cancelled/rescheduled less than 48 business hours prior to the surgery slot.

Surgeries and dentals are offered Monday through Saturdays, with drop-offs set up between 7 am and 8 am. This is a fifteen minute appointment with a technician to go over your consent form and gather contact information for the day. We'll also make sure your pet hasn't shown any symptoms of being sick before taking them to the back to prep them for their stay.

Many pets will need to be fasted for their procedures, so make sure you clarify your instructions when scheduling. If your pet is required to fast, food and treats cannot be offered, but water is okay. If your pet is taking medication, clarify with your doctor if medication should be offered the morning of the procedure.

While you will receive an appointment reminder for the procedure, start-time can vary. When your pet wakes up from their procedure, we wait to assess how they've been affected by the anesthesia. Some pets bounce back quickly from anesthesia, while others may take longer for the effects to wear off. Once we have an assessment of how your pet is waking up, we'll reach out to you to set up a discharge time.

Discharges are scheduled when your pet is estimated to have recovered well from their anesthesia, and is a 15 minute appointment. Your surgery technician will come in to discuss the procedure, settle your invoice, and then let the doctor know when you're ready to review any final questions. Discharges are typically scheduled for after 5 pm, however your surgery technician will contact you to set up a time to meet with you.

We can scan stray animals for microchips. Give us a call to let us know if you'd like our assistance, and the client service representatives will help you determine what time you're heading over so we can be prepared. If a microchip is found, we'll look in our records to see if it's a patient of ours. If not, we'll check the online database for more information and see if we can find contact information for you.

If a microchip is not found, we recommend posting that you found this stray or lost pet on social media, and reaching out to rescues and shelters in the event that you are not able to house this animal. We unfortunately do not take in strays or lost pets in our facilities, as we are not zoned to keep them here.

We cannot treat wildlife here at Duke Animal Hospital. For animals that are suffering we can perform humane euthanasia.

If you found a bird, raccoon, squirrel, or other wildlife that is in need of medical attention please reach out to the below:

For Birds:
Chicago Bird Collision Monitors
773-988-1867

For Wildlife:
Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation
847-842-8000

Fox Valley Wildlife Center
847-697-2880

Willowbrook Wildife Center Clinic
630-942-6200