Vet Hurstville: Gentle, Fear Free Care a Short Drive Away
Let us deal with the money question up front, since it is the one most Hurstville pet owners want sorted before they book. Our everyday pricing is set to be accessible on purpose, and if your pet is insured, the way we handle billing helps too; the next section explains both. We are Rockdale Veterinary Hospital, a family-owned practice in Sydney’s St George area, rated 4.9 stars across 230 reviews, and Hurstville is one of the areas we care for. If you have been looking for a vet near Hurstville who is gentle with anxious animals and straight about cost, read on.
You do not have to be in Bexley to use us. Hurstville sits a short run from the clinic at 335 Forest Rd, and plenty of our regulars make that drive because of how visits feel once they arrive.
What a Vet Visit Costs, and How We Handle Insurance
Money is the question we hear first, and it deserves a plain answer. We keep our pricing accessible because we would rather your pet got seen than have cost be the reason it waited.
If your pet is insured, this is where it really matters. We bill most pet insurers directly, so on hospital treatment and surgery you cover only the gap rather than paying in full and waiting weeks to be reimbursed. What a consultation or procedure comes to depends on what your pet needs, so we give you a clear estimate before anything goes ahead, never after. Ask us when you book and we will walk you through it.
The Care Your Pet Needs, From Vaccinations to Surgery
Most visits start with one of a few things: a new puppy or kitten due for vaccinations, a limp or a lump that needs a proper look, or an older pet due for a wellness check. We handle all of it under one roof, so a trip from Hurstville covers the whole job in one stop.
That includes health checks and consultations, vaccinations, and puppy and kitten care, with puppy preschool in Hurstville to get the social side right early. When something needs investigating, our diagnostics run on site: digital X-ray, ultrasound and heart scans, so your pet is rarely sent elsewhere for imaging. We also do vet dentistry in Hurstville, desexing, and general and orthopaedic surgery, including advanced work such as TPLO cruciate ligament repair, in our own theatre. Skin and dermatology, behaviour support, and cat boarding round out the list at our animal hospital near Hurstville, and for the few cases that need a specialist we arrange that referral for you.
We welcome all sizes and breeds!
- Please call us as price is dependent on your pet’s sex, species and weight
- Day procedure available Monday-Friday
- All desexing surgeries include additional intravenous fluids throughout surgery, pain relief for 3 days at home, an Elizabethan collar and a post-op recheck
Meet Rockdale Veterinary Hospital and Dr Robert Kay
We are a family-owned clinic, and we opened Rockdale Veterinary Hospital in 2022 to do veterinary care a particular way: treating a pet’s emotional welfare as seriously as its physical health. The part we value most is that around half of our new clients arrive because a friend or neighbour pointed them our way, and we support local causes including Greyhound Rescue and Animals Fiji.
The practice is led by Dr Robert Kay, owner and head vet. He has over 20 years in companion-animal medicine and is the surgeon behind our orthopaedic work, alongside a team of skilled veterinary nurses. That experience is what lets us keep complex surgery like a cruciate repair in-house, and it is why a frightened cat can be handled gently by people who do exactly that every day.
Gentle Handling for Pets That Find the Vet Stressful
If your dog trembles in the waiting room or your cat goes rigid the moment the carrier comes out, the way a clinic handles them decides whether the visit is bearable. Being a Fear Free practice changes that. No cat gets scruffed here, and no dog gets muzzled. We work at the animal’s pace, use gentle handling, and reach for calming medications when a pet genuinely needs help to settle.
Our standard consultations run a full 30 minutes, which gives a nervous animal time to come round and gives you room to raise everything without watching the clock. We keep separate dog and cat consulting rooms too, so an anxious cat is not sitting beside a bouncing dog before it has even been seen. For a pet that has had a bad time at the vet before, those details are the whole difference.
Open 7 Days, a Short Drive From Hurstville
We are open seven days a week, with extended weekday hours so a visit fits around work and school. The doors open Monday to Friday from 8:00am to 7:00pm, Saturday from 9:00am to 5:00pm, and Sunday from 10:00am to 3:00pm; on public holidays we close.
For Hurstville pet owners, the clinic is a short drive north to 335 Forest Rd in Bexley, with the suburbs around Allawah and Kingsgrove sitting on the way, where we also provide general vet care in Allawah and nearby general vet care in Carlton. A few minutes in the car for a wobbly or distressed animal beats a long trek, and being open across the weekend means a sick pet rarely has to wait for a weekday slot. You can book online any time, call 02 9123 6888, or email team@rockdalevets.com.au.
Booking and After-Hours Emergencies
When your pet is off-colour, overdue, or just due for a check, getting started is simple: book online or call 02 9123 6888, and we will find a time that suits, often the same week.
If something goes wrong outside our hours, your pet is still covered. We refer after-hours emergencies to Veterinary Specialists of Sydney (VSOS) at 106 Parraweena Road, Miranda, reachable on 02 8376 8767, who run a 24/7 service.
Questions Hurstville Pet Owners Ask Us
