Lewis Small Animal Hospital, Veterinary Medical Center

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Lewis Small Animal Hospital, Veterinary Medical Center

www.vmc.umn.edu

The University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center has been providing veterinary care to the region for over 120 years.
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The University of Minnesota’s Lewis Small Animal Hospital provides the area's most comprehensive care for companion animals including specialty, emergency, urgent, and primary care. Our small animal hospital provides patients with access to expert veterinarians with an extended network of specialists and technology. A not-for-profit teaching hospital, our clinic provides cutting-edge services and is proud to help shape the future of veterinary medicine.

08/06/2026

CVM’s newest clinic, the Companion Animal Teaching Clinic (CATC), focuses on a type of care long practiced by veterinary professionals but only recently gaining traction as a formal approach in their training: spectrum of care.

Spectrum of care is the wide range of care options veterinarians can provide that takes into account medical evidence while considering each patient’s circumstances and each client’s resources, goals, and ability to provide medical care for their pet. CATC, which opened to the public in June, puts this approach at the center of its experiential learning opportunities for the college’s veterinary students.

07/29/2026

This week is a hot one 🔥☀️ Check out these pet care tips before you go outside! |

07/01/2026

After 14 years of coordinating patient care for the Veterinary Medical Center (VMC) Shelter & Rescue Animal Fund, Deb Armstead-Haak is getting ready to retire. She’ll leave behind a growing legacy for future shelter animals.

Since the project started in 2012, Armstead-Haak has overseen patient coordination for the fund, which helps animals awaiting adoption access critical veterinary care.

Since its inception, the VMC Shelter & Rescue Animal Fund has secured care for 183 animals with the help of more than $300,000 in donor gifts. “I’m really proud of the job that I’ve done being an advocate,” she says. “When the fund was new, we could only partially fund a lot of procedures. But as we’ve grown, we’ve been able to cover the full cost of a lot of treatments.”

Read more: https://profiles-vetmed.umn.edu/article/lifeline-animals-need

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06/25/2026

Meet the team that’s taking on the complicated and complex cases with a deep understanding of the body and its functions: Small Animal Internal Medicine 🐾✨

The diagnostics, procedures, and treatments conducted by the service team cover a wide breadth of body systems. The team also diagnoses and manages chronic conditions such as diabetes, Cushing’s disease, Addison’s disease, and thyroid disorders. Given the nature of those and other ailments, their patients tend to be older animals, says Lindsay Merkel, associate professor of internal medicine and head of the service. The opportunity to build those relationships with patients and clients over the course of years is a special and rewarding part of internal medicine.

“When you have that long-term relationship with somebody, we see them at their best and their worst, but we always know that they're in the fight with us and want the best for their pet,” Merkel says.

06/23/2026

🚨Urgent Update: Temporary Reduction in Overnight Emergency Hours at UMN VMC 🚨 Like many hospitals facing the current national challenges in veterinary recruitment, the Lewis Small Animal Hospital at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center (VMC) is experiencing a temporary shortage of overnight third-shift technicians. To maintain our high standards of patient care during peak utilization hours, we are implementing a temporary adjustment to our schedule.

🗓️ Starting Monday, June 29, VMC Emergency Room receiving will be CLOSED from midnight to 8 a.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

Our emergency services remain OPEN 24 hours a day from Sunday through Tuesday.
If your pet needs emergency care during our temporary closure hours, please use our regional directory to find an open veterinary hospital near you: https://vmc.umn.edu/clients/emergency-and-urgent-care-resources

We are actively recruiting to resolve this staffing gap as quickly as possible. If you have questions, please reach out to us directly at 612-626-8387 or [email protected].

Thank you for your support and understanding!

06/18/2026

From chronic GI issues to retinal hemorrhaging, 11-year-old Zesty the poodle mix found all the answers she needed at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center.

Having so many types of care under one roof has been a blessing for Zesty and her owner, Anna Moberg. “The coordination of care has been fabulous,” she says. “She’s a medically complex dog, so it's great to not only have everything there but also to see how passionate every provider is about what they do and about Zesty’s care.”

06/11/2026

A rare skull tumor threatened Carma the St. Bernard’s future, but advanced imaging, 3D surgical planning, and a dedicated care team gave her a second act 🐾

Carma’s tumor was so rare that the pathology cited essentially one prior case report in dogs at our hospital. To prepare for an orbitectomy, Dr. Jennifer Kelley, a veterinary dentist and oral surgeon and a College of Veterinary Medicine assistant professor, and her team produced a 3D-printed replica of Carma’s skull, which she used for surgical planning and kept at her side during the four-hour procedure.

For Carma’s owner, Carissa Wyant, the diagnosis was terrifying, but seeing the 3D-printed skull before surgery gave her a new insight into the procedure. “When people are telling you things and showing you X-rays, it’s hard to visualize,” Wyant says. “But to hold it in your hands and see where the lump is and see what they’re going to do helped.”

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05/29/2026

Meet the Small Animal Surgery Team 🐾 Whether repairing broken bones, removing tumors, or healing athletic injuries, a combination of ingenuity and collaboration is vital for this Veterinary Medical Center team!

The Small Animal Surgery team performs hundreds of procedures each year that save and improve patient lives. The service is split into three speciality areas: orthopedic surgery, soft tissue surgery, and sports medicine and rehabilitation, also known as medical orthopedics. Together, they tackle issues that span the entire body, from mending broken bones to removing tumors to preventing injuries to joints, limbs, and muscles.

05/27/2026

Veterinary researchers are analyzing how puppies move in hopes of using that data to create guidelines for development and exercise—and potentially earlier detection of diseases 🐾

With each step they take, puppies participating in a clinical study at the University of Minnesota are building a knowledge base that researchers hope will not only safely guide their growth and fitness but also allow earlier intervention in cases of disease.

The study is led by Dr. Wanda Gordon-Evans, professor of surgery at the College of Veterinary Medicine and head of the Small Animal Surgery and Canine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation services at the college’s Veterinary Medical Center.

Read more: https://profiles-vetmed.umn.edu/article/step-right-direction

04/30/2026

As a university teaching hospital, our deep commitment to quality at the Lewis Small Animal Hospital is founded upon our role in teaching the next generation of veterinarians 🐾🥼

This dedication to excellence is reflected in our accreditation by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), a distinction held by only 15% of small animal veterinary practices in North America. This distinction means we voluntarily meet or exceed more than 900 rigorous standards in areas such as surgery, patient care, diagnostic testing and emergency services.

Whether you are here for primary care or specialty referral services, our role as a teaching facility ensures that our patients benefit from a community of professionals who hold themselves to the highest standards of excellence and compassionate care.

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Address

1365 Gortner Avenue
Saint Paul, MN
55108

Website

http://www.vmc.umn.edu/

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