Westgate Pet & Bird Hospital

"Exotic animal" medicine is so described because traditional veterinary education focuses primarily on dogs, cats and livestock. We have earned a national reputation for taking care of all the other critters that need help. This specialty part of our practice is achieved through countless hours of outside professional education and extensive practice experience and research. Up to 40% of our patients are "non-traditional" species, giving additional credance to the title All Creatures Great and Small. Our commitment to providing exotics excellent healthcare, irregardless of their status on the food or economic chain, is one reason we get professional referrals for these species from across the city, and indeed from around the state, including from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine. The credibility of our reputation is further enhanced by having the only Board Certified avian practitioner (M. Scott Echols, DVM, Dipl. ABVP - Avian) in central Texas and two recipients of the prestigious Texas VeterinaryMedical Association's Exotic Animal Practitioner of the Year Award (Dr. Harry A. Miller III, DVM and Dr. Richard Lusk, MS, DVM).

This broad caseload and commitment to excellence for exotic animal care is one of the reasons Texas A&M University - College of Veterinary Medicine uses our hospital as a teaching hospital. Indeed, we are the only animal hospital in Texas regularly visited by professors and students of exotic animal medicine as part of their training and Drs. Miller and Echols are Adjunct Professors of Exotic Animal Medicine at Texas A&M - College of Veterinary Medicine.

Read below to find some basic care information and needs of exotic pets. Further information from this site can be accessed through the Pet Health Library.