We hope that we can be of service to you. We welcome this opportunity to explain how the Diagnostic Laboratory operates.

• You can expect to receive the best total diagnostic service when your local veterinarian coordinates the use of the laboratory. His/her training and experience will allow him/her to select, or advise you about selecting, the best specimens for work-up. It costs you as much for us to analyze nonproductive specimens as it does productive specimens. Too, you veterinarian is uniquely qualified to assess the significance of laboratory findings in light of conditions that may exist on your premises or in your area.
• We charge fees for our services. Although modest, these fees constitute the chief source of funds for the purchase of supplies and materials that are essential for the operation of the laboratory.
• We hope that we can help you with your problem. We will do the best we can with the knowledge and equipment that is available to us; however, our best efforts may come to naught. Our efforts are greatly enhanced when we work with good clinical histories and appropriate, well-preserved specimens. Whenever practical, we prefer to examine two or three sick or recently dead animals that are typically affected. To encourage such submissions, we charge a regular fee for the first animal and nothing for the addition one or two animals provided they (a) are all in the same consignment and (b) do not require toxicology or mycoplasmology service. Specimens that are referred to outside laboratories will incur additional charges.
• We are not qualified to advise you about treatment of disease. Our specialized training and experience is in diagnostics, not therapeutics, and any recommendation that we might make could be damaging rather than beneficial. Your local veterinarian is the best possible source for this information.
• We are required by state law to report positive findings for several diseases to the State Veterinarian (e.g. brucellosis, equine infectious anemia, pseudorabies, and several others).