Banner Elk Animal Hospital

Banner Elk Animal Hospital Small animal medical and surgical practice serving Avery and Watauga county pet owners since 2002.

Time to revisit the importance of dental health and professional teeth cleaning. There is almost no reason for a dog to ...
07/30/2026

Time to revisit the importance of dental health and professional teeth cleaning. There is almost no reason for a dog to lose most of its teeth during its lifetime, other than as a result of injury. At home maintenance, combined with regular (sometimes yearly) complete cleaning at the vet, starting when tartar first appears, can prevent tooth root and gum damage before it loosens to the point of needing extraction. But when that damage has reached that point, it is WAY better to remove the tooth than to leave a tooth in that is 1.very painful to the animal and 2. A source of infection that can spread to more vital areas like the heart valves and kidneys. Here is a before and after procedure on a dog that we were able to remove all the tartar from before it got to the point of needing several extractions. There is still gingivitis remaining, but antibiotics and daily antiseptic rinsing can reduce this once cleaned. Too many of our patients aren’t so lucky.

01/16/2026

This February marks the return of PET DENTAL MONTH, both nationally and at Banner Elk Animal Hospital. All dental procedures such as routine cleaning, extractions and even pre-anesthetic bloodwork will be performed at 20% off our regular fee for these services! Remember, we were unable to do dental procedures this time last year because we were in a temporary facility with no anesthetic or surgical capability. Poor dental health can lead to PAIN, loss of teeth, bad breath or, worse, infections that can spread to more vital parts of the body such as the kidneys or heart valves. So this will be the best time to have those cleanings/extractions done, before the busy summer season and while fees are reduced. NOTE - ALL DOGS AND CATS MUST BE CURRENT WITH THEIR RABIES VACCINE (PROOF REQUIRED) TO BE TREATED AT OUR FACILITY. We will be happy to give this vaccine if needed. Call our office at 828-898-5120 for an appointment.

In the next few days leading up to Christmas and New Years Day, we at Banner Elk Animal Hospital would like to strongly ...
12/20/2025

In the next few days leading up to Christmas and New Years Day, we at Banner Elk Animal Hospital would like to strongly encourage everyone to SHOP LOCAL/BUY LOCAL when at all possible. Even though it may be easier to order from some national retailer, if you can find what you need here in Avery County, please help support all of our small businesses. It may be indirectly for some residents, but the economic benefits of doing so helps all of us, not just the business you are making the purchase at. This is especially important at this time, as all of our mountain communities are still recovering from the physical and economic damage from Helene one year ago. And yes, that includes pet items as well. But if your dog or cat needs something that you are unable to obtain locally (special medication or diet, etc.) we will gladly assist you in getting those products from another source.

And shown below is our new, noise-reducing mural in our waiting room. 😃

10/16/2025

As you all know, the cost of veterinary visits, as well as all other types of healthcare, goods and services, has become crazy high the past few years. We feel your pain - remember, all of us are customers too. And it’s only going to get more expensive in the future. We have seen vet bills of $5000 - $10,000 from cases that needed to be referred, or major illnesses treated in cities like Charlotte, Atlanta or those in Florida. If you are comfortable with that, you’re good, but if being faced with costs like that would affect your decision on treatment or not, we strongly advise obtaining PET INSURANCE. Not for routine, primary care type procedures like we do at BEAH, but for potential serious medical occurrences that need surgery, specialists or critical care. BEFORE they ever occur - pet insurance companies don’t accept pre-existing conditions. We have recommendations on providers of plans with different deductibles and premiums. Our favorite is called TruPanion. Give us a call, we‘ll be happy to discuss them with you.

10/09/2025

Banner Elk Animal Hospital will be CLOSED on Thursday, October 9 as well as every other Thursday, probably through November. This means Oct. 23 for sure, and likely Nov. 6 and Nov. 20 as well as Nov 27 (Thanksgiving Day) due to medical needs of our entire staff. Don’t worry, we’ll all get through everything in time. 😃 This will cause minimal disruption to our normal weekly schedule, as we have only been open from 9 AM to 1 PM on Thursdays anyway, with no surgical procedures done on that day. We will be open 9AM-5 PM on Friday as usual and continue to be open on our regular schedule all other weekdays unless there is some type of emergency. Thank you for your patience (and your patients!)

06/11/2025

No sooner had we posted that we were back up and running in our renovated facility, then Dr. K had to undergo emergency surgery in Charlotte. We have been unable to see live patients for the past 3 weeks, although we have been able to refill existing prescriptions and dispense parasite preventatives and special diets. We will be easing back into seeing patients beginning on FRIDAY, JUNE 13. Surgery and dental procedures are tentatively scheduled to resume 1st week in July. Please be patient with us, and please BUY LOCAL whenever possible, as it is critically needed for this area to recover from last year‘s disaster. Thank you for your continued support, as it has been a very difficult past 9 months here.

Back in full swing at the Animal Hospital now. The place looks pretty good, and we have added a second exam room. The on...
05/18/2025

Back in full swing at the Animal Hospital now. The place looks pretty good, and we have added a second exam room. The only thing left needing to be done is improvements to the parking lot. That’s up to the building owner, not us. NOTE: Both exam rooms are small, get hot easily and our staff has to be able to move around quickly at times. So we are only able to have ONE owner and one pet (or 2 cats in a carrier) in the exam room at any one time. Some people don’t like this, so we’d like them to be fully informed before they come to us, so they can make a decision ahead of time whether to come or not.

03/10/2025

We have finally moved back into our permanent location at 56 High Country Square. We are open 9am-5pm weekdays, except Thursday open 9am-1pm. It will likely be a week before we can resume performing surgeries and most importantly, dental procedures, but we are close! Call us at 828-898-5120.

03/06/2025

We are scheduled to begin moving back into our permanent location tomorrow, Friday March 7 at around 11 am - 12 noon. Unfortunately this is not definite yet. This is all dependent on other services to be done in there before we move. If all goes according to plan, WE WILL NOT BE ANSWERING THE PHONE OR SEEING PATIENTS FROM FRIDAY AT 11 UNTIL MONDAY, MARCH 10. You may leave us a message if you want, and we’ll return your call once we are up and running again. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thank you for your patience. Check back here for further updates.

02/20/2025

We have seen quite a few new puppies and kittens over the past 2 weeks, which is often exciting, but in some cases it is not so much fun if they are unhealthy or even critically ill. Banner Elk AH does not recommend obtaining one from an unknown source, some examples of this being at a flea market, a Wal Mart parking lot, or anywhere where you cannot see where the animal had been living prior to you bringing it home. If you choose to go this route, it may be all good, but know that you run a serious risk of getting a very unhealthy baby. And there should be written records of previous healthcare/vet visits given to you along with your new pet. We do recommend going to your local animal shelter, Humane Society or individual breeder who gives you their name and address and allows you to inspect their facility as well as the mother or father of the puppy or kitten. And finally, take him or her to your vet (or us)for a checkup, SOON after bringing home.

Address

56 High Country Square
Banner Elk, NC
28604

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+18288985120

Website

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