Port Coquitlam guide
Vets and Pet Care in Port Coquitlam
With the Traboulay loop and two rivers, PoCo is built for dogs. Here are the vets, groomers and supply shops that keep the city's pets cared for.
Written by Fern Kellaway
PoCo might be the most dog-friendly city in Metro Vancouver, and I say that as someone who measures every walk in trail kilometres. The Traboulay loop circles the city along riverbanks and greenbelts, the two rivers give every neighbourhood a waterfront, and the result is a town where dogs are part of the street life. The pet-care trade is built to match: four animal hospitals across the city, groomers working the bays, and supply shops where the treats are sold by people who know your dog's name. This guide maps the lot.
The hospital map covers the city well. Port Coquitlam Animal Hospital works the Lougheed corridor, Tricity Animal Hospital keeps its rooms in the corridor's big commercial complex, Coast Meridian Animal Hospital serves the Coast Meridian corridor, and Oxford Animal Hospital covers the Lincoln side of the city. Four hospitals, four corners, and the choice usually comes down to which is closest when the moment arrives. Ask any of them about new-patient intake, what the first visit covers, and how they handle the after-hours emergency, because the answer to that last question is the most important thing a vet can tell you.
The supply side is smaller and worth knowing. Prairie Pet Food & Supplies carries the feed-and-treats trade on the Central side, where the downtown shops, and Mr. Pets works the Westwood Street end for the west side. Both are the kind of counters where the staff will talk food, brands and picky eaters for as long as you let them, and both do the special-order thing that the big-box stores stopped doing years ago. If your pet eats something specific, call first and ask them to bring it in.
The grooming bays are where the wet-dog problem gets solved. Dogtown Grooming & Spa works the Shaughnessy Street storefronts, Dapper Dog Grooming Studio and Poco Dog & Cat Grooming share the McLean Avenue belt, and The Dog Patch Daycare Hotel & Spa rounds out the list with daycare, boarding and spa on the Laurier Avenue side. The grooming trade books by appointment, and the good slots go fast around the holidays, so treat it like a haircut and book ahead. Ask how the groomer handles nervous dogs, because the answer tells you a lot about the room.
The PoCo-specific advice is this. The trails are the city's dog infrastructure, and a tired dog is a well-behaved one, so build the loop into the routine and the rest of pet care gets easier. Keep your vet's number and the after-hours answer in the same place, because the urgent moment is not when you want to be searching. Confirm booking details by phone, since the directory keeps the listings current but hours move with the season. Every business here is verified by hand, and the city's pet trade is one of the reasons I stay. Walk the trail, book the groomer, and let the dog decide which park is best. That part of the research is always reliable, and it never needs a phone call.
From the directory
Mentioned in this article
Every place named above has its own page here, with the address, the hours and the nearest station.
Coast Meridian Animal Hospital
Veterinary clinic serving pet owners in Central Port Coquitlam, with a practice inside the city's V3B postal area.
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Dapper Dog Grooming Studio
McLean Avenue grooming studio for dogs, handling baths, clipping and coat care by appointment.
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Dogtown Grooming & Spa
Dog grooming shop on Shaughnessy Street, offering baths, trims, nail care and full spa sessions.
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Oxford Animal Hospital
Veterinary clinic in Lincoln, Port Coquitlam, caring for the area's dogs and cats near the twenty-five kilometre Traboulay PoCo Trail loop.
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Poco Dog & Cat Grooming
Grooming shop on McLean Avenue in Port Coquitlam bathing and trimming both dogs and cats.
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Port Coquitlam Animal Hospital
Veterinary hospital on Lougheed Highway providing exams, vaccinations and routine pet care.
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Prairie Pet Food & Supplies
Pet supply shop in Port Coquitlam's Central neighbourhood, listed under postal code V3B 1S9, stocking food, treats, and equipment.
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The Dog Patch Daycare Hotel & Spa
Pet-care facility on Laurier Ave in Port Coquitlam combining dog daycare, overnight boarding and grooming under one roof.
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Tricity Animal Hospital
Veterinary clinic at 26-2755 Lougheed Highway serving Port Coquitlam pets with routine exams, wellness care and treatment plans.
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Who wrote this
Fern Kellaway
Fern Kellaway grew up in Mary Hill, three streets from the rail corridor, and her grandfather worked the CPR yards for most of his life. She lives near Lions Park now and has walked the Traboulay loop weekly for twenty years, which is how she knows which businesses are still there.
