What to Expect At Your First Appointment

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• We’re a house-call practice.  Most of the time, when it is not during the Covid 19 pandemic our entire visit will take place in your home, where your pet is most comfortable.  Dogs over 40 pounds will need to take a field trip to the truck to be weighed. During this time we are refraining from going into the home and meeting all clients outside. 

• We typically schedule each appointment to last 45-60 minutes.  Your pet will have our doctor’s undivided attention during this time; it can be helpful to prepare a list of questions or concerns in advance.  We also appreciate if you can tell us what your pet is eating, along with the names and dosages of any medications or supplements your pet is taking.

• Please allow us a 15-minute grace period before or after your scheduled appointment time; traffic and weather can lead to unpredictable driving conditions so pinpointing our exact arrival time can sometimes be challenging.  If we are going to be more than 15 minutes early or late we will call you to make sure that the appointment still works with your schedule.

• If we are seeing your pet for their annual exam or because they have intestinal issues (diarrhea, constipation) please save a fresh (less than 24 hours old), unfrozen fecal sample for lab testing.  For dogs, we prefer samples that have not had extended contact with the ground, as this can sometimes lead to contamination with environmental organisms.

• If you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can accommodate other clients.

 

For clients with cats:

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• If your cat is shy, or has had less than positive experiences at the vet in the past, we recommend that you confine them in the bathroom about 15 minutes before we arrive.  This eliminates wasted time searching for your cat, or the stress of a cat chase through the house.  We prefer the bathroom to other rooms in the house because there are no large pieces of furniture for the cat to hide under. Typically, for these cats, we will just perform the entire exam in the bathroom.

• If your cat is so fearful that they become defensive or aggressive, then we strongly believe that pre-medicating them with a mild sedative or giving them a short-acting anesthetic injection is the safest and least stressful way to handle the visit.  We have seen hundreds of these types of cats and have found sedation is the key to providing them with a low-stress, comprehensive exam.  Please let us know if your cat falls into this category.