Are you happy with your animal’s vet? Here’s what to look for in a veterinarian
Whether you’ve recently moved or your favourite vet has retired, choosing a veterinarian for your furry friend is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as a pet parent. Here are few things to consider when choosing the vet who’ll take care of your precious pet.
Get recommendations
When you’re looking for a vet, it’s always a good idea to ask animal-loving family, friend and neighbours for any referrals. Your next best option could be your local shelter, animal trainers, groomers or pet sitters in the area.
Location, location
While you shouldn’t simply choose a vet because it’s the closest to your house, location is an important consideration. You never know when you have to rush to the vet in an emergency so it’s best to pick a vet that is located nearby.
Emergency services
Not all vets are open 24 hours a day but you should choose a vet that gives you an after hours number just in case an emergency happens outside of vet hours – and it seems like they always do. If not, find out where they refer their seriously ill or injured patients?
Friendly, knowledgeable staff
You should have a good rapport with your vet and feel comfortable asking them as many questions as you want. Effective communication is essential for any type of health care relationship. But most importantly, how does your pet react to the vet? Visiting the vet can be very stressful for animals so ideally, you want your pet to be calm, even happy, to see the vet and staff.
Facilities
Check out the vet clinic in person. The facility should be clean, modern and well-organised. There shouldn’t be any detectable odours like urine, faces, vomit or blood. Ask what diagnostic equipment is available. Do they do their own x-rays, ultrasounds, EKGs and bloodwork or do they refer these to other specialist.
Cost
Don’t make your choice based solely on price – as we know, low prices often means shortcuts. But make sure you find out the average cost of routine procedures like wellness exams, vaccinations and teeth cleaning to see if it matches your budget. You don’t want to be caught out with hidden costs either!
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