As many of you already know, the veterinary industry as a whole is facing some unprecedented times. From a critical shortage of veterinarians, technicians and support staff to an influx of newly adopted pets; there have been many changes brought forth to the face of veterinary medicine. One of the best things that occurred in the past few years was the fact that many families added pets to their homes. This is GREAT and we are very happy that so many people found room in their homes for one or more pets! As a result, we have all been busier than normal taking care of the new additions while still offering care to all or your other pets. This has made our appointment schedule a bit more congested than normal.
Please know that we do save spots every day for the appointments that are considered urgent, but our non-urgent appointments are scheduling out 3-4 weeks right now. We are trying our hardest to accommodate you and your pet the best we can. If you are offered an appointment that is a longer wait than you anticipated, your patience with the staff is appreciated. Our staff is working hard each and every day to help as many pets as possible, and are doing a fabulous job. You may ask to be put on a cancellation list in the event there is an opening due to cancellation that occurs sooner than your appointment. Swearing or rude comments to the staff WILL NOT be tolerated. If you feel you need to express your feelings to someone, please ask to talk to the manager. She will be happy to talk with you.
To help with the staffing limitations please order medications, food, and supplies ahead of time by calling or emailing the clinic. Remember that controlled substances require 24 hours advanced notice. Controlled substances require extra steps in the preparation and accounting process, 24 hours is the MINIMUM time we need. Your understanding is appreciated.
Another challenge you may not be aware of is that we have been unable to purchase many things that we need in order for our clinic to run smoothly. The everyday costs associated with running a clinic have gone up considerably. There are many supplies and medications that we are unable to purchase. Items we can stock either ship sporadically or have doubled, even tripled in price!! We are doing our best to have products and foods in stock while keeping the prices reasonable. We ONLY raise prices when the cost to us has gone up significantly. The prices we pay are out of our control right now. The products that are unavailable are also out of our control. Anger or yelling is not helpful. Please know that we are doing our best. And again, if you feel the need to talk about pricing and supply issues, please call the clinic and ask to speak with the manager. She will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Finally, as of late we have had an influx of people wanting us to add a pet under their name that does not belong to them. Maybe an adult child or good friend wants to become a client and that seems like a way to get them in. Please, do not do this!! We have a ZERO tolerance policy for this. It is not fair to us or our other clients. It puts both the real owner of the pet and our clinic in a bad situation. Not only does it ask someone who is not the owner to make medical decisions, it also has significant legal implications. Moving pets from account to account is NOT a simple task and is NOT taken lightly. The bottom line is, doing this does not allow our clinic to do the best medicine for the pet. DO NOT DO THIS. If you do put another persons’ pet under your account to get them established as a client and we find out, we will ask both of you to find another veterinarian.
We know that as a clinic we are very fortunate to have some wonderful clients. We hope that you have taken the time to read this and now have a better understanding of what we go through on a day-to-day basis. We are doing our best to provide the best care possible to your pets while still being cheerful and courteous despite the everyday challenges we face. We appreciate all of our clients and love all of the pets that come in to see us, but please understand that we are only human, we can only schedule so much and we are doing our very best every day. The amount of swearing, hate and rudeness we face daily is unacceptable. If you need further proof of this, we suggest you visit Not One More Vet website. (nomv.org/about) Please be nice! If you find this unacceptable, you are free to find another veterinary clinic. Please call, records can be transferred to help establish care elsewhere.