One of the most important things to do when bringing a pet into your home is to make sure you have found an established and reputable veterinary surgery that is experienced in diagnosing and treating your specific species of animal.
So, in an effort to help you do just that, here is a simple guide to choosing the right vet for you and your pet.
1. A Surgery with Overnight Care & Treatment Facilities
For non-emergencies and appointments for things such as nail trimming and an eyes, ears and nose check-up, it is highly unlikely you would ever need an out of hours appointment.
However, just as taking an umbrella with you on a day’s outing usually means it will not rain as you have come prepared, you should always check that any prospective veterinary surgery had an in-house out of hours facilities which can care for your animal overnight.
Hopefully, you will never need to use such a service, but it is important to have the option just in case.
2. A Surgery a Short Distance from Home
The second important thing to look for in a potential veterinary surgery is to ensure that the building is, approximately, no more than fifteen minutes away by car.
If you do not drive or have no access to a car, then you need to factor in the extra time it takes to order and wait for a taxi to arrive, so you need to find one even closer.
Just ten minutes can make a difference if your pet is in urgent need of medical attention, so the closer the surgery is to your home, the better.
3. Look Online & Speak to Friends & Family
As with a myriad of other services, another fantastically useful idea would be to speak to your friends who live locally and your neighbors who have pets themselves to see where they take their own animals.
In addition, utilize the internet and check out online reviews and recommendations of not only the surgery itself, but also the individual vets who work there.
Even though positive reviews are by no means a guarantee of quality service, they are certainly a strong indicator.
4. Research the Pricing System
With any pet, regardless of age, species or breed, you will naturally want to do all you can to ensure their health and happiness, and this is why it is strongly advisable to take out pet insurance.
Unfortunately, due to the intricate nature of veterinary treatments and the expense of tailor-made medicine for your individual animal, veterinary fees can be costly.
This is why you should also check out the pricing system of any surgery you are considering your beloved pet with and that you are fully aware of how your pet insurance works and make sure you use a reputable clinic, such as ortinganimalhospital.com.
In addition to the points discussed in detail above, other factors to take into consideration when choosing a veterinary surgery include the bedside manner of everyone from the reception staff to the veterinary surgeries themselves and any extra services you might need, such as puppy obedience training classes.
