Payment
You may choose to pay by cash or credit card (VISA, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover). We also accept payments through CareCredit and ScratchPay. You can apply for a CareCredit account at www.carecredit.com or by calling 1-800-365-8295. You can apply for a ScratchPay loan at www.scratchpay.com.
Estimated Charges
The veterinarian in charge of your pet’s care will perform an examination and recommend a treatment plan, which may include laboratory tests, x-rays, ultrasound, or other types of tests. A deposit in the amount of the estimate is due before a patient is hospitalized, and payment is due in full at the time of discharge. We make every effort to anticipate what will need to be done for your pet in the initial estimate of charges, but we are dealing with flesh and blood and many things can change. Whenever possible, you will receive an estimate of anticipated fees before treatment is started.
Your pet’s condition may improve or get worse, resulting in a change in the treatment plan. If your pet does not improve as rapidly as anticipated, it may result in his having to be hospitalized longer. Depending upon the results of the tests that were performed, medication may need to be added to the IV fluid bag, laboratory tests may need to be repeated to monitor your pet’s progress, or additional procedures may need to be performed. Before significant additional procedures are done, we will attempt to contact you by phone to obtain your approval, so it is important that we have a good phone number for you. Be aware that if your pet has been hospitalized, you may have additional charges that will have to be paid when your pet is picked up, or you may receive a refund. If at any time you are concerned about additional charges, please ask a clinic staff member.
Visitation
For the well-being of your pet and other pets that are hospitalized, we have a strict visitation policy:
- Visiting hours are between 10:00am and 10:00pm. Please call ahead before you come to visit; we reserve the right to refuse to allow you into the treatment/ICU/hospitalization area to visit your pet if the veterinarian is performing a procedure or if we have any pet in the treatment area that is aggressive or is in critical condition.
- You may visit your pet only if we feel that it will not upset your pet for you to do so. Often when an owner visits a pet, the pet becomes very excited, which may not be in the pet’s best interest. If your pet is on IV fluids and becomes anxious and too active in the cage after you leave, he may dislodge or “blow” the IV catheter, which means that a new one will have to be placed, at your expense.
- Your pet may be visited only twice between 10:00am and 10:00pm for a total of 5 minutes each time. However, if we feel that your pet’s condition is deteriorating and that he would benefit from another visit from you, we will call you to ask if you can come to visit.
- To visit your pet, you must be at least 12 years old. Only 2 family members are allowed into the treatment/ICU/hospitalization area at a time; if you bring 4 or 5 people to visit, you will have to divide your 5 minutes among the group.
- You may visit only if we are not busy in the treatment area taking care of another pet. If a critical emergency arrives while you are visiting, you will be asked to leave immediately so that we can attend to the emergency.
- For liability reasons, we cannot leave you alone while you are visiting your pet. This means that while you are visiting, a staff member must monitor you and your pet and will thus be unavailable to assist the veterinarian or to treat another hospitalized pet.
- Please respect the welfare of other pets by speaking quietly while you are visiting your own animal.
- Do not attempt to pet any animal but your own.
Telephone Progress Reports
We are happy to give progress reports over the phone. We usually do not initiate phone calls unless we need to obtain permission for additional treatment or to inform you that your pet’s condition is deteriorating.
Picking Up Hospitalized Pets
On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings, the Small Animal Emergency Clinic closes at 7:30am. We ask that your hospitalized pet be picked up between 6:30am and 7:00am on these days so that we can go over discharge instructions with you. Since we remain open all weekend after we open on Friday night, your pet may be picked up later than 7:30am on Saturday and Sunday; you will be charged hospitalization based on the number of hours that your pet is here.