Hospital Policies

Appointment Policies

We operate by appointment so that we can give each pet and client the time and care they deserve. Emergencies will always be accommodated and may cause a delay in service for you and your pet. We will try to call you if this situation has occurred and given you the option of rescheduling your appointment or if you are already here, we’ll give you the option to reschedule at that time. We understand your time is valuable, and hope that you will understand if your pet is in the same situation, we would give your pet priority service as well!

Cancellation Policy

The doctors and staff Bradford Veterinary Clinic work very hard to give exemplary service to our clients and pets. One way that we can provide this service is to have appointments available when our clients and patients need them. Forgetting to come to an appointment happens on occasion but missed appointments mean other clients and patients in need must wait to be seen.

While we are sure the last thing clients who miss appointments want to do is create a barrier to the care of someone else’s pet, that is, in effect, what happens when we do not have the option of scheduling into a time slot occupied by missed appointments. This is even more concerning when on rare occasions, a client misses a surgery time for which several hours have been reserved.

For this reason, Bradford Veterinary Clinic maintains a cancellation policy:

All appointments must be canceled at least 24 in advance, or by Saturday for Monday appointments.
Failure to cancel at least 24 hours in advance may result in a missed appointment/late cancel fee.
If you have three missed appointments you will be billed for the full exam fee and any future appointments will require pre-payment.
Missed spays, neuters, and routine oral surgeries will result in a non-refundable $50 cancellation fee
All other surgeries and extensive oral surgery will be billed according to the amount of time reserved ($100-$600)

Drop Off Appointments

We understand that you are busy and may not be able to schedule a routine appointment with your pet. You may drop off your pet for us to evaluate and leave us a phone number to get in touch and make treatment decisions.

Leash/Carrier Policy
We request that animals be placed on a leash or in a pet carrier BEFORE entering the hospital. Even though we make every effort to make our patients feel comfortable during visits, they may be a little uneasy about new people, new surroundings, and other pets. This can make them behave differently here rather than at home. Also, not every animal that comes into our office has good manners so your pet is safer when you can keep them away from less friendly animals they may encounter.

Payment Policy
We require full payment at the time that services are rendered. For your convenience, we accept Visa, MasterCard, CareCredit, cash, and personal checks.

Rabies Policy
State law dictates that all dogs and cats must be up to date on their rabies vaccines. This is to protect all people they may encounter. Even if we’ve never seen your pet and are only doing a nail trim, they must have proof of rabies vaccination for us to handle your pet.

Grooming Policy

We understand that you cannot always groom your pet at home. In order to provide the best veterinary care and protect both your pet and our hospitalized pets, we have very strict grooming policies.

Vaccines:
Your pet must be up to date on all required vaccines as seen below. These will not only protect your pet but will prevent the spread of disease both to and from your pet while your pet is staying with us. If your pet is starting these vaccines for the first time, they must have the first vaccine onboard a minimum of 3 weeks prior to grooming.

Rabies:
All ferrets, dogs, and cats must have a valid rabies vaccine as required by law. If your vaccine was performed elsewhere, we require a rabies certificate or medical records from your prior veterinarian. A rabies tag is not considered legal proof of rabies, so we need to have the paper verification to back this up. Rabies is given once, then a year later, then every 3 years.

Distemper:
All ferrets, dogs, and cats must have a current distemper vaccine. Distemper is a cocktail of vaccines that protect your pets. In dogs and ferrets, the vaccine protects against hepatitis or adenovirus, parvovirus, parainfluenza virus, and sometimes leptospirosis. In cats, the vaccine protects against panleukopenia, feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, and coronavirus. All of these diseases can be potentially fatal and are highly contagious, especially in a kennel situation. Distemper is given as a series of vaccines, depending on age, two or three times 3-4 weeks apart then a year later, then every 3 years.

Canine Influenza Virus:
A new and emerging potentially fatal respiratory disease of kenneled animals. This disease is highly contagious. This vaccine does not always prevent the disease but makes the symptoms milder if the disease is acquired. CIV is given as a series of 2 vaccines 2-4 weeks apart then yearly. This vaccine is protective 1 week after the 2nd vaccine.

Bordetella:
Also known as “kennel cough,” it causes a very chronic and difficult to control cough. This disease is highly contagious. Bordetella is given yearly.

Flea Test:
A flea comb will be used on your pet to determine the presence of fleas or flea dirt (flea excrement). If these are seen, a dose of oral flea medication will be given to your pet to control the spread of fleas to the other pets in the hospital. We are very aware of how sneaky these parasites can be!

Boarding Drop Off Policy

For the ease of our clients and staff, we have scheduled drop off windows. When you are dropping off during business hours our staff cannot give you the attention you need while saying “bye” to your pet(s) and allowing them to settle in. There is a $25.00 fee for dropping off outside of the designated time, this is to ensure you have the proper attention you and your pet need.

Designated drop off times are as follows:

Monday: 7:00am to 9:00am or 5:00pm to 6:00pm.
Tuesday: 8:00am to 9:00am or 5:00pm to 6:00pm.
Wednesday: 7:00am to 9:00am or 5:00pm to 6:00pm.
Thursday: 7:00am to 9:00am or 5:00pm to 6:00pm.
Friday: 7:00am to 9:00am or 5:00pm to 6:00pm.

Distemper:
All ferrets, dogs, and cats must have a current distemper vaccine. Distemper is a cocktail of vaccines that protect your pets. In dogs and ferrets, the vaccine protects against hepatitis or adenovirus, parvovirus, parainfluenza virus and sometimes leptospirosis. In cats, the vaccine protects against panleukopenia, feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, and coronavirus. All of these diseases can be potentially fatal and are highly contagious, especially in a kennel situation. Distemper is given as a series of vaccines, depending on age, two or three times 3-4 weeks apart then a year later, then every 3 years.

Bordetella:
Also known as “kennel cough,” it causes a very chronic and difficult to control cough. This disease is highly contagious. Bordetella is given yearly.

Routine Tests:
Your pet may be carrying parasites or other contagious diseases that could be transmitted to other pets or people. Because of these risks, the following are required.

Fecal Exam:
A negative fecal exam within the last 6 months. All pets may pick up parasites at any point in their lives, especially through fecal to oral contamination. To minimize the risk to other pets, we will perform this test if not done within the last 6 months and treat it if necessary.

Heartworm Test:
A negative heartworm test within the last 12 months. Heartworm is carried by mosquitoes, and both dogs and cats can be carriers of the heartworm parasite.

Feline Leukemia/Feline Immunodeficiency Virus/Heartworm Test:
A negative FeLV/FIV test within the last 12 months. Leukemia especially is easily transmitted by inanimate objects. Heartworm is carried by mosquitoes.

Flea Test:
A flea comb will be used on your pet to determine the presence of fleas or flea dirt (flea excrement). If these are seen, a dose of oral and topical flea medication will be given to your pet to control the spread of fleas to the other pets in the hospital. We are very aware of how sneaky these parasites can be!

New Client Policy

Please note that the proper new client paperwork can be found on the website. Please complete and return the paperwork before scheduling your appointment with us. If you find that you will not be able to make your scheduled appointment a 24-hour notice will be needed or you will be considered a no-show and a fee will be applied.

Thank you!