Visitation Policy

Some clients like to visit their pets during hospital stays – we understand completely!  We’re happy to arrange for you to see your pet during treatment, but we ask that you follow just a few guidelines:

Visitors:  Only persons authorized by the patient owner are able to visit with hospitalized patients.

Visiting Hours:  During shift changes, our doctors hold “Rounds”, an opportunity to update the oncoming staff of your pet’s condition and to discuss the best course of treatment.  This takes some time, and we strongly feel that your pet deserves our undivided attention.  Please avoid visiting during the hours of 7-9am, 3-5pm, and 9-11pm.

Visiting in Rooms:  If your pet is stable and able to move about with minimal pain, we’ll use an exam room for your visit.  If we are very busy, there may be a bit of a wait until we can free up the space and personnel to facilitate your visit.  (Please keep in mind, the lobby is not the best indicator of how busy we are; surgical procedures and critically ill patients may be keeping us scurrying in the back).  We ask that you limit your visit to no more that 15-20 minutes so that your pet’s treatments, fluids, and/or nursing care are not interrupted.

Visiting in ICU:  Some pets are too ill or too painful to move, and we’ll need to make arrangements for you to visit within the ICU.  ICU visits must be limited to no more than 5 minutes; we need to be able to focus on patient care, and having non-staff present affects our ability to work at our best.

Isolation:  If your pet requires isolation, we’ll ask that you use the viewing window only.  Each time someone enters the isolation room, it potentially puts other patients at risk.

It’s always a good idea to call ahead; if we’re terribly busy, we can let you know that there may be a significant wait and you can plan accordingly.

We realize that seeing your pet disappear through a door into the unknown is stressful, and we want to minimize that stress while working as efficiently, professionally, and compassionately as possible.  If you’d like to see where your pet will be staying, please ask for a tour – as soon as someone is available, we’ll be happy to show you around.