What YOU can do:
- Deliver your pet to the veterinary clinic calm and relaxed.
- Avoid conveying your own concerns by not talking or keeping your tone conversational, not “soothing". If you’re concerned, then they must need to be too, right?
- Desensitize your cat to its carrier (see video) and use a carrier cover.
- Don’t carry the cat carrier by the handle. This jostles your kitty! Hold it in front like a precious package.
- Use pheromones (soothing fragrances) or nutraceuticals (natural anti-anxiety medications) prior to the car ride.
- Bring a favorite toy, bed or treat.
- Limit food the day of the visit to make treats more desirable and distracting.
Once you arrive:
- Watch for signs of anxiety or fear. There are posters in each exam room to help you identify subtle signs.
- If your pet shows any signs of fear or attention-seeking behavior, the best thing to do is to remove your attention.
- Do not pet, talk to, or look at an anxious pet. This actually feeds the fear! If you can sit quietly reading a book or catching up on your Candy Crush game, your dog or cat will sense this is a place they can relax. Before you know it, they will be exploring the room and maybe even greeting the doctor!
- Allow your pet to approach the veterinary team at their own pace. The doctor will let you know if they need you to assist with the introductions.
What WE can do:
- Carefully assess your pet’s level of fear, anxiety or stress.
- Use lots of delectable treats.
- Determine and use your pet’s preferred handling method and note it in medical record.
- Allow time for our patient to relax and choose to greet us/allow treatment.
- Use pheromones for calming.
- Eliminate exposure to other patients in waiting area.
- Cat-only exam rooms and treatment areas for our feline patients.
- Use sedatives/pain management if needed to avoid further fear or anxiety.
- Never force a procedure unless medically necessary.
- Choose treatment options which allow the least pain and handling. (Ask us about our needles!)
- Plan for pre-visit anti-anxiety medications for future visits if needed.
- Encourage “Happy Visits.”
Excellent people
Dr Shari is the best! Sensitive, kind, and so caring to our dog ..and I have seen her in action with other pets and she treats them all wonderfully. We love her and our dog does too!
Excellent care
Beautiful place and everyone is very nice there and they really care for your pets and give them excellent care
Great timely service
Great at getting you in when you need apt. Has taken great care of my dog from puppy hood till now. If you have questions they not only answer but are also sure you understand answer!
Love this clinic!
I love this vet clinic they have made my kitten Izzy feel so loved and welcome every time she has came in. You can always tell the staff loves animals and loves doing their job! They always do such a great job handling my kitten and always so careful and gentle handed while giving shots they truly are amazing! I am so happy I found this place for my animals!
This place is great!
I highly recommend taking your pets here! Dr.Jones was great, my dog had a cough and was retching and I was very concerned and she took the time to update me while they were doing X-rays. She also was very sweet and gentle while handling my pet which helped with his anxiety. The clinic also called to follow up the next day and ask how my dog was doing which I was impressed by. This clinic has a great team and truly cares about the welfare of the furry clients!
Wonderful place!
We have always had nothing but fantastic experiences with ZCVC, but this last time was exceptional. We had 2 sick dogs and they were able to work us in to their already busy schedule because Dr. Shari stayed after on a Friday to see us. On top of that, they also helped us out financially too! They are just simply amazing!
