For too many animals, leaving their home environment is a stressful.  Leaving their home to go see the vet can be their worst nightmare.  

The strange smells, the smells of their “enemies”, the sounds, the poking and prodding – it can be too much for even a seemingly mellow pet.  And if that animal isn’t feeling well already, one trip to the vet can make a lasting negative impression.

We want to change that.  Going to see the vet shouldn’t cause paralyzing anxiety and fear.  

Things you may notice in our clinic is the use of pheromones, comforting smells, that can help your pet relax.  

We have a Kitty Corner in our waiting area, where your cat’s carrier can be placed on a shelf on the wall if we aren’t able to get you into a room right away.  Being in high places, like a shelf, can help cats feel safer.  There is also a room divider to hide your kitty from seeing scary dogs.

There are a variety of different handling techniques that we may use to help your pet feel safer while they are visiting us.

We encourage you to make “happy” visits to the clinic, if you have a pet that is fearful.  You can bring your pet in for treats, and positive attention from us, if they tolerate it.  You can pop in to check their weight, and just to say “hi”. These happy visits to our clinic can be part of a plan to help decrease your pet’s anxiety about a vet visit.

Some animals may do better with a bit of anti-anxiety medicine before their appointments.  Other pets may need sedation while they are here at the clinic.  With our groomer here on staff, we can even do sedation grooming for those exceptionally fearful pets with who are still working on getting their high anxiety levels decreased.

Some of the things we do may require you, as the pet owner, to do things differently than you may have done them before.  Working as a team, veterinary staff and pet owner, we can make your pet’s life better, and lower their stress levels when visiting our clinic.  Which will also lower your stress level.