Office Hours
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 8am – 6pm
Wednesday and Sunday: CLOSED
Saturday: 9am – 2pm- check Facebook for closures or call
Appointments
We recommend that all routine or non-emergency visits have an appointment, so that we may respect the valuable time of all of our clients. We will of course see urgent matters or emergencies as needed. If you cannot make your appointment, please notify us immediately. We reserve the right to charge for appointments cancelled or broken without 48 hours notice.
Fit-ins/ add-on appointments
We are a one doctor practice that is looking to expand, and we are currently booking out, about 7-10 days. We do save slots for sick appointments, but this is often filled quickly. Depending on our schedule/caseload, staffing, and doctors schedule, we will try and fit sick patients into our day to prevent animals from suffering, prevent our clients from having to go to emergency hospitals which often means long wait times (up to 2 hours) and much higher expenses. Since these appointments are more urgent and are essentially cutting the wait of the scheduled appointments, there is a higher examination fee of $70, and since the rooms are booked, the examination is performed in the treatment area with the doctor and pet/patient only, then the doctor discussing the findings and recommended treatment plan with the owner. This is between our regularly scheduled appointments and wait times can vary depending on the needs of the scheduled appointments. We do our best to be timely and the goal here is to help the pets that have nowhere reasonable to go when sick. We do ask for a 48 hour cancellation notice.
Reminders
As a courtesy, we strive to give reminder phone calls the day before your appointment and emails both 1 and 2 days before your pets appointment. Occasionally time may not allow for us to make reminder calls. It is your responsibility to come at your scheduled appointment time, or to call and cancel if you cannot make it. Please keep us informed of any changes to your contact information.
MISSED/ CANCELLED APPOINTMENTS
We kindly request that you provide at least 48 business hours cancellation notice, so we can offer the time slot initially reserved for your pet to another family who needs it. We do not overbook our schedule to accommodate no-shows. Overbooking means long wait times and unhappy families. Please don’t miss your appointment!
Patients who miss an appointment or cancel without notice will be required to leave a deposit for the next visit which covers the examination fee.
Our practice firmly believes that a successful doctor-pet family relationship is based upon understanding, good communication, and mutual respect.
Late Arrivals
If you’re running late for an appointment due to unforeseen circumstances, we ask that you please call our office to let us know that you’re on your way, so that the doctors can continue to see patients in a timely manner. Please be aware, notifying us of late arrival does not guarantee you will be seen close to your scheduled appointment time, and may result in a longer wait. Arrival 15 minutes or more after your appointment time will result in an automatic cancellation, and the No-Show policy will apply.
Emergency Care
We recognize that emergency situations do arise, and we will do everything in our power to accommodate your needs. At times, we may refer you to an area emergency hospital. Our answering machine and our website contain the phone number and addresses of the nearest emergency veterinary hospital. Currently, we recommend Michigan State University 517-353-5420. While their prices are higher, their standard of care is top notch.
Fees and Payments
Payment is due at the time of service. We can provide you with an estimated cost of services during your visit. We cannot give an estimate over the phone for non-routine procedures without seeing the pet. This includes dental procedures. We offer financing for advanced or routine procedures through Scratch pay and Care Credit. We do not do in-house payment plans outside of this and we do not take checks.
Insurance/Previous Records
If you have pet insurance, please bring any paperwork that may need to be filled out by our staff to your appointment. Also, please bring any previous records or provide us with the previous veterinarian’s information so that we can keep your pet’s record accurate.
Prescription Refills
Please allow 24-48 hours for any medication refills through our hospital. Due to multiple issues with counterfeit medications and pharmacy errors with medications purchased through online pet or human pharmacies (such as Chewy.com, 1-800-petmeds, etc), we will no longer approve these requests via phone or fax for the safety of our patients. We will provide you with a written prescription for needed medications at your request — there is a $4 written prescription charge.
Update address/ phone number/ pets information
Please remember to update your family’s information with a current address and one or more contact phone numbers each time you are in our office so that we can reach you with scheduling issues and test results (labs, radiology, etc.)
Medical records
We will email records at your request at no charge but do have a medical release form we ask you to fill out.
Facebook/ Social Media
Our social media pages are meant to be informative, keep a light tone, and to entertain. We try to provide reliable online resources about conditions of dogs and cats, development and behavior, immunizations, nutrition and pet ownership in general. We strive to stay up to date with the most current evidence-based medical research, and to communicate timely specific facts about our practice, such as information about illnesses most seen and community outbreaks. We do appreciate all your “likes” and thrive on them, since it is often the only feedback we receive. Our social media is not monitored daily. We do not answer specific medical questions, nor offer treatment recommendations on our social media pages. We kindly invite you to call our office for such matters, or to speak with your pet’s doctor. Everyone is welcome to leave comments and to make suggestions about content. All comments are public and can be viewed by all users of the site. Though differences of opinion may eventually arise, we ask that you avoid confrontation with us or other families on social media. We reserve the right to sever our relationship in the instance of negative actions on our social media pages, at that time we will forward any records of your pets to a clinic of your choice.
REMEMBER! Do not use Willoughby Veterinary Hospital’s social media pages to send us messages about medical concerns, administrative, or billing matters. If you need us, please CALL US or e-mail the staff.willoughbyvet@gmail.com
Waiting time
We make every effort to keep your wait time to less than 15 minutes. However, on busy days or if we encounter unexpected emergencies, it may be longer. Please try and be respectful to the client undergoing the emergency. These are very hard times for them and even though everyone hates to be inconvenienced by a wait, please think what you would expect us to do if that was your pet in that situation.
Please keep all dogs on a short leash while in the waiting room. For infection control and safety purposes, we do not recommend that you allow your dog to be in direct contact with other waiting patients or their families. If your dog is coughing, or your puppy has vomiting and diarrhea, please inform the front desk and you may be asked to wait in an alternative area.
Immunizations
Every year, vaccines save millions of lives. Vaccinating your pets may be the single most important health-promoting and life-saving intervention that you can perform as a pet owner. Unless medically contraindicated, we advocate vaccinating all pets according to the schedule published by the American Animal Hospital Association. Please note that due to safety and efficacy issues, vaccinations not administered by a veterinarian may not be recognized as valid by boarding or grooming facilities, or other veterinary hospitals. By law in Michigan, pets MUST be up to date on their Rabies vaccination. This vaccine may only be given by a licensed veterinarian.
Mutual Respect
Our office is our work home and you are our welcome guest. We expect all of our guests to treat our staff and work home with full respect, as any guest in any home. We will not tolerate abuse in any way, physical or verbal. In return we expect our guests to be treated not only with respect, but with kindness in all interactions.
If you are unhappy with any aspect of the service or care provided by Willoughby Veterinary Hospital, we want to know about it. You may express your concern to your pet’s doctor or the office manager. Unless we are aware of a problem, we are unable to correct it.
PATIENT/ VETERINARIAN PARTNERSHIP IN THE PET’S HEALTH
You are an integral partner in your pet’s health care, and we encourage you to take an active role, and to discuss any concerns with your pet’s doctor. If you find you cannot comply with a treatment plan, please discuss that with your pet’s doctor. Also, to legally dispense any medication or prescription foods, we must see your pet annually (yearly) to perform a physical examination to keep the veterinary client/ patient relationship. This also applies to any testing.
Aggressive Animals
We will do our best to safely and professionally handle pets that are aggressive. You may be asked to place a muzzle on aggressive dogs or give sedative medications prior to your visit for the safety of you, the patients, and our staff. If you do not comply with these safety measures, you may be asked to seek care for your pet elsewhere.
Clinic Updates
Please visit our Facebook page: Willoughby Veterinary Hospital to see any updates or changes to the clinic and or schedule
We look forward to getting to know you and your pet(s)! If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know!
