Unfortunately, like other medical practices, we also have the occasional late arrival or no-show appointment. We do try and manage these from impacting on those who have arrived on time for their appointment; it has a negative impact on the medical team. Often there are cases being treated in hospital and the staff attempts to schedule their day to ensure that they can meet the needs of those patients and scheduled appointments. Arriving late or not showing at all impacts on their ability to manage treatments for these pets. Thus, we do have a few rules and guidelines that the staff work with in terms of late arrivals, cancellations and no-shows.
Late Arrivals
Please be aware that our hospital has a policy wherein if you are more than 10 minutes late for your scheduled appointment time, we will be adjusting our schedule and moving you to the walk in/urgent care service or to reschedule when you arrive. While we certainly understand that delays may happen, we feel we have an obligation and responsibility to do our very best to service clients and patients who are here for their appointments on time. We strongly encourage all our clients to arrive at least 10 minutes early for scheduled appointments if possible, as we do have administrative paperwork that will need to be completed, especially if you are a new client or have a new pet.
No Shows
When you schedule an appointment, and fail to show or call and notify us of your inability to keep this appointment time, it impacts our ability to service clients who may be here already waiting to see a doctor. If you fail to show or call and notify us about difficulty in keeping your appointment time in more than three (3) occasions, you will be prohibited from scheduling an appointment with our medical staff. We will still see your pet, but it will be as a walk in/urgent care arrival only following three subsequent no-shows for appointments. We recognize that your pet may need medical attention and we do not wish to turn your pet away, but you will be subject to any wait times and fees associated with the walk in/urgent care service.
Cancellations
If you must cancel an appointment, we ask for 24 hours notice without being financially responsible for the time. If the appointment is scheduled for Saturday or Monday, cancellation must be done the previous Friday, during business hours. For dental or surgical appointments there is a $100 deposit for all surgeries scheduled. If you cancel a surgery within 72 hours of the appointment, the deposit is non-refundable. Should you reschedule the surgery, the deposit will be applied to the new surgery date (only one reschedule allowed)
- If the appointment is on Tuesday, the cancellation must be done the previous Friday, during business hours.
- The following fees will be applied to your account for not calling as required. This also applies to all services included in your Wellness Plan, even if they are covered 100%.
Missed Office Visits – No shows & Late Cancellation Fees
Missed Appointments – a $55 fee will be applied to your account for canceling your appointment with less than 48 hours’ notice.
Missed Dental or Surgical procedure: – a $100 fee will be applied to your account for canceling an appointment with less than 48 hours’ notice.
Missed Grooming: – 50% of the cost of the scheduled service will be applied to your account for canceling an appointment with less than a 24 hours’ notice
Please Note:
- A missed appointment fee will need to be paid prior to receiving any new services, prescriptions, or food.
- Missing three (3) consecutive appointments or frequent cancellations/schedule changes will result in the prepayment of your appointment.
We thank you in advance for abiding by these policies and helping us keep our clients, staff, and patients on schedule and safe!
Please understand that we have created this policy out of respect for those clients who are waiting to have their pets be seen.
Thank you!