Choosing the right Veterinary Surgery

With new Veterinary surgeries constantly opening up, choosing the right Veterinary Surgery is hard. People have a variety of reasons for choosing their surgery, distance, recommendations or perhaps cost, but it is important to do some homework before deciding the best option for your pet.

Personal recommendation
Recommendations are a really useful way of finding a Vet. Ask friends or family where they are registered and more importantly ask if they are happy there, before following their recommendations it is also important they are suitable for your animal. Perhaps you have a pet Gecko, ensure the recommended vet is confident and has experience with treating reptiles.

Distance
Generally people choose a local vet, not only does it make it convenient for routine appointments it may also be crucial in an emergency situation. Think also about location, does the practice have onsite parking or free parking nearby?
Services
Does the practice offer in an in house emergency out of hours service? If not, where is this provided? Is it easily accessible? Does your chosen practice provide routine weekend appointments or is it an additional fee?
Do they offer other services that you may need? Such as puppy classes or Nurse appointments?

Price
Price varies at every Veterinary Surgery and many things contribute to the pricing, such as location, staff overheads, facilities available, drug supplier, and staff qualifications. When deciding on your surgery, the practice should be able to give you estimates on routine procedures and we advise this is something you look in to. Do they offer a care plan package for routine pet requirements? These packages can often help spread costs (not to be confused with pet insurance).

Friendliness
It is important that both you and your pet feel comfortable and happy with where you choose. What is there manner like when you first visit? Do they seem genuinely interested?
It is normal for Vets to need to gently restrain or use a muzzle for pets at times but there is never an excuse for rough handling.
Did they take time to explain everything properly or did you feel rushed?

Choosing the right Veterinary Surgery is a big decision and one that should be thought about. Hopefully you will find a Vet your pet will stay with for their whole life and it will make a potentially scary situation feel so much more comfortable for them.

See our list of preferred Veterinary Surgeries in the area here