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Update: Annual Visits Are Back!

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Staff Examine Cat at Blue Cross Animal Hospital 0730

May 20

Update: Annual Visits Are Back!

COVID-19 Procedures Update May 20th: Annual Visits Resume

As spring is upon us, many of our clients have been wondering about their pet’s annual physical exam and necessary vaccines. You may be used to seeing a reminder arriving in your inbox, and wondering about the delayed visit.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, veterinarians have remained an essential service. Until now we have been restricted to providing care only for sick and injured animals. All preventive care visits were postponed by order of the Ontario government. Thankfully that order has been lifted and we can resume our full slate of services, including Annual Visits. However, there are still a number of constraints on how we can function, and we have a large backlog of annual visits to accommodate.

As of May 20th

  • To continue to keep our teams and our clients safe we are going to continue to have pets-only appointments. You will call when you arrive for your appointment and your pet will be brought into the building by one of our team. Your veterinarian will discuss the examination, needed vaccines and bloodwork with you over the phone.

  • Given that we need to continue with social distancing measures for our team within the building, we will be booking a limited number of Wellness Visits a day.

     

    Please be understanding if we can’t accommodate you the day you call to book.

  • We recommend that all dogs that are coming in for their annual exam have their 4DX test for tick-borne diseases done at the time of the exam. For any pets who aren’t due for an annual visit, we will be resuming regular 4DX testing in the coming weeks.

  • To improve our service,

     

    starting Saturday, May 30th, we are adding Saturdays back into the schedule. Our hours will be 10-6 Monday to Friday and 9-5 on Saturdays.

We greatly hope going forward we will be able to start letting our clients accompany their pets into the building. This will depend on our ability to set up appropriate protections and social distancing within the hospital–not an easy thing to do when the client and the vet are standing across the exam table from each other. Safety for all is still our main concern. We will keep you informed as things change.

Pets-Only Appointments

When you arrive for your pet’s appointment, stand behind our sidewalk sign and call the front desk extension number posted on our window to alert our staff that you have arrived.

If you have a cat in a carrier, our staff will instruct you to place your cat in front of the door, within the taped rectangle on the ground. If you have a dog, our staff will instruct you to attach them to the leash hooked to our front door.

Once your pet is safely secured, please step back behind the sidewalk sign. At that point, a staff member will retrieve your pet for their appointment.

Please note that you may receive a call from a blocked number due to limited phone lines.

Once your pet’s appointment has finished, we will notify you to wait in front of the clinic, behind the sidewalk sign. You will wait until our staff is safely inside the clinic until you move forward to receive your pet.

Placing Medication and Food Orders

Please continue to place your medication and food orders by leaving a message with your name, your pet’s name, the medication or food you need, and a phone number you can be reached at on our medication and food order line.

We ask that you allow at least 3-5 business days for all orders to be prepared. Please, do not leave your orders to the last minute or until your pet has one dose of their medication left. 

Note that many food products are currently on backorder, due to the large number of orders our supplier is receiving. If your pets’ food is on backorder, one of our vets would be happy to recommend an alternative food.

Many of our clients are also signing up for our Webstore to receive home deliveries. This is a great option as you are able to maintain social distancing. Keep in mind your orders may take longer to arrive as demand is high and shipping is taking longer than usual, and make sure to place your order ahead of when you need it.

Shop the Webstore

All dogs should now be starting flea and/or tick preventives. Please feel free to leave a message on our prescription request line if you need to request more medication.

Picking up Medication or Food Orders

We are currently scheduling appointments for ALL pickups to avoid traffic outside the clinic.

If you have been notified that your order is ready, please call ahead to schedule a pickup appointment with reception. When you arrive, stand behind our sidewalk sign to maintain a safe distance from the front door. Call the front desk extension posted on the window to alert our staff that you have arrived. A team member will place your order outside our door. Once the team member is safely inside the clinic, you may retrieve your order. Please do NOT rush towards the door while a team member is outside.

Methods of Payment

For the safety of both you and our staff, we are currently taking contactless payments over the phone, in the form of a credit card number, or online payments using e-transfers.