Policies
Appointments
We encourage appointments. We will see walk-ins as time allows, after scheduled appointments. You can also arrange drop off appointments if necessary.
Emergencies
We will handle emergencies immediately if necessary (life-threatening). However, we must charge an additional charge for any emergency that disrupts the normal schedule and/or causes staff members work overtime.
Payment
You need to pay in full at time of service. Hart Road Animal Hospital (HRAH) accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, debit and cash. You may request estimates at any time, and may decline any services you are not able to afford. We will always recommend the best care for your pet, but we understand that it may not always be possible and will do our best to help you prioritize your pet’s needs.
Vaccinations
Sound medical practice requires a recent (within 2 weeks) exam before all vaccines. It is important to establish the health and well-being of your pet before giving vaccines. Giving a vaccine to a sick pet, or to a pet with certain medical conditions can be detrimental to their health. Also, during the exams, we determine the most appropriate vaccines for your pet. We carefully evaluate your pet’s risks and choose vaccines that are truly beneficial to your pet. We often split up our vaccines, giving some during the exam, and some at a later date (still within 2 weeks) to avoid overloading your pet’s immune system, and reduce adverse reactions. If we do this, we will not charge you an additional exam, and a technician will do the follow up vaccine.
Prescription Refills
HRAH does not give out prescriptions without an appropriate doctor/patient relationship. By Oregon law, all pets must have had an exam within at least one year to receive a refill. Some drugs carry higher incidents of adverse reactions, and require more frequent monitoring as well as blood testing. You will be informed if we place your pet on a long term medication requiring special testing or more frequent exams. If our Doctors prescribe a long term drug, refills are available. We advise you to call us 24 hours in advance of picking up any prescription refills. We will do our best to refill them as soon as possible, but on busy days it may be difficult to refill your medication on the same day you call it in. The longest prescription we will fill is a six month supply. For certain medications we may only be able to give you a 3 month supply. Keeping this in mind, if you would like a different quantity of medication than what you are currently getting, please let us know and we will try to accommodate your needs.
Online Pharmacies
Many clinics, both human and veterinary, are discouraging the use of online pharmacies due to communication mishaps, mistakes, and unethical Behavior. Some online pharmacies have been cited by the pharmacy boards for illegal practices in the past. Many products are not guaranteed by the manufacturer if they are purchased through online pharmacies due to counterfeit medications and unknown sources of their products. Because of this, we do not work directly with online pharmacies. The one exception to this is VetStoreRX/VetCentric (see “Drug Refills” on our “Home” page), as the company is able to directly purchase the product from the manufacturers on the behalf of our clinic’s requests. You may request a written prescription to have filled at the pharmacy of your choice, but you do so at your own risk, and without the ability to gain support from drug manufacturers for any problems you may encounter from using those products.
Refunds and Returns
We will not be able to give a refund for any returned prescription medications. We are not able to use these medications on other patients for safety reasons. You may wish to donate them to donation clinics for other pets. Food purchases, flea medications and a few other over the counter products that you purchase through our clinic ARE refundable through the manufacturer. Let us know if you have any problems with these products so we can facilitate your refund. These items are then sent directly back to the manufacturer or discarded and not restocked on the shelves.
Euthanasia
The attending veterinarian performs euthanasia at their discretion. Our veterinarians will not perform euthanasia on pets that are healthy or with conditions easily treated. Our Doctors must perform an exam to determine the appropriateness of euthanasia.
Cosmetic Procedures
We do not perform ear cropping or tail docking as these are cosmetic procedures only and do not benefit the health of the pet. Our Doctors strongly discourage declawing. We will only consider declawing in special circumstances. A consultation appointment is required before a declaw procedure will be deemed necessary.
Boarding
HRAH requires current vaccines and a fecal exam for boarding. Our Doctors advise to get the vaccines done two weeks or more in advance of your boarding appointment to provide maximum protection for your pet from any contagious diseases. If our technicians find fleas during the check in process, they will treat your pet and HRAH will charge your account for the treatment.
Day Care
If you drop off your pet at HRAH for medical care or procedures, HRAH will charge for day care or hospitalization fees. If our technicians find fleas during the check in process, they will treat your pet and HRAH will charge your account for the treatment. If you have any questions regarding these policies, please call us at any time during office hours.
Thankyou,
The Hart Road Animal Hospital Staff