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FAQs

What are your opening times?

  • Monday – Friday 09:00-18:00
  • Saturday 09:00-12:30
  • Sunday Closed

What do I do if my pet is sick when you are closed?

We partner with a nearby 24 hours veterinary hospital who can see you when your pet is ill out of hours.  Please only ring if you feel it is a genuine emergency that cannot wait until we are open in the morning.  Call 01480772950.

Do I need an appointment?

We work by appointment only.  We will always see emergencies as soon as possible but for routine visits please book in advance either through our booking page or by calling us 01480772950.  If you have an emergency please let us know you are coming in advance so that we can ensure that there will be someone available to see you.

Do you do home visits?

We do not routinely offer home visits.  Where possible we will try to accommodate such requests (especially for more sensitive matters, such as saying goodbye), but this is subject to our appointment bookings.  Home visits are more likely to be possible to fit in if they are booked in advance.  We would also insist upon strict Covid-19 protocols on any home visit, with everyone wearing masks, social distancing and the consult taking place outside where possible.

Does my pet need annual vaccinations?

Most likely yes!  Even animals who spend the majority of their lives indoors can be exposed to diseases through people and other animals bringing them in on fur/clothing.  We vaccinate dogs, cats and rabbits against common (and often deadly) diseases.  We also use the most up to date vaccines (including the L4 leptospirosis vaccine) to ensure that your pet has the best protection available.  There are some rare cases where we do not recommend annual vaccinations, but these are on a case by case basis.

Vaccination schedules:

Dog – initial/puppy course of 2 injections 4 weeks apart, then 1 annual booster injection for life protecting against distemper, parvovirus, hepatitis and leptospirosis.
Cat – initial/kitten course of 2 injections 3 weeks apart, then 1 annual booster injection for life protecting against cat flu, panleucopenia and feline leukaemia
Rabbit – Annual single injection protecting against myxomatosis and viral haemorrhagic disease (VHD) 1 and 2.

We also recommend an annual kennel cough vaccine for your dog if they regularly socialise with other dogs or if they ever go into kennels (indeed, many kennels insist upon this)

.All these vaccines are included in our Healthy Pet Club at a significant discount.  Book now or give us a ring!

Is my pet at risk of fleas or worms?

This very much depends on their lifestyle.  Most animals will get exposed to parasites at some point in their lives.  Indeed, many get exposed at birth from their mothers!

We offer clients a tailored anti-parasite regime that takes into account their signalment (age, gender etc), lifestyle and risk of parasites.

Please fill in one of our parasite questionnaires and e-mail it to us or drop it off and we can provide you with a recommended parasiticide regime for your animal.

How can I tell if my pet has fleas/worms?

Often you can’t!  Especially with worm infestations, they usually begin with very few or very mild signs.  Fleas and other external parasites (mites, lice, ticks) have more obvious signs (itching, seeing them etc) but even so they may not be seen until an infestation is well under way.

Unless your animal never leaves the house there is likely to be some form of ongoing parasite risk.  This risk would be much higher in animals who hunt or scavenge.

It is also worth bearing in mind that fleas especially spend most of their lives not actually on the pet but rather in the environment (eg, bedding, carpets, sofas etc), so if there is a flea problem then you will need to treat your house as well as all the animals in it.

Please either complete our parasite questionnaire or make an appointment to find out whether your pet is at risk or not.  We would need to have seen your animal within the past 6 months in order to dispense flea or worm treatment.  If you think there is an active infestation then please make an appointment to have your pet seen by a vet or nurse.

Do I need to get my pet microchipped?

In short, yes!  Microchipping has been compulsory in dogs since April 2016, and it is soon to be made compulsory in cats (legislation is currently working through parliament).  Legalities aside, it is highly recommended so as to reunite lost pets with their owners and is necessary for travel overseas.

A microchip is a small implant (grain of rice sized) which is injected under the skin.  When scanned, this chip gives a unique number which can be used on a variety of online databases to identify the animal and contact its owners.  It is essential that you update the microchip whenever your personal details change (moving house or change of phone number), otherwise your pet may not be able to be reunited with you

.This procedure can be carried out at any stage of life provided it is done by a suitably trained and qualified person, but it is a legal requirement for dogs to have it done by the age of 8 weeks.  If your dog is not microchipped then you may face a fine.

We offer microchipping routinely at our practice.  It is included in the price of our Healthy Pet Club, so please give us a ring or make an appointment to find out more

What is the cost of treating my pet?

This is very variable as it depends on what is wrong with your pet and what the advised treatment is.  If you are after an estimate for a specific procedure then please get in touch and we can provide this.  Please see our Prices page for some sample prices.  Note that from time to time we have offers or discounts available, especially to our HPC members!  Monitor our Facebook Page to catch any deals as they come out.  Unfortunately we are unable to offer payment plans for any treatment at present.

Do I need pet insurance?

We strongly recommend pet insurance.  As with most insurance types, you hope you never need to use it but in the case of pet insurance it can literally be a life saver!  There are many insurance companies out there and they all offer slightly different deals.  Some things to watch out for when choosing a policy:

  • Ensure you are covered for life rather than just for a year per condition – there are many conditions that last for the life of an animal
  • If you have pre-existing conditions (even minor ones), this may lead to exclusions on your policy if you change provider or allow your policy to lapse – be careful when searching for better deals as you may end up not being covered for what you need!
  • Ensure your limit per condition is suitable. There are several problems animals can get where the treatment can reach 4 figures (eg road traffic accidents), so ensure that you have a suitable level of cover.  We recommend £3000 as a minimum annual limit per condition
  • Ensure you are comfortable with the excess. This is the amount of money that you have to pay for any condition.  Usually it is around £80-120, paid once by yourself at the start of a condition/treatment plan, with the rest of the cost paid for by the insurance policy.

Please note that our Healthy Pets Club is NOT an insurance policy.  Rather it is a way of spreading the cost of preventative treatment and saving some money.

My pet is insured, do I need to pay for his treatment?

We ask for payment at the time of treatment.  So yes, you do need to pay for treatment and then have the money reimbursed to you by your insurance company.  For clients who are not registered with us (eg come down in an emergency) then we do ask for 50% of the estimated treatment cost up front.

For procedures in excess of £600 we can do direct claims for registered clients.  This is where you only have to pay your excess at the time of treatment and the insurance company pays us the rest directly.  Most insurance companies offer this.  We will only accept requests for direct claims in advance and from registered clients.  For more information please get in touch

What is the Healthy Pet Club?

The Healthy Pet Club (HPC) is a monthly direct debit that saves you money on preventative health care (vaccinations, flea treatment etc) and spreads the cost.  It also gets you access to exclusive deals and discounts and some services for free!  For more information and pricing, please visit our HPC page.

How often does my pet need to be seen for repeat medications to be dispensed

We are obliged to only prescribe/dispense prescription medications to animals deemed to be ‘under our care’.  The general consensus within the profession is that a minimum time scale of having the animal into the practice for an examination with a vet every 6 months suffices for this.  There are exceptions to this (for example, newly diagnosed or unstable animals will need to be seen more frequently), but as a minimum every 6 months is our policy.

Can I get my pets’ medication delivered to home?

**COMING SOON**  Offered exclusively to our Healthy Pet Club members, we can deliver you flea/worming treatment every 3 months.  With our online ordering this means you barely have to lift a finger!  Please see our HPC page for more info and for pricing.  Unfortunately we cannot have medications other than flea or worming treatment delivered.