Fear Free Certified Practice
We understand that there can be a lot of anxiety surrounding taking your furry family member to the vet. Cat owners, especially, dread the whole horrible ordeal. In fact, the #1 reason cat owners list for not bringing cats in for their annual checkups is that they don’t want to stress them. Many dogs also don’t look forward to vaccines and blood draws—who does? The difference is that humans understand the purpose of tests, while animals do not. We want every experience at our facility to be as smooth and stress free as possible. To that end, our staff has undergone additional training in fear free handling through becoming Fear Free Professionals and our hospital has become one of the only Fear Free Certified Practices in Massachusetts. If your pet becomes stressed during an appointment, we will stop and reassess the situation prior to proceeding.
Our hospital is designed to reduce stress in cat and dog patients.
All patients skip the waiting area and go straight to their exam room
Cats and dogs have separate exam rooms on opposite sides of the hospital
Appointments are scheduled for a minimum of 30 minutes
Pheromone diffusers and sprays are used in the treatment area and exam rooms
Feliway for cats
Adaptil for dogs
There are multiple ways to move through the hospital to avoid patient interactions (we don’t let cats see dogs or dogs see other dogs).
Cat exam rooms have windows, cat trees, and cat toys
Dog rooms have toys, water bowls, and non-skid mats
Snacks! We have peanut butter, EZYcheese, pupperonis, cheese sticks, whipped cream, misc snacks, and canned chicken to help distract hungry patients
