Progressive Animal Wellness Practice Policies

Client Rights and Responsibilities

Click here to read PAW Client Rights and Responsibilities.

Rabies Vaccine Policy

Connecticut state law requires that dogs and cats be vaccinated against rabies, and that the vaccine stay current for the duration of the pet's life. To comply with state law, and for the safety of our staff, your pet, and other patients within the hospital, we require your pet to be up-to-date or be brought up-to-date on their rabies vaccination while visiting our hospital. Therefore, permitting that your pet is healthy, if proof of vaccination is not available or is out of date, a rabies vaccine must be administered prior to proceeding with their visit.

Leash and Carrier Policy

Your pet must be on a leash or in a carrier when in the reception area. If you do not have a leash or a carrier one will be provided to you during your visit.

We request that animals be placed on a leash or in a pet carrier BEFORE entering the hospital. Even though we make every effort to make our patients feel comfortable during visits, they may be a little uneasy about new people, new surroundings and other pets. This can make them behave differently here than they behave at home. Not every animal that comes into our office enjoys close proximity to other animals so your pet is safer when you can maintain a safe distance from other pets.

Appointment Policy

We operate primarily by appointment so that we can give each pet and client the time and care they deserve. Emergencies are accommodated to the best of our ability and may cause a delay in service for you and your pet. We will try to call you if this situation has occurred and give you the option of rescheduling your appointment or if you are already here, we’ll give you the option to reschedule at that time. We understand your time is valuable, and hope that you will understand that were your pet in the same situation, we would give your pet priority service as well!

Demand for veterinary appointments is high. It is disrespectful to clients and patients in need of appointments for timeslots to be wasted. Missing appointments without proper notice leaves PAW with an opening in the schedule that could otherwise have been filled by another patient in need. Our goal is to provide quality care in a timely manner. To that end, we will be implementing the following policies:

Late Policy:

If a client is more than 10 minutes late to their appointment, the appointment may need to be rescheduled. Clients arriving late may be asked to wait to be seen until the veterinarian(s) have an opening in their schedule. Clients will then be charged a $20 late fee.

New Client Deposit:

In order to help ensure the most effective use of limited time slots, PAW requires a deposit to hold an appointment time for new clients. Once we have established a relationship with you and your pet, we will not require a deposit for future visits unless the missed appointment policy is triggered.

Missed Appointment Policy:

An appointment is considered missed or a “no show” if the clinic is not notified of your need to reschedule or cancel with 24 hours notice. We understand that personal situations can arise unexpectedly and you may reschedule your appointment without penalty provided we receive 24 hours notice.
After the second missed appointment, a deposit will be required to schedule a third appointment. In the event the appointment is missed again, the deposit will be retained. Deposits will be required for all scheduled visits until it has been over a year since your last missed appointment. Accounts will be reviewed for status change each January.

The scheduling deposit amount will match the normal exam fee for that appointment type

Procedures Deposit Policy

The following policies have been designed to maintain an efficient surgery schedule and to ensure the fair distribution of the doctors’ limited surgery time for all of our patients.

Dental Procedures - A non-refundable deposit of $100 is required to schedule a dental procedure. If the need to reschedule arises, please notify our office 48 hours prior to your pet’s scheduled dental procedure in order to receive a full credit on your deposit. We understand that personal situations can arise unexpectedly and you may reschedule your pet’s dental without penalty provided we receive 48 hours notice. Clients providing less than 48 hours notice will forfeit their deposit. Clients cancelling 48 hours before their pet’s dental procedure will receive their full deposit back as a credit on their account. Those clients cancelling less than 48 hours before their scheduled dental procedure will forfeit their deposit. Our administrator may alter this policy to provide a refund at his/her discretion. If the veterinarian determines it is in the patient's best medical interest to cancel or postpone the procedure, the deposit will be refunded in full. Refunds will be given only as a credit on client’s account.

Refill Policy

A doctor-patient-client relationship needs to be established for any medication, that is not over-the-counter, to be prescribed or dispensed. Only a doctor can authorize a refill for your pet's medication. Standards of medical care direct that certain medications be monitored by blood work and sometimes blood pressure monitoring. Examples of some of these medications are Phenobarbital, Enalapril, Insulin, Thyroxine, and anti-inflammatory pain medications. These are just a few examples as there are many others that also require monitoring.

Please plan ahead to allow for 24 hours notice for all prescriptions refills for both in house and outside pharmacy dispensing. No more than three days’ worth of Class II controlled substances (narcotics) may be dispensed from the hospital. Subsequent refills must be filled at an outside pharmacy. Paper prescriptions are required and must be picked up from the practice for any controlled substance filled at an outside pharmacy. All controlled substances beyond a 3 day supply will be duly reported to the state.

Payment Policy

We require payment in full at the time that services are rendered. For your convenience, we accept American Express, Visa, Master Card, Discover, Care Credit, Cash, and Personal Checks with valid state ID or Driver's License.

Day Admission

We understand that you are busy and may not be able to schedule a routine appointment with your pet. For your conveniences, you may temporarily admit your pet for us to evaluate. Once the evaluation is complete, you will receive a call to go over the diagnosis and to give you discharge instructions or discuss treatment options. You must leave a phone number at which you can be reached during the day.