All Pets Veterinary Clinic Policies

Policies

All Pets Veterinary Clinic is here to ensure your pet lives a long and happy life. Please read our policies and contact us with any questions.

Billing

Full payment for all services is expected at the time the service is provided. At this time, we are unfortunately unable to provide in-house billing for services provided. We can assist you in applying for credit through Riverside Finance or Care Credit. 

CareCredit offers a multi-month no interest plan for balances over $200. You can apply in as little as 5 minutes at their website: www.carecredit.com

Currently, Riverside offers a 90-day same-as-cash payment option. Please talk to our receptionists for more information on this service.

Payment Methods

Payment is due at the time services are rendered. We accept cash, personal checks, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, and CareCredit. In addition, we do accept the major forms of pet medical insurance.

Boarding and Grooming Prerequisites

In order for us to provide boarding and grooming services, we require that your pet be current on his / her vaccinations. For dogs, proof of a current distemper, rabies, and bordetella vaccination is required. If your dog has not had these vaccinations, we will be happy to provide them at the time of boarding and grooming.

For cats, proof of a current distemper and Feline Leukemia vaccination is required. If your cat has not had these vaccinations, we will be happy to provide them at the time of boarding and grooming.

We require vaccinations for two reasons. First, vaccinations are the best way to ensure that your pet stays healthy while it is under our care. Second, requiring vaccinations helps us to ensure that other animals in our care do not contract specific bacteria and viruses while staying at the clinic.

Heartworm Testing

Heartworm testing is strongly recommended on an annual basis for all dogs. While heartworm medications are virtually 100% effective if used properly - there is no way to guarantee that your pet ate and metabolized the medication properly. Missed and/or late doses can result in heartworm infection.

Annual testing ensures that your pet is staying negative. If by chance your pet ends up positive, annual testing allows us to detect and treat your pet in the earliest stages of the disease, when complications and long-term cardiovascular damage are most often minimal.

Heartworm medications are prescription items (i.e. they are not over-the-counter medications) because serious complications can result if used in certain situations. It means that we cannot dispense them without proof of a negative heartworm test. This policy exists for the safety of your pet.

Cats can become infected with heartworms as well as dogs so we do recommend the monthly administration of heartworm preventative for cats. More details can be obtained from our staff. You can contact us for emergencies!

Pre-Anesthesia Bloodwork

Anesthesia poses risks for all patients regardless of species, breed, age, or sex. The best way to minimize some of the risks of anesthesia is to have bloodwork done prior to surgery. A pre-operative chemical profile evaluates the liver and kidneys, the two organs mainly responsible for the metabolism of anesthetics. It will also look at blood sugar and protein levels. 

A pre-operative CBC will look for evidence of subclinical infection (white cell count), anemia (red cell count), and clotting ability (platelet count). By evaluating these parameters ahead of time, we can identify problem areas prior to surgery. This can allow us to delay anesthesia and surgery before problems arise. We encourage all of our surgical candidates to have bloodwork done prior to the administration of any anesthesia.

Internet and Catalog Pharmacies

We do not advocate the usage of the internet and/or catalog pharmacies for a variety of reasons. The products obtained from these pharmacies have been known to come from countries other than the United States.

It means that these products do not have to meet FDA guidelines. Therefore, strengths, dosages, and label claims for these products may be different than what is approved in the United States. 

The usage of such non-approved products could result in serious and even fatal complications. For this reason, the major manufacturers of these products do not authorize internet and catalog pharmacies to sell their medications and do not stand behind these products. 

We are here to take care of your pets and are concerned for their well-being. If the manufacturers of these drugs are not willing to trust products obtained by internet and catalog pharmacies, why should we?