February 2024

Dear Valued Clients,

Here at Virden Animal Hospital and Shoal Lake Veterinary Clinic, our goal is to help each client in a timely manner and to give you our best possible service. Efficient scheduling is vital to helping as many pets as possible while respecting our team, doctors, and clients’ time. With the increased demand for appointments and wait times for small animal veterinary services, it has become more challenging for our clients to schedule timely visits. To support this, we have specific scheduling requirements that need to be met to accommodate our growing number of clients. Unfortunately, we have also seen an increase in the number of clients failing to show up for scheduled appointments, despite email and text reminders.

Small Animal Appointment Fees

To keep those scarce appointments available and reduce wait times for all patients, Virden Animal Hospital and Shoal Lake Veterinary Clinic has implemented $100.00 an appointment fee for all small animal clients that have missed an appointment, no-shows, or late cancellations. Late arrivals or pick-ups that may result in a $50.00 fee being added to the invoice. When a small animal client has three misses or lates, subsequent missed appointment, no-shows, or late cancellations, arrivals or pick-ups, dismissal from our practice may occur.

24hr Business Hour Cancellation Policy:

Our goals are to provide timely care to all our patients and to respect the veterinarian’s time and the constraints of a tightly booked schedule. Appointments are scheduled by you at your convenience. Life happens, and we understand.

• An appointment must be cancelled at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled appointment time.
• Cancellations that occur with less than 24 hours notice will result in a $100.00 cancellation fee.

For cancellations, please call:

Virden Animal Hospital: 204-748-3950 or email virdenanimalhospital@yahoo.ca
Shoal Lake Veterinary Clinic: 204-759-2727 or email shoallakevet@gmail.com

Please leave a message if after hours. This will allow us to accommodate other patients who may need prompt medical care.

“No Shows” & Same-Day Cancellations:

A “no show” occurs when you miss your appointment without contacting us, while a “same-day cancellation” is canceling on the day of the appointment. Both situations impact you and our practice. To ensure fair scheduling and care, any future appointments after a “no show” or “same-day cancellation” will require a non-refundable prepayment. After a third offense, dismissal from our practice may occur. Your cooperation is appreciated, as it helps us provide efficient and specialized care to all our patients in need.

Late Arrival:

An appointment is a reservation of time for the doctor to meet with you and examine your pet. In order for us to provide every patient with the highest level of care and attention, we maintain strict appointment times. This means you are expected to arrive with your pet on time for your appointment, or we will need to reschedule for another time/day. Because we are booked several weeks in advance, rescheduling in a timely matter might not always be possible. In the event a patient arrives late to their appointment (more than 15 minutes after the scheduled appointment time) and cannot be seen by the veterinarian on the same day, they will be rescheduled for a future clinic visit, if available. Should this happen more than once in a calendar year, the $50.00 fee will apply.

Late Pick-up:

The pick-up process is an important part of returning a pet to its owner. During this time staff ensure that a pet owner is informed about the procedure, aftercare, medication, and other important information that is needed for the well-being of their pet. Virden Animal Hospital: Pick-up for discharged patients is scheduled for no later than 4:30 pm daily. Shoal Lake Veterinary Clinic: Pick-up for discharged patients is scheduled for no later than 2 pm daily. Clients arriving after the dedicated time for pick-up result in staff working after hours to make sure that the proper information is conveyed to you during the pick-up process, ensuring proper aftercare to your pet. Late pick-up charge of $50 will apply if a staff member is acquired to work late due to late pick-up time.