Bradford Veterinary Clinic Policies

New Client Policy

Welcome to Bradford Veterinary Clinic — we’re so glad you found us! We’re proud to be one of the few practices in the area that works with exotic pets, alongside our regular dog and cat patients, and we can’t wait to meet your family (furry, feathered, or scaled!).

New client paperwork is completed at check-in on the day of your appointment — please plan to arrive a few minutes early to fill this out. If you’d like to get a head start, paperwork can be requested by emailing us at bradfordvet@gmail.com. The new client paperwork can be found on the website as well but we will ask you a few extra questions upon your arrival.

When booking your appointment, we’ll ask for your full name, email, and phone number, along with some basic information about your pet — their name, species, breed, age, and alteration status. When you come in, it’s also helpful to bring along a few extra details: what food your pet is currently eating and how much, whether they’re up to date on flea and tick preventatives.

A member of our team will reach out to your previous provider to request records ahead of your appointment, but it’s always best if you’re able to take the initiative to have them sent over yourself — this helps ensure everything is in hand before your pet is seen. If someone other than the primary owner (a partner, family member, or other authorized party) will be bringing your pet in, please make sure they’re familiar with this information ahead of time — it happens more often than you’d think that the person walking through our door doesn’t have all the details!

Because building a strong relationship with new patients and being available to answer questions is so important to us, we discourage new patients as drop-off appointments. We ask that new clients plan to be present for their pet’s first visit.

New to exotic pet ownership? We’re big believers in owner education! If you’re bringing in a new exotic pet, we’ll spend extra time with you covering everything from nutrition to housing so you feel confident caring for your new companion from day one. Because of this hands-on approach, new exotic pet visits run a little longer and carry a separate education fee — but we think you’ll find it’s time (and money) well spent in giving your pet the best possible start.

Nervous kiddos? We know vet visits can be a lot for little ones! Our waiting room has a Kids’ Corner with coloring books and activities, and our staff loves taking the time to explain what’s happening and help make things feel a little less scary.

Were you referred by a friend or family member? We offer a referral discount! Just let us know who referred you and mention it at check-in so we can apply it to your visit.

Payment: Payment is due at the time services are rendered. We do not currently offer payment plans, but we’re happy to recommend third-party financing options such as CareCredit or Scratchpay. We also offer a “Pay It Forward” option — if you’d like to anticipate your pet’s upcoming medical needs and make account payments ahead of an appointment or procedure, we’re happy to work with you to set that up.

If you find that you will not be able to make your scheduled appointment, a 24-hour notice will be needed or you will be considered a no-show. First-time missed appointments are not subject to a fee.

Appointment Policies

We operate by appointment so that we can give each pet and client the time and care they deserve. Sometimes a routine visit reveals a serious concern that needs to be addressed, and we will always do our best to provide same-day care for these instances. However, as we are not an emergency hospital, we cannot always accommodate emergencies, and we will refer you to another clinic when it is in the best interest of your pet.

While we wish we could help every single person who calls, we want what is best for you and your pet, sometimes this means referring you to a specialist, emergency clinic, or another doctor’s care. For after-hours or emergency care, we recommend:

SAVES (Small Animal Veterinary Emergency Services, Lebanon, NH) — savespets.com | 603-306-0007

LAVES (Littleton Area Emergency Veterinary Services, Littleton, NH) — 603-444-5533

BEVS (Burlington Emergency & Veterinary Specialists, Williston, VT) — bevsvt.com | 802-863-2387

To help your appointment run smoothly, please note the following:

Records: If you are a new client, or an established client switching primary veterinarians, please have prior medical records sent to us at least 24 hours before your scheduled appointment. This gives our team time to review your pet’s history before you arrive.

New Paperwork: All new clients, and existing clients transferring care to us, will need to complete new client paperwork prior to their appointment. The new client paperwork can be found on the website as well but we will ask you a few extra questions upon your arrival.

Arrival Time: Please plan to arrive a few minutes early to complete any necessary paperwork before your scheduled appointment time.

Pet Limit: To ensure each pet receives the individual attention they deserve, we limit appointments to a maximum of 2 pets per visit. An exception is made for litter exams (e.g., a puppy litter).

Prescription Refills: We require 24 hours’ notice for all prescription refill requests to allow time for doctor approval and preparation.

Cancellation Policy

The doctors and staff at Bradford Veterinary Clinic work very hard to give exemplary service to our clients and pets. One way that we can provide this service is to have appointments available when our clients and patients need them. We know that flat tires, missed alarms, and human medical emergencies happen, but missed appointments — for any reason — mean other clients and patients in need must wait to be seen.

While we are sure the last thing clients who miss appointments want to do is create a barrier to the care of someone else’s pet, that is, in effect, what happens when we do not have the option of scheduling into a time slot occupied by missed appointments. This is even more concerning when, on rare occasions, a client misses a surgery time for which several hours have been reserved.

For this reason, Bradford Veterinary Clinic maintains a cancellation policy:

All appointments must be canceled at least 24 hours in advance, or by Friday for Monday appointments. Your first missed appointment will be waived with no penalty. A second missed appointment will result in a written notice, and a third missed appointment will incur a $60 fee. Clients whose missed appointments have caused repeated double-booking issues may face further restrictions, including a prepayment requirement and being limited to booking one pet per appointment going forward.

Surgical Cancellation Policy: All surgical appointments (spays, neuters, and other procedures) require a $100 deposit at the time of booking. This deposit is forfeited if the appointment is not canceled or rescheduled at least two business days in advance, since we are closed on weekends.

Drop-Off Appointments

Drop-off appointments are intended for urgent, time-sensitive needs when our schedule is fully booked — not as a general alternative to a routine appointment. We do our best to accommodate established clients and exotic pet patients who need to be seen but can’t be worked into a same-day appointment slot.

Please note that drop-offs are not appropriate for pets who are acutely sick, injured, or in need of emergency care — these situations require direct evaluation by a doctor, either through an appointment or an emergency clinic referral. If you’re ever unsure whether your pet’s situation is appropriate for a drop-off, please call us and we’re happy to help you figure out the best option.

We understand that you are busy and may not be able to schedule a routine appointment with your pet. You may drop off your pet for us to evaluate and leave us a phone number to get in touch and make treatment decisions.

Please note that if your pet needs to be hospitalized for longer than one day, standard boarding charges will apply.

Grooming Policy

We understand that you cannot always groom your pet at home. In order to provide the best veterinary care and protect both your pet and our hospitalized pets, we have very strict grooming policies.

Vaccines:
Your pet must be up to date on all required vaccines as seen below. These will not only protect your pet but will prevent the spread of disease both to and from your pet while your pet is staying with us. If your pet is starting these vaccines for the first time, they must have the first vaccine onboard a minimum of 3 weeks prior to grooming.

Rabies:
All ferrets, dogs, and cats must have a valid rabies vaccine as required by law. If your vaccine was performed elsewhere, we require a rabies certificate or medical records from your prior veterinarian. A rabies tag is not considered legal proof of rabies, so we need to have the paper verification to back this up. Rabies is given once, then a year later, then every 3 years.

Distemper:
All ferrets, dogs, and cats must have a current distemper vaccine. Distemper is a cocktail of vaccines that protect your pets. In dogs and ferrets, the vaccine protects against hepatitis or adenovirus, parvovirus, parainfluenza virus, and sometimes leptospirosis. In cats, the vaccine protects against panleukopenia, feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, and coronavirus. All of these diseases can be potentially fatal and are highly contagious, especially in a kennel situation. Distemper is given as a series of vaccines, depending on age, two or three times 3-4 weeks apart then a year later, then every 3 years.

Canine Influenza Virus:
A new and emerging potentially fatal respiratory disease of kenneled animals. This disease is highly contagious. This vaccine does not always prevent the disease but makes the symptoms milder if the disease is acquired. CIV is given as a series of 2 vaccines 2-4 weeks apart then yearly. This vaccine is protective 1 week after the 2nd vaccine.

Bordetella:
Also known as “kennel cough,” it causes a very chronic and difficult to control cough. This disease is highly contagious. Bordetella is given yearly.

Flea Test:
A flea comb will be used on your pet to determine the presence of fleas or flea dirt (flea excrement). If these are seen, a dose of oral flea medication will be given to your pet to control the spread of fleas to the other pets in the hospital. We are very aware of how sneaky these parasites can be!

Boarding Drop Off Policy

For the ease of our clients and staff, we have scheduled drop off windows. When you are dropping off during business hours our staff cannot give you the attention you need while saying “bye” to your pet(s) and allowing them to settle in. There is a $25.00 fee for dropping off outside of the designated time, this is to ensure you have the proper attention you and your pet need.

Designated drop off times are as follows:

Monday: 7:00am to 9:00am or 5:00pm to 6:00pm.
Tuesday: 8:00am to 9:00am or 5:00pm to 6:00pm.
Wednesday: 7:00am to 9:00am or 5:00pm to 6:00pm.
Thursday: 7:00am to 9:00am or 5:00pm to 6:00pm.
Friday: 7:00am to 9:00am or 5:00pm to 6:00pm.

Distemper:
All ferrets, dogs, and cats must have a current distemper vaccine. Distemper is a cocktail of vaccines that protect your pets. In dogs and ferrets, the vaccine protects against hepatitis or adenovirus, parvovirus, parainfluenza virus and sometimes leptospirosis. In cats, the vaccine protects against panleukopenia, feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, and coronavirus. All of these diseases can be potentially fatal and are highly contagious, especially in a kennel situation. Distemper is given as a series of vaccines, depending on age, two or three times 3-4 weeks apart then a year later, then every 3 years.

Bordetella:
Also known as “kennel cough,” it causes a very chronic and difficult to control cough. This disease is highly contagious. Bordetella is given yearly.

Routine Tests:
Your pet may be carrying parasites or other contagious diseases that could be transmitted to other pets or people. Because of these risks, the following are required.

Fecal Exam:
A negative fecal exam within the last 6 months. All pets may pick up parasites at any point in their lives, especially through fecal to oral contamination. To minimize the risk to other pets, we will perform this test if not done within the last 6 months and treat it if necessary.

Heartworm Test:
A negative heartworm test within the last 12 months. Heartworm is carried by mosquitoes, and both dogs and cats can be carriers of the heartworm parasite.

Feline Leukemia/Feline Immunodeficiency Virus/Heartworm Test:
A negative FeLV/FIV test within the last 12 months. Leukemia especially is easily transmitted by inanimate objects. Heartworm is carried by mosquitoes.

Flea Test:
A flea comb will be used on your pet to determine the presence of fleas or flea dirt (flea excrement). If these are seen, a dose of oral and topical flea medication will be given to your pet to control the spread of fleas to the other pets in the hospital. We are very aware of how sneaky these parasites can be!

Leash Policy

For the safety and comfort of your pet, other patients, and our staff, all animals are required to be on a leash or in a pet carrier before entering the hospital. Even the friendliest pets can feel a little uneasy in a new environment full of unfamiliar people, sounds, and other animals — and that can bring out behavior you might not see at home. Keeping your pet secured helps everyone feel safe and sets your pet up for the calmest possible visit.

If your pet is still working on leash manners, you’re not alone — many of our clients feel the same way! We’re happy to share that we offer veterinarian-backed training classes designed to help pets (and their people) build confidence and good habits, both in and out of the clinic.

Rabies Vaccination Policy

State law dictates that all dogs and cats must be up to date on their rabies vaccines. This is to protect all people they may encounter. Even if we’ve never seen your pet and are only doing a nail trim, they must have proof of rabies vaccination for us to handle your pet.