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Fear Free Veterinary Visits

While visiting the doctor usually isn’t something anyone looks forward to, we want to try to give our patients the least stressful and most fear free visit possible. Both pet parents and their pets are often stressed and anxious about visiting the veterinary clinic. At Animal Medical Clinic of Goose Creek, it is our goal to give your pet the most comfortable visit possible which will allow them (and you) to be less anxious about future visits and allow us to provide the best care.

You may notice during your visit that we try to manage all of our appointments to make your pet as comfortable as possible. Our visits may differ from what your pet is used to and there are many techniques we employ to make the environment of our office more comfortable for your pet:

  • Wellness Visits at home for pets who are too anxious to come into the office
  • Pet Acoustics music in the exam room is geared specifically for dogs or cats to help them relax
  • Feliway pheromones are used in our lobby and exam rooms on towels for our feline friends.
  • Sound reducing noise panels are placed throughout our facility on walls and ceilings to help reduce noise
  • Natural light bulbs are used instead of fluorescent bulbs
  • Food, Toys, and Attention are used as aides to make your pet more comfortable. Please let us know if you or your pet have a specific food allergy and we should avoid any specific treats
  • Anti-anxiety medications for pets who are fearful about visiting the vet
  • Our veterinarians and many of our team members have received Fear Free Certification training. This means they have special training on how to help an anxious pet who is visiting us

If your pet is coming in for a visit, we would like to make some recommendations on ways to make the visit as comfortable as possible for your pet. Please read below for dog or cat information on things you do to help us make each visit great:

Making your dog’s visit stress free

Thank you for trusting Animal Medical Clinic of Goose Creek with the care of your dog. We want to make sure your dog’s visit is as stress free as possible so we have included some ideas on how to make the visit a positive one for both of you.

  • If you were provided with anti-anxiety medication give it according to your doctor’s instructions.
  • Give yourself and your dog lots of time to get to the clinic. Feeling rushed will cause you both unnecessary stress and anxiety. If you feel like you can’t make your appointment time give us a call and one of our reception team will go over other options with you.
  • It’s best for your dog to be hungry upon arrival. That way he/she will be receptive to treats during the visit. Also pets that get carsick will appreciate a mostly empty stomach for their car ride.
  • Please bring a fresh stool sample to your appointment.
  • Please do not let your dog urinate on the way in to the hospital. His/her doctor may want a urine sample during your visit. We can provide a urine collection kit at check-in and/or a team member to collect a sample if needed.
  • Bring one of your dog’s favorite toys or blankets and lots of very special treats with you to the appointment.

If your dog is too scared to get out of the car when you get here please let us know when you make the appointment or call us from the parking lot. Our patient care team is prepared to help with patients upon arrival at the clinic. Any team member can:

  • Come to your car to get your dog out of your car and bring you both through a private entrance, away from other pets.
  • Put you and your dog directly into an exam room, as soon as one is available, upon arrival.

If your dog requires these or any other special accommodations please let our reception team know when scheduling your appointment.

We look forward to making your experience at Animal Medical Clinic of Goose Creek as positive as we can.

Making your cat’s visit stress free

Thank you for trusting Animal Medical Clinic of Goose Creek with your cat’s care. We want to make sure your cat’s visit is as stress free as possible to make the visit a positive one for both of you.

  • A day or two before the appointment, put the carrier out where your cat can check it out. Leave the door open so he/she can go inside if he/she wishes.
  • It is recommended to purchase a pre-visit care package from us. It includes a Feliway wipe for the carrier, Gabapentin to administer orally, and a sachet of catnip. Feliway is a pheromone that can help calm cats in stressful situations. Gabapentin is an oral medication that will help to calm your cat. It is administered the night before the appointment, and the morning of the appointment an hour before arrival. It can be administered in capsule form, or broken open and sprinkled on canned food. It is also available in a liquid.
  • Give yourself and your cat lots of time to get to the clinic. Feeling rushed will cause you both unnecessary stress and anxiety. If you feel like you can’t make your appointment time give us a call and one of our reception team will go over other options with you.
  • It’s best for your cat to be hungry upon arrival. That way he/she will be receptive to treats during the visit. Also pets that get carsick will appreciate a mostly empty stomach for their car ride.
  • All cats should arrive to the clinic in carriers. This is for safety reasons, and to help reduce stress.

Our patient care team is prepared to help with patients upon arrival at the clinic. Any team member can:

  • Come to your car to get your cat out of your car and bring you both through a private entrance away from other pets.
  • Put you and your cat directly into an exam room, as soon as one is available, upon arrival.

If your cat requires these or any other special accommodations please let our reception team know when scheduling your appointment.

We look forward to making your experience at Animal Medical Clinic of Goose Creek as positive as we can.