A Special Announcement Regarding our Boarding Policy (effective January 2008)

Due to the danger posed by parasites to your companion animal's health and the potential impact parasites have on the health of your family and others, West Ridge Animal Hospital has adopted a new set of parasite control protocols for boarding animals as created by the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC). These protocols are enacted to protect your companion, your family, and the greater community. By following parasite control measures you not only help your companion live a long healthy life, you help prevent the spread of potentially deadly diseases.

If you are interested in more information regarding parasites, companion animals, and you; we encourage you to visit the CAPC Pets and Parasites website.

The new policy effective January 2008:
In accordance with CAPC guidelines, and to prevent the spread of parasites to other animals, we are now requiring all boarding dogs to be current on their annual fecal exam. This requirement is for the safety of your pet and for the safety of other boarders. If your pet is current on their fecal exam at another clinic we would be happy to call that clinic to acquire those results.

If your animal is not current on the above, we will collect a fecal sample while they are here for their boarding visit. The results will be reported to you at the time of pick up.

We now also require every boarder to be on some form of internal parasite and heartworm preventative. Some examples of this preventative include Interceptor and Heartgard. It is very important to give your animal this preventative since some parasites and worms can be transmitted to humans. This is especially critical if you have young children at home.

We will also require that your companion is current on their heartworm test. The heartworm test is precautionary to ensure that your animal does not have heartworm disease. We require this test since the heartworm preventative is not 100% guaranteed. In addition, your animal may not have received each monthly pill at exactly the same time, reducing the effectiveness of the preventative. If your pet has not received an internal parasite and heartworm preventative within the last month, we will prescribe their first month’s dosage and administer it while they are here. There will be a one-time medication administration charge. If your pet is current on their heartworm test at another clinic and you receive a heartworm preventative from them, we will be happy to call that clinic.

If you have any questions please contact West Ridge Animal Hospital.