Waiting Room Etiquette

The waiting room at St. Vital Veterinary Hospital can often be a busy place. Here are a few things to help keep everyone’s visit a little bit less stressful:

Please keep dogs on a short leash and avoid Flexi-leases. Many dogs find it stressful going to the vet and may not appreciate a strange dog suddenly running up to them. Even if you have a happy, friendly dog who loves the vet, you never know if there is an anxious dog walking in, or even an aggressive dog.

Please keep cats in a carrier (or on a leash). Many cats find the vet to be a stressful place, so the comfort of an enclosed carrier to hide in can help decrease the stress. Keeping your cat in a carrier also will keep the waiting room a safer place for everyone. You can start by keeping the carrier out at home so it becomes a more familiar space and the cat doesn’t choose to run as soon as you pull the carrier from the storage closet. It can help the whole experience become less stressful – from the car ride to the waiting room, to the exam room.

If you are bringing in a pet that is known to be aggressive at the vet, please phone the clinic from the parking lot so we can prepare the waiting room and get you and your pet straight into a room. In addition, if your pet has a contagious disease (coughing/sneezing, or suspected parvovirus) please phone from the parking lot before coming in so, we can prepare and put you and your pet right into a room.

Please be respectful of other people in the waiting room. There may be someone with a very sick pet or coming in for euthanasia. Not all people may want to have a conversation about their pet, so please be respectful of this.

Cell phone etiquette: If using a cell phone in the waiting room, please be attentive to when the tech is ready to bring you into the exam room. Once in the exam room, please respect the appointment time and refrain from using your cell phone for the duration of the appointment.

Everybody poops! Please inform a St. Vital Veterinary Hospital team member if your pet urinates or has a bowel movement in the clinic. It happens!

Written by: Julie, RVT