Scheduling
Fairhaven Veterinary Hospital provides services by scheduled appointment. Please contact us at 360-671-3903 during regular business hours: Monday, Tuesday, Friday, 8:00 am to 5:30 pm, Wednesday and Thursday 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, or utilize the website widget 24 hours a day, to request an appointment. For urgent medical needs during our business hours, we offer Urgent Care services most days of the week. We will make every effort to accommodate you and your pet so please don’t hesitate to contact us!
For an after-hours emergency, please contact Animal Emergency Care at 360-758-2200.
Surgery is performed Monday-Friday and we arrange for early morning admission appointments starting at 7:30 a.m. All patients are discharged in the evening unless not medically prudent, at which time transfer to Animal Emergency Care may be advised.
Appointments
To ensure that all of our patients receive prompt and thorough attention, Fairhaven Veterinary Hospital operates on an appointment-only basis. Please call, text, or email in advance to schedule an appointment with our customer service representatives. The further in advance you schedule, the more likely that your preferred time slot will be open. Of course, we will always do our best to accommodate you to the best of our abilities.
During appointments we require that an adult owner to be available to discuss the exam with the doctor and please refrain from being on your cellphone during the appointment. We also ask that the patient is accompanied by an adult who is authorized to make treatment decisions to the appointment. If this isn’t feasible, please reschedule for a time when an adult caretaker is available.
Veterinarian exam appointments are 30 minutes. Extended appointments (one hour) are available at an additional fee, please ask the client service team for details.
Appointments with our Nursing Services team may be up to 20 minutes in length.
Checking in for Appointments
As a Fear Free Certified Practice, we continue to have clients check in curbside, via text, to ensure a low stress lobby.
-On arrival to our parking lot, please remain in your vehicle. Masking is optional unless you are experiencing any symptoms of illness. However, our team is happy to mask up for any client who requests it. We also offer fully curbside care for any client who wishes this.
-When you arrive, please remain in your car and text us at 360-671-3903 with your name, patient name and parking spot number. A staff member will reply to your message and then, when the room is ready, escort you and your pet into the building and to an exam room.
-Please ensure all dogs are ON A LEASH, using either a FLAT COLLAR OR HARNESS, AND CATS ARE IN A SECURE CARRIER, or we will not be able to proceed with the appointment. This is for the safety of your pet while on the premises. *Prong, shock, choke or other training collars are not recommended or appropriate for veterinary visits, especially as patients may be ill, painful, fearful or stressed. Fairhaven Veterinary Hospital follows the guidelines of Fear Free and The American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (ACVB) position statements.
Please arrive 5 minutes before your scheduled appointment time. For all wellness exams, please remember to bring a fresh stool sample (collected within the past 4-6 hours) for routine parasite analysis.
Canceling Appointments
If you wish to cancel your appointment, please utilize the option tree when receiving your appointment reminder, email [email protected], text, or call 360-671-3903. Late arrivals may not be able to be accommodated and may need to reschedule. See our missed appointment and tardiness policies for more details.
Multiple Pet or Additional Pets at Appointments
To ensure that your pet receives dedicated attention and care, it is best to bring them in individually. Also, even pets who are the best of friends at home, may experience stress and anxiety which may lead to redirected frustration with their housemate. For this reason, we do not schedule dogs and cats together, nor pets who have been shown to increase the stress of one another during visits. If two dogs, or two cats, have proven to be low FAS (Fear, Anxiety, and Stress) while in exam appointments together, we may schedule them for the same Wellness visit. No more than 2 can be scheduled at the same time and, as this will require additional time, may result in fewer available appointments or booking further in the future.
Pets who are not scheduled for care may not be brought to the appointment. If you feel that your pet would benefit from coming to FVH when no care is due, we welcome you to bring them in for a treat and no-pressure interaction with the front desk team if they are available. Or, connect with our in-house trainer for tailored cooperative care or desensitization training!