Your Pet's First Visit
A pet's first visit to the vet can seem a bit daunting, so we've put together a list of info and resources to help you prepare.
At your first appointment, we will gather information about your pet’s background, health, diet, and training. We can also address any questions or concerns you might have.
Your veterinarian will examine your pet from nose-to-tail, looking for things like heart murmurs, ear infections, and/or parasites. Your vet can also provide pet-proofing tips, training assistance, and parasite protection recommendations.
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Appointment Policies
Please arrive 5 minutes prior to your pet's appointment for check-in. If you have not filled out all relevant patient forms yet, plan to arrive 10 minutes ahead of your appointment.
While we do our best to make sure all of our patients are seen on time, there will be times of occasional unexpected delay due to an emergency or because we are providing care for a patient that needs a little more time. Please accept our apologies should this occur, and understand that the same dedication and courtesy will be provided to your pet should they ever need it.
CFAH Schedule Policy and Appointment Types
Original 2022.09
Scheduling Policy
We see patients by appointment only. Walk-ins visits will be triaged and scheduled to the next available time or referred to a veterinary emergency hospital. We are not an emergency hospital, but may have availability for urgent or even critical medical issues with prior arrangement-- please call before bringing in your pet. Please note, if we are unavailable to assist you it is because we are currently at maximum capacity for providing quality care for our other patients. We do set aside daily appointments for urgent medical issues, and while restricted to 24 hours in advance, they tend to fill quickly.
Appointments can be arranged by phone (281-256-8085), text (361-315-3224), or on our app (https://practices.allydvm.com?practice=cypress_fairhaven).
For emergency care outside of our business hours, we recommend Animal ER of NW Houston, Blue Pearl Spring/Katy, or VERGI in Katy.
Doctors are unavailable for consultation outside of scheduled appointments due to providing care for other patients. If you would like to speak directly to a doctor about an issue, we will gladly take a message for them to review. Be aware most medical questions will require an exam. Concerns regarding a policy or procedure will be coordinated and resolved with the Management Team.
Running Late?
Please arrive on time to your appointments to help us keep our full day of appointments on time.
Notify us IMMEDIATELY via phone, text, or email if you’re running late.
Doctor Appointments arriving 15 minutes or more after your appointment time will result in rescheduling your appointment. Due to our schedule booking in advance, this could mean delays in care for your pet.
Tech Appointments arriving 5 minutes or more after your appointment time will result in rescheduling; we understand the inconvenience and based on staffing and schedule availability may be able to work you back in with additional wait time.
Canceling or Rescheduling Appointments
Please notify us IMMEDIATELY if you’re unable to keep your appointment via call (281-256-8085), text (361-315-3224), or email (info@cypressfairhavenvet.com) at least 4 hours in advance so that we can help another patient in need.
We know you’d appreciate a last-minute opening in the schedule if your pet was in need of care. We want to be able to provide care to our patients when they need us most. We also understand that missed appointments can occur for a variety of reasons, often beyond your control. Chronic No-Shows will result in deposits required to book appointments.
Types of Appointments
Annual Wellness Exams
A critical component to maintaining your pet’s health. Similar to our human annual physicals, our doctors need to regularly examine your pet for small changes that could lead to big medical concerns in addition to preventive care like vaccines, lab work to verify parasite free and early disease detection, and monthly prevention for internal and external parasites. We reserve a set number of wellness appointments to be available each day -- ask about our convenient Day Admission option.
Problem Exams
Book to address all concerns outside of wellness care. These may range from a small issue that has been ongoing, or a new acute issue that needs to be addressed right away. We reserve a set number of problem visits available each day to help ensure we can care for your pets when they need us most.
Urgent Care Exams
Available when our regular schedule is full, and may be booked up to 24 hours in advance to ensure we are able to see pets in need. This appointment is worked into our standard schedule and may have additional wait time, however, critical concerns will be triaged to assess the severity. Additionally, this work-in appointment is $80, $20 additional from our regular exam. This fee covers the additional skilled and trained technician time sick patients require.
Emergency Care Exams
Available as our case capacity allows within 24 hours for acutely ill or critical patients. We are not an emergency hospital, and many cases are better served by an emergency hospital. We will refer out any time we feel it is best for the patient’s health, which includes if we are over capacity to take on other patients as we firmly believe in providing the best quality care. Additionally, this work-in appointment is $100, $40 additional from our regular exam. This fee covers the additional skilled and trained technician time critically ill patients require.
Walk-In Care
We are by appointment only; walk-ins are discouraged. Walk-ins will be charged as Emergency Care Appointments, with a $100 exam fee. Without the advance notice to our team, we charge the increased exam price for the convenience of getting as soon as possible upon arrival without advance notice and booking of an appointment. Our entire team previews our schedule throughout the day, and this drives our decisions for when we provide patient care and have our staff take their breaks. Walk-in appointments interrupt this workflow and are charged accordingly.
Day Admission Appointments or Drop-Offs
Offered as a convenience to our clients and in many instances as an option for care for necessary treatments. We have a set number of well, problem, and routine Day Admissions Appointments that our technicians and veterinarians can accommodate each day. You’ll receive a link to a form to fill out in advance of your appointment. Please allow 15 minutes to review your completed form and allow your technician to ask the necessary questions to ensure quality care for your pet and address your concerns fully. Please indicate your preferred contact method and remain available, as your vet team will be in contact throughout the day and let you know when your pet is ready to go home.
"The customer service was splendid and they took such good care of our dachshund puppies for surgery. Everyone is genuine and very informative. The phone call before surgery to let us know what’s going on and after they came out of surgery was very reassuring. I would recommend them every single time."
Christie Shepherd
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