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COVID-19 Information for Clients
The doctors and staff of Alpine Animal Hospital are here for you and your pet as we all navigate this novel Coronavirus health threat. We are continuing to see patients at our practice, but want to make clients aware of the steps we are taking to protect our staff, their families, our clients, and our patients, as well as provide resources for pet owners to incorporate their pet’s needs into their family’s preparations.
As this is an ever-evolving situation, we may need to adjust our approach with little to no warning. Please follow our hospital’s Facebook page for the most updated information.
Click on a topic below to learn more:
- In-Hospital Approach
- Client-Attended Appointments
- Curbside Care
- Conservation of Supplies
- Client Resources
- Pet Owner Q&A
In-Hospital Approach
In addition to our standard cleaning & disinfection protocols, we have increased disinfection of common use items and spaces.
We are encouraging staff and clients to STAY HOME if they are ill with any of the following symptoms: fever and/or cough, difficulty breathing, loss of sense of smell or taste, if they have been exposed to someone diagnosed with Coronavirus, or are awaiting Coronavirus test results.
We have counseled our staff on steps each person can take to limit the spread of the virus, including following CDC guidelines for personal hygiene and social distancing.
Masks, covering the nose and mouth, are required by all hospital DVMs and staff, as well as clients who enter the hospital.
We are limiting
personnel within the hospital to essential hospital staff only. Grooming will continue, as our groomer has a dedicated space within the buildling to practice social distancing.
Client-Attended Appointments
Social distancing is difficult in our examination rooms, so for continued safety we're following these guidelines:
- Please do not plan for more than 3 owners attending an appointment.
- Masks are available and optional.
- Curbside Care will remain available for clients who desire it.
- Social distance whenever possible, with 6 feet between other clients and our staff. That's equivalent to the space occupied by one Great Dane, two Corgis standing nose-to-buns, or four cats standing nose-to-tail.
- DVM examination appointments, consultations, surgical & dental patient check-in and discharge, and boarding & grooming check-in and discharge are invited to check in at the front desk.
- You may be asked to wait outside or in your vehicle during peak times to avoid overcrowding, or if you are unable to comply with our mask requirement.
- Some services will remain curbside (see below).
Curbside Care
Some services are still exclusively provided curbside including medication & food pick up, technician appointments, laser therapy, and Puppy Happy Hour drop off & pickup.
Curbside Care for other services is still available for any clients who desire it. To request Curbside Care, simply ask when scheduling or upon arrival to your pet's appointment.
When you arrive for Curbside Care, please call (509) 332-6575 from the parking lot and alert us of your arrival. A member of our staff will perform a detailed history and check-in by phone and then meet you at your vehicle to review any appropriate consent forms for your pet's visit.
Your pet will then be accompanied into the hospital where our doctors will perform the requested services. Once completed, clients will be contacted via phone to review examination findings and recommendations. Once all services are finalized, payment can be remitted via the phone or our secure online payment portal, and a receipt & itemized invoice delivered to the clients vehicle, along with their pet, discharge instructions, and any needed medication or food.
Clients can choose to remain in the parking lot until their pet's appointment is completed. Alternatively, pets can be admitted for the day and discharged to their owner once the services are completed.
Client Resources
In case of disruptions in the supply chain, quarantine, or limitations in access to stores, we encourage clients to keep 2 weeks of food and medications for their pet on-hand.
We offer home delivery of medications, supplements, and certain foods from our online pharmacy. We also offer direct-from-manufacturer pet food delivery to our clients who feed Hill's maintenance or prescription foods and Purina Pro Plan maintenance or prescription foods.
Alpine’s partnered online pharmacy: https://alpineanimalhospital.vetsfirstchoice.com/
Hill’s to Home: https://www.hillstohome.com/login
Purina Vet Direct: https://www.proplanvetdirect.com
Pet Owner Q&A
Q: What should I do to prepare for my pet’s care in the event I do become ill?
A: Identify another person in your household who is willing and able to care for your pet in your home should you contract COVID-19. Make sure you have an emergency kit prepared, with at least two weeks’ worth of your pet’s food and any needed medications. Usually we think about emergency kits like this in terms of what might be needed for an evacuation, but it’s also good to have one prepared in the case of quarantine or self-isolation when you cannot leave your home.
Alpine offers home delivery of a wide variety of pet foods, supplements, and medications via our partnered online pharmacy and direct-from-manufacturer pet food services. Please see links above for more information, or contact our office to request your pet’s needed meds/food online.
Q: If I am ill with COVID-19 are there special precautions I should take to prevent spreading disease, including when caring for my pet?
A: Out of an abundance of caution, it is recommended that those ill with COVID-19 limit contact with animals until more information is known about the virus. Have another member of your household take care of walking, feeding, and playing with your pet. If you have a service animal or you must care for your pet, then wear a facemask; don’t share food, kiss, or hug them; and wash your hands before and after any contact with them. Consider boarding your pet(s) if you are unable to care for them due to illness or hospitalization.
Q: What should I do if my pet or service animal becomes ill after being around someone who has been sick with COVID-19?
A: Talk with the public health official working with the person who is ill with COVID-19. Your public health official can then consult with a public health veterinarian who, in turn, can provide assistance to our veterinarians to ensure your pet or service animal is appropriately evaluated.
If the state public health veterinarian recommends that you take your pet or service animal to your veterinarian for an examination, please call our office in advance to let us know that you are bringing in a sick animal that has been exposed to someone with COVID-19. Advance notice will support our doctors and staff in preparing for the proper admittance of that animal, including the preparation of an isolation area as needed. Do not take the animal to a veterinary clinic until you have consulted with the public health official and your veterinarian.
Q: Is testing for COVID-19 available for animals in the United States?
A: IDEXX announced the availability of a test on March 13, but neither the CDC, AVMA, nor IDEXX is recommending pets be tested at this time. In announcing the availability of their test, IDEXX indicated that thousands of canine and feline specimens had been evaluated during their validation of the test and none had come up as being positive. These results align with the current expert understanding that COVID-19 is primarily transmitted person-to-person and supports current recommendations against testing pets for the COVID-19 virus. Dogs or cats with respiratory signs should be evaluated by a veterinarian for more common respiratory pathogens, before looking to evaluate them for COVID-19. It’s important to remember there is currently limited evidence that pets can be infected with SARS-CoV-2. There is no evidence to suggest that pets can spread COVID-19 to other people or other pets.
Q: My pet or service animal needs to go to the veterinarian – what should I do?
A: If you are not ill with COVID-19 or another communicable disease (e.g., cold, flu), call our office to make an appointment for your pet or service animal as you normally would.
If you are sick with COVID-19 or another communicable disease, you should stay at home, minimizing contact with other people, until you are well. Accordingly, if this is a non-urgent appointment that needs to be scheduled for your pet or service animal (e.g., annual wellness examination, routine vaccination, elective surgery), you should wait to schedule that appointment until your physician and your public health official believe you no longer present a risk of transmitting your infection to other people you may encounter during such a visit, including owners of pets or other animals and veterinary clinic staff.
If you are sick with COVID-19, and you believe your pet or service animal is ill, please seek assistance from our veterinarians and public health officials to determine how to best ensure your pet or service animal can be appropriately cared for while minimizing risks of transmitting COVID-19 to other people. |
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