PPVC, COVID-19 and Your Pet/Appointments

Dear Pikes Peak Veterinary Clinic Family and Friends,

Please read through this whole message as it affects how, where and when we can see your pets for the time being.

The health and safety of PPVC’s clients, pets and staff are of the utmost importance. We continue to monitor the Coronavirus situation and we recognize the many concerns.

It has become apparent that the existence of asymptomatic infected Coronavirus persons may be the catalyst for the rise in infections everywhere. This means that there exists a subset of infected people with normal body temperatures and no signs of the respiratory disease but who are carrying and capable of transmitting it to others.

To help minimize the spread between humans, starting Monday, March 16, 2020, PPVC will provide care to pets by offering curbside service appointments, drop-off appointments and telemedicine appointments. To minimize human-to-human transmission of this virus, for the next 30 days or until further notified, clients will not be permitted to enter the hospital.

What is a Curbside-Service Appointment?

Schedule your appointment as usual by calling and speaking with a client care specialist at PPVC. When you arrive for the appointment, you will call us from the parking lot and let us know that you have arrived. Within a minute or two, we will have a team member come to your car and escort your pet into our office. The veterinarian will call you on your cellphone and take your pet’s history. The veterinarian will perform a complete physical examination and then, call you with his/her findings and recommendations. At the conclusion of the appointment, our client care specialists will call you for payments and a team member will return your pet to your car. We can also deliver any prescribed medications or prescription foods to your car. We will email your receipt of payment shortly there afterwards.

What is a Drop-off Appointment?

Are your kids home from school? Do you need to run an errand? Do you have a business meeting to attend? We have a perfect time-management solution for you: The Drop-off Appointment! Let us know when you schedule your pet’s appointment that you would like a drop-off appointment with curbside service! We will come out to your car and escort your pet into the clinic for the needed procedures. For up to 4 hours, your pet can stay at PPVC for FREE until you are ready to pick them up!

What is a telemedicine appointment?

Connect with the same doctor you know and trust through your phone or computer from the comfort of your home. Schedule this appointment with our front staff the same way you would have previously scheduled an in-clinic appointment or create an appointment through the PPVC app. The only difference with this appointment is that you will provide us with an email address and a phone number so that we can reach you at a designated time. Our client care specialists will collect the examination fee while scheduling this appointment or pay via your phone through the app when scheduling. Prior to your appointment time, we will send you a link to start this conversation. Please have the pet present for this video chat. We may request that you take photographs or videos of your pet with your smartphone during this chat. If medication needs to be dispensed, we will prepare the prescriptions and call you when they are ready for pick-up.

A telemedicine appointment is only available to patients with whom we have a current existing client-patient relationship. Telemedicine is not appropriate for all ailments. If we deem that this appointment is not appropriate for your pet’s illness, we will request that you bring your pet to the hospital for a complete physical examination and/or appropriate diagnostics. Telemedicine appointments are not appropriate for any emergency patients.

Why are we doing this now?

We love caring for your pet. We want to be there for your pet’s veterinary care during these difficult times. This can only happen if our staff remains healthy!

These temporary changes may lengthen your waiting and service time a bit – so, we thank you in advance for your patience. We know your time is valuable and will do our best to be as expedient as possible, without sacrificing care and quality. We greatly appreciate your trust in us with the care of your pet.

We are asking our clients to call us if you have an appointment and:
• You have recently been ill or currently have a fever and/or new onset of cough or difficulty breathing;
• You have been to a COVID-19 impacted area (Iran, Italy, China, South Korea) in the last 14 days;
• You have been in close contact with a confirmed or probable case of COVI19;
• You have been in close contact with a person with acute respiratory illness.

We also realize that people have many questions about pets and COVID-19. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), no animals in the United States have been identified with the virus, and there is no evidence that dogs or other pets can contract or spread COVID-19. Please go to the American Veterinary Medical Association’s FAQs for pet owners to learn more.

As always, please do reach out to PPVC via phone or text at 719-475-1747 with additional questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support and your business.

The Doctors and Staff at Pikes Peak Veterinary Clinic.