Does the best vet in Raleigh for your dog or cat seem to be hard to find? There are a lot of options and factors to consider. After all, choosing a veterinarian isn’t just about finding a doctor who can give your pet a rabies vaccine. An animal hospital is a team of many professionals all functioning within the same facility to provide services that you need. Choosing the best vet in Raleigh (or anywhere!) requires some consideration. We’ve got some tips to help!
When choosing a vet, you should feel welcome to ask questions of anyone on the team. Receptionists, vet technicians, kennel staff, and the veterinarians are all there for the health of your dog or cat. This means more than diagnosis, treatment, and boarding. It means education for you, the caretaker, and transparency about the practice as a whole.
Worried about post-op monitoring? Ask what the team’s procedure is.
Curious about kennel conditions for boarding? Ask to see them!
Need help understanding a medical condition? The right vet should be helpful in explaining the diagnosis, treatment, and any long-term care considerations.
Some pet owners prefer to schedule appointments with particular doctors at a practice. This can be because they like the doctor’s communication style or personality, but it can also be because the doctor has an area of special interest that is highly relevant to the pet’s particular health needs. For example, a dog with chronic skin conditions might be a great fit for a doctor with a special interest in Dermatology and Allergies.
Veterinarians didn’t just go to vet school to learn the basics. They have to be very knowledgeable about a much broader spectrum of medical needs than many human doctors do. Have you ever been to a single primary care physician who could remove a bad tooth, perform a hysterectomy, repair an ACL injury in your knee, treat an ear infection, manage your arthritis pain, and give you a pedicure? Veterinarians are problem-solvers by nature. Compassion and experience make them great at what they do.
Still, expect even the best vet in Raleigh to know when to refer your pet to see a specialist. Raleigh, NC has a solid network of specialist veterinarians for everything from neurology to cardiology.
When visiting a new animal hospital, you should be able to see that the space is clean and free of clutter. This is a medical facility, after all. Checking in and out should be easy without too much of a dog or cat traffic jam to do so. If you need help getting your pet in or out of your car, someone should be able to help you. If your cat is nervous around dogs, a reception area that is spacious enough to allow you to find a space to sit without a canine spectator is ideal.
While it’s true that people as a whole are more inclined to leave reviews for any type of business when they are annoyed about something, it also serves as a good marker for how great a place is when their online reviews are still overwhelmingly positive. Good reviews are harder to earn than negative reviews are, right? (Don’t forget to leave your vet professionals positive reviews when you are happy!)
Ask us. We’re here to help!