Client Forms & Clinic Policies

A) Appointment & Arrival Policies

Appointment Reminders & Cancellations
As a courtesy, we provide appointment reminders via text, email, and/or phone. Pet owners are responsible for keeping track of the appointments they make. Please provide at least 24 hours’ notice to cancel or reschedule appointments so we may offer the time to another patient. Surgical procedures require 48 hours’ notice.

Late Arrivals
Late arrivals disrupt scheduled appointments and impact patient care. We understand delays happen and we consider these circumstances on a case-by-case basis

Arriving 10 minutes late may result in an extended appointment fee.
Arriving 15 minutes late or more is considered a missed appointment. We will always do our best to accommodate you; however, extended wait times should be expected. If we determine that we are unable to see your pet due to not having enough time to provide proper care, you will be asked to reschedule.

Missed / No-Show Appointments
A no-show occurs when an appointment is missed without any notice. A missed appointment occurs when an appointment is canceled without sufficient 24/48 hour notice. Both limit access to care for other pets. We understand emergencies happen and we always offer grace for the first missed appointment. A $25 fee applies after a second missed appointment. After three missed appointments, a non-refundable prepayment equal to an office exam is required to schedule future visits; this amount will be deducted from your invoice once the appointment is completed. Repeated no-shows may result dismissal from our practice. For surgeries: 48 hours’ notice is required to avoid a $75 surgeon’s fee. This fee helps offset costs associated with preparation, staffing, and resources for your pets procedure.

New Patient Appointments
If your pet is brand new to Churchville Veterinary Hospital, previous medical records should be sent prior to your pets appointment to avoid delays during your pets visit. Reviewing records can take time. Records may be emailed to [email protected]. New patient wellness visits are scheduled for approx. 40 minutes. To ensure our medical team can provide the highest standard of care to our established patients we reserve the right to pause the acceptance of new clients/patients or cases at anytime. We will update our website when this restriction is in place. Current clients adding a new pet to their family will be accepted.

Scheduling Multiple Pets: To help maintain a safe, comfortable, and low-stress environment for our patients and clients, we limit appointments to no more than two pet appointments per household at one time. This policy helps ensure adequate space in our facility and allows our staff to provide attentive care to each pet. Some pets also experience increased anxiety, excitement, or stress when accompanied by another household pet.

Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship (VCPR)
State law and professional guidelines require an active Veterinarian–Client–Patient Relationship (VCPR) before we can prescribe medications, prescription diets, or give medical advice. To keep this relationship active, your pet must have a wellness exam at our clinic at least once a year. Pets that are seen annually are considered active patients. A pet that has not been seen in 3 years or more are considered to be inactive. Whether we are able to re-establish care for inactive patients depends on our current availability and patient intake status of our doctor.

Wait Times
We strive to minimize wait times; however, emergencies and unpredictable situations can arise in this hospital setting which can cause delays. Emergency cases always take priority. We appreciate your patience and understanding, and assure you we would do the same for your pet.

B) Medications & Prescription Refill Policies

Prescription Refill Requests
Refill requests are accepted Monday–Friday during normal business hours. Please allow 72 hours (3 business days) for doctor review and processing. This includes flea, tick, and heartworm prevention and prescriptions sent to outside pharmacies. Controlled substances and compounded medications may require additional time. Same-day/rush refill requests may be subject to a rush fee. Urgent refill requests require staff to adjust scheduled workflows and prioritize medication preparation. This fee helps offset the additional time and resources needed to process these requests promptly.
Medical Monitoring
For your pet’s safety, pets treated for certain conditions or receiving routine medications must have appropriate medical monitoring performed every six months before refills can be authorized. Older pets that need medical monitoring will require a semi-annual exam. Monitoring requirements can be determined by the treating veterinarian on a case-by-case basis. This is for your pet's safety and adheres to ethical medical practices.

Medication Returns & Disposal
Prescription medications cannot be returned or donated. Medications are regulated by the FDA and subject to the same laws as human medications. We cannot accept donated or unused medications or controlled substances. We recommend locating a DEA drug take-back site for safe disposal of unused pet or human medications. www.dea.gov/everyday-takeback-day

Outside Pharmacy Policy
We aim to accommodate requests to use a variety of outside pharmacies. However, to protect your pet’s health and ensure medication safety, our clinic reserves the right to decline authorization or communication with certain online pharmacies if we have concerns regarding quality control, licensing, dispensing accuracy, or timely communications that could impact patient care. If we are unable to work with a specific online pharmacy that you have requested your pets medications through, we will be happy to recommend trusted alternatives.

C) Code of Conduct/Other
Our clinic is a healing environment, and our staff deserve a safe and respectful workplace. We understand veterinary visits can be stressful; however, we expect all clients to treat our team with patience and respect—in person, by phone, or by email. We maintain a zero tolerance policy for any verbal abuse, threats, aggression, discrimination, or disruptive behavior. Violations will result in immediate removal and dismissal from our practice. As a collaborative care team, we require respectful communication, cooperation, and compliance with clinic policies.

Safety
All pets must be on a short leash or in a secure carrier upon arrival. If you do not have one, please contact us before entering the building and we will be happy to loan you one for the duration of your visit.

Children
We are a family-friendly practice; however, for the safety of all parties and to maintain a calm environment for our patients, children must be supervised and free from disruptive behaviors.

Rabies Vaccination
Per New York State law, all pets must be current on rabies vaccination when age-eligible. If your pet was vaccinated elsewhere, please provide a copy of the rabies certificate for our records. Medical exemptions may be granted by a veterinarian for qualifying conditions and must be renewed annually. Rabies titers are not accepted in place of vaccination. Animal bites and potential rabies exposures must be reported to the local health department. The health department determines any required observation, quarantine, testing, fines, or other actions in accordance with state regulations.

Communications
To ensure timely and effective communication regarding your pet's care, we need to be able to get in touch with you. We require all clients to maintain a current primary phone number and email address on file. We utilize email and text messaging as our primary methods of communication for appointment reminders, treatment updates, important notifications, and other pet-related information. It is the client's responsibility to notify us promptly of any changes to their contact information.

D) Financial Policies

PAYMENT IS DUE AT TIME OF SERVICE. WE DO NOT PROVIDE IN-HOUSE BILLING SERVICES.

Accepted Payment Methods
Visa, MasterCard, Discover, CareCredit, Scratch pay, checks, and cash are accepted. (American Express is not accepted) Returned checks will incur a $30 fee.

Estimates
Estimates are always available upon request. Clients must have an updated email on file for estimates to be provided. These are approximations only; additional diagnostics, treatments, or medications may result in additional charges. Estimates are valid for 30 days. Prices are subject to change without notice.

Refunds
Veterinary medical care is different from purchasing a product—you cannot “return” medical services that have been approved and rendered. As such, we do not offer refunds for medical care that has been provided.

Rechecks, Visits & Vaccine Boosters
We do not charge for services that we have yet to perform. Any follow-up services that are recommended—including recheck office visits, vaccine boosters, or sample re-evaluations (such as; ear discharge analysis or urine rechecks) will carry associated fees.

Clinic Policies

Churchville Veterinary Hospital P.C. Policies

New Client Request Form

Thank you for choosing Churchville Vet!
Current Accepting Status: Thank you for your interest in our practice. At this time, we are not accepting new clients.
We appreciate your understanding and hope to be able to assist you in the future.

Pet Owner Information

Your Pet's information

Second Pet's Information
If you have more than two pets pets we will collect additional patient information from you at or before your pet's first visit

Office Hours