Mountainview Small Animal Hospital Appointment Policies

It is our goal to provide the most thorough care to our patients as possible and for that reason, we recommend making an appointment for your pet’s visit whenever possible.

Walk-in appointments can be accommodated if our schedule allows, but the wait to be seen could be quite lengthy as scheduled appointments will have priority over non-emergency arrivals. If our case load is such that we feel we would not be able to provide the best medical care possible to our patients and give our clients the time and attention they expect and deserve, we may refer walk-in appointments to another facility. Finally, walk-in appointments are charged at a higher rate than scheduled appointments, so whenever possible try to schedule in advance-even if it means calling us that morning to get in that afternoon.

Emergencies will always take priority over wellness visits and non-life threatening, medical appointments. We know our clients understand that if it were their pet, they would want immediate life saving measures started without delay and when these situations arise, we do our best to attend to our waiting clients as best we can--either offering to re-schedule their appointment or by updating them as to wait times and trying to keep them as comfortable as possible until they can be seen.

We understand that emergencies occur without warning, but if an emergency arises please try to call us before arriving to inform us as to what the emergency is and what your estimated arrival time is, so we may be set up and prepared to assist your pet immediately. Calling ahead will also ensure the veterinarian is on site and able to administer aide to your pet. We never want a pet owner to be in the situation where they rush a pet in to us, only to find the veterinarian is in surgery or out of the office and cannot render aide—wasting valuable time as they have to be referred to another facility for urgent care. We understand calling ahead is not always an option, but if it is, please do so.

We recommended our clients locate the two nearest after-hours emergency clinics BEFORE they have a situation arise. Have their phones numbers stored in your phone and know where they are located. If possible drive the route to the one you are most likely to go to if something were to occur—that way, you will be familiar with the route.

Emergency Pet Clinic of Temecula
27443 Jefferson Ave
Temecula, CA 92590 (951) 695-5044

California Veterinary Specialists
39809 Avenida Acacias, Suite E
Murrieta, CA 92563 (951) 600-9803

Scheduled Appointments–
Our ability to care for as many pets in need as possible, without turning clients away, rests on our ability to plan our day based on what appointments/surgeries we have scheduled. For that reason, we ask that if you need to re-schedule or cancel a Dr’s visit/Tech appointment you give us at least 24 hours’ notice, and if you need to re-schedule or cancel a surgical/anesthetic appointment we ask for 72 hours’ notice–thereby allowing those time slots to be used for another pet that may be in need of care.

Any “no-show” appointment or appointment cancelled or re-scheduled in less than the 24/72 hour notice guidelines will be subject to the following:

Appointment Cancellation and No-Show Policy is as follows:

• First missed appointment/late cancellation –will result in a courtesy call to re-schedule if necessary as well as to reiterate our appointment policy and discuss any portions of the policy that may need clarifying.
• Second missed appointment/late cancellation –you will be notified via telephone, email or letter that you have had a second missed appointment and your account will be charged either $40 for a Dr’s visit / Tech appointment or $100 for a surgery/anesthetic appointment.
• Third missed appointment/late cancellation –you will be notified via telephone, email or letter that you have now missed your third appointment and your account will be charged the appropriate fee ($40/$100). You will be advised that we may need to see you pets on a walk-in basis only if any other appointments are missed.
• Any other missed appointments or failure to pay charges –you will be advised via telephone, email or letter that your pets will now only be seen on, the more costly, walk-in basis moving forward and surgeries will require a pre-paid, $100 non-refundable deposit before scheduling.

Missed appointment fees will be assessed PER PET in the case of multiple pet appointments. Missed appointment fees will need to be paid up front before any other services or appointments can be provided, including purchasing food, and re-filling medications.

We thank you in advance for abiding by these policies and hope you understand they have been created to help serve our clients and patients in the most effective manner possible.

Just remember, the appointment you advised us in advance you could not keep might save the life of another pet in need.