Jersey Village Animal Hospital updated their address.
We hope everyone is staying safe during this pandemic! We would like to remind everyone to have their dogs on a leash or cats in a carrier when dropping off curbside. We do not have the luxury of being indoors if an animal were to get loose - god forbid.
We understand these are less than ideal circumstances, and apologize for the inconvenience. We truly believe these preventative steps are critical for the safety of our clients & staff, and our ability to continue to serve the community during this crisis.
COVID-19 update: Curbside service.
To our clients,
Due to the evolving COVID-19 situation and in an effort to comply with the “Stay Home Work Safe” order, we are now servicing all clients and requests through curbside service. We will no longer be admitting clients into our building, starting Wednesday, March 25th. We remain open regular hours and fully operational, but our lobby will be closed until further notice. Exceptions to this policy will be made for certain cases, such as euthanasias and extremely serious emergencies.
The reason for this change is to promote social distancing and reduce the risk of exposure to our staff and clients. Our goal is to remain open throughout this pandemic to serve your pets’ healthcare needs, and we feel that making this change now will help ensure we can do that.
Please call us from your cell phone when you arrive in our parking lot. If the carport at our front entry is free, we encourage you to pull up there. If you don’t have a cell phone with you, please knock loudly on the front door for assistance. A staff member will come out to your car to take your dog or cat into the building. We ask that you please have your pet outside the car, ready to go. We are finding many of our canine patients are quite defensive while in the car, which makes them exceptionally hard to handle in a safe manner. Cats must be in a carrier, and dogs must be on a leash.
After we have taken your pet into the building, please move your car to a parking spot, to free up the carport. Please wait in your car until the appointment is concluded. If it’s more convenient for you to drop your pet off and pick up at a later time, we are happy to accommodate that as well. A typical appointment should not take longer than usual. After examining your pet, the doctor will call you to discuss how your pet is doing and recommend diagnostics or treatments as needed. Payment can either be made over the phone with your credit card, or a staff member can take a check or cash into the building.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we all navigate through this crisis. Please be assured that your pets’ health remains our priority, and we are still providing the same high level of care you expect from us. We see these temporary modifications as an important public health measure during this unprecedented time.
Take care,
The Doctors and Management of JVAH
713-466-8542
COVID-19 update:
To our clients,
Amidst growing concerns about the spread of coronavirus, we wanted to inform you all that we are still open normal hours and fully operational. We remain committed to serving your pets’ healthcare, boarding, and grooming needs.
However, we are taking the threat of COVID-19 seriously, and have instituted measures in our hospital to help minimize the risk of exposure and spread. We have increased the frequency of disinfection of all high touch surfaces throughout our hospital, and we are following CDC recommendations on hand hygiene, social distancing, and staying home when sick. We have asked our staff to refrain from shaking hands, and to try to maintain a safe distance from clients during visits. This also means we will insist on using Jersey Village Animal Hospital’s personnel to handle and restrain your pet(s) in order to maintain the 6 feet of personal space recommended by the CDC.
LOW CONTACT APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE
Since limiting person-to-person contact is an important measure for all of us during this time, we are offering alternatives to our standard in-person appointments. You can request a ‘Low contact’ appointment. This involves you staying in your car for the duration of your pet’s visit. We ask that you call us upon arrival in the parking lot, and a staff member will come get your pet from the car and bring them into the hospital. Cats must be in a carrier and dogs on a leash. All communication will occur over the phone, and payment can be made over the phone, or through the staff member that comes to your car. You never need to enter our building. Low contact appointments are now available for wellness visits, sick visits, and tech appointments like nail trims. Remember to be available on your cellphone, as the doctors will be calling you. Please call us anytime to schedule one.
We also accept drop-offs, please call us to schedule. For drop-offs, you can either bring your pet into the clinic yourself, or if you prefer to minimize contact, you can call us from the parking lot for a staff member to come to you. Please allow us several hours to evaluate and treat your pet in a drop-off situation-- these are worked in between appointments and our promptness with them depends on how busy we are. You must pick up your pet by 6:30pm M-F.
For those of you who prefer face-to-face appointments, we will continue to provide those for the time being. During these examinations, every attempt will be made to maintain 6 feet of separation for your safety and the safety of the employees of Jersey Village Animal Hospital. As the situation in Houston progresses, we may re-assess this policy.
COVID-19 IN COMPANION ANIMALS
We want everyone to realize that there is currently no evidence that pets get sick from this virus, or can spread COVID-19 to people or other animals. One dog in China did test weak positive for the virus in February, causing some initial confusion. This dog did not get sick or transmit the virus to anyone, and the finding has not been repeatable in other animals. A COVID-19 test for dogs and cats is currently in development- thousands of dog and cat specimens have been evaluated and none have tested positive so far. COVID-19 testing for your pet is neither necessary nor available at this time.
If your pet develops respiratory signs or fever, rest assured that it’s almost certainly not COVID-19. There are many other canine and feline respiratory pathogens, or other diseases that are more likely to be the cause. Seeking veterinary attention is recommended.
IF YOU BECOME SICK
For the safety of our staff, we ask that you please do not come into our hospital if you are sick with flu-like symptoms. Wellness visits and elective procedures can be rescheduled when you are healthy. If your pet needs medical attention, ideally we ask that a healthy family member or friend bring them to us. If this is not an option, please call so we can discuss how best to arrange the visit. If you or someone in your household is diagnosed with COVID-19 and your pet needs medical care, please call us. We have been advised to consult our state public health veterinarian as to how to proceed in such a scenario.
If you are sick with COVID-19, please tell your healthcare provider that you have a pet in your home. It is recommended that another family member or friend cares for the pet, and that you minimize physical contact. Again, there’s no evidence that spread is possible from dogs or cats to people, but an abundance of caution is wise. It’s conceivable that a dog or cat could act as a fomite and transmit the virus by shared contact between people- much like a contaminated object or surface could spread the disease. Additional guidance on managing pets in homes where people are sick with COVID-19 is available from the CDC.
We will be insisting on a drop-off appointment for anyone presenting symptoms of a flu-like or respiratory disease.
PREPAREDNESS FOR YOUR PETS
While we strongly discourage panic buying, we do encourage you to try to maintain about a 2 week supply of pet food and any essential medications your pet needs, in case of any unexpected closures, supply issues, or home quarantine measures. Our pharmacy is currently well-stocked, and we are happy to dispense refills when appropriate. Please resist the urge to request a larger supply than you really need. We don’t want to deplete our stock and deprive other patients of their medications.
We will continue to keep you updated on the operations of the clinic, as the situation evolves.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns. We wish everyone the best during this stressful time.
Sincerely,
The Doctors of Jersey Village Animal Hospital
713-466-8542
This sweet girl is Izzabella Rose. She just finished her last set of puppy vaccines! Ms. Izzabella took advantage of the great prices we have on our puppy packs! We also offer great prices on our kitten packs as well. Call us today for a quote or to set up an appointment!
This sweet boy is Willie. He is a rescue pup from Dachshund Rescue Of Houston. He is one of many pups we see monthly through the different rescue groups we work with. Visit their page and go rescue a pup! Just make sure you keep bringing him to JVAH, we sure love this little guy!
