General FAQ’s

Our hospital is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 am until 5:30 pm. Our Hospital is closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

At Halifax Veterinary Center, scheduled appointments always come first. We do, however, see walk-in patients when our schedule allows. A walk-in patient who needs a wellness exam and vaccines may not be able to be seen by us that day. A walk-in patient who needs an exam for feeling ill will be triaged. Any patient in respiratory distress will be immediately taken to our treatment area to be assessed. However, if stable, you may be asked to wait until we can fit your pet in. If we cannot fit your pet in and your pet is stable enough to go to the emergency center, we may direct you there. A walk-in, no matter well or ill, may have to wait hours to be seen or be turned away due to our scheduled appointments for the day. It is always recommended to schedule an appointment instead of being a walk-in.

With the need for veterinary care having increased nationwide since 2020, we are booking wellness exams at least one month in advance. We do our best to see your pets who are not feeling well as soon as we can. We ask that you call as soon as your pet shows signs of feeling ill, so you do not have to wait once your pet’s symptoms have gotten worse. Having a pet who has had symptoms for three or more days, and then expecting to be fit in near our closing time is not fair of you to ask of us.

Payment is required at the time of service, however, we do accept Care Credit and Scratchpay if you are in need of a payment plan. See Payment Options.

Cash, Check, MasterCard, Discover, Visa, American Express, and CareCredit, Scratchpay. We offer a 5% discount off doctor’s services when paying with cash.

No, there is no advantage to letting your pet have one litter. However, there are plenty of advantages to having your pet spayed or neutered. These advantages include decreasing the chances of breast tumors later in life, decreasing the chance of cystic ovaries and uterine infections later in life, decreasing the desire to roam the neighborhood, decreasing the incidence of prostate cancer later in life, helping prevent spraying and marking, and also decreases the surplus of unwanted puppies and kittens.

New clients are always welcome. New clients are expected to have a scheduled appointment, to bring prior records with them, and to arrive ten minutes early to complete paperwork. We are required by law to give a Rabies vaccine to any patient who does not have proof of a current rabies vaccination. The only exception is if one of our doctors believes the patient to be too ill to receive the vaccination that day. We will NOT see your pet unless you agree to this policy. Our doctors’ medical licenses will not be compromised because a client may have “forgotten” their old records or because an owner does not believe in the Rabies vaccination. Simply put, it is the law.

General Policy: If you are unable to keep an appointment, please call us at least 24 hours in advance to reschedule or cancel, so we may help another patient needing treatment. Our veterinary-client patient relationship is based on mutual trust and respect. To keep appointments on time, we provide multiple text and email reminders for all clients.

Late Arrival Policy: We ask you to arrive at least five minutes before your scheduled appointment time so your pet may benefit from the full exam time. We may have paperwork for you to fill out, even if you are not a new client, or medical records that you bring with you that need to be added to our system. If you arrive ten or more minutes late to your appointment, we will offer options of being seen as a work-in, day admission, or rescheduled as our scheduled permits. We strive to ensure clients and patients are seen in a timely manner and appreciate your on-time arrival. Clients who have three or more late arrivals for appointments cannot schedule future appointment and will only be seen as emergencies or day admissions. Additional fees will apply.

Cancellation Policy: If you need to cancel an appointment, please call us at least 24 hours in advance. If you reach us after business hours, please leave a voicemail. Early cancellation will allow another patient access to timely care.

No-Show Policy: A no-show is a client who misses an appointment without cancelling it. Missed appointments will require prepayment of the exam fee when rescheduling. When this prepaid appointment is kept, the fee will be applied to the invoice. If the prepaid appointment is not kept, the fee will be forfeited. If you are a no-show for three appointments, we will terminate our veterinary-client patient relationship.

We appreciate the opportunity to care for your pets and share these exceptions upfront so we can best serve our clients and patients with timely care.