Onion River Animal Hospital
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Hours & Location
    • History
    • Our Team
    • Mission & Values
    • Hospital Policies
    • Testimonials & Reviews
  • Services
    • Emergency Care
    • Home Delivery
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Charitable Outreach
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Behavior Articles
    • Pet Health Articles
    • Useful Links
  • Contact
    • Request An Appointment
  • Dog Training
    • S.T.A.R. Puppy

The latest from Onion River Animal Hospital

More about our upcoming move and our commitment to more fear free visits!

5/6/2017

4 Comments

 
Picture
Change can be nerve-wracking and exhilarating all at once. Here at ORAH we are growing more and more excited about our impending move to a new location. Many of our patients’ families seem excited too—we get asked about the move every day! 
As much as we hate to leave the charm and history of our old dairy barn, there are some practical reasons why moving makes sense. Most importantly, we’ve known for a long time that we’ve outgrown the available space. When a patient has to wait longer than we’d like to see us, it’s usually because we don’t have a room available. Also, for a medical facility, there are obvious challenges in terms of heating, cooling and ventilating the space to our liking throughout the seasons. We know parking can be a challenge too, even though we’ve expanded the small lot a couple of times. Finally, for years we have wanted our building to be more accessible, to families and patients both. We love our porch but having stairs to climb simply to get in the building can be a challenge for some. With the small floor space in our entrance area, we haven’t been able to add an ADA compliant restroom. All these details will be corrected in our new location!
​

In addition to improving so many practical things with our move, we are even more excited about what the move will mean for our patients. There is a current shift in veterinary medicine towards creating a fear-free practice. Reducing the anxiety and stress some of our patients feel when visiting us is one of our most important goals right now. Some of what stresses our patients happens at the level of the facility—noises, odors, and face-to-face meetings with other patients can be anxiety triggers for some pets. While we want our entrance area to be a welcoming place where friends can cross paths, greet neighbors, even have a cup of coffee, we want our patients to have the space they need. 

In our new facility, cats will have their own nook, away from curious dog noses. Dogs who enjoy other dogs can still say hello, but those who find other dogs threatening or who grow more worried around new people will be able to enter their exam rooms directly from a side door. On the rare occasions we need to take a patient to another spot to finish a procedure, we will have a quiet room that is not in the busiest part of the hospital. Examination rooms will offer treats for dogs and cats, pheromone sprays designed to reduce stress, and safe ways for cats to climb and “hide.”


When our new facility is ready, we will offer an Open House with a tour to explain all these exciting changes. Please visit www.fearfreepets.com to learn more about the theories behind a fear-free veterinary practice. Look for more information here in the future about what families, our veterinarians, and our staff can do as a team to reduce a pet’s stress at visiting the doctor!

Picture
4 Comments
Cheryl Lasell
5/6/2017 09:53:57 am

I think this is the very best vet office and the staff is wondeful and very caring.. I can't wait for the new office and my three huskies are going to love the new place.

Reply
Brenda Bailey
5/6/2017 05:58:41 pm

I am so excited about this move. All of you at ORAH are wonderful, caring, compassionate people and I am always thankful for the care my pets receive there. I have loved coming to the present facility but you are going to love the larger space and I for one am going to love the location! Can't wait to see it!!!!

Reply
Christine Litchfield
5/11/2017 01:20:32 pm

ORAH is a superb place for pet care! I have always been very happy with the care given to my dog(s). Everyone is so kind, friendly and compassionate and really cares about the animals. Personally I will love the new location, quite near me! Congratulations on your new venture!

Reply
penny copeland
5/12/2017 03:09:45 pm

i am so excited for you guys and for me and my fur babies as well....You are definitely in tight quarters where you are now but none the less we have always received great care. looking forward to visiting the new office. Best of luck, Nala, MIssy, Torres and Penny

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    September 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Call us
​today!
Picture

2386 Airport road
berlin, Vermont
Phone: 802-223-7765
Fax: 802-223-6306
ORAHvt@comcast.net 


ASPCA Pet Health Insurance
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Hours & Location
    • History
    • Our Team
    • Mission & Values
    • Hospital Policies
    • Testimonials & Reviews
  • Services
    • Emergency Care
    • Home Delivery
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Charitable Outreach
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Behavior Articles
    • Pet Health Articles
    • Useful Links
  • Contact
    • Request An Appointment
  • Dog Training
    • S.T.A.R. Puppy
✕