11/20/2020
As the seasons change, we also have some changes here at Towne
& Country. This is a long email, but contains important information, please
read the email in its entirety. We have doctor changes, hour changes, holiday
closing changes and operational changes.
We are booking out 2-3 weeks for well
visits however we do have same day sick appointment times set aside for our
sick patients. If your pet is sick and needs to be seen please call the
office, do not use email or the pet portal app. Sick appointments are
booked on a first call first seen basis. We ask that you call at 7:30 am on the
day you need to be seen. If you get the answering service please do not
leave a message for an appointment, wait a minute and call back. We are
here and will turn the phones over but we need to have an empty line to do
that.
If your pet needs to see the
technicians (nail trim, anal gland expression, bloodwork, etc.,) they are booking
out 1-2 days.
If you are here to drop off a pet for
surgery or have an 8 am appointment and are calling to check in, please do
not leave a message with the answering service, call back and make sure to
talk to a receptionist in the office. We do not get our messages until later in
the morning and do not know you are here unless you speak to someone in the
office.
We are still doing curbside service
and only staff members are allowed in our building. Please plan on arriving 10-15
minutes before your scheduled appointment time so we can check you in and plan
to stay in our parking lot during the appointment. Plan on being here an hour
for a single pet doctor appointment, longer if you have multiple pets here. We
are now asking you to bring your pets to the entrance door after we check you
in and we will be discharging them through the exit door. We have found this is
better for the pets and safer for our staff as we are not reaching into your
pet’s environment and trying to remove them. We will be switching leashes at
the door; we will place our leash on and then ask you to remove yours. All
cats must be in a carrier. If you do not have a carrier a pillowcase or
cardboard box with a cover works just as well. This is for their safety as we
do not want any cats escaping when we are handling them outside.
We understand that people want to be
with their pets when they are here. Quite honestly, we like it better that way
too. Things are taking longer than normal and we are constantly brainstorming
new ways to lessen the wait. This is all new to us too. We are learning as we
go and hope things are getting smoother. We understand waiting is hard but we all want
to give every pet the best care possible. Please be patient. Due to the recent
increase of positive Covid-19 tests in the area and current guidelines we do
not know when we will be letting clients back in the building. We are operating
based on guidelines from the American Veterinary Medical Association and
mandates from the New York State governor. We will let you know of any changes
and when you will be allowed back in the building as soon as we possibly can.
We now offer contactless pickup for
medications. When you call to order and pay for medications you will be
given a 4-digit pin to unlock your locker. Look for your pet’s name on the
locker, after entering the 4-digit pin, press the E or # button, depending on
the locker. Please leave the locker unlocked when you are done so we know the
items have been picked up. Directions
will also be posted near the lockers. No more calling in when you are here and
waiting for someone to bring them to you! The lockers are sanitized several
times a day and there are touchless sanitizer stations for your safety.
Where are these lockers located? During
regular hours you can pick up medication from a locker inside our exit door,
the door on the far right when looking at the building. Not available to pick
up during regular business hours? We have lockers at our back door, by our
staff parking lot in the back of the building. Again, these medications must be
paid for at the time you order them to use our pickup lockers.
We are not able to use the lockers for bags of food, controlled
medications, or temperature sensitive items. Please let us know when you order
your medications if you will be picking up during or after hours as that
determines which locker your medications will be in.
Speaking of business hours, ours are
changing. As of Monday, 11/30/2020 our new hours will be:
Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday 7:30 am
to 6 pm
Wednesday and Friday 7:30 am to 5 pm
Saturday 7:30 am to 3 pm
Did you know you can use our new pet portal to request refills, appointments
and see your pet’s vaccine information? We can also text, please make sure we
have your cell phone number on your account to use this feature. You can text us
and send us pictures to 607-937-8222. Any videos need to be sent to our email, tcvh@stny.rr.com. Please allow up to 24 hours for
medication refills and appointment requests. If you need more information on
our new Pet Portal app please send us an email asking for app information or if
you do not have a smart phone visit our website at http://www.towneandcountryveterinaryhospital.com and click
on the “Pet Portal AllyDVM” tab to use the web version. The email you use for
the Pet Portal login must be listed in our system.
Soon you will notice some changes in
our doctor staffing.
After 17 years Dr. Michelle Warren has
resigned. Her last day will be November 23, 2020. She will be leaving us to
take a position at a quieter practice in Troy, PA. We wish her good luck and
will miss her.
After 5 years Dr. Collin Cary will be
leaving us on December 23, 2020. We wish him good luck and will miss him as he
moves to a veterinary clinic in Watkins Glen where he can focus on exotic
animal medicine.
Dr. Min Thak joined our staff to help
fill these veterinarian positions. If you have had your pet in for a well visit
you may have already spoken with her. She has been settling into our hospital
since July and is starting to see more patients.
Even with these changes you will still
continue to hear those old familiar voices of Dr. Michael Cary, Dr. Ann Cary,
and Dr. Denise Hardisky during these challenging times in the world around us.
We will not be having our Annual Open House this year. We do
miss seeing your faces and having you in the office but due to Covid-19 we need
to keep all our staff and clients safe. Santa’s Second-String Reindeer will be
here for a socially distant display in December. Watch our Facebook page and
website for more information.
If you have an emergency when we are
closed please call our main line at 607-937-8222 to speak with the
answering service. Emergencies will be directed to the on-call hospital for the
day. We share rotating emergency coverage with Agape Veterinary Clinic, Chemung
Valley Veterinary Clinic, Corning Animal Hospital, Lake Road Animal Hospital, and
Rio Vista Veterinary Hospital. Non-holiday emergency coverage is weekdays 5 pm
until 8 pm, Saturdays 8 am to 3 pm, and Sundays 9 am to 2 pm.
Holidays and after hours will be
referred to Cornell University Hospital for Animals in Ithaca. They can be
reached at 607-253-3060. If Cornell is at capacity, they
will be referring to other hospitals. It depends on the day as to which
hospital Cornell would refer to. The best option is to call Cornell to see if
they are at capacity and if they are, ask which hospital they are referring
patients to.
There are a few other hospitals we
would recommend if Cornell is at capacity.
VCA Colonial, also in Ithaca, can be
reached at 607-257-3650. They are open 7 days a week 8 am to 10 pm but they have been closing earlier at 8:00 pm or
9:00 pm, just call to see their hours for the day. They will
be open until 5 pm on Thanksgiving
Day and are closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
Vestal Veterinary Hospital, located
in Vestal, can be reached at 607-754-3933. They are open for emergencies 8 am
until 5 pm Saturdays and Sundays. During those hours they will see any pets of
non-clients if they are able to. Please call to see if they have any
availability. They do not have weekday emergency hours.
If you have an emergency please do not
just show up at the on-call hospital. You must
speak to them before you arrive as they are on call and may not be at their
facility if there are no patients to be seen or they may be at capacity for the
day.
Our holiday closings are listed below.
We will be closing for the
Thanksgiving holiday at 5 pm on Wednesday November 25th and will
reopen on Friday November 27th at 7:30 am.
We will be closing for the Christmas
holiday at 5 pm on Wednesday December 23rd and will reopen on Monday
December 28th at 7:30 am.
We will be closing for the New Year’s
holiday at 5 pm on Thursday December 31st and will reopen at on Monday
January 4th at 7:30 am.
As always, if you have any questions
please feel free to call us.
The Staff at Towne & Country
Veterinary Hospital