If you’ve ever had a pet, you know how stressful a vet experience can be for both you and your furry (or scaly) friend.
The second they smell that familiar scent of the veterinary building, the puppy dog eyes come out, perhaps some cries and behavioural traits that can be completely out of the norm for them.
In a bid to make the experience as stress-free and positive as possible, Whistler local Dr. Caroline Alms has recently expanded her at-home veterinary services to Squamish and Britannia Beach.
Harmony Veterinary Services launched in Whistler and Pemberton a year ago in December as a way to service the local pet communities.
“I’ve been living in Whistler for three years now, and I’ve been working at all the different vet clinics up and down the corridor, and I saw this need for more vet care, particularly in Whistler,” Alms said.
“I’m super passionate about doing fear-free practice and I see so many really frightened animals in a vet clinic, and they’re just so much happier at home.
“So, I saw this opportunity to start it up, and it’s honestly just been such a lovely experience doing the veterinary work in people’s homes with pets who love you and are super happy to see you instead of running away, hiding or trying to bite and scratch.”
Since Nov. 18, Harmony Vets has been servicing the Squamish and Britannia Beach area.
“We had a lot of requests for heading to Squamish, and it was always something that I wanted to do,” Alms said.
What services do they offer?
Much like house-call doctors, travelling vets offer a variety of services similar to that of a clinic.
“We can offer pretty much everything that you get in a consult room,” Alms said.
“So that includes wellness exams, vaccines and urine and blood tests. We can also do skin and eye workups. We’ve got tools for measuring eye pressure and a microscope, so all of this can be done in someone’s living room.”
But there are some things they can’t offer.
“We don’t do anything with general anesthesia, so surgeries, X-rays and dental work we don’t do,” Alms said.
“But we work with some of the other vets in Squamish, where we can refer our patients to them, and we can do the pre-anesthetic blood work, get them on some anxiety meds before they get to the vet for surgery, and just facilitate the process a lot more easily.”
Fear-free practice
For Alms, providing fear-free practice was a big priority for Harmony Vets.
“I am fear-free certified. … It’s a course that you do to learn more about animal behaviour and what techniques we can do as vet professionals to reduce fear and stress,” she said.
“Since doing the course, it’s made enormous amounts of difference to how pets respond to me. But the big thing is that [by having this knowledge] each time we visit, the pets have a more and more comforting experience, which builds their trust, and it makes for a safer visit to the vets, particularly if they’re going for surgeries and things.”
Is a home visit more expensive?
Surprisingly, having a vet come to your home doesn’t cost an extra arm and a leg.
“We just charge an extra $60 for the at-home call out, but our exam fees are comparable to the fees that clinics charge,” Alms said.
“In fact, it’s slightly less because I wanted to make this service accessible for people.”
A standard wellness appointment is $115 plus the call-out fee.
For more information on Harmony Veterinary Service, visit their website.
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