We know your pet is an important member of your family and their health is a priority. At Animal Hospital of Ludington, we understand the concern and questions many of our clients have regarding their pets and how the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) could potentially impact them.  Since veterinary hospitals are essential services, we are going about business as normal with regard to appointments, surgeries, and emergency care.

Our team has put in place a few operational changes that we’d like to share with you. Thank you for your cooperation as we try to comply with federal and state mandates, protect all of our clients and staff from infection from COVID-19, and still take care of our beloved pets.

• Only 1 person may come inside our office with his or her pet.  This will keep the number of people we encounter to a minimum.
• When you arrive at our office, please stay in your car.  Call us from your car and we will arrange to meet you at our front door.  The front door will be kept locked at all times so we can control how many people are allowed in at the same time.
• If you are not feeling well on the day of your appointment, please call us so we can re-schedule your pet’s appointment to a later date when you are feeling better.  alternatively, you can appoint another healthy adult person to bring your pet to the appointment.
• We hope you stay healthy and safe during these most difficult days.  Our goal is to get back on track with regular services as soon as possible.

Additionally, we felt it was important to connect with you, our loyal clients, to share information that can help put your mind at ease, and assure you we are staying on top of the emerging information as it becomes available. While we are still learning much in regards to the virus, we are confident that human to pet or pet to human transmission of COVID-19 is not likely. Meaning, should there be exposure to COVID-19, it is not possible for you to catch coronavirus from your pet or for your pet to transmit the virus to you.

As a matter of good health, we do urge you to follow recommended sanitation and hygiene practices any time you interact with a pet. For up to date information on COVID-19 and pets from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), click here.

Other important points we’d like to share:

• The disinfectants we use year-round are effective against Coronavirus. As a healthcare practice, we have routine processes in place to stop disease transmission in pets
• We have increased the frequency of disinfecting client touchpoints (i.e. bathrooms, doorknobs, etc.) Because everyone can benefit from additional training, all staff has had a thorough review of disinfection and handwashing processes.
• While we warmly welcome everyone, we will refrain from handshakes until this threat has passed.
• For our clients, we have soap and water available for handwashing as well. Dispensers with alcohol-based hand sanitizers are also available throughout the practice.
• Our dedicated staff has been advised to remain at home if they are running a fever or if a family member is suspected of having COVID-19.

Please give us a call at (231)598-6196  with any questions or concerns.