Dr. Elisa Mazzaferro: Hi! I am Dr. Elisa Mazzaferro with AAHA and today we're talking about how to find a veterinarian. Now we're going to discuss how to find a veterinary hospital.

One of the easiest and most important things to consider is how close is that veterinary hospital to where you live? Whether it would be for wellness care or an event of an emergency it's important that you are able to get there quickly and conveniently.

Secondly, is the veterinary hospital accredited by AAHA? AAHA is an organization that accredits veterinary hospitals on over 900 standards of veterinary excellence in the areas of client and patient management, medical and surgical care, anesthesia, and pain management protocols, just to name of few.

Next, consider whether or not your colleagues and your friends will bring their pet to that veterinary hospital. Ask for their recommendation, who would they choose and why?

Finally, call that potential veterinary hospital and try to make an appointment to tour their facility. A quality veterinary hospital is proud of the good work that they do, and will be proud to show it to you. When you get there, look at their common areas and see whether or not it's cluttered or it's warm and inviting. Does it smell clean or have a funky smell that might not be warmed and inviting and bring you in?

Finally, when you make that phone call, think about how their staff treated you. Were they warm and friendly or were they hesitant or suspicious, because you wanted to tour their facility.

All of these things can help you consider whether that hospital is best for you and your pet so that you can become part of their veterinary family. Next, we're going to talk about what questions to ask when selecting a veterinarian.