When you become a new dog owner, one of your first thoughts should be about medical care for your new best friend. If you live in Louisiana, your dog will need monthly flea protection and you’ll definitely need to check on heartworm medication. Your local veterinarian will recommend any required or beneficial vaccinations each year and work with you to develop a plan to maintain your new dog’s long-term health.
So how do you find a local vet? Start by asking your (human) friends. More than likely they have tried a number of vets in the area and can offer valuable advice based on their experience. You should also check the website. The LVMA, in operation for over for over 50 years, provides a great resource called “Find a Veterinarian” that lets you enter information by city, zip and parish in order to find members who are near your house: . When I used this service many years ago to find a vet for Bowie, I was thrilled to discover a top-notch veterinary practice just a few minutes from my house!
Of course, you can always search through your local phone book for a list of local veterinarians. Of if you prefer, you can even search the online . Just visit their website and enter veterinarians as your category, next enter your city and state, and then the site will return a list of veterinary businesses near your home.
Once you have built a list of potential veterinarians for your new dog, be sure to visit them in person. Talk to the employees, find out how long they’ve been in business, get an idea of their customer service as you walk in the door, and look around to assess their cleanliness. Ask about regular or ‘well check’ visits, emergency care, boarding, grooming, etc. so you can determine which location feels “just right” for you and your pet.
We remain very pleased with our choice for animal care and have remained loyal customers for over twenty years. Our daughter’s dogs, our son’s bulldog and other of our pets have been well cared for by the loving people there. The clinic also provides boarding services, they’re open half days on Saturdays and send us reminder postcards for vaccinations. Just recently they mailed us a manufacturer’s rebate check on a product we recently purchased at the clinic!