Making Veterinary Care More Accessible at Winchester Animal Clinic

Veterinary bills can be expensive, but one local animal clinic is trying to help cut costs. Under a new program started this month, offers a wellness clinic on Tuesdays, allowing healthy patients to receive basic preventive care without paying the usual $70 exam fee. Services include heartworm tests and vaccines. Heartworm and flea prevention treatments are offered at 10 percent off. 

While pet owners still have to pay for their pets’ shots, waiving the exam fee means people can spread out the cost of basic veterinary care, said Ashley Chetty, Technician Supervisor. If paying for two shots in one visit is too expensive, for example, they have the option of bringing their cat in for a rabies vaccine one week and a distemper shot the next.

Chetty said the wellness clinic doesn’t take the place of an annual exam, since veterinarians won’t give a full exam. However, they are able to do a quick overview of a pet’s health and suggest bringing a pet back for a thorough exam if necessary.

The idea for the wellness clinic arose from the down economy and pet owners’ comments when presented with an annual exam bill that could be as much as $500. 

“You hear, ‘My dog’s going to have to get a job himself just to pay for this,’” Chetty said. “We felt concerned for our patients. What if owners are putting off medical care because of concerns about costs?” 

Winchester Animal Clinic has one full-time veterinarian on staff, as well as one part-time vet. Outside the confines of the wellness clinic, they offer a range of on-site veterinary services, including radiology, ultrasound, IV fluids, surgery, daytime emergency care, dentistry, lab work, and more. The days are busy, especially on Thursdays, when they do surgeries and are open in the evenings, and on Saturdays.

“It’s good to be busy. It keeps us on our toes, makes the time go faster. And we really love our patients,” Chetty said.

Yesterday, the phone rang repeatedly at the clinic. One call was from the owner of a cat who’d been in for chemotherapy and hadn’t been eating well since. Chetty had worried the cat might have to come in for fluids, but was happy to hear the owner’s report that the cat had improved.

It’s a new world of pet care, Chetty acknowledged, one in which pets live longer thanks to chemotherapy, laser surgery, and other medical advances. Owners also treat pets like members of the family, cooking for their cats and dogs or buying organic and holistic prepared foods.

“You want to give them the best life you can,” Chetty said, whether you have a lot of money or not, and that’s another reason for the Wellness Clinic. “We need to be more accessible because everyone wants to do that for their pets.”

The wellness clinic at Winchester Animal Clinic is open Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Appointments are preferred, but walk-ins are welcome.