Clinic Policies

New Clients:

DeSoto Animal Clinic is experiencing some challenges. Our caseload is overwhelming, and it has become difficult to recruit and maintain proper staffing. The plans for our new hospital are still alive,  we have made some recent progress with tree removal, and are in the process of choosing a contractor to begin our construction.

In order to provide the standard of care which our patients deserve, we need to make some changes. Until we are able to expand our staff and improve our facility, we can only take on 2 new clients per doctor per day, 1 in the morning, and 1 in the afternoon. Since we are limiting the amount of new clients we are seeing per day, we are scheduling new clients about one month out. This should allow us to provide for our established clients who have been so loyal to our practice. We expect this will be difficult, and we know there will be exceptions. We must attend to emergencies, and we cannot turn away those who cannot find help anywhere else.

Please be patient as we try to deal with these issues. We just want to continue providing the best possible care for your pets.

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COVID-19:

DeSoto Animal Clinic is fully open for all services and we are allowing clients inside the building with their pets. Based on your preference, you may either wait in your car while your pet is examined by the doctor, or come inside for a traditional appointment. We are not requiring clients to wear a mask while inside the building, however you may wear a mask inside the building if you are more comfortable. While some of our staff is not currently wearing masks, if you wish to have the staff working with your pet be masked, please inform one of the front office receptionists. We will continue to clean and disinfect surfaces frequently.

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Operating Hours: 

Office Hours: Monday through Friday 8:00am to 5:30pm, Saturday 8:00am to Noon.

Appointment Hours: Monday through Friday 9:00am to 11:30am and 2:30pm to 4:30pm, Saturday 9:00am to 11:30am (any emergencies beyond these hours may be subject to an urgent care fee and/or immediate transfer to Bradenton Veterinary Emergency.)

Technician Times: The walk-in hours for our technicians are 9:00am to 11:30am and 2:30pm to 5:00pm on Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 11:30am on Saturday. We do not schedule appointments for the technicians.

Patients are seen by appointment. However, serious emergencies are given priority and can potentially cause delays. Non-critical “work-ins” will be seen as quickly as possible, but may sometimes require prolonged wait times. Another option is to hospitalize your pet until one of the doctors has time to perform an examination. (You must be an established client in order to hospitalize or drop-off a pet.)

Florida state law:

It is a Florida state law that your pet must be an established patient and current on routine examinations in order to receive prescription medication.

Payment:

Payment is expected at the time of service. We accept cash, personal check, Master Card, Visa, American Express, Discover and payment plans are only made available through CareCredit. You can visit the link at www.carecredit.com for the application process

Outside Pharmacy Prescription Requests Policy: 

Online Medication Prescription Policy We have implemented an outside pharmacy prescription policy, please click on the link to read more.