What to Expect

After you schedule your very first appointment for your pet at Severna Park Veterinary Hospital a new client form for will be sent to you either by text or email in the form of a link (It can also be accessed here. Please complete this form prior to your pet’s appointment. If your pet has been to another veterinary hospital, please call and ask them to email records to staff@severnaparkvh.com or they can fax to 410-647-2759. New pets to your family please bring any records you received to the first appointment.

Arriving at the hospital you will be greeted by one of our customer service representatives. They will get your pet checked in. The CSR will double-check information that was completed on the new client form. Make copies of any records you may have brought to your appointment. If records did not come from a previous vet hospital, they will contact them to get records. The CSR will let your doctor’s technician know that you and your pet are all checked in. If you brought a stool sample, you may leave it at the desk with the CSR.

A technician will introduce themselves and help you get a weight on your pet. This will either happen in the lobby or in the exam room depending on the size of your pet. Once in the room the technician will collect information regarding your pet’s overall health status, diet, current medications including flea/tick and heartworm preventives and current activity and energy level. If your pet is experiencing abnormal behavior or symptoms, any information you can provide will be helpful in pinpointing potential problems. The technician may also obtain your pet’s temperature, pulse, respiration, and body weight.

Once the technician has collected information about your pet, the veterinarian will perform a complete head to tail physical examination. Your pet’s veterinarian is also your pets’ dentist, psychiatrist, cardiologist, radiologist, anesthesiologist, surgeon, ophthalmologist and much more. They wear many professional hats! Your pet’s eyes, ears, and mouth will be checked for abnormalities. In addition, the veterinarian will listen to your pet’s heart and lungs and palpate your pet’s entire body, feeling for appropriate organ size and looking for any skin growths or masses. During the examination, you will be asked additional questions in order to obtain an overall assessment of your pet’s current health status. Depending on your pet’s particular circumstances, your veterinarian may recommend specific laboratory or diagnostic tests for further evaluation.

After the veterinarian’s visit if medications are prescribed a technician will come in and go over medication instructions with you. You will then return to the front desk for check out. The customer service represenative will go over your invoice and provide an itemized copy for your records.