Is anyone allowed into vets with their pet?

[freedomontheway]

My elderly pooch is slowing down somewhat. She has a slight mitral valve prolapse and I'm guessing it's worsening. She's not uncomfortable as such just struggling on walks a little.
My vets has a blanket ban on owners going in with their pets to the surgery due to Covid
They explain that they don't have adequate ventilation in the room.
I've asked what they will do about this and they don't seem to have a plan except to keep owners out for the foreseeable future.
What are other people's vets doing?

i had to take my cat in today and i had to take
him into a room and leave him and then wait outside whilst the vet called me on the phone. he ultimately had to be put to sleep and i was allowed into the room to hold him and the vet stood outside the room and injected the medicine into an long tube so that she didn’t have to stand close to me.

Ours allows in one person at a time, always wearing a mask. I'm happy with that.

I'm not sure your vet's approach sounds reasonable.

Ours makes us wait outside or pop back. I hate the queuing outside waiting to be let in (only appointment pets go in, if you're early you have to wait outside) But the vets on a main road and my cat freaks out in the carrier at the best of time so perched on the pavement inches away from cars screeching past stresses her out even more.

Not sure what else they can do but you'd think with lockdown restrictions they'd ease up a bit, not least for pet welfare, I'm sure many pets would be less stressed with their owners with them, whatever the treatment was and that's got to be a factor.

One person, masked

Stay outside in the car

No ours doesnt, they talk to you in waiting room and then take your pet into a consultation room to examine them, then come back to waiting room to talk to you again.
Causes chaos as only 2 people allowed in waiting room at any one time and its clogged up with consultations that are usually in vets room so always a long queue outside, takes ages even to pick up medication etc

My sister had to hand her cat over in the car park to be put to sleep. This was in the summer but I can’t believe owners are still not allowed in!

Ours allows one person in, wearing a mask and has been like that since they reopened after the first lockdown. The waiting room has some seats taped off for social distancing, with a capacity of 5 people at one time. Never seen more than two or three waiting though.

We aren’t even allowed in the waiting room at ours you have to hand your pet over in the car park.

We were back and forth to the vets from May to September last year with our cat. The vet or nurse would collect him from the car park and take him in. At collection the vet would come out and hand him back and talk to us through the car window. When he was PTS we were both allowed in the surgery with him (masked, gowned and gloved)

@sunshineandshowers21

i had to take my cat in today and i had to take him into a room and leave him and then wait outside whilst the vet called me on the phone. he ultimately had to be put to sleep and i was allowed into the room to hold him and the vet stood outside the room and injected the medicine into an long tube so that she didn’t have to stand close to me.

That seems so insensitive to me.

I'm so sorry for your loss, sunshine. 

I had to hand him over on the pavement. I'm not best pleased and the dog was very alarmed. He didn't like it at all, she struggled to get him in and ended up sat on the floor in reception with him to win him over.

Our vet has never stopped owners going in with their pets - only difference is seating in waiting area more spaced out and mask wearing. I'd seriously be looking around and finding another vet practice if I was OP

Our vets have allowed owners in pretty much throughout, after the initial lockdown chaos: they put a plastic screen across the consulting room doors, with the vet/pet on one side and the owners in masks on the other and an intercom so you can hear everything. Two vets working at a time, and clients have to wait until it's their turn to go in (it's a Vets4Pets within a Pets at Home). I've got to hand it to them - they've worked incredibly hard, and have been brilliant.

When my cat was pts last October it was only 1 person allowed so I went alone. They are still operating from car park.

He was a beautiful boy and i miss him everyday.

I can't believe some of you have vets who still won't allow clients in! I work in the industry and all the local vets are allowing clients in. I suspect some of you may have vets who are owned by corporates who tend to go overkill on the rules. Standing outside the room whilst euthanising a patient is ridiculous. There are an increasing number of mobile vets who will come to your home so do check what's available locally.

Only been at vets since October but they’ve let both of us in with masks into consultation room. It’s been pretty great. It’s a very small practice which probably makes a difference

I can go into the surgery waiting room with them but I cannot go into the vets room where my cat would be examined by the vet. The vet does sit and talk through the appointment reason with me before and talks about the results afterwards.

Two months ago I had to hand my cat over and wait in the car while the vet spoke to me on the phone. Yesterday I was allowed to stand outside the consulting room window (behind a protective screen net thingy) and talk directly to the vet with masks on. It's an improvement but I'm not sure it helped my cat much as he could see and hear me and got a bit stroppy. He might have been better if it was just the vet.

@Anonaymoose

I can't believe some of you have vets who still won't allow clients in! I work in the industry and all the local vets are allowing clients in. I suspect some of you may have vets who are owned by corporates who tend to go overkill on the rules. Standing outside the room whilst euthanising a patient is ridiculous. There are an increasing number of mobile vets who will come to your home so do check what's available locally.

Every single vet in this area has been taken over by Medivet or Vets Now. Not a single independent remains. It is a bit awful by I can understand it probably just isn't a viable business without some financial backing any more.

Our ddog has been in the vets for a couple of consultations and some tests.

We arrived in the car park and they came out and got him, took him inside for the consultation/tests then came out to talk to me after. They have a gazebo (roof only) if it is raining to talk in.

He had to go to the vet hospital for an MRI, we talked on the phone about what would happen, then dropped him at the door in morning, when when we picked him up at night they let dh and I in with masks to discuss but they had much much bigger rooms with open windows, in our vets the rooms are tiny and mostly windowless so I can understand why they can't have people in. Afterwards we waited outside for them to bring him out to the car.

when we are picking up his meds, we arrive in the carpark, call to say we are there, the receptionists will bring meds out and put in box attached to the railings and we will go and collect from the box.

works ok for us, but if there was a PTS situation I would hope they would make suitable arrangements. my nieces cousin is a vet and says at their practice they have a covered area outside the back of the vets, which they have tried to make as nice as possible, where they can PTS with owners present.

Ours is letting one person in with the pet, no additional ventilation but everyone’s masked as per always now

It sounds daft but if people want independent vets but it’s all chain near you, look for exotic specialists. They still see and can treat cats and dogs perfectly well, but tend to be independent for whatever reason

Our vets still aren't allowing people in, we wait in the car park. My dog doesn't particularly like it, but it's brief and the consulting room is too small to allow distancing. I support them on this. Until this week none of the vets or nurses were old enough to have been eligible for the vaccine.

We can go inside now, just one person-or they give you the option to collect from car like they did in lockdowns. I didn’t go in for jabs recently as wasn’t necessary but would go in for anything serious.
My vets have had a Covid outbreak too, even when they weren’t allowing people in.

My vet allows one person in examining room and even let me wait in the waiting room as it was raining. That was just for routine booster and a stomach bug so I'd have been ok to wait outside. I'd have been so upset in your situation. I'd see if another vet could help. I had to change vets to have my previous job pts as my normal ones wouldn't do a home visit and I wanted it done at home.