FAQs

Our services are first come first serve, so we appreciate your patience as you wait your turn to be seen in one of our only 3 exam rooms.

Below are some of our most common questions: 

1. How long is the wait time? 

Typically our wait time ranges and whomever checks you in will give a general idea of how long you can expect to wait. If they did not, please text us back and we’ll inform you of your place in line and how long the current wait is.  

2. Why is the wait so long?

We are a walk-in, first-come, first-serve clinic.  The veterinary industry has seen a gigantic growth in clientele and there are limited professionals to serve the demand throughout the entire field. We have a great team and we’d love to clone each of them so we could double our speed. Please be patient with us!

Our wait time ranges and varies for a variety of reasons. We hope that our wait time doesn’t keep you from utilizing our walk-in only services.  We understand that many of our customers are referrals from various other clinics that do not have any openings in the near future. We like to think that waiting an hour is better than waiting a week or more for your pet to be seen.  We do not rush through these visits as we like to provide the quality care that each pet owner and pet deserves.  If you have a problem with waiting, pestering our staff will not get the pet’s visits ahead of you done any sooner.  In fact, it will only delay our process. 

3. Will I get to go inside with my pet?

Yes, if you’ve opt-ed for your pet to be seen in an exam room, a staff member will be calling you to let you know when your turn is up and which door to head to at the front of our grey building. During the pandemic, the structure of Animal House changed both physically and from a workflow process perspective. We also realized in the entire veterinary industry, that eliminating a lobby where pets anxiously congregate, we can eliminate some large stressors for our patients by keeping them solely with mom and/or dad while they wait for their turn.  Therefore, we have eliminated our lobby space.  We know it’s not everyone’s favorite, but we work with what we have.   While you’re in the parking lot, you are free to utilize our free guest wifi, the password is: spayneuter

4. Can I just drop off my pet?

If you are an existing client, you can absolutely drop off your pet. We will ask that you keep your phone available and are ready to answer so we can discuss any exam findings and treatment plan options.  In some instances, we will ask that you pay a deposit for the proposed care.  To make pickup simple, we ask that you pay by card via a text to pay link and CALL US at 615-834-6441 when you arrive for pick up.  We sometimes drown in text messages and would hate for your’s to get buried when you return. 

5. This car arrived after me, why is that pet going in ahead of mine?

  Here are a few reasons as to why:
       i. The patient may be in critical condition needing immediate triage. 
       ii. The owner opt-ed to stay in the car and did not want to wait for one of our only 3 exam
           rooms.
       iii. The owner may be dropping-off the pet for us to work with throughout the day and
           picking up much later.  This allows for our team to get to and get through who we
           currently have waiting. 

6. What can I expect when it is my turn?

A member of our staff will be contacting you by phone to collect a thorough medical history. Once that is completed, they’ll let you know which door (1, 2, or 3) to go to at the front of our grey building.  You’ll be greeted by one of our team members who will begin the appointment by checking the pet’s weight and getting any necessary samples collected.  Depending on your pet’s condition and reason for the visit, the veterinarian may wish to perform the exam in or outside of the exam room.  If it’s a quick and simple visit, such as annual vaccines with no health concerns, the visit won’t last long at all! If you have health concerns that require diagnostics and treatments, the visit can last closer to 45 minutes or we may ask that you drop off at this point and return later for pick up to allow us time to get these tasks completed. 

7. My pet didn’t behave very well today, I waited all this time, and the doctor sent us home with pre-visit meds and asked us to try again on a different day! Why?

At Animal House, we believe in making the visit as stress free as possible for our patients, pet parents, and our staff.  We want our patients to like us and not be afraid.  It is much easier for us to perform full, comprehensive exams, diagnostics, treatment, and even simple nail trims when our patients are relaxed and comfortable.  If you’re already aware that your pet may have difficulty relaxing and would prefer for them to have a more peaceful visit, please let us know as soon as possible so we can discuss pre-visit relaxation options.  

8.  We are new here, what can we do to help you out while we wait?

Wow, so sweet of you to ask! If you haven’t already, please email an attachment or text us a picture of your pet’s records.  Our email is animalhouselargo@gmail.com.  If you don’t have them available, see if your regular veterinarian has a portal that you can access them from.  Or, you can call your regular or last veterinarian and request that they email them directly to us. This is extremely helpful for us to determine previous medical history that may relate to today’s visit.