Our Hospital

Hope Animal Hospital 10 Governing Principles

Hope Animal Hospital provides comprehensive, client centered treatment to enhance the health and well-being of animals and to promote the human-animal bond.

These tenets represent Hope’s fundamental ethics. They are central to our work with the animals in our care, and the humans on whom our patients depend.

+Animal Handling+ - Animals must always be treated with gentleness and respect for their physical and emotional well-being. We prefer to go slowly, try to understand what they are telling us, and where necessary restrain with towels and a firm hold.

+Client Communication and Education+ - In order to help clients better care for their pets, we strive to educate, support and guide clients in making the best possible choices, big or small, for each individual pet throughout the pet’s lifetime.

+Step-Wise Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment+ - Staff will endeavor to discuss options and costs with clients, and proceed in a step-wise fashion according to that discussion. Clients are never obligated to pursue extensive diagnostics if not appropriate to their situation.

+Natural Treatments Wherever Possible+ - We believe that holistic medications are excellent options for clients who prefer to treat more naturally. Standard Process, Buck Mountain, Vetri-Science and Wysong are examples of companies producing highly effective holistic supplements for animals.

+Feeding Recommendations +- Good nutrition is an essential element of health. Many problems can be prevented, controlled, or eliminated by good nutrition. We recommend feeding a diet as close to what nature intended for each species. In general, this means feeding wet food, limiting dry and carbohydrate-laden food, and providing plentiful access to fresh water.

+Vaccinate According to Individual Need+ - Vaccines are hard on little bodies. Therefore, they must always be given according to need and potential exposure of the individual pet. We follow the AAHA core-vaccine protocols and will have a comprehensive discussion with you about which vaccines are appropriate for your pet. We avoid giving two core vaccines at the same time. Titers are available for dogs to ascertain extent of disease protection.

+Flea, Tick, Heartworm, and Parasite Preventatives+ - Flea, tick, heartworm and parasite prevention options are recommended according to individual risk.

+No Cosmetic or Cruel Procedures+ - Hope considers declawing, ear cropping, tail docking, devocalizing and ending late term pregnancies to be cruel and harmful to the physical and emotional health and well-being of animals. Under no circumstances will we perform such procedures. We strive to educate clients about alternatives such as soft paws instead of declawing.

+No Euthanasia on Demand+ - Hope Animal Hospital will not euthanize physically healthy animals. The only exception being animals with severe aggression issues that cannot be corrected with psychotropics combined with behavioral intervention. We endeavor to provide resources, medical intervention, support and guidance to address these problems.

+Hospice Care for Terminal Diagnoses+ - If a terminal diagnosis is made, home hospice (palliative) care is encouraged until quality of life is diminished. Clients are supported during this difficult time, and helped to make a decision as to when to put their pet to sleep. We endeavor to ease the passage for the pet while supporting the family in a compassionate atmosphere. Professional counseling on an individual basis is available at no cost.