To our clients, current and future:

In the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Animal Eye Clinic remains open and committed to providing the best care possible for both our current and future patients. We have strived to make the necessary changes and have taken extra precaution in order for us to remain open and available to our clients and their pets. As a busy one doctor specialty practice, we receive a high volume of appointment requests and referrals. As always we try our best to accommodate these requests in a timely manner, but we do ask for your patience and understanding during this time. Rest assured, we are working hard to meet each patient's individual needs.

What an exam looks like now & what to expect at your visit:

For Examinations we are using the curbside approach. Currently we are not allowing anyone in the building aside from AEC staff. Bathrooms are not available to the public so clients should plan accordingly. Examinations are taking anywhere from 20mins to 1 hour depending on the case. We do try our best to stay on schedule, but as always there can be unforeseen circumstances and patients that will require additional time and attention. Ensuring that each patient receives the best care possible is very important to us, so please be patient and understand that we are doing our best to keep things moving. We ask that all clients follow local guidelines and mask up for the visit. We have a small parking lot available and clients are to park and remain inside their vehicle. Each parking space is clearly marked with a sign detailing what you should do once you have arrived for your visit. Once you have been properly checked in we will then have one of our veterinary assistants or technicians call you to obtain a detailed history so please have your phone ready and available. Afterwards the assistant or technician will meet you at your car to collect your pet and bring them in the building for their exam. Please note that you will not always be able to speak with the Doctor directly, but once the examination is complete we will call you to go over the Doctors exam findings, recommendations, etc.. You will receive an emailed copy of the discharge instructions and we can fill any medications prescribed. Payments will be taken over the phone. Card transactions are p referred, but we do accept checks and cash transactions on a case by case basis.

Surgical appointments and drop offs, what to expect:

If you have a surgical procedure scheduled or a drop off appointment with us the same curbside approach is being used. Clients are to park in our lot and remain in their vehicles. Each parking space is clearly marked with directions on what to do once you have arrived for your appointment. For our team’s safety, please be wearing a mask before our team comes to retrieve your pet. For drop off appointments, once you have been checked in a veterinary assistant or technician will call to obtain a detailed history before coming out to retrieve your pet. Drop off appointments are strictly reserved for patients who are sick and need to be seen sooner rather than later. Plan on your pet staying with us until the end of the day, but we will contact you if they are ready to go home sooner than expected. For surgical appointments you should have received a text message from us the day before your appointment. This text would have prompted you to respond with a ‘YES’ so that we could send you a copy of the cost estimate for your pets procedure. Once you have read over the document and are satisfied that all information is correct, then simply respond with a text message reading as follows: “ I, first name Last name consent.” This text message with the above written response will suffice as legal consent to the procedure and cost listed since we cannot have you actually sign the digital document at this time. Once you have been properly checked in for your appointment, one of our surgical staff members will call you to ask some preoperative questions prior to coming out and retrieving your pet. Surgical procedures are admitted in the morning and discharged in the evening that same day. We do not offer overnight stays. Plan accordingly, as your pet will be with us most of the day. Once your pet has fully recovered from anesthesia/sedation and we feel it is safe to send them home, we will contact you and let you know when your pet will be available for discharge. When arriving at your designated discharge time we ask that you follow the same directions as you did at check in. We will alert the surgical staff of your arrival and they will call to go over the necessary discharge instructions and after care for your pet. Payment will then be taken over the phone. We do multiple procedures throughout the day and the order in which they are dropped off does not dictate the order in which the procedures are done.

Medication refill requests:

To our clients, current and future:

Due to the current situation and the possibility that members of our staff may have been exposed to the COVID-19 virus, we are suspending all in-clinic services for the immediate future. Eventually things will return to normal, but in the meantime we will continue to do our best to care for you and your animal companions as best we can via a virtual interface.

Clients with currently scheduled exams:

One of our staff members will be in touch with you 24-48 hours prior to your appointment time to discuss options for a virtual telehealth type appointment. While not ideal, this will allow us to provide help much earlier than waiting until normalcy resumes. Our hope is that we can correctly diagnose and treat conditions from a distance. When this is not possible with the same degree of certainty as an in-person examination, we can at least treat what would be the most serious of the possible conditions so as to hopefully prevent catastrophic harm. Given that this is not how we would normally proceed, all examinations will be discounted.

When requesting medication refills:

PLEASE ALLOW AEC STAFF 48-72 HOURS FOR REFILL REQUESTS. ALL clients are asked to go to our website ( www.seattleaec.com ) to request refills of their pet’s medications. In all cases the name and location of an outside pharmacy (yes, a people pharmacy) should be provided for us to call in a prescription. If the medication is veterinary-specific and cannot be filled at an outside pharmacy we will contact you to let you know how to refill from us. Cost of medications vary tremendously between pharmacies when paying “out of pocket”. We suggest that you visit www.goodrx.com before filling a prescription. The desktop site allows you to type in the name of the medication and your zip code, then tells you the cash price for the drug at the pharmacies in your neighborhood. In addition it provides coupons that can provide considerable savings. Check it out before sending us a refill request, then tell us where to call it in.

Clients with currently scheduled surgical appointments:

For the immediate future we will need to postpone any non-procedures that are not critical in nature. Again, our team will be in touch with you 24-48 hours in advance to discuss options. Our goal is to provide surgical care in cases where the passage of time can adversely affect the outcome, as well as cases where it is necessary in order to restore comfort.

For clients with less urgent needs:

We kindly ask that you email us directly at [email protected] as this is the best way to reach us at this time. We will respond as soon as we are able and will be giving priority to those that have more time-sensitive concerns.

We are living in strange times! We want to do all that we can to help you and your pets. These guidelines are there to help you help us to help you, so let’s all be patient with each other and concentrate on helping our animal companions as best we can.

Dear Animal Eye Clinic Client Community,

We are living in very strange times indeed! The current COVID-19 outbreak has heightened everyone’s level of concern for themselves and others, and we have all been advised to reduce contact with each other until the rate of new infections slows. At the same time we all continue to care deeply for the welfare of the animals in our care - you as pet owners and we as caregivers. The situation is unprecedented in recent memory, so all of us are trying to find the proper balance between what is best for our animals and what is best for the public’s health and welfare. Given the situation, we wanted to update you on our current protocols based on the recommendations from our local government and the CDC.

While things may change, for now the Animal Eye Clinic will remain open to care for your pet's ophthalmic needs. As things are changing by the hour we ask that you go to our website at www.seattleaec.com for the most up to date information on our availability. This outlet will include information on medication refills and what to expect if you have an upcoming appointment or surgery, among other things. While we always adhere to very high standards of cleanliness and hygeine, we have implemented additional procedures to protect and maintain the highest level of health for our clients, patients and staff. Even more emphasis on hand washing, proper hygiene etiquette, and an enhanced examination room cleaning protocol after each patient are some of the changes we have initiated.

We ask that if any of our clients are ill in any way or have been exposed to someone in the last 2 weeks who has been ill, that you call and cancel or reschedule your appointment with us. If your pet is in urgent need of care and you cannot make it in we WILL find a way to help you and them, given the set of City, State, and National guidelines in place at the time. Do not hesitate to call our office with any questions related to this information.

Keeping the Animal Eye Clinic team, our clients, and your pets healthy is our top priority. In order to do this we will need everyone's support and cooperation. We intend to remain available throughout the current crisis, in whatever capacity possible. We wish you all good health and, as always, thank you for trusting us with your pet's care.

Be well!