Do you shop around for your family vet?

hours they're open, hours for appointments, speciality care by them or which speciality cilnic, emergency visit cost .... pretty much just like shopping for a doctor for humans.

no-because I work for one, so I'm kinda locked in. lol. Anyway. If you are shopping, American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA)Accreditation is good to look for. Then you know that they have a set of standards that they are required to meet or exceed and are inspected by said group every 3 years to make sure it is maintained.

for our pets having a vet service that's open 24 hours with specialty care too is important. Some vets don't have that, they refer out for care. I visited different vets - a couple on weekends one at night and other day and from that I made a choice from seeing families in their waiting rooms how they were approached and check in ways were all things I looked for

I began by taking my newly adopted SPCA cat to the vet after he developed kennel cough within a couple of days of being brought home. I was so happy with the office staff, location, and pricing that I've stayed with them for the past 4-5 years.

I compared shots and exam costs and ended up picking something a bit higher priced but better location and not the highest. All the modern equipment, etc.

I look for a vet who is friendly to me and my pet, shows genuine interest in my pet, has a reasonable price and is available in an emergency.

My biggest concern was proximity to my home, hours, number of doctors on staff, office cleanliness, friendly/helpful office person, and a vet that seems "with it" and can answer my questions.

The vet that we have chosen here, is great. My only concern is the emergent care. They refer out to a place that is 20 minutes away. If we had a true emergency, there is a clinic 3-5 minutes from our home, and we would take him there.

Well, I have rats so we had to find a vet that specializes in them. We got really lucky and a great rat vet is right now the street from us. The only thing I don't like is the lady that works at the front desk. She just referred to Brutus as "the rat" the whole time. She was rude.