There are many, many things that make Barks and Medication very different from the veterinary clinics everyone is used to seeing. Clinics that everyone is accustomed to seeing. Clinics that make everyone comfortable with what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. Clinics that do what everyone expects them to do, based on years of owning pets and visiting the vet. Clinics that deliver pretty close to the result you think is coming in situations you’ve seen before- or you’ve seen with friends and their pets. It’s a little bit like writing- no one can proofread their own work. When you read thru it, you miss mistakes because since you wrote it, you know what it is supposed to say. You read it and it says exactly what it’s supposed to say! One of the first things you’ll see that makes Barks and Medication different is that we have rules- several, in fact and they all are designed to support rule number one: Your Pet Is The Only Thing That Matters.
Before you come to Barks, we must have a copy of your dog’s records from the clinic you’ve most recently seen. That’s easy to accomplish- all you have to do is call that clinic and ask them to fax your records to us at 901-746-8234. If you are a current Barks and Recreation customer, we probably have some, if not all of your records. Having your records gives us a clear picture of the treatment your pets have been receiving, it allows us to authorize refills of prescriptions if your pet is currently on medications and it allows us to schedule vaccinations correctly. It makes the transfer of treatment much easier- and less expensive, because without the records, we would be required to run tests and perform exams to get the necessary information- when it is already available.
We realize that this is a hot-button for a lot of customers and while we firmly believe in the very wise old saying, “The Customer Is Always Right”, when it comes to vaccinations, the customer is not always right. We require that your dog has the following vaccinations, scheduled as shown, if he or she is to be a customer at Barks and Medication. Now, before you read the list, and before you repeat the common accusation that “Vets are just trying to sell something”, please understand that vaccinations are not a profit center for any veterinary clinic. There’s just no margin, so no clinics are pushing vaccinations for monetary reasons. After you read the list, please click on the yellow button below for more information about vaccinations. After that, please go to our Home Page and when the VACCINATIONS page appears, click on it and read what you absolutely have to protect your pet against and why. Here’s our list:
- Rabies
- Distemper
- Canine Parvovirus
- Hepatitis
- Leptospirosis
- Parainfluenza
- Bordatella
- Canine Influenza
- Heartworms
We will gladly accept a vaccination report from any licensed vet clinic as proof of vaccination. We will not accept statements or receipts showing that any of the required vaccinations were administered by anyone other than a licensed veterinarian, including the owner, any Rescue Group or shelter.
We are happy to have you accompany your dog into our Exam Room- in fact, we encourage it. When you check in, we’ll ask if you are staying or dropping off. Depending how we’re running on time, if you’re staying we’ll either take you back to an exam room or let you wait in our waiting area while your dog waits in our V.I.P. Lounge. Please understand that we will not allow your dog to wait with you in the waiting area for safety reasons- we don’t always know who is coming in the door next! We’ll generally be pretty close to on-time because we don’t schedule appointments as close together as most clinics. As soon as we’re ready, we’ll get you and you dog in an exam room and one of our staff members will log in some info (weight, temperature, etc.) and get things ready for the vet.
Thank goodness for both of them- thank goodness for all kinds of both of them, but there are problems. Lots of problems. Rule #7 is simple: if you adopt a dog from ANY RESCUE or ANY POUND, we will not schedule an appointment for your new dog- or any other dog you have at the time of adoption, until your new family member has lived with you for 14 days. The exception to this rule is if you adopt or rescue a dog that is obviously already ill, we will accept that dog if you tell us everything about the situation before you bring the dog in. You must understand that our responsibilities- in order- are the safety of our staff, the safety of the patients already under our care and then, and only then, working to bring a new pet safely into your household. I’ve never seen a Rescue or a Pound that wasn’t under-funded and under-staffed, over-crowded and over-worked. Too many dogs in close quarters, that under the circumstances are impossible to keep clean- and I don’t mean hosed down- are a breeding ground for more viruses and bacteria than you can possibly imagine.
Puppies are just about the best thing in the whole world! Losing one is just about the worst thing in the world. There aren’t quite as many dangers out there for puppies as there is for older dogs, but one in particular prompts Rule #8. We will not make an appointment to see your new puppy in the clinic until he has lived with you for 10 days. What are we so afraid of? PARVO. This virus is deadly and incredibly easy to spread.. Most deaths occur within 48-72 hours after the onset of the first symptoms, which are lethargy, followed by vomiting, a fever and then bloody diarrhea. Puppies that develop the disease almost always start showing symptoms in less than 10 days, so if you’ve had your new pup for 10 days and he’s still as playful as the day you got him, he likely is Parvo-free. That’s great news for all of us, because this virus is HIGHLY contagious and an infected pet can shed the virus literally for years after he recovered… if he recovered. So, we want your pup to live with you for 10 days before we see him- unless he’s showing any signs that make you concerned. Once again, tell us exactly what’s going on and we’ll get him in the clinic without endangering any other pet who’s with us and we’ll use every weapon in our arsenal to find out exactly what’s wrong and get the proper treatment going as quickly as possible.
We live in an age of unprecedented access to information. Ask a question on the internet and you’ll have access to millions of answers in less than one second. Here’s the unfortunate part of getting all those answers- they are not listed in order of correctness. Wouldn’t it be great if every time you asked a question, the correct answer appeared as the first one on the list? Our goals are simple: if your dog is healthy and doing great, we want to keep him that way. If your dog is not healthy or injured, we want to make him better. We want to use science, not theory, to treat your family member. We have the best equipment, access to proven information, the best medicines and access to a wealth of experience accumulated and shared by some of the best veterinarians in the country and we’ll use all of those things to make sure your dog receives the best care possible. Our rules are not arbitrary- they are meant to eliminate arguments over what is best for your pet. Arguments and compromises over how your dog is treated result in only one thing- less than the best treatment we know we can deliver. That is unacceptable to us and we thank you in advance for understanding that.