Westport's Journey to Becoming a Fear Free Practice

Becoming Fear Free
For many pets and their owners, seeing the vet can be a stressful experience and we at Westport Veterinary Clinic want to be part of the revolution that changes this. We are already a recognised Dog Friendly Clinic and an ISFM Gold Standard cat care provider, but we want to go further - so we are aiming to become the first official Fear Free vets in Scotland.

The Fear Free movements mission is to alleviate and prevent fear, anxiety and stress in pets by inspiring and educating the people who care for them.

Hey Buddy!
Buddy is the cutest 4 month old Miniature Schnauzer and came to see us after falling off the bed and not wanting to put weight on one of his legs. After providing pain relief, sedation and examination, we concluded Buddy had fractured his tibia.

Fortunately for a puppy this young, the prognosis was excellent and with a little bandage support and lots of strict rest we expected a full recovery.

We, at Westport, didn’t want Buddy to have a negative experience of his visit, so we used some pre-visit pharmaceuticals (PVPs) to relax him prior to his check up and distracted him with oodles of cuddles and food based rewards.

When Buddy came back to see us for X-rays a few weeks later his fracture had almost completely healed. Everyone was happy and most importantly Buddy’s experience of the vet was positive – a Fear Free success.

What next?
Our approach to veterinary medicine is constantly evolving so that the care we give is always of the highest standard and Fear Free is just one of the ways that we aim to make the visits of all our furry friends as pleasant as possible.

Talk to us about Fear Free

Get in touch about Fear Free and how we can help with:

•       Seeing a specific vet that your pet knows.
•       Using a separate entrance to avoid the noise and distractions.
•       Using treats they love.
•       Using PVPs to help everyone relax.
•       And many others…

Further Reading

https://fearfreepets.com/about/what-is-fear-free/

https://www.westportvets.com/

https://www.westportvets.com/friends-of-westport/