Hospital Policies

At Alpine Animal Hospital, we pride ourselves in providing high-quality individualized veterinary medical, surgical, and dental care for pets in our community. We have developed the following hospital policies to allow us to serve our patients in a timely manner, deliver excellent service to our clients, and ensure that our patients feel comfortable and safe.

Alpine operates with a scheduled appointment model. Please call in advance to schedule an appointment for your pet’s needs. The further in advance you schedule, the more likely that your preferred date, time, and veterinarian will be available. Scheduled appointment times are reserved exclusively for you and your pet. We ask that you help us by keeping your scheduled appointments and arriving on time. We believe optimal veterinary care can be provided only if we have enough time set aside to adequately examine and diagnose your pet, then discuss treatment options in detail with you.

Multiple same day appointments are reserved for urgent care needs each day, allowing us to accommodate your pet to the best of our abilities. If your pet has a medical emergency during our open hospital hours, please try to call us on your way in as soon as you can. This will give us a chance to prepare for emergency assistance as soon as you arrive, and notify other clients if their pet’s appointment may be affected.
There may be times when our case load is high or intensive enough that we may recommend another area hospital for your pet’s care. If that is needed, please understand that this referral is made with your pet’s best interests in mind if our veterinarians and staff cannot provide your pet the immediate attention that they deserve due to other circumstances that day. If your pet needs urgent or emergent care after our normal hospital hours, please contact the local emergency hospitals

• Viking Veterinary Hospital in Moscow: (208) 261-7797
• Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Pullman: (509) 335-0711

All patients must be safely and securely restrained within the hospital grounds, parking lot, and lobby. This can mean either that they are leashed or crated. No matter how well trained a dog or cat may be, this policy applies and is in the best interest of all clients and their pets. If you suspect your pet is suffering from a potentially contagious disease (kennel cough, parvovirus, ringworm, etc.), please inform us at the time of scheduling, and upon arrival, so we can make special accommodations to reduce spread of disease. Please remain in your vehicle with your pet until instructed otherwise by our staff, to minimize exposure to other pets. Please take note of any posted signs that may indicate limited access to our lobby. This is especially important for our cats-only hours, scheduled on the 3rd Tuesday of each month between 3-8pm. 

Payment is due at the time of service. For your convenience, the following payment methods are accepted:

• Cash
• Check
• Debit
• Credit (VISA, Mastercard, Discover, American Express)
• Care Credit

We encourage all of our clients to evaluate and obtain a pet insurance policy for their pet(s). To read more about whether you need pet insurance, and the many companies providing policies, click here. We are happy to provide appropriate documentation as needed for insurance policy holders to receive their reimbursement for paid veterinary services performed at our hospital.

In order to be respectful of the medical needs of other patients, please be courteous and contact us promptly by phone, email, or app chat if you are unable to arrive for your scheduled appointment time. This allows us to accommodate other patients in need of care. Appointments are in high demand, and your early cancellation will give another pet owner the ability to have access to timely medical care for their pet.

We understand that emergencies will happen; however, we respectfully request that you notify us a minimum of 8 hours in advance if you are unable to meet your appointment time. A “no show” is someone who misses an appointment without canceling it, or arrives more than 10 minutes after the scheduled appointment time. A "late cancellation" is when an appointment is canceled within 8 hours of the appointment time, or within 48 hours for surgical or dental care procedures. When you do not call to cancel an appointment, you may be preventing another patient from receiving much needed care and treatment.

Failure to comply with this policy will result in the following steps:

• Arrival 10 or more minutes past your scheduled appointment time will necessitate rescheduling of the appointment for another available day and/or time, unless accommodation can otherwise be made. This will be documented as a no show/missed appointment.
• First late cancellation or no show/missed appointment - our staff will contact you to ensure you and your pet are all right, to reschedule your appointment, and review our cancellation/no show policies. This will be documented as a first policy violation.
• Additional failures to comply with our cancellation/no show policies will require a $65 non-refundable deposit to schedule appointments in the future. This deposit is then applied to your pet’s appointment invoice total for the visit.
• Due to the large block of time needed for surgery and dental care, at least 48 hours notice is needed for cancellation. If not met, a $100 non-refundable deposit will be needed to reschedule your pet’s procedure. This amount is then applied to your pet’s procedural fees for the day.
• Three or more failures to comply with our cancellation/no show policies will result in  non- refundable prepayment of all expected fees when an appointment is scheduled, or separation of service.