An insider's guide to choosing a vet

When choosing a vet, be sure to ask the following questions…

• Is your local surgery a branch surgery of a larger practice?
  Should your animal need treatment it may have to be transported to a main surgery, possibly several miles away.
• Will you be able to get continuity of care?
  Ask if you will be able to make appointments with the same person each time you visit.
  Many large practices have so many vets that it can be impossible to see the person most familiar with your pet's needs and health problems.
• Does the practice have surgeries every day and convenient appointment times?
• Does it sell food, grooming products and other useful items?
• Are free clinics, puppy parties and advice sessions on offer?
• Is the practice part of a large corporate concern and will the primary focus be on animal care, not selling additional services?
  Bear in mind that at larger, corporate practices, vets and other professional staff may be given sales targets and incentives to sell as many services as possible.
  You may go in for a cheap vaccine and come out several hundred pounds lighter.
  Cheap vaccine deals are not necessarily the bargain they might seem and, in fact, many smaller vets can offer competitive prices on essential services.
• Last, but not least, go by word-of-mouth recommendation.
  A flashy advertisement can promise the earth but a personal recommendation is often more reliable!