Fear Free
FEAR FREE
We take our commitment to Fear Free At VMC seriously!! Every staff member involved in animal handling in our practice has become a Fear Free Certified Professional℠. Accept nothing less for your pet’s veterinary care. Look for the Fear Free Certified Professional℠ logo whenever you are seeking veterinary care for your pet.
Why is this so important?
Do you want your dogs and cats to live happy, healthy, full lives? Do you wish you knew how to make that happen for them? We all love our pets and want what’s best for them throughout their lives. But we aren’t always equipped with the right tools, information, education or resources to truly fulfill on that goal. Take, for example, visits to your veterinary hospital. Why is it that for many of us and our pets, veterinary visits evoke feelings of fear, anxiety, and stress? What if a veterinary visit could be something you and your pet look forward to?
This is where Fear Free comes in. Our mission is to alleviate fear, anxiety, and stress in pets and educate and inspire the people that care for them. Fear Free focuses on both the physical and emotional well-being of your pets and aims to take the pet out of petrified. Your visit with us will be full of so many thoughtful details to alleviate fear, anxiety, and stress. You will see the layering of calming pheromones, calming music, warm towels, catnip, high reward treats, and staff that exhibit gentle handling and intrinsic knowledge of pet body language and behavior.
The Fear Free method was created to alleviate fear, anxiety, and stress in pets and educate and inspire the people that care for them. Fear Free focuses on both the physical and emotional well-being of your pets and aims to take the pet out of petrified.
We believe in this way of practicing veterinary care:
- 90% of our staff is at least Fear Free Level 1 Certified. This requires 9 hours of training for each member!
- 60% of our staff has achieved Fear Free Level 2 Certification. This requires an additional 7 hours of training!
- All of our doctors are Fear Free Level 2 Certified.
Making sure that your pet and you have a stress free experience at the Veterinary Medical Center of Fort Mill is one of our top priorities. We are so strongly committed to this approach, that we not only have our individual staff members certified as Fear Free Professionals, but the clinic itself has undergone the evaluation process of becoming a Fear Free Certified Practice.
We take great pride in being the FIRST Fear Free Certified Practice in South Carolina.
Dr. Julie Reck (Owner) is also a member of the Fear Free Executive Council.
Preparing For Your Pet’s Veterinary Visit
The experience of coming to the vet and having a successful Fear free visit actually starts at home. Did you know that how the car ride goes can even have an impact on your pet’s level of fear, anxiety and stress? Here are some tips to help you prepare for your pet’s visit and set them up for success. And please let us know if you have any questions.