How to Protect Your Pets While You're Away

Especially in a city like New York, pet owners often find themselves called away from home for either business or pleasure. Most people, especially if leaving for more than 24 hours will enlist the help of a pet sitter or a kennel. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for the doctors at St. Marks Veterinary Hospital to deal with a pet that has become ill while the owner is gone. This puts the pet sitter and us in a very difficult situation! There are many occasions where the pet is quite critical, and the owner cannot be reached. You can help your pets, your pet sitter, and us by following these steps.

1. Always leave a number where you can be reached. Sometimes this is not possible; i.e., backpacking overseas. In this case, leave a number of someone you trust that knows your relationship with your pet and can help the pet sitter make good decisions.

2. If there is no number where you can be reached, and you do not have an alternate number, leave a letter with your pet sitter. The letter should state what your wishes are in case your pet requires hospitalization or medical care. It should list any problems or abnormal behaviors you were noticing before leaving. It should also be able to tell the doctor and sitter how much decision-making authority the sitter has as your agent.

3. Many times a sitter will not want to hospitalize a pet for financial reasons. If you are not reachable, they are responsible for leaving a deposit when the pet is admitted to the hospital. Alternately, they would have to pay in full for any medications or diagnostics your pet needed as an outpatient. You can avoid limiting your pet's care with a letter that gives us the following information:

I, ___(name here)___ , give St. Marks Veterinary Hospital the authority to charge my __(MasterCard/Visa/AMEX/Discover Card)___, number ___________ , expiration date _______, exclusively for the care/ treatment of my pet ___(pets name)__ during this time frame __(m/d/yr- m/d/yr)____. The charge can be up to __(or unlimited)___ amount. I understand that the veterinarians of St. Marks Veterinary Hospital will try to contact me before any procedures are done or any charges are put through. This letter authorizes them to care for my pet if I cannot be reached. I understand that all procedures and diagnostics performed are judged to be medically necessary for the well being of my pet by the doctors of St. Marks Vet.

**You must provide a signature and date or the above letter is not valid.***

You can also state in the letter if you have any specific wishes such as authorizing/not authorizing euthanasia, sedation, overnight hospitalization, etc. Also remember that in order to take x-rays or to place a jugular IV catheter, sedation is required 99.9% of the time. You can also add in notes such as, "Do whatever you need to!" or "Money is a concern- do only the bare minimum!" or " I give the attending veterinarian permission to euthanize my pet if it is suffering and has a grave prognosis." By communicating as clearly as possible and by freeing your pet sitter of financial obligations, you can ensure that your pet is cared for in the manner you would desire if you were there!

4. If you are currently a patient at St. Marks Vet., you can fax us the above letter before your trip and it will be kept in the pet's medical record. Our fax number is 212-475-8351.

5. If your pet is not a patient at St. Marks Vet., you should leave a copy of your pet's medical records, and the above letter, with your pet sitter or at the kennel.

6. Always check with your kennel as to what their procedures are if your pet gets sick while there.

7. Especially for pets with sensitive stomachs, bring their own food if they are staying at a boarding facility. Some people even bring bottled water or water from home if their pet has a history of diarrhea while away from home. Make sure the sitter has enough food in case your trip is prolonged.

8. Make sure that you leave a clean home! Pets should not be able to get into cleaning products. They should not find shoes or laces to chew on which could cause intestinal obstruction. Dogs should not be left with rawhides or bones to chew. Even if your dog or cat has never had a problem getting into things, you don't want the first time to be while you're not there!

9. Make sure your sitter knows the rules of your home. For example- No going to the dog run, no smoking in the house, no Teflon cooking because of the toxicity to birds, don't bring new animals over to the apartment, don't let her sniff other dogs on the street. This may sound obvious, but you'd be amazed at what some people don't think is an issue.

10. In summary- ANTICIPATE. Murphy's law runs true- if you have a plan to avoid problems, they seem to have a much lower chance of happening! Know your sitter and communicate in detail with them. Make sure your vet knows what you'd want. Minimize opportunities for problems (example- no going to the dog run while you're gone to avoid a chance of bite wounds). And also accept that you can't think of everything. So plan ahead, leave phone numbers, have a sitter/kennel you trust, trust in the medical judgement at St. Marks Vet., and have a great trip!