Imagine the awesome feeling when you see that your pet is EXCITED to go to a vet visit! SAH strives to provide a positive, safe, and comforting environment for your fur baby and our Fear Free team member procedures help solidify this. Founded by Dr. Marty Becker, and developed by hundreds of experts in behavior, medicine, and handling, Fear Free has become one of the most transformative initiatives in the history of companion animal practice! The Fear Free organization has developed programs and courses to provide to veterinary professionals, pet professionals, animal welfare communities, and pet owners that focus on looking after both a pet’s physical and emotional wellbeing, the right way. We are SO proud to have several Fear Free Certified team members at SAH and we felt like we may need to brag about it a little this month!
What Exactly Is Fear Free?
Founded in 2016, Fear Free provides online education to veterinary professionals, pet professionals, animal welfare communities, and pet owners. The courses are developed and written by some of the most knowledgeable veterinary and pet experts in the world. While it’s so common to access all of the false (and harmful!) pet information on the internet, Fear Free aims to keep veterinary healthcare teams and pet professionals at the forefront as the true pet health experts. By closely listening to the needs of the profession and those of the new generation of pet owners, Fear Free is focused on enrichment and the reduction of fear, anxiety, and stress in pets through tried-and-true techniques.
Why Fear Free?
Sure, Fear Free sounds great but you shouldn’t believe anything you hear without evidence! Let’s take a look at the concrete reasons why it is so important and impactful:
- Better Medicine – the techniques help deliver better care to our patients and potentially more accurate readings when pets are at ease
- Increased Hospital Satisfaction – a safe and uplifting environment helps to foster positive vibes for team members and patients
- Happier Patients – when our patients & their families are relaxed and happy, so is everyone else
- It’s The Right Thing To Do – it is imperative to ensure the well-being of our fur babies is put first and foremost
Professional?
The basis of any successful Fear Free experience is the successful completion of one of our Fear Free Certification Programs. Certified professionals work in various capacities – veterinarians, technicians, customer service staff, practice managers, trainers, groomers, pet sitters, and more. Each individual is responsible for maintaining their certification. Some veterinary hospitals have one certified professional, and others have their entire teams certified. At Seagrove, we have multiple certified professionals on our team!
What Techniques Are Implemented to Promote Fear Free?
Since there are a handful of our professionals that are trained in the Fear Free practices and philosophies, the basic principles of this approach extend throughout the entire hospital. Some of these techniques include:
- Effective communication between pets & people
- Calm, inviting, and quiet environment
- Treats
- Planning ahead
We thoroughly pride ourselves in having some awesome Fear Free professionals on our team and we hope after reading this information, you can agree too! September blog coming on the first of next month – stay tuned!
