One of the prizes I won at BlogPaws 2014 is for you! The American Animal Hospital Association asked me to give one of my readers a $50 credit toward a visit at an AAHA-accredited veterinary hospital.What is AAHA?
The acronym is easy to remember: Ah ha! The AAHA is the only organization that accredits veterinary practices in the U.S. and Canada. Unlike hospitals for humans, veterinary hospitals don't have to be reviewed by an outside regulating agency. Some veterinary hospitals, however, choose to undergo the rigorous testing process by AAHA, an unbiased, outside organization. Being accredited means the hospital is meeting, or exceeding, standards in a variety of areas. A hospital must prove to the AAHA that it provides the safest quality care.
High Standards
AAHA sets standards of quality veterinary care on many fronts, including one that interested me: preventing the spread of disease. Care is taken even before an animal arrives at the hospital, throughout its treatment, to its discharge and follow-up, to ensure the environment is sterile and to prevent the spread of disease to other pets.
To help relieve some of the risk associated with anesthesia, AAHA requires anesthesia monitoring equipment for your pet's safety. The equipment tracks a pet's vital signs and alerts to potential problems. AAHA standards also ensure pets receive the best surgical techniques and sterile practices. AAHA-accredited hospitals must follow protocols for preparations for emergencies, dental procedures, exam facilities, medical records, and much more.
How You Can Win
To be eligible to win the $50 credit toward your pet's visit to an accredited facility, comment below—that's all you need to do!
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| I was pleased to learn that Old Dominion Animal Health Center, where I take my hamsters, is AAHA accredited. |
Your comment could include feedback that the AAHA might find helpful, e.g.:
• Before you read this post, were you aware of the AAHA and what it does? (Before I researched this, I was not.)
• Did reading this post make you want to know if your veterinary hospital is accredited by AAHA? (It made me want to know.)
• Is your veterinary facilitated accredited by the AAHA? You can find out at the AAHA-accredited hospital locator. (Whew, yes, mine is accredited.)
I'd also like to encourage you to follow the AAHA on Facebook or Twitter, or to subscribe to their newsletter, Pets Matter. If you win and your veterinary practice is not accredited, you must find an AAHA vet and register with them for the appointment.
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My vet is AAHA member :) This is furrific prize! High Paws.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Pepper
My vet is AAHA accredited! It is something I looked for when I moved here. There wasn't one where I used to live.
ReplyDeleteOur vet is AAHA accredited, and they give us great service, and wonderful care for our animals. The plastic animal ID cards the ynow issue are wonderful, especially for those of us who take our dogs on adventures!
ReplyDeleteThe fur kids vet is AAHA accredited. It was one of the first things I learned at the very first Blog Paws and then made a point of finding a vet that was AAHA accredited and took care of ferrets.
ReplyDeleteOh Emmy! our vet is accredited by AAHA since 1967, imagine that! We are very familiar with AAHA as we read their pet owner's page. Golden Woofs
ReplyDeleteOooh Huffle and I are due back to our vet soon! This would be furbulous! Our vet is AAHA accredited <3
ReplyDeleteMy brother is a vet, so he knows all about AAHA and being accredited. It's a mark that helps you know you can trust someone.
ReplyDelete--Wags (and purrs) from Life with Dogs and Cats
Great giveaway - count me in.
ReplyDeleteThat is an awesome give away! I am going to share it on both of my facebook pages. Count me in =)
ReplyDeleteEmmy, this is marvelous! And to have Winnie's help in selecting a winner - how does it get any better than that? We go to an AAHA accredited vet! ;-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great giveaway and prize. I had not idea what the AAHA was before this post and I am not sure whether our Vet is or not ... but I will check it out. Our Vet is retiring so we will be looking for a new one anyway.
ReplyDeleteEmmy always offers wonderful wisdom and sage advice. You should definitely follow her blog and find her on FB as well!
ReplyDeleteTwo termite attacks this year, one I detailed at my blog and one two weeks ago. The first one was next to the all natural cal litter and came with a big vet bill. This is a great prize
ReplyDeleteI'm a new doggy mommy and I never even thought about vet accreditation. I just found ours through recommendations but now I checked and they are accredited.
ReplyDeleteOur Vet/Animal hospital is accredited - that's how I ended up liking AAHA! It's great to have standards.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous giveaway! We didn't know about AAHA until BlogPaws last year. Not sure if our vet is accredited -- will have to check on that.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous idea! And even better, I just learned the Vet clinic that I have been taking my kitties too is NOT AAHA accredited! WOW! So, Now I have found the list of clinics in my area that are, this summer I will be making sure my fur kids have a doctor/clinic that meet these guidelines! Thank-you!
ReplyDeleteAll veterinary hospitals want to treat your pets the best they can but with AAHA accredited animal hospitals you KNOW FOR SURE that they are performing the best care for your pet. These clinics have to follow certain rules and regulation to keep their accreditation and as a former employee of an AAHA veterinary clinic (now veterinary student) I can assure you that being accredited makes a clinic run more efficiently because technicians as well as veterinarians and receptionists work as a team to give the client and their pets the best quality service
ReplyDeleteWe use only AAHA vets. Another good thing to do is to find your state's online licensing info and make sure your vet is really licensed and see if they have had any complaints filed against them. We found out that our foster dogs had dentals with extractions done by someone who has not been able to pass the test to get licensed. Needless to say, we've filed legal complaints against him and the clinic. Thanks for the info!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great prize. I know ma could definitely use it towards one of us. Having 4 fur kids isn't cheap when it comes to vet care.
ReplyDeleteI have been taking my pets to the same vet for many years, and just recently noticed the AAHA-accredited sticker on their door. I really like that they have earned that, and it gives me even more respect for the way they practice. Thank you for all the info on this!
ReplyDelete...and my shih tzu could use a dental soon, so that $50 would come in handy!
We found out about AAHA at BlogPaws! But otherwise we weren't aware of this before then.
ReplyDeleteMr. N's vet is accredited. I think I found out what they (AAHA) were when looking up vaccine guidelines.
ReplyDelete@missstellybean - our vet hospital where our Junior kitty was treated is AAHA accredited!
ReplyDeleteI learned about AAHA last year at BlogPaws and quickly checked to see if Luna's vet was accredited. I was so happy to see their accreditation sticker on their window the next time I went in!
ReplyDeleteI just learned about AAHA this year at BlogPaws :) Thanks for the reminder to check and see if my vet is accredited.
ReplyDeleteBoth Clarion Animal Hospital and Brookville Veterinarian Clinic are AAHA accredited.
ReplyDeleteThank you, everyone, for your comments. The contest to win $50 toward a visit with an AAHA-accredited vet is closed (11:59 p.m. MST on May 31, 2014). I will announce the winner on this blog on Wednesday, June 4.
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