7 Things to Know About Busy Season

It’s that time of year when everything in a koi pond is awake and active. Parasites bloom, tumors grow, fish create waste and filters need to handle it. For those of you who do not get an inside look at our hospital, here’s what you need to know about busy season:

1. Please remember, we have only one veterinarian. We will be making plans to change this as soon as possible. This is not a specialty that many veterinarians can handle even at a basic level at this point.
2. Our one veterinarian is hardly ever in the office. She’s out seeing ponds and tanks every single day. We have put in place a great staff to handle small questions and appointment scheduling, but they are not veterinarians.
3. Our one veterinarian cannot take calls from the road. Taking calls means writing things down. Her memory is not that good to remember every thing you said. This cannot be accomplished without getting in a horrible car crash. We like our veterinarian and would like to keep her around a long time. So, no calls while on the road is a hard rule.
4. If you want help fast, call our office and do not email us. Our phone number is (831) 278-1081. Our answering service will sometimes answer. This is because we are on the phone with someone else. Please answer the questions they ask. If you refuse to answer their questions and just demand a call back, we are not as enthusiastic to respond. Our veterinarian’s email gets checked twice a day, if you’re lucky. Any emails regarding questions or appointments is forwarded to our hospital staff.
5. We are very sorry we cannot give out free advice. We understand that we are a uniquely specialized veterinary hospital, and we have cheap phone and email consultation options in place. These cannot take the place of a face-to-face visit and we have limited options with these interactions. However, if you are trying to get around the fees of our hospital or another fish veterinarian, we will pass you along to another service. In our area, the next closest fish veterinarian is in Davis, CA or San Diego, CA. That’s pretty much it for all of California and we are the only ones who will come to you. We advise you do not make our jobs any harder. Berating or yelling profanity at our staff will result in immediate cessation of all future services.
6. Our staff cannot perform magic. We can get you many more answers than your regular veterinarian, but we do not have God-like powers. As much as we wish we did, not all problems can be solved with a simple shot. Sometimes, illnesses and injuries take time and money to make right. If you have questions about a prognosis or procedure, please ask! If you ask the same question again and again, we will not change our answer.
7. A simple ‘thank you’ and common courtesy go a long way. This applies to all walks of life, but we sure notice when a client is friendly. It makes our days better when we are running about returning calls, following up on lab results and trying to fit in all the pet fish between Santa Rosa and Fresno (234 miles).

We appreciate all of our clients and ask that you please be patient with us! Busy season will not last forever (at least that’s what we tell ourselves daily). Here’s to happy, healthy fish!