Evergreen Equine Veterinary Practice

Client Service Agreement/Terms of Service

To provide the best possible service for our clients and patients, we have instituted the following policies. By scheduling an appointment with Evergreen Equine Veterinary Practice, you agree to these terms and conditions.

1. Safety: Evergreen Equine reserves the right to discontinue service at its discretion. This can include behavioral and safety concerns related to the horse or working environment. There will be no refunds on services provided if work must be discontinued due to safety concerns.

   1. Horses over the age of six months must be halter broke; meaning caught in a stall with reasonable effort and able to lead safely and in general terms be safe to work around. A functional halter and lead rope must be readily available for all horses.

   2. Restraint will be used at the discretion of our veterinarians to safely provide care. Restraint devices include, but are not limited to, sedation (IV, IM or oral), lip twitch, lip/nose chain, and neck twitch.

   3. Working environments should be clear, and free of hazards with adequate lighting. Specific procedures, such as dentals and lameness exams, may have additional requirements. Please do not hesitate to discuss the set-up of your facility with a staff member prior to the appointment to ensure adequate working conditions.

   4. Horses may be treated without an owner present, on a case-by-case basis, as approved by our veterinarians. If you or a representative will not be available to handle your horse for an appointment, the horse must be contained in a small, well-labelled space, such as a stall or small paddock.

      1. An owner or representative MUST be available for after-hours and weekend emergency visits, as our veterinarians do not travel with assistants at these times.

2. Client behavior: Evergreen Equine has a zero-tolerance policy against abusive or violent language or actions toward our staff.

   1. Those who commit verbal or physical abuse may be terminated as clients of Evergreen Equine and will not be eligible for routine or emergency services.

3. Payment Policy: Payment is required at the time of service. This can be achieved by having a form of payment on file, or by presenting payment to the veterinarian at the time of the appointment. Payment may be made with a credit card (AMEX, Discover, Master Card, or VISA) or cash/check. We also offer Care Credit and Scratchpay financing options (clients must apply through their respective websites - Health and Wellness Credit Card - CareCredit or Scratchpay: Simple & friendly, payment plans for medical financing). Credit cards are required on file for Pre-Purchase exams and appointments where the owner or a representative will not be present. Please contact our office to put a payment method on file or update an existing payment method.

   1. Late Charges: If for some reason a past due invoice cannot be charged to a card or paid at the time of service, interest will accrue on the outstanding balance at the rate of 12% per annum.

   2. Returned Checks: A fee of $30.00 will be applied for any NSF check.

   3. We reserve the right to require outstanding balances be cleared before providing additional services, including emergency services at the DVMs or office’s discretion.

   4. Cash: Our veterinarians do not carry cash and are unable to provide change. We can apply a credit to your account that may be used for future invoices.

4. Emergencies: Emergency services are limited to current clients that fall within our core Emergency Coverage Zone.

   1. Current clients are those who have had horses seen within the last two years for non-emergency examinations. Examples include but are not limited to routine vaccinations, dental care, performance evaluations, physical examinations, etc.

   2. Emergency Coverage Zone boundaries:

      1. Southern border: I-90

      2. Northern border: Starbird Road (exit 218 off of I-5) in Stanwood

      3. Eastern border: Oso, Sultan, Fall City

      4. Western border: Lake Washington (southern portion of the practice) and the Puget Sound (northern portion of the practice)

5. Appointment cancellation: Evergreen Equine reserves the right to charge a cancellation or “no-show” fee equivalent to the stable call, if an appointment is cancelled with less than 48-hour notice.

   1. Pre-purchase exams will require a non-refundable stable call deposit. This deposit must be made for a pre-purchase examination to be scheduled and will apply to the final balance associated with the examination.

   2. Horses scheduled for a gastroscopy appointment are expected to be fasted prior to the appointment. If a horse is fed the morning of the gastroscopy appointment, a stable call will be charged.

6. Prescriptions: Per Washington State pharmacy law, we are required to have a current examination within the last 365 days to dispense medications or approve prescription requests. Prescription requests falling outside of this requirement will be denied.

   1. To accommodate veterinarian approval, please allow 3 business days for prescription requests.

   2. While many medications are available in our office, some do need to be special ordered and will take additional time for processing.

7. Video/Photography Policy: Videos and photos of examinations and procedures are at the discretion of the veterinarian. We request that permission is obtained from our staff member(s) prior to initiating recording.

We kindly ask for your understanding and cooperation with these guidelines. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to our office at (360) 568-1114. Thank you for your continued support of Evergreen Equine- we hope to be able to continue to provide excellent care to you and your horses for many years to come!