We are slowly returning to a new normal, which is great however, there are some things we need to tell you.

Things to note:

• We are now able to have 1 person per pet / family in to consultations. We request that you wear a face covering whilst you are inside and sanitise your hands on entry to the clinic (if you are exempt from wearing a face covering, or you would prefer not to come inside then we will happily complete the consultation outside).
• We will call you in when we are ready for you, please do not attempt to just walk in to the clinic.
• After the consultation has ended, you will be guided to reception to await any medications required and to make payment.
• We still need you pre-order any food or medications and give us 3 working days to prepare these for you. You can do this online here by selecting the appropriate form to complete. We also ask that you pay for orders over the phone prior to collection.
• Order collection times remain as: Weekday afternoons between 4.30 and 5.30pm, and Saturday mornings between 11 and 11.30am. Please don’t come to collect orders outside of these times without prior arrangement, as we cannot guarantee there will be someone available to serve you.

Thank you for your continued suppport and understanding. We will update you if anything changes.

As you may have seen we have had to take the decision to continue to carry out consultations with owners outside, whilst bringing patients in to examine them without their owners.

We understand that this may be frustrating to some of you, but with rising rates of infection we feel this is the safest option for everyone – including our clients.

Please help us by:

• Wearing a face covering when you come to the clinic for any reason
• Pre ordering and paying for all food and medication over the telephone and allowing us 3 days to prepare this for you
• Sticking to our set collection times for food and medication which are between: 4.30 & 5.30pm on weekdays and 11 & 11.30am on a Saturday morning

Thank you to our wonderful clients for their continuing support and understanding.

Much like yourselves we have been wondering how the phased easing of the current Covid-19 restrictions would affect how we are able to operate going forwards.

We now know that until mid-April at the earliest:

• We are still unable to see animals for routine appointments – these include vaccinations (there are some exceptions to this so call us if you have any questions), routine health checks, claw clips, anal gland expressions and anything that isn’t classed as an emergency.
• We are still unable to see animals for routine procedures – these include neutering (there are some exceptions to this so call us if you have any questions), dental scale and polishes and anything that isn’t classed as an emergency.
• We will still be offering chargeable telephone consultations with a vet for any concerns you have about your pets that don’t require a face-to-face consultation.

We are still here if you need us. All pets that are sick, injured or in pain are receiving and will continue to receive our care.

We won’t let your pet’s vaccinations go out of date.

We have a waiting list for routine procedures, so once we are fully open, hopefully from April 12th, we will be going through the list and booking in procedures in order of medical urgency.

If you have a procedure or routine concern that you would like added to our waiting list, to be attended to after April 12th, please email us on info@themewesvets.co.uk

“The UK has gone into its third national lockdown. At the Mewes Vets, we have to change the way we work once again, in order to keep our clients and our team safe,  and to comply with guidelines to reduce unnecessary journeys.

With immediate effect we have decided to stop performing routine vaccinations.

However, we will be continuing to ensure that the vaccination programmes of all new puppies, kittens and rabbits are completed appropriately.

We also intend not to allow any of our patients’ vaccines to go more than 15 months overdue. If your pet is approaching that deadline, please call our team to arrange their vaccine.

If your pet is approaching 12 months since it’s last vaccine, we would request that you wait for one to two months, by which time we will hopefully be out of this lockdown. We will have the capacity to catch up with your pet’s vaccine then, before it reaches its 15 month deadline.

We will also not be seeing any pet that does not have a direct welfare issue. This might include for instance a dog neuter, or a routine claw clipping. 

However, any pet that is sick or in pain will be seen, and we will be neutering young cats, unless they can safely be kept indoors, and away from others.

If you yourself are sick, shielding or self-isolating, but your pet needs attention, this can be arranged remotely.

Please do not come to the clinic if you are unwell.

We look forward to every person being COVID vaccinated soon, allowing us to return to normality, hopefully.”

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on 4th January, bringing England into Tier 5, we are awaiting guidance from our veterinary professional bodies about how to proceed with our care of pets.

We are expecting this guidance within a few days, but are not expecting to have to return to the ’emergencies only’ style of veterinary care we were forced to endure in early 2020.

Please be aware that, whilst we are currently accepting bookings for healthy pets, vaccines and non urgent care, we may be forced to postpone these appointments, subject to the guidance that we receive.

We would like to thank all our clients and our staff for supporting our efforts to keep each other safe, despite the pandemic. It is challenging, but we can all look forward to getting our coronavirus vaccines soon, and hopefully beating this together.

We are pleased to say that vets have been re-classified as essential businesses and can stay open during this second lockdown, as long as this can be done in a  COVID-safe manner.

See bva.co.uk/media/3789/guidance-for-england-national-lockdown-nov-2020.pdf for advice directly from the British Veterinary Association.

At The Mewes, we have been providing COVID-safe care for pets for many months now, so our systems are well established.

• Please do not ‘pop’ into the clinic. Call first to discuss your needs.

• All payments are by contact free card, mostly via a phone call.

• Only pick up pre-ordered medications, food and other pet requirements at the pre-allocated time.This is currently 4.30 – 5.30pm on weekdays and 11am – 11.30am on Saturdays.

• Do not attend an appointment if you have a persistent cough, a fever, a loss of your sense of smell, or are waiting for the results of a COVID test.

• Be aware that you will not be coming onto the Clinic premises with your pet. Dress appropriately for being outside for your consultation with the vet or nurse. 

• Ensure your dog is on a secure collar and lead on arrival, and that other pets are in a secure carrier.

We are able to see all sick and injured pets, and pets in pain. We will still be performing routine vaccinations, neuters and procedures such as claw clipping, and it will all be done in a manner that keeps you, your pet and our team safe.

The only appointments that we are still currently unable to offer are ‘well pet’ checks eg our life begins at seven club six month checks and our pet care plan (VIP) six month checks. We are hoping to make these up to you and your pet in the near future, pandemic permitting.

We expect to be able to supply all medications and food without any issues, in a contact-free pick up, as we did during and since the first lockdown. These must be pre-ordered by phone or email on info@themewesvets.co.uk.

Those who are paying for the new Home Delivery option for their anti-parasitics will still receive delivery at the appropriate time.

Stay safe,

Dr Julia Mewes and the team at The Mewes Vets

In response to the government announcement made on 9.9.20, we would like to update you on how we are doing at The Mewes Vets:

1. Capacity

We have fully caught up on all pet vaccines, and have nearly full capacity to see sick or injured pets as well as preventative appointments at this time. However, appointments for sick pets are taking longer than they used to before coronavirus, due to the additional biosecurity requirements and social distancing measures, so, we would like to thank you for your patience and understanding, whilst our team members are still under considerable pressure.

2. No Entry 

We regret that we are still unable to allow you, our lovely clients into the building.

This is because of the size of our rooms indoors, and their layout, making social distancing impossible, according to the guidelines reinforced yesterday.

We hope that this will not be for much longer. Meanwhile, we will continue to try to keep you warm and dry under our gazebos and in your cars where appropriate, whilst your pets are inside with their vet or nurse.

Our priority remains to reduce the risk of our team members becoming infected through contact with so many pet owners per day. Infection could result in the clinic having to be closed for weeks, preventing us from caring for any pets, which we would far prefer to avoid!

3. Stay nearby

Please do not slip away whilst your pet is inside. The vet or nurse may need to communicate with you.

4. Designated pick up time

We continue to request that you only come down to the Clinic to pick up prescriptions, medications or food at these designated times, please:

Monday to Friday 4.30 – 5.30pm

Saturday 11-11.30 am

At these times we plan to stop all operations and consultations, so that we have team members available to bring out your medications to you in our courtyard.

Please call at least 3 working days ahead for any products or medications you need to pick up, so that we can have them ready for you.

5. Payment 

Payment is by phone only. We regret that we cannot accept cash at this time.

6. At the front door

Please do not come up our front steps to approach the front door. Instead, use the door bell at the bottom of the steps (ideally with your knee or elbow), and one of our team members will come out to you, as soon as they can. Note that team members may be with a pet, or on the phone, so we kindly request your patience – we would never ignore you!

We are pleased to announce that our veterinary professional bodies have now indicated that we can see all cases again, subject to us being able to offer a safe work environment for our team.

As a result, most of our team are returning from furlough in the next few weeks. We will be increasing our capacity so that we can work through our backlog of vaccines, operations and other veterinary procedures that we had been forced to postpone.

We would like to thank all our wonderful pet owners, who have found ways to cope in this crisis. We are so grateful for your patience and understanding. It has been painful for us all, but, if we stay alert to the risks of coronavirus infection, perhaps we are through the worst and can look forward to better times again.

And I would like to thank the whole team at The Mewes Vets, who have behaved with remarkable fortitude and professionalism whether forced to stay at home, or risk their lives by continuing to come to work throughout these early days of the crisis.

Opening Hours

Being fully staffed again will mean that we can now revert to our usual opening hours.

From Monday 15th June, our phones will be fully manned again from
8.30am to 7.30pm Mondays to Thursdays
8.30am to 6.30pm on Fridays
8.30am to 12.30 on Saturdays
The emergency service continues to provide 24 hour veterinary care outside these hours and on Sundays and Bank Holidays. Our phone number is 01444 456886.

All patients can be seen safely.

We no longer have to turn away any patient that needs us, to our huge relief. However, we will still be requesting that you wait outside the Clinic whilst we care for your pet, for your safety, and ours.

If you are anxious about your pet, please call us on 01444 456886 to arrange an appointment.

We will be seeing (from Monday 15th June)
● all vaccinations that are due or overdue
● Neuters of all species
● Minor procedures such as claw trims and anal gland clearance.
● Repeat prescription checks, blood tests.

At this time, we will still not be inviting pets in for ‘well pet checks’ or Life Begins at 7 check ups. We feel it is important that we use the appointments we have for those with a welfare need. If all goes well, we will be able to re-start seeing these in a month or two.

For those on our Pet Care Plan, who have missed their routine well pet six month health check during lockdown, these will be banked against a future appointment, and honoured in this way.

Anti-parasitics for Pets on the Plan

Most of our pets on our Pet Care Plan received an emergency delivery of three months’ anti-parasitics by post, free of charge in the period of April to June 2020. This was provided at our expense to support the Stay at Home message to reduce coronavirus infection.

If you would like this Home Delivery service to continue at a small extra monthly charge you will have already received a letter from us offering that choice, and itemising the cost. You need take no further action.

If you prefer to pick up your medications from the Clinic, this is now a service we are able to offer again.

You need to specifically opt into the non-home delivery option by calling our Pet Care Plan team on 01 173 700 300.

Please do not just ‘pop in’ for your next 3 months’ worth as you did b.c. (before
coronavirus!).

We need three days’ notice to have this ready for you. And we request that you only arrive to pick up your medication between 4.30pm and 5.30pm any weekday and between 11am and 11.30am on Saturdays.

Increased capacity

For the next few weeks we will be providing additional appointments in order to catch up on vaccines, operations and procedures that we had been forced to postpone. If you are anxious about your pet, please call us on 01444 456886 to arrange an appointment.

However, every pet deserves our full attention, and many have had to wait. We may have to request your patience for a little longer, as we balance the amount of requests for appointments with the number of staff available to provide them, please.

Alert Level 4 Mewes rules:

To keep you, our clients and our team safe, we have to continue with the following:

1. Please do not ‘pop in’ to the Clinic, always phone or email first.
2. Please do not come to the Clinic if you or any of your household is unwell. Call for advice on the alternative ways that we can still help your pet.
3. All payments are to be made by phone transaction, to provide a contactless service.
4. Please give us 3 days’ notice for orders of medications or food required, including repeat prescriptions.
5. All non urgent medications, food and repeat prescriptions can only be picked up between 4.30pm and 5.30pm any weekday and between 11am and 11.30am on Saturdays.
6. When you come to the Clinic with your pet, please:
● Please declare if you or a member of your family is unwell, so that the vet or
nurse can take suitable precautions whilst supporting your pet.
● Bring your credit card and a mobile phone.
● Confirm with a team member which mobile phone you are bringing, and that we have the number recorded correctly.
● Bring a pen and something to lean on eg a book or clipboard.
● Be aware you will not be permitted to enter the Clinic.
● But do not disappear for a walk, to nip to the shops or back home whilst we
have your pet inside. We may need to communicate with you urgently.
● Ensure your pet is in a secure carrier, or on a secure collar and lead.
● When you arrive please announce your arrival by ringing the doorbell at the bottom of our front steps. You can do this with an elbow or knee, or a gloved finger, to reduce the risk of virus transmission. We would be grateful if you would then wait with your pet outside, at the bottom of the steps, maintaining an appropriate distance from other families also waiting outside.

Following consultation with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and the British Veterinary Association, we can now clarify that there can be no change in veterinary care being provided here at The Mewes Vets.

As the whole country is still at COVID alert level 4, we must continue to provide a remote service, where possible. We are limiting the number of interactions at the clinic as much as
possible to only those with a genuine welfare need. And we are continuing to practice social distancing.

We are vaccinating all rabbits, plus cats and dogs under two years old, and those adult cats and dogs whose vaccines are approaching being 12 weeks overdue.

This is the same position that we have been in now for some weeks, and is not changed by the Prime Minister’s announcement on May 10th.

We would like to thank all our lovely, patient clients, who have helped us by adapting to these changes over the last two months, and made our job that bit easier with their understanding and thoughtfulness.

We will continue to keep you informed as the Prime Minister makes further announcements, always after appropriate risk assessments, and consultations with our governing bodies.

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Sunday 10th May, we would like you to know that at the moment nothing will change at The Mewes Vets.

We are still here for pets with a genuine welfare problem, providing a contact-free onsite veterinary service.

We are still providing vaccines for pets under two years of age, and for adults whose vaccines are at risk of going over 10 weeks late.

We are still available to give veterinary phone consultations, where appropriate, for less urgent but important cases, at a fee of £25.

Our phones are manned from 10am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday, and from 10am to 12.30 on Saturdays. We have a team providing a 24 hour service on call through the nights, weekends and Bank Holidays.

Pet food and medications are still available, and can be picked up only between 4.30 and 5.30 each weekday afternoon.

For the next week or two, we will also be performing risk assessments to decide whether, how and when we can bring some or all of our furloughed team safely back into work, whilst maintaining the two metre rule at work, allowing us to potentially offer more appointments.

And we will be communicating with our professional bodies, the RCVS and the BVA, about what type of cases they will permit us to see onsite, ie which patients we are permitted to offer appointments to. We will also be monitoring the rate of increase of COVID-19 in people locally, and any new government guidelines that are issued in this time.

So, for now, nothing has changed from our previous update. We will keep you informed, as decisions are made.

We would like to thank you for your patience and loyalty, and remind all our pet owners with pets on the plan that their vaccines will be honoured, and they will still receive their 6 month health check either as a healthy pet check, or banked against a future sick pet consultation, and all their appropriate anti-parasitic medication, as intended.

Update and FAQs – 23/4/20

Below is the latest information relating to COVID-19 measures at The Mewes, and your common questions answered.

For further information, view the latest RCVS guidance for pet owners. 

Are we open?

Yes, The Mewes Vets is still open six days a week. Our reduced team are accepting phone calls during these hours:

Monday – Friday

• 10am – 2pm for urgent medical cases
• 2pm – 6.30pm for urgent medical cases, and all non-urgent enquiries
• 6.30pm – 10am: Emergency cases only

Saturday

• 10am – 12.30pm  for urgent medical cases, and all non-urgent enquiries

We have vets and nurses who can support you for all your pet’s needs, but please do not ‘pop down’ to see us. Always call on 01444 456886 or email on enquiries@themewes.co.uk, so that we can prioritise the sick pets first, and keep ourselves and you safe from coronavirus infection.

What about emergencies?

As usual, The Mewes Vets is fully available to any pet experiencing an emergency, 24 hours a day. Always start by calling 01444 456886. If it is out of hours, have a pen ready to note the correct phone number to call.

How to get in touch?

We are experiencing a very high number of phone calls each weekday morning.

For non urgent pet queries, please email us on enquiries@themewes.co.uk . We will respond the same day, but probably not until the afternoon. Alternatively, please call us on 01444 456886 in the afternoon, when the phone lines are quieter.

For urgent or emergency situations, as always, simply call 01444 456886 to obtain support.

What about online booking? 

We regret that we cannot offer online booking at the moment. We are strongly restricted about what type of cases we are permitted to see onsite, and which pets we can help via a nurse telephone consultation or a vet telephone consultation. These restrictions have  been put in place by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the British Veterinary Association. They exist to protect both our clients, and our staff, and to follow government guidelines not to make unnecessary journeys.

For this reason, our team is assessing every request for an appointment personally, which we feel a computer cannot do.

Online booking will be reinstated when appropriate. 

Can I get my pet vaccinated?

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the British Veterinary Association have put restrictions on what cases we can see. The decision whether to vaccinate now or wait a little longer will be taken case-by-case and hinges on the welfare needs of pets in our area.

The Mewes Vets are currently seeing:

• Vaccinations for puppies
• Vaccinations for kittens
• Vaccinations for all ages of rabbits, most especially youngsters.
• Vaccinations for 15 month old cats and dogs.

Older cats and dogs will be contacted once the back-log of these priority vaccines have been performed. It is important to maintain all pet’s vaccine status, but fortunately adult pets over two years’ old should be safe if their vaccines have to be delayed by 2 or even 3 months, as long as their vaccines were up to date before lockdown.

My pet is a VIP: What about their pre-paid 6 month health check?

The Mewes Vets will honour these, as soon as we can after lockdown, subject to staffing capacity at that time.

Alternatively, we are offering the option for you to ‘bank’ this appointment, and use it against a future consultation, when required. This applies only to 6 month health checks that fall due during lockdown.

I have a new puppy/kitten/rabbit…

How lovely!

We can still offer all the support you need. We are open for baby pet vaccines at this time. In the first instance, simply call 01444 456886 any weekday afternoon, and we will talk you through everything you need, and schedule in their vaccines.

If you have questions about insurance, correct feeding, parasites, neutering, grooming and so on, much of this can be covered during a telephone consultation. We are happy to help.

Can I get my pet neutered during lockdown?

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the British Veterinary Association have put restrictions on what cases we can see and neuter. The decision will be taken case-by-case and hinges on the welfare needs of the pet, the need for socialisation and the risk of aggression.

In the first instance, call us on 01444 456886 any weekday after 2pm to discuss what is the right choice for your pet.

My pet is a VIP, what about their pre-paid flea and worm medications?

Dr Mewes has kindly arranged to sponsor the delivery of your next 3 months’ worth of parasite control by post. 

This has been an enormous undertaking involving 3 vets writing over 1200 individual prescriptions! It took us 10 days to do.

If your pet’s products are due or overdue – no need to call us, it will arrive by 27th April. Hopefully you will agree that a little late is better than risking your life and ours to pop in for it.

If your next pick up was due from May onwards, it should arrive on your doorstep at the correct time, free of charge, courtesy of the Mewes Vets.

This will happen just once, as part of The Mewes Vets’ efforts to reduce journeys and social contact during the COVID crisis. However, if you like this service, it will be available to you from July onwards, at the additional charge of £1.50 per month on your Pet Care Plan. We will write to all our VIPs about this nearer the time.

If not, hopefully we will be allowed to revert to our more normal, pop in to pick it up service by July.

I need a repeat prescription for my pet, what do I do?

Please give us 3 working days’ notice.

Email us on enquiries@themewes.co.uk remembering to put

• your name,
• the first line of your address
• your pet’s name
• the name of the product and
• how much you need.

We will order it for you, and confirm by email.

If you are not computer literate, do call us, but only on weekday afternoons, please, as we are experiencing a high level of calls in the mornings about sick pets. The number is 01444 456886.

You will be asked to pre-pay by card over the phone, to minimise person-to-person contact.

Please arrange only to pick up between 4.30pm and 5.30pm each weekday afternoon. We are reserving this time for medication pick-ups, not appointments, so that we can efficiently arrange a contact-free pick-up service for you.

My pet is on long term medication and is due a check-up: what do I do?

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the British Veterinary Association have put restrictions on what cases we can see and why. The decision will be taken case-by-case and hinges on the welfare needs of the pet, and how stable it’s condition appears to be.

In the first instance, email a request for a telephone veterinary consultation, or phone us on 01444 456886, after 2pm any weekday to book one.

Telephone veterinary consultations cost £25 incl VAT, with 10% off as usual for VIPs.

The vet will decide whether an on-site consultation, blood or urine test is required, or whether it could wait a month or two.

My pet is unwell / injured…

Don’t hesitate to contact us on 01444 456886, or by emailing enquiries@themewes.co.uk , we are here to help, and will prioritise sick pets and emergencies before all other work, as usual.

The safest way to try to help you might be via a remote consultation. We may encourage you to email us a photo or video to help us assess the problem, and then arrange a free of charge nurse phone consultation or a paid-for vet phone consultation.

Telephone veterinary consultations cost £25 incl VAT, with 10% off as usual for VIPs.

If the nurse or vet feels your pet can only be helped at the Clinic, this will be arranged for you, and the usual fees apply.

My pet’s claws need trimming

In the normal world we would be delighted to do this for you.

But the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the British Veterinary Association have put restrictions on what cases we can see and why. The decision will be taken on the welfare needs of the pet.

It may be best for you to trim or file down your pet’s claws yourself in the short term. There are excellent videoes on youtube about how to do this. It is only for another one or two months, hopefully.

However, if you can see blood, or pus, or your pet is licking excessively at a claw, or limping, then start by emailing us a photo.  We are here to help.

My pet’s anal glands are due a sort-out 

In the normal world we would be delighted to do this for you.

But the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the British Veterinary Association have put restrictions on what cases we can see and why. The decision will be taken on the welfare needs of the pet.

It may be best for you to let it be for now. Hopefully we can catch up once lockdown is relaxed.

Or you can try to do it yourself in the short term. There are excellent videoes on youtube about how to do this. It is only for another one or two months, hopefully.

However, if you can see blood, or pus, or your pet is licking excessively at their rear, or scooting or rubbing, then start by emailing us a photo.  We are here to help. We can offer free of charge nurse phone consultations, if that seems appropriate, or paid-for vet phone consultations, if these seems best. Vet phone consultations cost £25 incl VAT, 10% off for VIPs.

I need more food for my pet.

No problem.

Please give us 3 working days’ notice.

Email us on enquiries@themewes.co.uk remembering to put

• your name,
• the first line of your address
• your pet’s name
• the name of the food and
• how much you need.

We will order it for you, and confirm by email.

If you are not computer literate, do call us, but only on weekday afternoons, please, as we are experiencing a high level of calls in the mornings about sick pets. The number is 01444 456886.

You will be asked to pre-pay by card over the phone, to minimise person-to-person contact.

Please arrange only to pick up between 4.30pm and 5.30pm each weekday afternoon. We are reserving this time for medication pick-ups, not appointments, so that we can efficiently arrange a contact-free pick-up service for you.

How do I pay?

We are currently only accepting

1. Card payments, contactless via the phone.
2. By BACS, if you have an outstanding invoice:

The Mewes Vets Ltd
Lloyds Bank
Sort code: 30-18-30
Account number: 36343368

Can I get veterinary advice without attending the Clinic?

Yes, in fact this is our preferred way to interact in the first instance. We can offer free of charge nurse phone consultations, and paid-for vet phone consultations at the moment.

Telephone veterinary consultations cost £25 incl VAT, with 10% off as usual for VIPs.

If you feel a photo or video would help us to help you, please email them to  enquiries@themewes.co.uk . To book, either email us or phone after 2pm each weekday.

What if my pet requires euthanasia during lock-down?

This is the saddest part of our role, at the best of times, and these are not the best of times. We really want the last moments of your pet’s life to be as gentle and dignified as possible. But we also have a duty to protect ourselves and you, the pet owner, from the risk of contracting coronavirus.

It is not what we usually do, but for now, we are not able to allow any family member to be present during a pet’s euhanasia. We will encourage a loving farewell, where possible and appropriate, and then conduct the euthansia lovingly and gently once you have departed.

Normal service will resume as soon as we can possibly make it happen.

What if I need a home visit to my sick pet?

As usual, please email or call us to discuss this option. The vet will perform a risk assessment based on your circumstances and the guidelines our professional bodies have provided, and decide with you how to proceed.

I am a key worker, and I cannot attend at the times you are asking…

Thank you for the work that you are doing. We are here to help you.

Just let us know what your role is, and the rota you are on, and we will do our very best to prioritise your pets welfare, and to fit in around your work schedule.

New Mewes rules:

• Only collect medications and food between 4.30-5.30pm each weekday.
• All medications and food needs to be pre-ordered at least 3 days before you run out, and pre-paid for.
• If you are invited to attend the Clinic with a sick pet
  1. Bring your credit card and a mobile phone
  2. Bring a pen and something to lean on eg a book or clipboard.
  3. Only one adult per pet, please.
  4. You will not be permitted to enter the Clinic.
  5. Ensure your pet is in a secure carrier, or on a secure collar and lead.
  6. When you arrive please phone 01444 456886 to announce your arrival, or ring the doorbell. We would be grateful if you then wait with your pet outside, at the bottom of the steps.
• Non urgent phone calls should be made after 2pm each weekday afternoon.
• Please declare if you or a member of your family is unwell, so that the vet or nurse can take suitable precautions whilst supporting your pet.
• Please declare if you are a key worker, so that we can fit around your work schedule.

The RCVS has advised us that all vets can only provide  “urgent treatment and emergency care where animal welfare would be compromised by delaying for” the three week government restrictions. This means that if a pet is seriously unwell and delaying treatment for 3 weeks could be dangerous we can see them. Anything that isn’t classed as dangerous to be left for 3 weeks will be rescheduled when things settle down. 

If you have any concerns or you are unsure whether your pet must be seen call us on 01444 456886.

As we need to assess the urgency of every case that we might see, we are temporarily suspending the newly launched online booking service. If you have a problem with your pet, please dial 01444 456886, and one of our professional team will assess whether a phone, video or onsite consultation is the best option.

We are not having any problems with our supplier during this time so will be able to continue to provide you all with food and medications. We ask that you call us and give us 2 working days to prepare the order. 

Collections of food and medications are only to be made between the hours of 4.30pm and 5.30pm weekdays. 

As a thank you to our current PCP clients for their continued support, we will be posting 3 months worth of parasite treatment directly to you to save you having to visit us at the clinic. Please do not call us about this it will be done automatically.

We are experiencing a very high drive-in-demand for essential pet medications and pet food at the moment. As we have only a skeleton staff on site, this is adversely affecting our ability to care for pets that are unwell.

We regret that we must insist that you do not simply arrive at the clinic and expect us to fulfil your repeat medication requirements. 

Instead you should

1. Start by phoning one of our team on 01444 456886 to place your order. We have plenty of staff working remotely who can help you with this.

2. Give us 2 working days’ notice of the food or medication that you require. ie phone us Wednesday or before to pick up on Friday.

3. Pre-pay on the phone for this order. This ensures contactless delivery when you pick-up at the Clinic.

4. Our on-site team will stop seeing sick animals between 4.30 and 5.30pm ONLY  every weekday to be available to pass your food or medication to you, in an appropriately contact-free manner.

We really appreciate your co-operation in this matter.

Firstly please let us thank you for your patience and understanding through this very uncertain time, we are very lucky to have such a supportive client group helping us keep everyone safe and well.

We are doing our best to keep you  fully informed. Here is an update for you:

We will still see sick and injured pets so if you have any concerns please do call us. Our out of hours vet will also still be open at all times that we are not.

• We are sorry to have to say that we are no longer able to offer routine vaccine appointments – there are however 4 exceptions to this rule:

1. 1st puppy vaccines
2. 2nd puppy vaccines
3. 1st adult dog vaccine, usually given at 15 months’ of age
4. Rabies Vaccines, where a blood test has been taken and passed. 

We will continue to offer these four vaccines for as long as possible. We will catch up with all other vaccines as soon as we can when things return to normal.

• As mentioned before we are having to cancel all routine appointments – this includes but is not limited to: 6 month health checks, weighing cats for flea treatment, routine claw clips, routine anal glands etc. (please call us if you are at all unsure whether we need to see your pet). However, if a pet is in pain due to eg a claw or anal gland problem, we will be able to help with this.

• We are also having to cancel routine procedures including neuters and non essential dental surgery and x-rays there may be others added to this list as time goes on.

• Due to the staff team being limited we are unfortunately unable to keep to our one pet one vet policy until further notice.
• We request that if you need food or medication for your pet, that you call us in advance and we will order it for you. We do require at least two working days notice for prescription medication orders (this does not apply to Prinovox or Droncit / Profender).
• We request that all orders / appointments are paid for via telephone / card. We are unable to accept cash for them at this time.

We will continue to be available over the phone and via email, although please be advised that if staff numbers drop considerably more we may have to reduce our opening hours.

Stay safe and well and keep an eye out for any other updates via email, or on our social media platforms as we are doing our best to keep these as up to date as possible: Facebook Twitter
and Instagram

1. What if my pet has an acute medical emergency? Can I still run to the Mewes for help?

Yes, we are currently maintaining our usual excellent level of emergency care. Your pet can still be admitted as an emergency and cared for. However, any people who arrive with the injured pet will be asked to wait in our courtyard, and not enter the building, to protect them and the Mewes staff from coronavirus infection.

2. What if my pet has a medical condition that requires a regular blood test?

We are still able to care for them. No pet will go without its regular medication if we can help it.

If you are permitted to come to us, then you should make an appointment as usual for your pet’s blood test.

Our vet or nurse will have a conversation with you as usual beforehand, but instead of doing this in the consulting room, this will now occur outside, whilst a socially appropriate distance is being maintained.

Once satisfied that any medical details have been discussed you will then pass us your pet in a contactless manner. We will take your pet into the clinic to take the blood sample and perform any other necessary checks.

We will then return them to you back outside, again in a contactless manner. Payment will also be contactless via phone or if below £30 direct onto the device.

3. How will the Mewes manage if their team have to self-isolate or fall ill?

We have been working hard to arrange plans so that no pet that is ill, injured or in pain will go uncared for despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Obviously, we may have to make adjustments to our opening hours and we may have to reduce our ability to offer services for well pets, such as vaccinations, but these will all be caught up at a later date.

We suggest that you follow us on Facebook, and keep an eye out for emails from us, to know what our current service is at any point.

4. Where and how can I collect repeat prescriptions?

We expect to be able to maintain provision of required medications though the pandemic crisis.

You should provide us with 2 working days’ notice of your need for a repeat prescription as usual.

If you are allowed to travel, we can arrange contactless pick-up for your pet’s food and medications. Simply phone to advise us of your proposed arrival time at the clinic, and we will have it ready for you to pick up from within our courtyard area.

If you are self isolating, we have a variety of options available, which may include: 

– Paid for contactless home delivery service by one of our team members for occasional requirements.

– Monthly direct debit option on your PCP for regular lungworm, flea and worm protection to be delivered quarterly by post.

– Contactless pick up option by a friend or one of the wonderful pandemic army of volunteers.

Note that we do have a duty of care to ensure that prescription only medications (POMs) are placed into an adult’s hands, are safely transported, and not misused. Also we must ethically ensure that you know how to safely administer anything we prescribe, and that your pet’s condition has not changed since it’s last check-up. Hence we have to be terribly careful who we give medications to.

We will be happy to discuss this with you by phone or video link.

5. What if my pet is due it’s repeat prescription check-up?

Our intention is that no pet that depends on regular medication for its good health will go without that medication during the coronavirus pandemic crisis.

If you are permitted to travel, we are currently recommending that you arrange an appointment for this as usual.

We will conduct a contactless consultation outside, maintaining an appropriate distance.

You will pass us your pet on a lead, or in a carefully closed box, in a contactless manner.

We will take your pet into the Clinic to perform its physical examination and weigh-in.

We will then return your pet to you, sum up the situation from a distance, provide any medication in a contactless manner and take contactless payment.

If you are unable to leave your home, we will provide this service using our new vet video or phone consultation service. The fee for this is £25 incl VAT. The vet will decide with you using a risk: benefit assessment whether to allow more medication without seeing the pet, for a certain period, or whether the pet may need to be brought into the clinic by some kind non-isolated volunteer, perhaps. We will decide this together on a case-by-case basis.

Note that the £25 you will have already paid will be refunded from the subsequent in-clinic

appointment charge, should this be deemed necessary.