Dear clients,
We wanted to send an overdue message to tell you how much you are valued.   We’d like to also purposefully explain our past, present and indefinite future operations during the COVID pandemic.  Eight months after closing our doors to client traffic inside our building, we disappointingly continue to find ourselves in the position of necessitating curbside service.  Because of this unanticipated prolonged curbside service, we think it’s important for our clients to understand our ultimate goals, and the challenges we face as an essential pet healthcare business during the pandemic.
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Our top priority has always been to remain available to treat your pet’s medical needs, both urgent and non-urgent.  If our staff became infected from increased contact with clients inside our facility, it would be devastating because we very likely would be forced to close down.  This closure, even temporarily, would not only affect the livelihood of our staff, but would render us unavailable to treat our client’s pets.  As an essential healthcare business, we do not want to take on this risk that can be reasonably avoided by continuing to see pet’s through curbside service where the staff bring your pet in and out of the clinic, and the majority of communication is over telephone. 

Different businesses in our community are operating in different ways, many allowing little to no restrictions or cautionary measures.  While one business’s protocol may be appropriate and sensible for that particular business, it may not be appropriate for another.  McCauley Animal Clinic, and our veterinary partners in healthcare alike in our community, must however, access things appropriate to our very specific facility and nature of our services.  The logistics of carefully and properly managing multiple clients and their pets at a time in our lobby and exam rooms would be very difficult.  Our clinic, a small, family-owned business, is not a large, corporate structure like Home Depot or Dierberg’s where there’s abundant area to freely move about and safely distance from others.  Additionally, modifying exam rooms in a physical way to ensure contamination prevention would be unreasonable and cost prohibitive. 

Measures taken to improve client service include:

• blocking off more appointment times for urgent care visits
• accepting a greater quantity of drop offs for patients to stay the day in order to have time to examine, diagnose, and treat in between scheduled appointments 
• Hiring more team members to facilitate increased call volume and the increased physical demand of constantly running in and out of the building to get pets and deliver products 
• Two relief veterinarians also serve to help maintain full capacity of service if one of our main veterinarians is absent 
• Three additional phone lines added, and phones installed in several exam rooms to make internal operations more efficient, thus benefiting and expediting client service during exam visits 

Keep in mind that we are physically limited to the number of pets we can take in at any time due to the capacity of cages and runs to house hospitalized and drop off pets.  We are wholeheartedly committed to getting your pet in for urgent matters, but have been faced from time to time with the unfortunate burden of being at maximum physical capacity.  The current challenge upon us will be inclement weather—this will mean less time interacting, and being personable with you at curbside.

The management and associate veterinarians would like to recognize and commend our staff on their continued dedication, patience, focus, flexibility, good spirits and overtime hours in a concerted effort, tirelessly striving for excellent patient and client care and experience.  We are proud to have such a special team of staff who truly enjoy what they do.
Thank you to those clients who have been extremely supportive and patient during the most challenging times, and to those that have sent us special treats and food to help us through some never-ending and tiresome days—we truly appreciate it even if we weren’t able to adequately thank you!

We understand there are many different opinions as to the status of the COVID situation, but feel we must err on the side of caution in order to continue to provide the best and most consistent care for you and your pets.  Therefore, we’ve made the difficult but prudent decision to remain on curbside service indefinitely.  We all look forward to the time we can see you again inside the clinic!
 
Sincerely,
Christie Burris, Practice Manager
Dr. Aaron McCauley, Owner/Veterinarian
Dr. Ira McCauley, Owner/Veterinarian
Dr. Mike Hoffman, Associate Veterinarian
Dr. Michelle Cutt, Associate Veterinarian
Dr. Sarah Bonstead, Associate Veterinarian

      We would like to offer some insight on questions you may have regarding COVID-19 and your beloved pets. Here at McCauley Animal Clinic, we promise to do our best to help answer any inquires, but due to the lack of knowledge we currently have concerning this new virus, please refer to the American Veterinary Medical Association link below for more details. Stay safe folks!

Dear Clients,
We want you to know that in the wake of so many businesses closing due to COVID-19 precautions, McCauley Animal Clinic remains open as an "essential" business for your pet healthcare needs. However, as of March 23rd, we have adopted a "curbside" service in order minimize traffic and contact as precautions for clients and staff alike. This means that clients are required to call us (636-300-0200) when arrived at the clinic for the appointment. One of our staff will come outside to transfer your pet into the clinic, and the veterinarian will call you on your mobile phone to discuss your concerns and recommend services and/or treatments.

If you have medications or food to pick up, it will be our pleasure to bring them to your vehicle. To expedite services for everyone, we ask that you please prepay for the items before your arrival to pick up.
In light of these procedures, we may experience high call volumes. Please be patient, and give us a minute - you may need to call us again.
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Our partners in animal care, the specialty referral facilities, and after hours animal emergency centers, have either reduced their intakes to urgent cases only or closed certain locations. If you have a true pet emergency after McCauley Animal Clinic has closed, please call Veterinary Specialty Services--MANCHESTER (1021 Howard George Dr, Manchester 63021) at 636-227-6100. (the Winghaven location is temporarily shut down). See their COVID procedures. 
Alternatively, call the Animal Emergency Clinic, 334 Ft Zumwalt Sq., O'Fallon 63366, at 636-240-5496. See their COVID procedures.