TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Last Updated: July 22, 2026

Welcome to the Richmond Animal Hospital website. These Terms and Conditions explain the terms that apply when you access richmondanimalhospitalvt.com, use our online features, contact us through the website, or interact with services made available through the site.

Richmond Animal Hospital is located at 233 E. Main Street, Richmond, Vermont 05477.

1. Acceptance of These Terms

By accessing or using this website, you agree to these Terms and Conditions and our Privacy Policy.

These website Terms do not replace veterinary consent forms, treatment authorizations, estimates, financial policies, prescription requirements, or other agreements that may apply when your pet receives veterinary care from Richmond Animal Hospital.

Veterinary services are provided in accordance with applicable Vermont law and professional veterinary standards.

2. Veterinary Services

Richmond Animal Hospital provides veterinary services for dogs, cats, pocket pets, and other animals we are equipped and qualified to treat.

Services may include wellness and preventive care, diagnostic services, surgery, dentistry, urgent care, ultrasound, pharmacy services, end-of-life care, and other veterinary services described on our website.

The availability and appropriateness of any service depend on your pet's individual medical needs, the veterinarian's professional judgment, staffing, scheduling, equipment, and other clinical considerations.

When specialized or emergency care is appropriate, we may recommend or refer you to another veterinary provider.

3. Veterinary Information on This Website

Information provided on this website, including blog posts, articles, symptom guides, FAQs, and other educational resources, is provided for general educational purposes.

Website content is not a diagnosis and is not a substitute for an examination or individualized advice from a licensed veterinarian who is familiar with your pet.

Do not delay necessary veterinary care because of something you have read on this website.

Veterinary information can change over time, and information that is appropriate for one animal may not be appropriate for another.

4. Emergencies, Urgent Care, and After-Hours Support

Richmond Animal Hospital's regular business hours are:

Monday through Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: Closed

Same-day urgent care appointments may be available based on medical urgency, scheduling capacity, and veterinarian availability. Same-day care cannot be guaranteed.

For after-hours guidance, Richmond Animal Hospital provides 24/7 after-hours phone support through our main number:

(802) 434-4935

After-hours phone support is intended to provide veterinary guidance and triage. It is not an emergency hospital and does not replace in-person emergency veterinary care when immediate treatment is necessary.

If your pet is experiencing a life-threatening emergency, seek care from an appropriate open emergency veterinary hospital immediately. Examples may include severe difficulty breathing, unconsciousness, uncontrolled bleeding, prolonged seizures, serious trauma, suspected poisoning, severe abdominal distention with retching, inability to urinate, or other rapidly worsening or life-threatening symptoms.

Current emergency-care information may be found on our website or obtained by calling our main number.

5. Appointments and Scheduling

Appointments may be requested or scheduled through our online scheduling options or by calling (802) 434-4935.

Appointment availability depends on our clinical schedule and capacity. Richmond Animal Hospital may need to change or reschedule an appointment because of emergencies, staffing issues, weather, or other circumstances outside our reasonable control.

Please notify us as soon as possible if you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment.

Cancellation, deposit, late-arrival, and no-show requirements may vary depending on the service being scheduled. Any applicable fee or advance-payment requirement should be communicated to you when scheduling or through a separate clinic policy.

Submitting a contact form, email, or other non-urgent electronic message does not guarantee an appointment and should not be used for emergencies.

6. Estimates, Treatment Authorization, and Payment

Payment is generally due at the time services are provided unless another arrangement has been approved in advance.

Richmond Animal Hospital currently accepts payment methods including:

Cash
Checks
Major credit and debit cards
CareCredit, subject to CareCredit approval and terms

We may provide estimates for recommended procedures, diagnostics, treatment, or other services.

An estimate is based on the information available at the time it is prepared. Your pet's medical needs may change during examination, diagnosis, treatment, hospitalization, surgery, or recovery.

When reasonably possible, we will discuss material changes to a treatment plan or estimated cost before proceeding with additional non-emergency services.

In an emergency, immediate action may sometimes be necessary to protect an animal's life or health.

Pet owners and authorized caregivers remain responsible for charges incurred for authorized veterinary services regardless of whether reimbursement may later be available through pet insurance or another third party.

We can provide appropriate receipts or documentation for clients who wish to submit eligible expenses to their pet insurance provider.

7. Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship

Certain veterinary services, including the prescribing and dispensing of prescription medications, require a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship, commonly called a VCPR.

A VCPR is established and maintained in accordance with Vermont law and applicable professional standards.

Generally, this requires that a licensed veterinarian has accepted responsibility for making clinical judgments concerning the animal, has sufficient and current knowledge of the animal to make appropriate medical judgments, and is available or has arranged appropriate follow-up care.

Whether an examination or additional monitoring is required depends on your pet's condition, the medication or treatment involved, the veterinarian's professional judgment, and applicable legal requirements.

An online message, website inquiry, or after-hours triage call does not by itself establish a VCPR.

8. Prescription and Pharmacy Services

Prescription medications are issued only when permitted by law and when the veterinarian determines that prescribing is medically appropriate.

Depending on the medication and your pet's health, an examination, diagnostic testing, recheck, or other monitoring may be required before a prescription or refill can be authorized.

Richmond Animal Hospital offers an in-house pharmacy and may also work with third-party pharmacy providers.

Clients may request that eligible prescriptions be sent to another pharmacy. Processing times may vary depending on the request, medication, veterinarian availability, pharmacy requirements, and other circumstances.

Third-party pharmacies operate independently and may have their own pricing, shipping policies, availability, privacy practices, refund policies, and terms of service.

Richmond Animal Hospital is not responsible for the operation of independent third-party pharmacies or for products obtained from sources that we do not control.

9. Medical Records

Richmond Animal Hospital maintains veterinary medical records in accordance with applicable Vermont law and professional requirements.

Client and patient records are retained for at least the period required by Vermont law and may be kept longer when another legal, regulatory, medical, or business requirement applies.

Upon an appropriate request from the client or other authorized person, veterinary records will be made available promptly in accordance with applicable law.

To request records, contact:

Phone: (802) 434-4935
Email: info@richmondanimalhospitalvt.com

Outstanding account balances do not eliminate any medical-record access rights provided by applicable law.

10. Electronic Communications

You may communicate with Richmond Animal Hospital through website forms, email, online scheduling tools, or other electronic services.

Electronic communications are not guaranteed to be reviewed immediately.

Do not use website forms, email, social media, or other non-urgent messaging channels for a veterinary emergency.

By providing your contact information, you authorize us to use that information to respond to your requests and to communicate with you regarding appointments, your pet's care, prescriptions, billing, or other matters related to your relationship with Richmond Animal Hospital.

Marketing or newsletter communications are handled separately and may be opted out of as described in the communication itself or our Privacy Policy.

11. Third-Party Services and Links

Our website may contain links to or integrations with services operated by third parties, including:

Online appointment or communication platforms
Pharmacy providers
Payment and financing providers
Emergency and specialty veterinary hospitals
Maps and directions services
Social media platforms
Educational resources
Community organizations

Third-party websites and services operate independently from Richmond Animal Hospital.

Your use of those services may be subject to the third party's own terms, privacy policies, fees, and practices. Richmond Animal Hospital does not control and is not responsible for the availability, security, content, products, policies, or practices of independent third-party services.

12. Intellectual Property

Unless otherwise indicated, the original text, graphics, photographs, branding, logos, website design, and other original content appearing on this website are owned by Richmond Animal Hospital or used with permission.

You may view, print, or save website content for personal, noncommercial use.

You may also share links to publicly available pages.

You may not reproduce, republish, sell, modify, distribute, or commercially exploit substantial portions of our original content or use Richmond Animal Hospital's name, branding, or logo in a manner that suggests endorsement or affiliation without permission.

13. Acceptable Website Use

You agree not to:

Use the website for unlawful or fraudulent activity
Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the website, its systems, or connected accounts
Interfere with the operation or security of the website
Introduce malicious software, automated attacks, or harmful code
Submit knowingly false or misleading information
Use the website in a manner that infringes the rights of another person or organization

We may restrict access to website features when reasonably necessary to protect our systems, staff, clients, patients, or other users.

Richmond Animal Hospital also reserves the right to establish reasonable standards of conduct for interactions with our staff, subject to applicable law and professional obligations.

14. Website Availability and Disclaimer

We make reasonable efforts to keep the website useful, accurate, and available, but we cannot guarantee that every page, feature, link, appointment system, form, or third-party integration will always operate without interruption or error.

Website information may occasionally contain outdated information, typographical errors, or technical problems.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Richmond Animal Hospital is not responsible for losses caused solely by temporary website outages, transmission errors, third-party website failures, or unauthorized use of the website outside our reasonable control.

Nothing in these Terms is intended to waive or limit professional duties, veterinary standards of care, statutory rights, consumer protections, or liabilities that cannot legally be waived or limited.

15. Privacy

Our collection and use of personal information through this website are described in our Privacy Policy.

Third-party platforms linked from or integrated with our website may collect information under their own privacy policies.

16. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in our website, services, technology, business practices, or legal requirements.

When changes are made, the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page will be revised.

Your continued use of the website after updated Terms are posted constitutes acceptance of the Terms applicable to your use of the website from that point forward.

Changes to website Terms do not retroactively change separate treatment agreements or other contracts unless expressly stated.

17. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Vermont, without limiting any rights or protections that cannot legally be waived.

Any dispute concerning use of this website will be subject to the jurisdiction of courts having appropriate jurisdiction in Vermont, unless applicable law requires otherwise.

18. Contact Richmond Animal Hospital

Questions about these Terms may be directed to:

Richmond Animal Hospital
233 E. Main Street
Richmond, VT 05477