Policies & Fees

Thank you for viewing our Policies & Fees. The following list details some of our financial and medical policies. Please take a few moments to familiarize yourself with them so that we can serve you better. If you have any questions regarding these or any of our policies or practices, please be sure to address them prior to your appointment. We can attempt to take into account any special requirements ONLY IF your clinician knows them prior to the appointment. Once the clinician has provided you with their professional time, it is too late to express any special budget needs.

 

Appointment Specific Policies (in home & in office):

  • No billing: fees are due upon completion of services preferred by Zelle or Venmo (just put pet’s name for “what’s this for” section of Venmo) but we do accept CC (VISA, M/C, Discover + 4% convenience fee)
  • * Representative family should be present for appointment if possible/safe, including other pet(s) affected by problem if appropriate/safe limited by exam room to 2-3 people (ask if not sure).
  • * If pet has relevant medical history, recent lab work or on meds (have med bottles handy) ask your vet to e-mail them to us (info@sdvetbehavior.com or If cannot e-mail Fax: 858-259-0013) ahead of time.
  • * If pet is aggressive, do NOT put people at risk during the appointment (e.g., if aggressive to family members have safely restrained/confined). SAFETY FIRST!
  • * E-mail us a picture of the “family” including the pet(s) as long as safe (if needed send two Picts e.g., if have two fighting dogs that should not be in the same picture).
  • * Send us links (upload to cloud & send us link) to video(s) of the behavior problem if safe to video and if very unusual & important for doctors to see for themselves (we do NOT need to see each problem).
  • * Have handy within reach any training aids (basically anything to restrain or train dog like collars, leashes, harnesses, training collars, head halter, etc.) that you use or still have for your pet if any.
  • * Please be ready 10 min before appointment time to be sure we can start on time (test audio/visual if by Telemedicine). Text office # (858-259-6115) for any appointment-day issues, etc. We are reserving a specific time for you and cannot refund you for time lost due to being late or for missing appointments.
  • * If not yet done so, be sure to download, hand sign, complete & return at least 1st 2 signature pages (scan/e-mail, Fax) for us to consider you for a new-patient appointment & get send us rest to forms ASAP since required to hold your appointment spot.
  • * If not yet done: Pay scheduling non-refundable fee/deposit ($300) via Zelle (info@sdvetbehavior.com), VENMO (@Patrick-Melese) or, with 4% fee, via credit card to hold your appointment!
  • * We recommend that you audio record at least the treatment part of session. Figure out your Smart phone Voice Memo/Voice Recorder, using Zoom, etc. PRIOR to appointment.
  • Please have pet’s favorite treats available during the session. Human food is okay if they are super responsive to it. If your pet is on a special diet, please have appropriate treats. Fast your pet 12-24 hours if needed to help be responsive to training treats if we need to have you use them.

Financial Specific Policies (professional fees are usually adjusted yearly):

  • Please be sure that you have reviewed all our policies and fees and that you understand clearly. Payment is due at the time of appointment, and we DO NOT BILL. We accept the following payment methods: Zelle (info@sdvetbehavior.com) or VENMO (@Patrick-Melese and has small picture of the doctor with sailor’s cap and a pipe for a unique identifier and, if asks for last 4 of phone # use VBC office # ending in 6115 and avoid labeling as a service or Venmo will charge a fee, which we have to pass on to you); or by credit card Visa, Mastercard & Discover (however, using your credit or debit card will incur an additional 4% “convenience fee”). Cash and checks accepted at in-person visits such as Telemedicine curbside exams (checks not honored by your bank will incur additional fees, as well as costs associated with collecting the funds to pay for the services/products you have received).
  • Since we schedule out a large portion of the doctors’ time for your behavior appointment, we request immediate notification of any desire to reschedule or cancel a behavior consultation (remember your new patient scheduling fee is NON-REFUNDABLE for any reason once we have reserved an appointment for you) so that another client can make arrangements to use the appointment time. Please give us as much notice as possible but AT LEAST 2-3 BUSINESS DAYS advanced notice of cancellation.
    If you do not show up for your appointment or cancel with less than 2 business days (M-F) notice, you may be charged up to the full consultation fee.
  • New patient appointment fees are $990 for up to a 3-hr. session but, since a number of complicated cases need a bit more time, especially if with separate “curbside exam,” additional time over 3 hrs. will be prorated at $330/hr. Consultations that must be scheduled outside regular clinic hours with doctor (M-Wed 9:30-5:00), when available, are charged additional hourly rates ($100-120/hr. additional). There is an additional $200 charge for each additional pet patient involved in the case such as two dogs that are fighting. For Guidelines only-not a quote: Initial patient appointments usually range between 2.5-3.5 hours. A routine telemedicine phone recheck appointment is currently $260 (30-50 min.) but, for stabilized cases, can sometimes be shorter (e.g., $220 if <30min) and 1st rechecks are usually booked 1-2 months after initial appointment. Depending on availability, a 1.5 hr. “mini/lite” appointment for $725 may be available for those that only have budget for introductory or assessment-only visit but these are NOT sufficient for most serious behavior problems. House call fees will be $450 per hour ($1,350 minimum) plus $7 per minute one-way travel time charge (for example 20-minute travel time would be $140 travel charge).
  • Please note that new patient appointment fees above do NOT include any optional behavior medications, supplements or training aids that you may wish to get from the doctor at the “curbside exam” or “in clinic” portion of the appointment.
  • Initial office calls and house calls typically average between 2.5-4 hours depending on the pet, problem, complexity, behavioral history, etc. This may vary depending on circumstances. If you have a “hard stop” need (e.g., another appointment you need to get to at a certain time; a strict budgetary limit that means we end due to budget rather than the time doctor thinks your case needs at first visit) PLEASE MENTION IT TO SCHEDULER AND ALSO TO THE DOCTOR AT START OF THE APPOINTMENT SO THAT WE CAN ALL BE SURE TO QUIT ON TIME FOR YOU and get as much done as we can within your time budget!).
  • Routine phone recheck appointments are currently $260 and are typically 45-50 minutes long. These are scheduled for about 1-2 months after initial visit then as the case team (clinician and pet parent) think appropriate. However, rechecks done with a longer interval than directed by your doctor may need more time than a “standard” recheck in which case hourly fees (@ $260/hr.) would again apply. Recheck appointments are usually critical to the long-term successful resolution of most cases, but how many and how often is very dependent on the problem, the patient(s), and the individual clients. State law requires recheck must also have an “in person” component (“curbside exam” or in clinic) at least every 12 months.
  • If you are unable to budget for even a “lite” consult visit with our doctors, we may still be able to help you. If you e-mail us a brief, concise (just a few sentences as we do not have time to read through an extensive history outside of an appointment) description of your pet’s behavior problem, we may be able to send you some standard handout(s) or other self-help options that we may have. Although we are happy to help any way that we can as a courtesy, we do not have handouts on every subject possible and the material would be intended as general education since we cannot assure that the handout applies to your particular pet without a behavioral appointment, work-up, diagnosis and treatment plan.

Fees above are NOT meant to be an exact representation of final appointment cost since hourly charges apply, and each case is different. The fees above do not account for behavioral medication, behavior products or training aids that may be recommended; some of which we may have available for purchase at first appointment.