Welcome to Animalcare Veterinary Hospital

No, we do not sell dogs or puppies. We recommend that you visit Animalcare Veterinary Hospital in Kingston or Animalcare Portmore in Portmore to look on the noticeboards. Many of our clients will advertise their puppies for sale on our noticeboards. We also recommend that you contact the Jamaica Kennel Club if you want to buy a pedigree dog or the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (JSPCA) if you want to give a home to a shelter pet.

Unfortunately, we do not offer any payment plans at this time. With very few exceptions we request that you pay for services provided at the time of your pet’s visit. If you have any questions about our payment policy, please feel free to ask.

We recommend that you include the cost of veterinary care in your annual budget for your pet(s). However, we understand that this sometimes isn’t possible. If you contact us ahead of time, we can help you determine ways to keep costs down and stay within your budget. For instance, some preventive veterinary care can be spread out over several visits.

We do offer 3rd party financing for healthcare costs once you have been registered as a client for a reasonable period and you satisfy certain requirements. See here.

We can accept any of the following payment methods:

• Cash (J$ and US$)
• Personal checks
• Visa
• MasterCard
• Direct transfer to our bank account

To make an online bank transfer payment, gather the account information given below, including the account name, branch, type and full account number, and log into your online banking account. In the online banking portal, locate the transfer money page, and enter the account number and other required information where you will be sending the money.

Please inform us by calling (876) 969-1356 or by emailing frontdesk@animalcarevet.com  if you pay by bank transfer.

Bank of Nova Scotia

Account Name: Animalcare Veterinary Hospital
Account No: 21725000001250
Branch: Constant Spring Financial Centre
Account Type: Business Chequing

National Commercial Bank

Account Name: Animalcare Veterinary Hospital
Account No: 061095667
Branch: Constant Spring Road
Account Type: Business Chequing

Sagicor Bank

Account Name: Animalcare Veterinary Services Limited
Account No: 5503662584
Branch: Duke and Tower Street
Account Type: Business Chequing

Usually “yes”. We recognize the bond you and your pet(s) may have to a specific veterinarian and make every effort to accommodate our clients’ requests. However, there may be circumstances that prevent a certain veterinarian from being available during your pet’s visit. Scheduling conflicts, emergency situations, and vacation schedules all play a role in their availability. Please feel free to ask for a specific veterinarian when you schedule your appointment, and we will do what we can to facilitate your request. However, please be understanding if we can’t. You have the right to delay your visit until your preferred veterinarian is available, but bear in mind that all of our veterinarians are highly skilled professionals who look forward to your pet’s visit.

Yes and no. We have a fully trained technician that lives on the hospital grounds in Kingston, and she is available to help with after-hours emergencies and provide over-night care to very sick patients if indicated. However, routine overnight-monitoring of hospitalized patients and boarding animals is not provided unless specifically requested and paid for by a client.

For the safety and protection of all clients, patients, and veterinary team members, we require all pets to be on a leash or in a carrier when they arrive at our hospital. They must continue to be restrained while they are in the reception area and while traveling to and from the exam rooms. Your veterinarian or veterinary technician will let you know when it’s OK to let your pet off his leash or take your pet out of his or her carrier.

We recommend that puppies receive a minimum of 4 rounds of vaccines in the first 4 months of life, and for the best protection against Parvo, we recommend a 5th round of vaccine. Ideally, the first round of vaccine is administered about 5-6 weeks of age. The following rounds are administered at approximately 2-3 week intervals thereafter.

But why so many shots? New-born animals have antibodies circulating in their bloodstream that they picked up from their mothers while inside her uterus or through the first milk. These “maternal” antibodies are responsible for what is called “maternal immunity” and help protect puppies while their immune systems are still developing.

However, unfortunately, the maternal antibodies interfere with the protection that should be conferred by the vaccines and can completely inactivate vaccines that are given to the puppies. The antibodies that the puppies receive from their mothers gradually fade away over the first few months of life, but the speed with which this occurs is variable between breeds and individuals. We have no practical way of knowing exactly when a particular puppy’s maternal immunity has waned to a point where it no longer interferes with antibody production, so we have to continue to give shots to the puppies until we are sure that the vaccine is able to produce antibodies in the puppies that are protective against the germs that cause disease and death.