Dan Hebert
Duxbury Animal Hospital
Give a brief description of your business
Companion animal veterinary general practice serving Duxbury and surrounding towns.
How long have you been in business?
Hospital was founded in 1967. I have owned it since November 2013.
What changes have you made due to the current situation?
The first was to develop policies and plans to protect the staff health and livelihood. We had to make sure the staff felt safe expressing any fears or concerns without reprisal. Any staff member that felt the work environment had become unsafe could asked to be furloughed to collect under State and Federal protection. For safety, we switched to a curbside, zero touch system of client communication. All client communication is performed over the phone and the pets are collected from their owners’ cars with equipment that is disinfected between patients. Our phone system required an upgrade to compensate for the increased calls (a process that was not at all smooth with customer service employees decreased at many necessary companies). We also cleared the old garage for drive-in service during inclement weather or situations where moving the patient is difficult. Due to the special nature of euthanasia, we are still allowing clients indoors for this and following very strict personal protection standards.
How are you managing to serve customers during the current situation?
See above
How can people reach you now?
All of our normal communication systems are still working: phones, email, texting, Facebook, website prescription requests, etc.
Do you have an example of how you have been supported by the Duxbury community during this time?
As we have progressed through different stages of service changes, people in town have been great about helping get the word out via things like Facebook. Our clients have extremely patient and appreciative of the new process. Their frequent expressions of gratitude to my staff members has been great for morale.
Also, when our phones went down for a period of time, the Duxbury Police were being contacted by worried pet owners unable to reach us. They were great about calling me directly on my cell to allow me to get in contact with these folks.
Also, please include one or two photos we can use. Can you use on of the ones I sent with the last email?