Vet access (Crossing T’s & Dotting I’S…)

It may indeed be that precaution is better than cure, but when it comes to dogs’ health it can sometimes feel very much the opposite.

The newish GDPR rules concerning personal data mean that whoever is looking after the dog while their owner is away can’t access vet records in the event of a medical emergency unless the owner has first been contacted and has given permission. Data protection is obviously a good idea but very few people send their dogs away when they’re still at home and available to speak, so we’re all (owners & carers alike) left slightly uneasy at potential what-ifs should there be a medical emergency in which medical back-history is required and the owner is out of contact.

We’ve thankfully have never had a major issue with this, but it still feels like a weak link in a chain that we all work incredibly hard to keep strong.

I’ve bumped heads with our own practice and with various vet friends and we’ve come up with a letter template which, once completed, signed by every owner and registered with their practice, gives permission for House of Mutt to access their dog’s medical records in the event of an emergency. It only needs to be completed once so isn’t onerous, and hopefully will never be needed, but having it in place makes me sleep easier and hopefully our owners too.

(Or at least some of them…. As getting it signed and returned is not necessarily proving straightforward! So if your dog is ever a visitor at House of Mutt, and you’re still reading this far down after an early mention of GDPR, and you haven’t yet completed your Vet Access letter, please will you do so or contact Daisy for a new form to complete. We can email it, or we can post it, or we can bring it down with the driver to collect a signature on the spot. Whatever suits best!)

Thank you :)