Veterinary and Emergency Treatment Records for Home Dog Boarding

Start the record with the observation

Record date, time, what was seen, relevant vital or behavioural observations you are competent to record, and what the dog had been doing beforehand. Avoid diagnosing the problem in the record unless the diagnosis comes from the veterinary professional.

Record who was contacted and when

Keep the time and outcome of calls to the owner, local emergency contact, normal vet, registered vet or out-of-hours provider. If the owner could not be reached, record the attempts and the next step taken under your agreed emergency procedure.

Capture veterinary directions accurately

Record the name of the practice or professional, the advice given, any treatment supplied and follow-up instructions. If new medication is prescribed, create a medication instruction and then record each administration separately.

Link documents to the incident or concern

Invoices, discharge notes, photographs and prescription information are easier to understand when attached to the same event record rather than saved in a generic documents folder. Use only the documents that are relevant to the dog and stay.

Close the loop at handover

Give the owner a clear factual summary, return medication or documents as appropriate and record any continuing instructions. Keep the final outcome attached to the stay so a later question does not end with an open incident and no recorded resolution.