About

Shawsheen Animal Hospital is an AAHA-accredited full-service veterinary hospital that’s committed to providing the highest quality medicine for your pet and excellent customer service for you.

We gladly welcome dogs and cats and serve the Merrimack Valley including Tewksbury, Lowell, Wilmington, Andover, Billerica, and Dracut. As pet owners ourselves, we understand the special bond that you and your companion share, and part of our mission is to nurture that bond while providing you with the information you need to make the best health care decisions for your animal companion. Making and keeping your pet healthy was our first priority when we first opened our doors, and it’s still our priority today. We excel at customizing care so that we can meet the unique needs of your animal companion—after all, no two pets are exactly alike.

Our Doctors

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We strive to give pets the longest and happiest life with the people that love them.

Shawsheen Animal Hospital is proud to say that we have been accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) since 2007.

The AAHA is the only accrediting body for companion animal hospitals in the United States and Canada. It was established over 80 years ago by veterinary leaders who wanted to help other veterinary professionals provide the best possible care to their patients. To do this, these leaders created Standards of Excellence which veterinary hospitals must reach and maintain in order to become accredited.

We have always set high standards for ourselves at Shawsheen Animal Hospital, so making the decision to pursue accreditation was an easy one. Currently, just over 15% of veterinary hospitals in the United States and Canada are accredited with AAHA, and Shawsheen Animal Hospital is pleased to be among them.

If you would like to find out more about AAHA and how accreditation benefits you and your pet, take a moment to watch the informational video below by AAHA’s executive director, Dr. Michael Cavanaugh.

FEAR FREE

Along with keeping your pet healthy, alleviating their fear when they visit our hospital is one of our highest priorities. It’s important to remember that for our pets, entering a new place where other animals and people have been can be very overwhelming. That’s why our staff and doctors have implemented certain Fear Free techniques.

The steps we take to ensure a better, less stressful visit for your pet include:

  • Helping owners acclimate their pets to car rides and carriers
  • Formulating safe and appropriate check-in and check-out protocols
  • Having designated cat and dog exam rooms to increase pets’ security and comfort
  • Gentler handling and restraint techniques with fewer team members present
  • Positive reinforcement on site (high value treats, praise, etc.)
  • Techniques for desensitizing patients to stressors
  • Finding more comfortable locations to administer treatments or perform exams on pets
  • Learning the patient’s personality, behaviors and responses to treatment so we can devise better ways to accommodate them

Visit fearfreepets.com to read more about Fear Free techniques and how they can benefit your pet at our hospital and at home. If you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to call us at (978) 851-5558.

CAT FRIENDLY PRACTICE

Cats have personalities as diverse and interesting as their coat colors, but most of them seem to have one thing in common—a serious aversion to vet visits! This makes it less likely that cats will get the regular wellness and preventive care they need, which is why we have put a lot of effort into becoming a certified Cat-Friendly Practice with the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP).

We are specially trained and implement protocols to help your cat be less stressed and more comfortable at our hospital, including:

  • Maintaining a designated cat-only area in the lobby
  • Reducing wait times in the lobby
  • Having designated cat-only exam rooms designed to make them feel more secure
  • Using feline pheromones to help cats feel safe and comfortable
  • Gentle handling
  • Examining cats in their carriers (with the lid removed) or on their owner’s lap
  • Using lower volume and/or combination vaccines
  • Special feline behavior and diagnostic training for staff and doctors
  • Using feline-specific medical and surgical equipment

Our team members are always happy to educate cat owners in the proper handling of their loved ones to make transporting your pet to see us easier as well—just give us a call at (978) 851-5558!

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