About Island Hammock Pet Hospital

Island Hammock Pet Hospital is a full-service veterinary medical facility located in Key Largo, FL.

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About Our Animal Hospital in Key Largo

Island Hammock Pet Hospital is designed for the comfort, care, and convenience of pets and their families. We leave no stone unturned when it comes to providing excellent veterinary medicine while also making the Key Largo community a better place. In addition to focusing our practice completely on the needs of our patients and clients, we also do our part to help the environment.

We’re Environmentally Friendly

At Island Hammock Pet Hospital, we’re highly conscious of our impact on the environment and what we can do to minimize our footprint.

Our Facility is Designed around Animal Wellness

There are dozens of features of our practice that are geared towards giving pets a better experience.

  • Our floors were constructed to help elderly dogs walk with ease
  • The walls of the hospital are insulated to reduce sounds that might cause anxiety
    • This includes interior walls, which are insulated to dampen internal sounds
    • The Boarding Villa for cats is also insulated to minimize noise and keep our feline guests calm, while still allowing them to observe their surroundings
    • We use a Central Wet-Dry vacuum system that is located outside
  • We have an HVAC system which cycles fresh air throughout the hospital to reduce odors
  • Our treatment area has an open floor plan has an open floor plan to allow for the active, continuous monitoring of patients by our medical staff members
  • The hospital also has an isolation ward for treating contagious or potentially contagious patients without allowing contagions to spread throughout the building
  • Our facility has both an indoor and outdoor waiting area; the outdoor waiting area is ideal for keeping large dogs separated from cats and small dogs
  • Overall, our facility has been built according to AAHA standards

Eco-Friendly Fixtures and Appliances

Some of the eco-friendly fixtures you can find at our animal hospital include:

  • Rows of solar panels on our roof, which help to generate 75% of the power our facility uses
  • All of our appliances are Energy Star compliant
  • Our computer workstations and monitors are all energy-saving, high-efficiency models
  • Virtually all of our hospital lighting is LED technology
  • All of our HVAC systems are high efficiency
  • Our external lighting is photo sensor driven
  • All of our plumbing fixtures use WaterSense-rated water saving features

See our Solar Panel Metrics

Landscaping and Water Usage

The landscaping around our hospital is also designed to be friendly to the environment.

  • All plants and flowers used for our landscaping are native species
  • The hospital grounds are xeriscaped, which means they don’t require irrigation
  • We have a storm water management system that redirects all rain water to our landscape beds
  • All of our landscape beds are made from recycled, fossilized coral rocks extracted from the Key Largo Sewer Project
  • Fill that was extracted from on-site trenching was reused onsite
  • We had mature Gumbo Limbo trees transplanted instead of allowing them to be cut down and removed
  • Any trees onsite that needed to be cut down were recycled into mulch and used to fertilize our landscape beds

We’re an Accredited Animal Hospital in Key Largo, FL

Our animal hospital holds several notable accreditations which help us provide a higher standard of veterinary care to the dogs and cats of the Florida Keys. This includes being accredited with the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), being a certified Cat Friendly Practice, and having Fear Free Certified Professionals on our team. We work hard to always be the veterinarian you can trust to put your pet’s needs, and yours, first.

About Our AAHA Accreditation

We’re proud to be the first animal hospital in the Upper Keys to become AAHA accredited, and to be the only AAHA accredited hospital or clinic currently practicing in Key Largo and Ocean Reef, FL. Accreditation with AAHA is no easy task; it requires an “all hands on deck” approach from all team members and a collective commitment to excellence.

Under AAHA guidelines, Island Hammock Pet Hospital must abide by over 900 standards of veterinary care, customer service, hospital protocol, and much more. Only about 12-15% of all small animal practices in the country hold this accreditation, and our facility must submit to routine inspections in order to remain accredited. This means that our hospital is always at the forefront of important changes and advances in the veterinary industry.

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We’re Also Fear Free Certified Professionals

The Fear Free program educates veterinary professionals and pet parents alike, helping us to reduce the fear and anxiety our pets experience when they visit the vet. Their emotional well-being is just as important as their physical health.

Our veterinarians here in Key Largo, FL are currently the only vets in the Florida Keys to be Fear Free Certified Professionals. We have a keen understanding of pet behavior and can make note of emotional responses that indicate anxiety, and find ways to mitigate that anxiety.

What Makes Our Hospital Fear Free for Dogs and Cats?

To become Fear Free Certified, our veterinarians and support staff have undergone training and together, we’ve changed the vet experience:

Tasty Treats

Treats are a great way to distract your pet, reward them for their cooperation, and help them associate vet visits with good things. If possible, bring your pet in with an appetite so they’ll be more receptive to treats. We offer a variety of treats, including hypoallergenic options, so there’s something for everyone.

Non-Slip Surfaces

Cold, slippery surfaces make it difficult for pets to get their balance, which can exacerbate their anxiety. We use non-slip mats and pheromone-infused towels for pets to sit or stand on.

Pheromones

Artificial dog and cat pheromones play a major role in making an environment feel more familiar for pets. Aromatherapy also helps to bring about calm, and we employ the use of relaxing music to enhance the effect.

No Direct Eye Contact

When we first meet your pet, you may notice that we avoid direct eye contact with them and instead focus on you. This way, your pet won’t feel like they’re the center of attention, and they’ll be free to assess their surroundings.

Gentle Handling

We’re trained to handle every pet with patience and gentleness to help alleviate their stress. Our goal is to make dogs and cats feel safe without overwhelming them and crowding their personal space.

Our Goal as a Cat Friendly Practice

Cats have just as many health needs as dogs, but they don’t see their vets nearly as frequently as they should. In fact, cats often miss out on important checkups, either because they show no signs of being unhealthy, or because they are difficult to transport to the vet.

At Island Hammock Pet Hospital, we’re committed to keeping our feline patients healthy, and to maintaining a lasting partnership with cat owners. To make veterinary care easier for cats, we:

  • Use feline pheromones to induce relaxation
  • Can examine your cat in their carrier if they feel more comfortable
  • Are trained to observe changes in physical appearance and behavior in cats to see if their condition has changed
  • Use non-slip mats on our exam tables
  • Handle cats minimally to reduce stress and discomfort
  • Provide treats as a distraction during treatment
  • ..and more