At this time, we service most, but not all, of the greater Austin area wtihin 15 miles of our home office in 78723.  The regular housecall service charge is for a visit within 12 driving miles from our home office in University Hills.  There is an additional charge for calls within 12-15 miles from our home office.  If you are unsure whether your location falls within our 15 mile service area, please fill out our online client registration form and we will contact you as soon as possible to discuss fees and availability.  We occasionally visit clients outside our standard service area with an extended housecall charge of $7/mile.  If a client is able to arrange multiple other clients to be seen on the same day in a specific area/neighbors we can split the housecall service charge evenly between them.

Dr. Bendall is available by phone, fax, email, or by filling out the online client registration form.  After speaking with Dr. Bendall or his assistant, we will schedule a time to visit your pet that is convenient for your household and our business. Due to the mobile nature of the practice and unforseeable traffic conditions in and around Austin, we ask that you be patient in regards to appointment times.  Most of the time we're right on time but occasionally we get caught in traffic and are running 15-20 minutes behind.  We will be sure to extend you the same leniency if the tables are turned.  Conversely, sometimes we are running ahead of schedule and may contact the phone number you registered with to see if you are available for an early arrival.  Unfortunately, if we arrive at the visit and no one is home you will still be responsible for the housecall service fee.  If you must cancel, please let us know at least 24 hours in advance so we have adequate time to schedule and visit our other patients.  We also ask that you isolate the pets to be seen prior to the visit in a room without hiding places.  Cats, especially, have an uncanny ability of knowing when a vet is on the way and won't hesitate to lodge themselves as far under the couch as possible.  Unfortunately, if we arrive at a scheduled visit and are unable to find the pet to be examined you will still be responsible for the housecall fee.

Once at the visit, we will discuss the patients wellness or illness history.  It often helps to either have previous medical records available for review or refresh the patients history in your mind prior to the visit (i.e. "Did Fluffy start vomiting on Tuesday of this week or last week?", "Was Ranger's last rabies vaccine in 2007 or 2008?).  These details can be difficult to keep track of but are relevant to prescribing appropriate wellness and illness treatments for your pet.

Dr. Bendall will then perform a complete physical exam on the patient and discuss clinical findings, diagnostics, and therapeutics.  We have access to small amounts of most injectable and oral medications that need to be started immediately and can prescribe additional quantities if needed. Non-urgent medications such as heartworm and flea prevention can be ordered through our online pharmacy provider and delivered to your doorstep usually within 5-7 business days although rush deliveries are available as well.  We also have access to a reference laboratory that can perform wellness bloodwork panels, infectious disease titers, urine cultures, and most other, more specific lab testing.  Please feel free to ask about these bloodwork panels during the visit.     

After all services are completed and payment is made the visit will be over.  We will immediately provide a digital copy of the itemized invoice and discharge instructions to your email address and can email paper copies upon request.  Dr. Bendall takes extra care to write personalized discharge instructions for each pet and will forward any additional material discussed when he sends the invoice.  Keep an eye on your inbox for these materials and check your spam folder if you do not see it within a day or two.   

The majority of Dr. Bendall’s housecall visits are between 1 to 2 hours for an initial new patient.  This is 1-2 hours of face-to-face doctor time where all questions can be asked and ansered to satisfaction.  Additional pets will take longer to examine but usually not by a straight multiplier.  Expect up to 30 minutes per additional pet visit depending on services performed.  The longest part of the visit is getting a complete history and discussing diagnostic and therapeutic options.  To increase efficiency, we recommend having previous medical records available for review and refreshing your patient's medical history in your mind prior to the housecall visit.  Previous medical records can also be faxed/emailed to us in advance.  Please visit the Contact Us page for additional information.

In addition to regular examination/office fees, housecall veterinarians have an extra charge to cover fuel, vehicle maintenance and travel time expenses.  This is listed on your invoice as "Housecall Service". Doctor Bendall's Veterinary Housecall Practice charges $60 for this service within 12 driving miles and $90 within 12-15 driving miles from our clerical office in University Hills (78723).  All other travel will be invoiced at $7/mile.  Housecall charges for after hours visits are $125.  

Many housecall veterinarians will charge slightly more for their physical exam fees because they allocate more face-to-face, doctor time for their clients.  This means any medical questions you have can be discussed with an actual veterinarian, as opposed to a technician or receptionist.  Doctor Bendall's Veterinary Housecall Practice charges between $40-$80 for physical exam/consultation fees.  The majority of other expenses are very similar to what you would pay to visit a stationary veterinary hospital.  Often our expenses for items such as heartworm and flea prevention are even less due to lower overhead costs.  Visit our online registration form for a personalized quote.

Doctor Bendall's Veterinary Housecall Practice is ideally suited for these types of visits.  We can help you avoid additional stress associated with car rides and hospitals by coming to your house to perform this sensitive procedure.  All patients are sedated prior to euthanasia unless they are already very ill. The sedation injection is given very similarly to a subcutaneous (under the skin) vaccination and helps the patient relax over the next 15 minutes.  The actual euthanasia solution, an anesthetic agent, is given in a vein and takes effect almost immediately.  

We offer in-home euthanasia services for $300.  This includes the travel charge, initial assesment, sedatives and euthanasia drugs. Prior to the visit you should also consider post-euthanasia body care options.  We recommend either home burial, group cremation without ash return, or private cremation with ash return. Cremation expenses are variable and best discussed on a case by case basis.  They can range anywhere from $80-$400.  There is an additional housecall fee associated with removal of the remains to a crematory facility and return of the ashes. 

Please complete our online registration form for a personalized quote.

We understand that these situations are very sensitive and the last thing you want to do is plan post care for your pet.  To help alleviate these concerns we offer a remains removal service in addition to the actual euthanasia procedure.  For an additional housecall service fee, we will take your pet to an appropriate crematory pickup facility to initiate the cremation process.  For ash return cremations, we will schedule a time to deliver the cremains or work with you to find an appropriate pickup location.