Veterinary & pet care

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AI & automation for veterinary practices and pet care

Fewer phone queues, more time with the animals

Vet clinics, animal hospitals, groomers, kennels and pet shops all look after animals whose owners worry, ask questions and expect to be remembered. We look at where reminders, forms, refill requests and booking checks pile up, and how carefully designed automation can take on the routine parts, so veterinarians, nurses and pet care staff can stay with the patients who cannot speak for themselves.

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AI and automation for veterinary & pet care · 49 sec

Understand the work

What a working day in a veterinary practice really involves

A small animal clinic usually runs consultations in the morning and evening, with surgery, dentals and diagnostics in between. The reception team checks in pets, weighs them, answers the phone, takes payments and fields a steady flow of questions from owners: is this vomiting serious, can my dog have its booster early, is the prescription ready. Some of those calls are emergencies that need a vet or nurse straight away, and telling them apart from routine questions is a skilled job. Practices that do not offer out-of-hours care direct owners to an emergency clinic overnight.

Behind each visit sits a clinical record in a practice management system such as ezyVet, IDEXX Cornerstone, Provet Cloud or Vetspire. It holds the animal's history, vaccinations, weights, medications and the reminders due next: boosters, parasite prevention, dental checks and repeat blood tests for pets on long-term medication. Prescribing rules depend on the country. In the US, a veterinarian generally needs a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship before prescribing, and in the UK the RCVS expects animals to be under the vet's care. Controlled drugs carry their own record-keeping duties, such as DEA registration and inventories in the US or a controlled drugs register in the UK.

Groomers, boarding kennels, catteries and daycares run on bookings, deposits, temperament notes and vaccination proof. Many ask owners to show current vaccinations before a stay, and in some places, such as England, dog boarding and daycare businesses need a local authority license with conditions about the records they keep. Across all of these businesses, client names, addresses and payment details are personal data under privacy laws, and in many US states veterinary records are confidential under the state practice act even though HIPAA does not generally apply to them.

Practice manager

Runs the schedule, staffing, supplier accounts, client complaints, controlled drug audits and the financial side of the clinic.

Receptionist / client care team

Answers calls and messages, books appointments, admits and discharges patients, takes payments and passes clinical questions to the right person.

Veterinarian

Examines, diagnoses, operates, prescribes, writes clinical notes and speaks with owners about options, costs and end-of-life decisions.

Veterinary nurse / technician

Monitors anesthesia and hospitalized patients, runs nurse clinics, handles phone triage within agreed protocols and makes post-operative check-in calls.

Groomer, kennel or daycare lead

Manages bookings, temperament and health notes, vaccination checks, feeding and medication instructions and pick-up times.

Owner / clinical director

Sets clinical standards, pricing and protocols, and carries responsibility for the practice's registration, licensing and drug records.

Every day

Triaging calls and messages, admitting surgical patients, discharging with aftercare instructions, checking in boarders and grooming clients, handling repeat prescription requests and updating records.

Every week

Calling owners after surgery, chasing unpaid invoices and insurance claim forms, reviewing missed appointments, reordering pharmacy stock and planning next week's rota.

Every month

Running reminder lists for boosters and preventive care, reconciling controlled drug stock, reviewing client feedback and reviews, and preparing for peak seasons such as summer boarding and holiday periods.

Where work gets stuck

The current way of working is full of small detours.

01

The phone never stops at opening time

Owners call as soon as the doors open to get a same-day slot, order food or ask about a pet that seemed off overnight. A worried owner on hold is hard to hear, and so is the animal in the waiting room.

02

Reminders reach the wrong people

Booster and parasite reminders depend on accurate records. When a pet has moved away, changed owner or died, a reminder that still goes out causes real distress and damages trust in the practice.

03

Refill requests arrive in every channel

Repeat prescription requests come by phone, email, website form and social media messages. Each one needs the vet to check the record, the date of the last exam and the dose before anything is dispensed.

04

Aftercare calls slip on busy days

Practices aim to check on patients the day after surgery or a dental, but on a full day those calls move to the evening or are missed, and small concerns are caught later than they should be.

05

Boarding paperwork arrives at the door

Vaccination certificates, feeding instructions and emergency contacts often appear at drop-off on paper or as a photo on a phone, just as a queue of owners forms in reception.

06

Insurance forms wait for a quiet moment

Pet insurance claims need the clinical history section completed and invoices attached. Owners chase, staff fill forms in gaps between consults, and the queue grows in busy months.

What could flow better

Less chasing. More of the work that matters.

AI agents, assistants, research workflows and integrations can each take on part of the load. Here is where they fit for veterinary practices & pet care.

Client communication and triage

Getting every enquiry to the right person quickly, with emergencies never kept waiting.

  • Sorting calls, emails, web forms and messaging apps into one queue
  • Flagging possible emergencies to a nurse or vet straight away
  • Drafting replies to routine questions from approved practice wording
  • Lost and found pet notices for the practice's own social pages

Vaccination and preventive care reminders

Keeping pets on track with boosters and preventive care, and never contacting owners who should not be contacted.

  • Reminder lists built from the practice system
  • Follow-up reminders for owners who have not booked
  • Suppressing reminders for deceased, moved or transferred pets
  • Nurse clinic invitations for weight, dental or senior checks

Records, estimates and insurance

Making paperwork before and after a visit faster and more complete.

  • New client and new pet registration forms
  • Requesting previous records from a former clinic
  • Preparing insurance claim forms for vet review
  • Plain-language summaries of written estimates

Surgery, procedures and aftercare

Helping owners prepare for procedures and recover well at home.

  • Pre-operative fasting and drop-off instructions
  • Consent form reminders before admission
  • Post-operative check-in messages with escalation
  • Suture removal and recheck booking prompts

Prescriptions and pharmacy

Routing refill requests to a vet with the information they need, and keeping stock records tidy.

  • Collecting refill requests from every channel
  • Flagging when an exam is due before more medication can be prescribed
  • Pharmacy reorder reminders
  • Scheduling controlled drug stock checks for authorized staff

Boarding, grooming and daycare

Taking bookings with the right checks done before the pet arrives.

  • Booking requests with deposits and pick-up times
  • Collecting vaccination proof before the stay
  • Feeding, medication and temperament notes on file
  • Rebooking prompts for regular grooming clients

Use cases in detail

From trigger to done, step by step.

How it happens today

Reception works through each channel separately between calls and check-ins. A message about a dog that may have eaten chocolate or rat bait can sit behind questions about opening hours.

Systems and information

  • · Shared inbox, website form and the messaging accounts the practice already uses
  • · Voicemail transcription
  • · Approved answer library and emergency wording agreed by the clinical team

How it could flow

  1. 1 Messages from every channel are gathered into one queue, with voicemails transcribed for staff to read.
  2. 2 Each message is labeled, for example appointment request, prescription, price question, boarding or grooming, complaint, or possible emergency.
  3. 3 Mentions of breathing difficulty, collapse, suspected poisoning, a swollen abdomen, straining to urinate, bleeding or trauma move to the top and alert a nurse or vet straight away.
  4. 4 For possible emergencies, the owner immediately receives the practice's approved message telling them to call the clinic now or go to the nearest emergency clinic, without any assessment of the animal.
  5. 5 Routine questions get a draft reply built from the practice's own wording on hours, fees and services, which a team member checks and sends.

Human oversight

Nothing that sounds clinical is answered by automation. Possible emergencies go to a nurse or vet following the practice's triage protocol, and the clinical team decides the wording of the emergency message. Staff approve every other reply.

What gets easier

Urgent cases surface quickly, routine replies stay consistent, and reception can clear the queue in focused blocks rather than switching channels all day.

How it happens today

The system prints or sends a reminder batch. Staff try to phone owners who have not booked when they have time, and occasionally a reminder reaches the owner of a pet that died or was rehomed months ago.

Systems and information

  • · Practice management system reminders and patient status (through its API, export or built-in reminder module)
  • · Client contact preferences and marketing consents
  • · Text, email or messaging tools already in use

How it could flow

  1. 1 Pets with reminders due in the coming weeks are pulled from the practice management system using the due dates the vet recorded.
  2. 2 Before anything is sent, the list is checked against deceased, transferred, moved and do-not-contact flags, and any pet with a recent euthanasia or cremation entry is removed.
  3. 3 Owners receive a reminder by their preferred channel naming the pet and what is due, with a link or number to book.
  4. 4 Owners who book drop off the list; those who do not get a second, differently worded reminder later.
  5. 5 Anyone still unbooked is added to a call list for the client care team, with notes on earlier attempts.

Human oversight

Vets set which vaccines and treatments each pet needs and when. Staff keep pet status up to date, decide who gets a personal call, and respect opt-outs at once. Messages follow consent rules for texts and emails where the practice operates.

What gets easier

Fewer pets drift out of their preventive care, and the painful mistake of reminding a grieving owner becomes much less likely.

How it happens today

Owners fill in a paper form at reception while the cats wait in carriers. Previous records are requested by phone or email afterward, if someone remembers.

Systems and information

  • · Online forms in the practice management system, where available
  • · Shared inbox for records requests
  • · Microchip and insurance details held in the client record

How it could flow

  1. 1 When the booking is made, the owner is sent a secure registration form covering contact details, each pet's species, breed, age, microchip number, insurer and any known conditions or medications.
  2. 2 The form asks for consent to request records from the previous clinic and records the owner's communication preferences.
  3. 3 If the form is not completed, a reminder goes out the day before the appointment.
  4. 4 With consent given, a records request is drafted to the previous clinic for staff to send, and the reply is attached to the new record when it arrives.
  5. 5 A short summary of what the owner reported, such as current medications or allergies, is placed at the top of the record for the vet to confirm during the consultation.

Human oversight

The vet checks the owner-reported history and makes all clinical decisions. Records from another clinic are requested only with the owner's consent and shared only as local rules allow.

What gets easier

Consultations start with a fuller picture, reception spends less time on paperwork at the desk, and previous records arrive before they are needed rather than after.

How it happens today

A nurse tries to phone each owner the next day. On busy days the calls happen late or not at all, and owners who are unsure call the clinic at peak times.

Systems and information

  • · Discharge and procedure details in the practice management system
  • · Text or messaging tool with two-way replies
  • · Nurse task list

How it could flow

  1. 1 When a patient is discharged after a procedure, a check-in message is scheduled for the following day using the discharge details in the record.
  2. 2 The message asks a few simple questions agreed by the clinical team, for example about eating, drinking, the wound and energy levels, and reminds the owner of the medication, buster collar and rest instructions they were given.
  3. 3 Answers that suggest a concern, or any free-text worry, are sent straight to a nurse with the patient's record, and the owner is told the team will call them.
  4. 4 If the owner does not respond, the nurse sees the patient on a call list.
  5. 5 Reassuring responses are logged on the record, and a reminder is sent ahead of the suture removal or recheck appointment.

Human oversight

The questions and escalation rules are written by the clinical team. Automation never interprets symptoms or gives advice; any concern goes to a nurse or vet, and owners are always told how to reach emergency care.

What gets easier

Every surgical patient gets a check-in, nurses spend their call time on the owners who need them, and problems are raised earlier.

How it happens today

Requests arrive by phone, email and web form. Staff write them down, find the record, leave a note for the vet and call the owner back when it is ready or when the vet says an exam is needed first.

Systems and information

  • · Practice management system clinical and dispensing records (read access, depending on the system)
  • · Website form and shared inbox
  • · Messaging tools for pick-up notifications

How it could flow

  1. 1 Requests from every channel are captured in one place with the owner, pet, medication and preferred pick-up or delivery option.
  2. 2 The request is matched to the pet's record and shows the last exam date, the last time the medication was dispensed and any monitoring blood tests the vet has asked for.
  3. 3 If the practice's rule says an exam or test is due before more can be prescribed, the request is flagged so the vet can decide and the owner can be offered an appointment.
  4. 4 The vet approves, changes or declines the request in the practice system.
  5. 5 The owner is told when the medication is ready or what the next step is, and controlled drugs follow the practice's separate dispensing and recording process.

Human oversight

Only a vet authorizes a prescription, following the prescribing rules where the practice operates. Automation gathers and organizes the request; it never decides whether medication can be supplied, and it never handles controlled drug entries.

What gets easier

Refill requests stop getting lost between channels, vets can approve them in batches with the facts in front of them, and owners know what is happening.

How it happens today

Staff take bookings by phone and email, then check certificates at drop-off. A missing or expired vaccination discovered at the door means a difficult conversation and a gap in the schedule.

Systems and information

  • · Boarding and daycare booking software (depending on its API or forms)
  • · Secure document upload
  • · Payment links for deposits

How it could flow

  1. 1 An online booking request captures dates, each pet's details, feeding and medication instructions, temperament notes and an emergency contact, plus the owner's own vet.
  2. 2 The owner is asked to upload vaccination certificates, and the booking is held as provisional until they are received.
  3. 3 Dates on the uploaded certificates are read and compared with the stay dates, and anything missing, unclear or due to expire before checkout is flagged for staff.
  4. 4 Staff review the flags and either confirm the booking or ask the owner to arrange a booster, and the deposit request goes out once confirmed.
  5. 5 A drop-off reminder lists what to bring, and the confirmed notes are ready for the kennel team on arrival day.

Human oversight

The business sets its own vaccination policy, ideally with advice from a vet, and staff make every admission decision. Reading a certificate is only a first check; unclear documents go to a person, and health concerns go to the owner's vet.

What gets easier

Problems surface days before arrival rather than at the door, drop-off moves faster and the kennel team starts each stay with complete notes.

How it happens today

Forms arrive by email or post, wait in a tray and are completed by a vet or nurse between appointments, sometimes weeks later.

Systems and information

  • · Practice management system invoices and clinical notes (read-only)
  • · Insurer claim forms or portals
  • · Shared inbox

How it could flow

  1. 1 Claim requests are logged as they arrive, with the insurer, policy details and the dates covered.
  2. 2 The relevant invoices and a draft clinical history for the claim period are pulled from the record and laid out in the insurer's format.
  3. 3 Missing items, such as the date the condition was first noted or a referral report, are highlighted.
  4. 4 The vet reviews the draft against the full record, corrects it and signs it off.
  5. 5 The completed claim is sent by the route the insurer and owner have agreed, and the owner is told it has gone.

Human oversight

The vet is responsible for what the claim says about the animal's history and condition, and nothing is submitted without their review. Automation never decides whether a condition is pre-existing.

What gets easier

Claims move faster, fewer come back for missing information, and owners chase the practice less often.

From one task to a connected system

From first call to the next booster

Here is how separate pieces can join up around one new puppy, with people in charge wherever judgment matters.
  1. 01 A person reviews

    Enquiry

    A message asking about puppy vaccinations is labeled and a draft reply with appointment options is prepared.

  2. 02 Automated

    Registration

    The owner completes the new client and pet form, and consent for messages is recorded.

  3. 03 People decide

    First consultation

    The vet examines the puppy, discusses vaccinations, parasite control and neutering, and records what is due next.

  4. 04 Automated

    Reminders

    Second vaccination and preventive care reminders go out on the dates the vet set.

  5. 05 People decide

    Neutering

    Pre-operative instructions are sent, and the vet and nurses carry out the procedure.

  6. 06 A person reviews

    Aftercare check-in

    Next-day questions go to the owner, and any concern reaches a nurse.

  7. 07 A person reviews

    Boarding stay

    When the family books a kennel, vaccination proof is ready to share from the record.

  8. 08 Automated

    Annual booster

    A year on, the booster reminder goes out, with non-responders reaching the call list.

Responsible by design

What gets automated, what stays with people.

Can be automated

  • Appointment confirmations and drop-off reminders
  • Booster and preventive care reminders on vet-set dates, with status checks first
  • Sending and chasing registration and boarding forms
  • Logging refill requests and insurance claim requests
  • Pharmacy reorder and stock check reminders

AI prepares, a person checks

  • Replies to owner enquiries
  • Owner-reported history summaries for new pets
  • Vaccination certificate checks for boarding
  • Draft insurance claim histories
  • Post-operative check-in escalations

Stays with qualified people

  • Triage decisions, diagnosis and treatment
  • Authorizing prescriptions and handling controlled drugs
  • Responding to emergencies or any described symptoms
  • Euthanasia and end-of-life conversations
  • Complaints, welfare concerns and admission decisions

Client details are personal data under laws such as GDPR in the UK and EU, PIPEDA in Canada, the Privacy Act in Australia and state privacy laws in the US, and many US states also treat veterinary records as confidential. Share data only with services the business has assessed and approved, under a data processing agreement where required. Vets remain accountable to their licensing body for prescribing, controlled drug records and clinical care, so check the rules where you operate.

What this gives people back

Less managing the process. More doing the work.

Reception can look up

When routine messages and reminders run reliably, there is time to comfort the owner holding a frightened cat at the desk.

Nurses spend calls where they count

Aftercare check-ins and triage flags point nurses to the owners and animals who need them most.

Owners feel remembered, not chased

Timely, accurate reminders and follow-up show the practice knows their pet, and careful status checks avoid painful mistakes.

Vets decide with the facts in front of them

Refill requests, claim drafts and new pet histories arrive organized, so clinical time goes on clinical decisions.

Built around how you work

Your process first. Technology second.

An independent first-opinion clinic, a busy animal hospital with overnight care, a mobile groomer and a cattery face very different pressures. What can be automated depends on the practice management or booking software in use, whether it offers an API, export or built-in modules, how clean the client and patient data is, which channels owners already use and the privacy and veterinary rules where you operate.

Make It Flow starts by mapping how work moves through your business today, from the first call to the next booster or booking. We check what your systems genuinely support, design small workflows with clear points where a vet, nurse or manager decides, and adjust them as your team tells us what helps and what gets in the way.

  1. 01Map the work as it really happens
  2. 02Find the steps worth automating
  3. 03Design with checks and approvals
  4. 04Connect, measure and improve

FAQ

Common questions from veterinary practices & pet care.

Still have a question?

Talk to us

No. Automation can recognize words that suggest an emergency and alert your team, and it can send the emergency message your clinicians have approved, but assessing an animal is a job for a vet or a nurse working to your triage protocol.

It depends on the system and your access. Some, such as ezyVet, Provet Cloud or Vetspire, offer APIs or integrations, while others are better used through their own reminder and forms modules. We check what your system and contract actually allow before suggesting anything.

By checking patient status before every reminder run and making sure euthanasia, cremation and transfer entries reliably update that status. Automation can run the check every time, but it relies on the record being updated.

It can collect requests from every channel, match them to the record and show the vet what they need to decide. Only a vet authorizes medication, and controlled drugs stay within your usual dispensing and recording process.

Yes. Booking requests, vaccination proof, deposits, feeding and medication notes and rebooking reminders are common pain points for grooming, boarding and daycare businesses, and they suit small, contained workflows.

Usually with one source of daily friction, such as refill requests arriving in every channel or reminder lists that need manual cleaning. Starting small makes it easy to test, adjust and build trust before connecting anything else.

Free tools

Tools picked for veterinary & pet care.

Free, quick and mostly sign-up free. Each one opens on the main Make It Flow site.
All free tools for this industry
Email Deliverability Checker Run one check on the domain your booster reminders, booking confirmations and invoices come from. It shows which of SPF, DKIM and DMARC pass and which need attention from... DMARC Record Checker See whether your domain tells mailbox providers what to do with messages that fail authentication. Owners trust emails from their vet, which makes a spoofed message about... Image Compressor Shrink grooming results, boarding updates and team photos before uploading them, converting to WebP where your site supports it, so gallery pages stay quick on a phone. Image Resizer Resize camera and phone shots to the width your website actually displays, or use the social presets for a post about a new nurse clinic or puppy party. HEIC to JPG Converter iPhone photos of patients and boarders arrive as HEIC, which many website builders and booking platforms reject. Convert them to JPG; location data is not carried across,... QR Code Generator Print a code for the consulting room, reception desk or kennel office that opens your review page, online booking or a lost and found notice. The codes are static, so the... Image to PDF Turn a photographed vaccination certificate, consent form or boarding agreement into a clean PDF for the client or pet record, processed in your browser. Merge PDF Combine a welcome letter, registration form, fee guide and health plan leaflet into one new client pack, in the order you want owners to read it. Compress PDF Reduce large scanned referral letters, lab reports or care guides before emailing them, so they get through attachment limits on the owner's side. Schema Markup Generator Create structured data for your business using types such as VeterinaryCare or PetStore, with address, phone and opening hours, ready to paste into your site. Schema Markup Validator Check that the markup on your contact and location pages is valid and matches the hours and phone number shown to visitors. Page Speed Checker (Core Web Vitals) Measure how your homepage and booking page perform on mobile and see which images, scripts or chat widgets are slowing them down. Google Review Link Generator Paste your Place ID, a Google Maps link or your g Local Business Schema Generator Pick your exact business type, add your address, hours and service area, and get validated LocalBusiness JSON-LD ready to paste and test in Google Google Maps Embed Generator Turn your business address into a responsive, accessible Google Map for your website, plus Get directions and Apple Maps links NAP Consistency Checker Enter your website to compare the business name, address and phone number on your homepage, contact, about and location pages, and in your LocalBusiness schema WhatsApp Link Generator Type your number the way you normally write it, add an optional message, and get a working wa

Free workflow template

Missed call text-back workflow (n8n)

The n8n workflow from our video: when a call is missed it texts the caller back within seconds (with different wording after hours), sorts the reply into urgent, booking, question or spam, alerts you straight away for urgent jobs, sends a booking link, and puts anyone who does not reply on a call-back list.

  • Imports into n8n in one click (Import from file)
  • Runs on demo calls first, then connect your phone system and SMS provider
  • Text-back wording for open hours and after hours included

We email you the download link and nothing else unless you tick the box. See the privacy policy.

Want it connected to your own phone line, SMS and calendar? Book a free 20-minute setup call. Book a setup call

Free checklist (PDF)

Free veterinary & pet care website checklist

31 practical checks for veterinary & pet care: website speed and mobile, Google Business Profile and reviews, email security, booking and enquiry handling, and AI search visibility. Each one says why it matters, and many link to a free tool that checks it.

We email you the PDF and nothing else unless you tick the box. See the privacy policy.

Guides

Latest guides for veterinary & pet care.

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Animals cannot tell you what they need

That is why the people caring for them need time to look, listen and think. When reminders, forms and requests take care of themselves, more of that time goes to the animals and the owners who trust you with them.

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