Home/Fear Free
Fear Free
Fear Free is not a poster in the lobby. It is a certification with a syllabus, and it changes what happens to your animal minute by minute — from the medication we offer before you leave home to the decision to stop a visit that is not going well.
Arizona's first, in 2016
Dr. Michael Berman was the first Fear Free Certified veterinarian in Arizona, certified in 2016. That is not a marketing line — it is the reason the rest of this page can describe specific things that happen here rather than a general intention to be gentle.
Certified here
- Michael Berman — Fear Free Certified — first in Arizona, 2016
- Katie Kitchen — Fear Free Certified
- Christina McBroom — Fear Free Certified · Avian Fear Free Certified
- Kendra Thomas — Certifications to confirm
- Alycia Hagenmaier — Photograph to come
Certification belongs to individuals rather than to a building, so this page names the doctors who hold it rather than making a blanket claim about the practice. TK Dr. Kendra Thomas's Fear Free status is the last unconfirmed credential in the project. Confirm it either way — if she is certified, she belongs in the list above; if not, the page is already honest and nothing changes.
What changes
What Fear Free actually changes about a visit
Four things a practice either does or does not do. None of them is a matter of tone.
| What happens | Here | Typical |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-visit anti-anxiety medication offered before you arrive | ✓ | — |
| Exam on the floor or in your lap when that is less stressful | ✓ | — |
| Cats and dogs kept apart from check-in onward | ✓ | — |
| A visit stopped and rescheduled rather than forced | ✓ | — |
“Typical” describes a visit at a practice that has not adopted Fear Free methods.
Your first visit
What to expect, in order
Before you leave home
We send what to bring and, for anxious animals, a prescription to give beforehand. Anxiety that starts in the car does not end in the exam room.
Arriving
Text us from the car if the lobby would be harder on your pet. Cats go to a separate room away from dogs.
The exam itself
Wherever your animal is most comfortable — the floor, your lap, a towel they arrived in. We work at their pace.
If it is not going well
We stop. A visit rescheduled with better medication on board is a better visit than one pushed through.
On every service
Written for the procedure, not pasted onto it
Keeping a dental low-stress is a different problem from keeping a vaccination visit low-stress. Every service page says what it means there.
Common questions about Fear Free
What does Fear Free certification actually involve?
It is a certification with a syllabus, not a badge a practice buys. Training covers handling, the use of pre-visit medication, reading an animal’s stress signals, and knowing when to stop. Certification is held by individuals, not by a building.
Will my pet still need to be held still?
Sometimes, briefly. What changes is that restraint is the last option rather than the first, and that a visit which is not going well is stopped and rescheduled rather than pushed through.
Does pre-visit medication mean sedating my pet for a routine exam?
No. Pre-visit anti-anxiety medication is given at home, before the car journey, for animals whose anxiety starts long before they reach us. It is offered rather than assumed, and it is not sedation for the exam itself.
My cat is terrified of the carrier, not the vet. Does any of this help?
That is the most common version of the problem, and it is why the guidance starts before you leave home. Anxiety that starts in the car does not end in the exam room.
Book with a practice that will stop if your animal needs it to
20801 N Scottsdale Rd, Suite 101 · Scottsdale, AZ 85255
480-585-3512