How this was made: drafted by Miriad with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed at the end. Communication guidance for practice owners, not veterinary or legal advice.
TL;DR: A new client welcome email from a vet clinic should arrive straight after the first booking and say four things: when and where, what to bring, what happens at the first visit, and how to reach you. Add the records and microchip details your clinic needs, and ask how the owner wants reminders. Keep it to a phone screen and send the review request later, not now.
A new client books online at half past nine in the evening. Next week she arrives five minutes late, without the vaccination record, unsure whether the cat needed to fast, and unable to remember the name of her previous clinic. The receptionist spends ten minutes on paperwork while the next client waits. All of that could have been in one email sent the night she booked. This article shows what that email should say. It belongs to our guide to veterinary clinic marketing.
What should a new client welcome email from a vet clinic say?
It should confirm the date, time and address, list what to bring, say what happens at the first visit and roughly how long it takes, and give the phone number and emergency route. It can also ask how the owner wants to receive reminders. Everything else, such as prices and team profiles, is a link to the website.
The order matters. Owners read the first lines and skim the rest, so put the facts they act on at the top:
- When and where: date, time, address, parking, a map link.
- What to bring: records, microchip number, medication list, a carrier or lead.
- What happens: registration, the exam, time for questions, how long it takes.
- How to reach you: phone, opening hours, out-of-hours emergency number.
- One question: "How would you like us to send reminders: text or email?"
Why send it before the first visit?
Because the first visit sets the pattern. An owner who arrives prepared, on time and knowing what to expect has a calmer appointment, and the front desk has more time for the next client. The email also shows how your clinic communicates, which matters when owners no longer stay with one clinic by default.
Many owners book outside opening hours. Vetstoria, an online booking vendor, says 41% of the online vet bookings it handles are made after hours (Vetstoria, 2026). That is vendor data about its own customers, but it fits the problem: the questions arise when nobody can answer the phone, so the email has to answer them.
Loyalty is also less automatic than it was. In Provet Cloud's 2025 survey, 63% of respondents agreed that pet owners no longer stick with a single clinic (Provet Cloud, 2025). Our reading, not the survey's: a new client is easiest to keep in the first weeks, before habits form. Most owners do settle with one practice; among US owners, 86.8% of dog owners and 77.1% of cat owners have a regular vet or practice (GlobalPETS, 2024). The welcome email is the first step towards being that practice.
What should new clients bring, and why?
Ask for the vaccination record or pet passport, the previous clinic's name so you can request the medical records, the microchip number if known, a list of current medication and food, and the animal in a carrier or on a lead. Say briefly why each item matters, because owners bring what they understand.
In Hungary, the microchip has a legal role that the email should mention for dog owners. Dogs older than four months may only be kept with a microchip, the implanting vet records it in the national database within 8 days, and the vet checks the chip before every treatment (Nemzeti Jogszabálytár, 2026). Rabies vaccination for dogs is mandatory, first within 30 days after three months of age, repeated within six months and then yearly, and only microchipped dogs can be vaccinated (Vas Vármegyei Kormányhivatal, 2026). A line such as "please bring the vaccination booklet; we will scan your dog's chip at the start of the visit" sets that expectation.
Elsewhere, adapt the list to your own rules and protocols. The principle is the same: ask for what the vet will need in the first five minutes.
The welcome email template, with a filled example
The template below fits on one phone screen. Fill in the placeholders from your practice management software so it goes out automatically after the first booking. A vet or senior nurse checks the "what to bring" and "what happens" sections once, because they describe clinical routine; after that the template runs on its own.
Subject: Your first visit to [clinic] on [date]
Hello [owner's first name],
Thank you for booking [pet's name] in with us.
WHEN AND WHERE
[day, date, time] at [address]. [Parking note]. Map: [link]
PLEASE BRING
- [Pet's name]'s vaccination record or pet passport
- The name of your previous clinic, so we can request records
- The microchip number, if you have it
- A list of any medication and the food [pet's name] eats
- Cats in a carrier, dogs on a lead
WHAT HAPPENS
Arrive [minutes] early to register. The vet will examine [pet's name]
and talk through vaccinations, parasite control and any questions.
The visit takes about [minutes].
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE REMINDERS?
Reply TEXT or EMAIL.
Questions: [phone], [hours]. Emergencies out of hours: [number].Example (illustrative, not a real case): A two-vet practice sets the template to send 5 minutes after any first booking. For a new client booking a 3-year-old cat on a Thursday at 17:20, the email gives the address, says parking is behind the building, asks the owner to arrive 10 minutes early, lists the 5 items, and says the first visit takes about 30 minutes. The email is 186 words. Over the first month, the receptionist notes how many new clients arrive with their records: she counts 23 of 31, and adds a reminder the day before for the rest.
What comes after the first visit?
Send one follow-up within a day or two: thank the owner, attach anything promised at the visit, confirm the next reminder date, and ask for an honest review with a direct link. Use the same words and link for every new client. Do not tie the request to a discount, and do not ask only those who seemed happy.
Google does not allow discounts or free services in exchange for reviews, review gating or staff review quotas (Google Business Profile Help, 2026; Google Maps contribution policy, 2026). A follow-up that goes to every new client is both the fair way and the compliant one.
The reminder confirmation links this email to the rest of your system. Vet reminder message templates for vaccines and check-ups has the messages that follow. If the welcome email is one of several answers you want to write once, cutting phone time spent explaining things to pet owners shows how to choose the others. The veterinary clinic marketing guide puts them in order.
If you want the welcome email, follow-up and reminders written once in your clinic's voice, the Copywriting Pack is built for that. Get notified when it launches.
FAQ
When should a vet clinic send the welcome email?
Straight after the first booking is confirmed, automatically if your practice software allows it. That way it arrives while the owner is still thinking about the visit, often in the evening. If the appointment is more than a week away, send a short reminder two days before with the same checklist, because the first email will have been forgotten.
How long should a vet clinic welcome email be?
Short enough to read on a phone in a minute: about 150 to 250 words, with the checklist as a list. Put the date, time and address first, then what to bring, then what happens at the visit. Anything longer, such as your full price list or team biographies, belongs on the website with a link from the email.
Should the welcome email ask for a review?
No. The owner has not visited yet, and asking now looks careless. Send the review request after the first visit, as part of the follow-up message, using the same words and link for every client. Google does not allow incentives for reviews, review quotas for staff or asking only the clients you expect to be happy.
What if the new client's pet has no vaccination record?
Ask them to bring whatever they have, such as an old pet passport, a receipt, or the name of the previous clinic, and say that the vet will discuss a plan at the visit. Do not make the owner feel at fault. Where a vaccination is legally required, such as rabies for dogs in Hungary, the vet will explain what is needed.
Sources
- Vetstoria homepage — Vetstoria, vendor claim citing 2025 data, accessed 2026.
- Key findings from Provet Cloud's 2025 Veterinary Insights Report — Provet Cloud, 2025-03-04.
- US: more pets, but less spending on supplies and vet visits — GlobalPETS, citing AVMA, 2024-10-28.
- 41/2010. (II. 26.) Korm. rendelet a kedvtelésből tartott állatok tartásáról és forgalmazásáról — Nemzeti Jogszabálytár, state as of 2026-09-06.
- A halálos vírus, amely megelőzhető — Vas Vármegyei Kormányhivatal, 2026-08-17.
- Tips to get more reviews — Google Business Profile Help, accessed 2026.
- Fake engagement / conflict of interest — Google Maps contribution policy, accessed 2026.