State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners Launches Online Veterinary Hospital Locator

ANNAPOLIS, MD – The State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners has launched an online mapping application that helps pet owners find nearby licensed animal hospitals in just a few clicks. The Veterinary Hospital Locator, which can be accessed on the Board’s web page provides consumers with information about veterinary hospitals, including who owns them, their hours of operation, and whether they provide emergency care.

“A pet owner can spend a lot of time trying to find the closest animal hospital that offers the services and the hours they want. This new tool will help them conduct that search much more quickly and accurately,” said Board Chairman Dr. Chris Runde, a veterinarian in St. Mary’s County. “The map also helps veterinarians find other animal hospitals near them that they can refer clients to when they are closed or when a client needs a service their regular veterinarian does not provide.”

When a consumer types an address into the locator’s “search” field, or clicks on a county of interest, a map will appear that displays all of the veterinary hospitals in the area. The further you zoom out, the more you see. A user can then select any hospital to obtain information about it, including the phone number.

The mapping application also allows users to get directions, measure distances between locations, drag the map to show different sections, and so forth. Also, if the user wants to share a map with friends, they can do so directly from the map to Twitter and Facebook. Maps may also be printed out. An online user guide is available here.

The online map will be updated at least every six months.The State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners licenses and registers veterinarians and veterinary hospitals, licenses animal control facilities, and registers veterinary technicians. Currently, there are 530 licensed veterinary hospitals in Maryland and 1,557 licensed and registered veterinarians. All veterinary hospitals shown on the map are licensed in Maryland. A few licensed mobile veterinary hospitals are not included on the map because they are not based in Maryland. If you are taking your pet to a veterinary hospital that is not on the map, please check the lists of licensed veterinarians and veterinary hospitals, updated monthly on the Board’s webpage.

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