Dear Paw Print Genetics Customer,
I want to share with you an update from Paw Print Genetics (PPG). Governor Jay Inslee of Washington State, where PPG’s laboratory is located, issued a statewide ‘stay-at-home’ order for all citizens that goes into effect at the end of the workday, today, March 25, 2020, with exceptions for ‘essential businesses’ that include those that fall under Veterinary Health. As a veterinary diagnostic laboratory, PPG meets the criteria of an essential business and will continue to function. Therefore, in an effort to protect the health of our staff and our fellow citizens while continuing to assist our clients, we have made some temporary changes to our typical business practices.
First, any staff that can work from home have been doing so since Wednesday, March 18th, which includes our customer care team and some of our directors. We supplied each individual with a laptop computer and access to our software to allow our amazing team to continue to assist our clients. Our geneticists and veterinarians are still available to help you with your questions regarding our genetic testing. We ask that you please give us a call and leave a message and one of our staff members will get back with you as soon as we are able. Our toll-free number (US & Canada) is 1-855-202-4889. Or you can email us with your questions or concerns at AskUs@pawprintgenetics.com and we will respond during our normal business hours, Monday – Friday 8am-5pm pacific.
Second, our laboratory work schedule has been modified so that fewer technicians are in the laboratory at a time, to minimize interactions and reduce the risk exposure to staff. This means that your results might be slightly delayed, but we will do our best to maintain our 14-day turnaround time. We also may not be able to honor requests for stat or rush cases and really appreciate your patience, while we continue to maintain the high level of testing and standards for which we are known. If you need a result quickly, please call us or email us to discuss your needs before ordering.
Third, as always, when you order from us, we will send you the kits and a prepaid return mailer for sending your samples back to us. Please note that it has been our policy to send our US customers one swab kit per dog and one prepaid return mailer per order. We will continue to do this, to make it as easy as possible for you to obtain your samples and send them back to us. Canadian customers can request that we ship them kits, and customers outside of the US and Canada can reach out to us and we will help them locate the proper swabs or collection kits for getting their testing done. Please note that the USPS is experiencing longer than usual shipping times. So, if you choose to ship your kit priority or express, we will honor those requests but once we take your swabs to the Post Office, there may be a delay in their usual shipping times.
As we continue to navigate this unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, we will strive to keep you informed if any of our operations require further changes. Please let us know if there is anything that we can do for you. Thank you for your continued loyalty and support. At Paw Print Genetics, we view our customers as family and want you to know how much we appreciate you! Stay safe and healthy.
Warm regards,
Lisa G Shaffer, PhD, FACMG
& the Paw Print Genetics Team