Sources & References Policy

VeterinaryGuide.com’s core promise is that our directory listings are real. This page explains exactly what “real” means to us and where our data comes from.

Our Directory Data Sources

Every professional and clinic listing on our site is sourced from an official, public government register, including (depending on region):

Illinois: Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) — Veterinary Medicine licensing.
Delaware: Delaware Division of Professional Regulation — Board of Veterinary Medicine.
Australia (ACT): Register of Veterinary Practitioners and Register of Veterinary Premises, maintained by the ACT government.
Additional state and international sources, as we continue to research and verify new official registers.

We record what the licensing authority publishes at the time of retrieval, including license status where available (e.g., active, registered). We do not infer, estimate, or invent a status that isn’t explicitly published.

How We Handle Data Freshness

Government licensing datasets are updated on the issuing authority’s own schedule. We refresh our directory periodically; between refreshes, a listing may not reflect a very recent change (renewal, relocation, retirement). This is disclosed in our Legal Disclaimer.

Educational Content Sources

For pet-care and veterinary-education articles, we draw on publicly available veterinary and animal-health information and established general veterinary knowledge. We do not cite sources we haven’t actually reviewed.

What We Never Do

We never invent a professional’s name, license number, address, or credential.
We never present estimated or approximate data as if it were an exact licensing record.
We never omit an official “inactive” or “not renewed” status to make a listing look more complete.