We describe a new surgical checklist for veterinary cardiologists based on the literature and the application of human factors design. The checklist was developed and iterated with subject-matter experts and was implemented for 4 months, during which use of the checklist was monitored, feedback was gathered, and a final survey was distributed to assess subjective experiences. Although developed for the cardiology team, the checklist also affected the anesthesia team by requiring information and responses to be transmitted across teams. Interviews, subjective reports, and observations pointed to the fact that the checklist engendered communication, particularly by requiring the thoughts and expectations of team members to be stated explicitly.