North Memorial Animal Hospital

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Charity Dog Wash: Details!

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Join us for our first ever Charity Dog Wash!!

We are so excited to help the Relay for Life in Lawrence Co. raise money for those fighting cancer!!  Mark your calendars to bring your pup out for a wash or to check out our vendors and huge Chinese Auction.  There will be food and treats for both the two-legged and four-legged visitors.  

The dog wash will be available in our grooming salon and is donation based.  There is no set fee we will gladly accept all donations to directly benefit Relay for Life.  Our volunteers will be washing, towel drying, spritzing with cologne and tying on bandanas for all the dogs. 

No full-service grooming will be available this day.  If your dog does not play well with others or is nervous in new environments this may not be the time for him or her to come out.  Don’t let that stop you though there will be plenty to see and do even without a dog!!

Several Local Vendors will be set up, including:

31 Bags

Papparazi jewlery

Gold Canyon Candles

Color Street Nails

Lipsense

Lemongrass Spa

Avon

Several craft vendors

Pup Tugs dog toys

Scentsy

Lularoe & More!!

We will also have our NMAH prize wheel out for free giveaways!!

 

Insurance…..for pets?

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Hi, my name is Mary D.  I have worked at North Memorial Animal Hospital for the past 2 1/2 years.

So I have to ask….

Why get insurance?

The question is why not?

Let’s imagine for a second you have found the perfect addition to your family. Have you ever thought of what they are at risk for?  Eating trash for example. The first thing you think of is “Oh what a mess it will be to clean.”  What I think of is, “What was in there? What could he/she have eaten?”.   There are many things in your daily life that your pet can come into contact with, medication, objects around the house, harmful foods, some household plants.  Check out 101 things that can harm your pet at  https://www.aspcapetinsurance.com/101-things-you-didnt-know-could-harm-your-pet/

Some very common accidental injuries/illnesses include:  Expository surgery from eating a foreign object.   Pet jumping from car window.   Attacked by another dog.  Kennel cough, which can be caught at public dog part or even from taking your pet to the local pet store.  It does not have to be from a kennel.  Also toxicity from eating certain poisonous items such as sugar free gum, chocolate, raisins, etc…

Did you know most companies will cover approximately 80-90% of an accidental injuries.  They will also cover 100% of wellness visits.  All policies are not the same.  Cheaper policies cover less.  The great thing about pet insurance is, you can use any veterinarian you choose.  You pay for the visit upfront then submit claim for reimbursement.  Turn around time is quite fast especially when you have your veterinarian fax the paperwork to them.  For a list of all pet insurance companies with ratings and testimonials visit.   www.petinsurancereviews.com   An online quote takes approximately 2 minutes to complete. They provide a toll free number to answer any questions.

Not a lot of people are aware that the insurance covers the yearly wellness visits.  There are some people that get only the basic vaccines due to finances and leave their pet unprotected for things such as Lyme Disease, Canine Influenza and Bordetella.  With pet insurance you can now fully protect your pet.

Preventative care such as dental cleanings are covered also.  Did you know that the bacteria that causes plaque and tarter build up are related to heart disease, liver disease and kidney disease?  Bacteria in the mouth can go through the blood system and in return cause damage to the heart, liver, kidneys and can be linked to joint disease.  Therefore dental cleanings are not just for clean teeth and fresh breath it actually helps prolong the life of your pet.

To list just a few other preventive care coverages:

  • Flea and Tick prevention
  • Heart worm prevention
  • wellness exams
  • core vaccines and addition vaccines
  • checking a stool sample for parasites
  • blood screening
  • urinalysis
  • spay and neuters.So now I ask you.  When are you getting your pet insurance?

What was that noise?

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As the summer months and holidays approach, it can be a time of more opportunities for your pets to have fun.  It is also a time when we start to hear many more loud noises. Some things we may  hear are the booms of thunder during a lightingthunderstorm, fireworks going off around the holidays or gunshots. The loud noises produced by these things may cause some dogs to become fearful. This fear is known as noise-phobia. A pet may show trembling, salivation, defecation, urination, destruction, escape, panting and vocalization during these times may be exhibiting noise-phobia. Some dogs may be fine one year and have issues the next year.  Associated stimuli may also come to trigger the symptoms of the phobia or anxiety, such as a change in barometric pressure being associated to a thunderstorm, thus causing an anticipatory anxiety.

Here at North Memorial Animal Hospital, we want to help you work with your pet when they experience noise-phobia. If you think your pet is fearful of loud noises fireworksplease contact us. We will work with you to figure out how to best help your pet during these fearful situations. Our technician Dawn has a special interest in all things behavioral and would love to sit down and chat with you about your pet’s special needs.

Some products we have in our office that may be beneficial in these situations is our products Adaptil (available in spray, diffuser, and collar form), thundershirts in multiple sizes, and Composure treats. Please contact us for more information on these products and to learn more about noise- phobias.

During the month of June we are offering 10% off of all Thundershirts!! Come in today to have your pet fitted properly.

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One sick pup

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20140809_113648This month’s post was supposed to be about fleas & ticks, and I’ll get to them later in the month.  Instead I wanted to write about some of our in-house diagnostic equipment.  I have written about them a lot before, showcasing how great they are and how useful it is to have information about a sick pet within minutes.  But before Thursday I hadn’t really gotten how important they are.  You see my own dog, Veda, is a 10 year old Doberman who literally lives to eat. So on Wednesday night when she slowly ate her dinner and just moped around it was of concern.  When Thursday morning rolled around and she wouldn’t eat anything, not even if being handfed her favorite treat (air popped popcorn) I was alarmed.  Like any good pet parent I waited a few hours, why do we do that?  But by 10 am she still wasn’t eating and had started breathing heavy, I called Dr. Altman.  She of course told me to bring her in right away.  Within 10 minutes of being in the office we had bloodwork results, both a CBC and a general health screen, had taken several xrays and were powering up the UltraSound. Because we could do all these things in house we were able to start with one screening and move onto the next as necessary.  Her bloodwork showed nothing unusual so we took several xrays, they showed only normal ag20141123_150251ing signs so we moved onto the Ultrasound. Thankfully nothing showed up on any of her tests, we even sent her xrays via email to a board certified radiologist and they confirmed everything was normal.  The magnitude of what we are able to do has never really sunk in before this.  Think about how awesome technology is and how wonderful that the owner of our hospital embraces it, instead of running scared like some do about change. We were able to draw a small amount of blood, put it in a machine and it told us that Veda’s kidneys, liver, blood glucose and much more were functioning normally.  We were able to lay her on a table, press a pedal on the floor and within 3 seconds of a beep see full screen xrays, that we could then enhance since they were digital.  20150824_102136And to top it all off we could use the Ultrasound to see what her organs looked like inside.  Truly  amazing.  Because she had a 104.5 temperature she was sent home on antibiotics and some pain meds.  I am happy to say she is back to normal, begging to eat any chance she gets and chasing the cats! I am grateful to work at a place with such caring doctors and high tech equipment to care for sick pups.

February is Dental Health Month

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Just like their human companions, pets need routine dental care. Oral health is not only important for the sake of fresh breath, but it is also important to the overall health of the body. Dental disease can lead to gum infections which can release bacteria into the blood stream and cause damage to major organs. It can also cause tooth loss and weakening of the jaw bones.

All pets should have routine check ups to ensure a healthy mouth. During an exam a doctor or technician will asses the tarter build up on the teeth and the appearance of the gums. If tarter build up or gum disease is noticed a teeth cleaning will be recommended.

During a teeth cleaning pets are anesthetized with general anesthesia while being monitored by trained technicians. All teeth and gums are thoroughly examined, and the teeth are cleaned and polished to ensure smoothness and help delay future tarter build up. Any problems within the mouth will be noted and treated. Some tooth problems may require x-rays to determine the stability and health of the tooth. If teeth are unhealthy and unable to be repaired or treated, extractions may be required. If extractions are needed, pain medication will be given to prevent any discomfort.

After all the teeth have been examined and cleaned and any problems have been treated, your pet will be woken up and monitored for several hours. Once fully awake your pet can return home with clean, fresh breath and a healthy mouth.

For the entire month of February we are offering FREE dental exams with one of our certified veterinary technicians.  A technician will do a complete examination of  your pet’s mouth and overall health.  They will tell you if your pet is in need of any dental care.  Call today to schedule! 724-656-0980

Weight Watchers for pets?

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Nationwide studies show that 44% of dogs and 57% of cats are overweight. This extra weight puts pets at risk for serious health problems.

Owners are so familiar with the appearance of their pets that they often fail to recognize obesity unaided.  The simple reason why pets gain weight to the point that they become obese is because they are consuming more calories than they burn.  Further, overweight and obese pets are expected to live shorter lives than that of a normal weight pet.  Heavy pets tend to physically interact less with their families and are less energetic and playful.  Because they tend to lay around more, it is easy to overlook illness since we attribute their lethargy to “normal laziness”.

Some Dangers of Obesity are:

Reduced lifespan

Joint pain

Diabetes

Cancer

Difficulty breathing

Increased surgical risks

At North Memorial Animal Hospital we take pet obesity seriously and have developed a weight loss program designed to help pets lose weight.  Our Technician Lindsay will be heading up this program with the support of our veterinarians.  We are offering the weight loss program at no cost to you.

Your pet will be examined by one of our doctors and if they feel your pet is a good candidate for the program your information will be given to Lindsay.  She will contact you to discuss your pet’s specific diet and lifestyle.  After your conversation, Lindsay will work with our veterinarians to customize a diet and exercise program specifically for your pet.

Ideally  your pet will come in for an initial weight in and measurements.  We know that everyone’s schedules and lives are busy, so if need be we can walk you through the measurements over the phone.  Lindsay will set up a schedule for you to bring your pet into the office for weigh in’s and to discuss their progress.  We are excited about this program and hope you enjoy all of it’s benefits!