2009 Snow Day!

Did you see all the commotion around here?
Christmas Decorations!
Schnauzer tree toppers! On top a gifted tree from one of our beloved clients & friends.
Our receptions extraordinaire made this beautiful arrangement for our Holiday decor.
Murphy is ready to model....she is happy she will be home for Christmas! Her story to come in a future blog so be watching!!
Linda gives kisses to Frankie who has been staying with us for several weeks.
Our tree for the troops. If you want to adopt a soldier please come by and take an ornament!
If you want to adopt a kitten (we couldn't get them to sit on a tree) please come by & pick yours out!!
They do pose anyway! TOO CUTE! I'm sure they are on some little person's Christmas list!

Here is another view of our cute little dog and cat tree that our client gave to us! We love it so much!
Snow days make it a little more difficult for us to collect urine specimens but we get the JOB done with a smile as usual! :)
Snow days mean the staff drag their dogs to work...which they all seem to love it here too!
And sometimes even our kids....which sometimes they love it and sometimes they don't! These little guys were the greatest hanging out with all us BSAH people!

WE HAVE A NEW FLOOR!!!!

We are so excited to report that we have nice new floors! You have to understand our hospital building is not very old and when they built it Dr. Carey and Dr. Rodier did extensive research in the best type of floor to put down. One that would look nice, handle the wear and tear from a veterinary hospital/resort (ie. pee/poop & cleaners), not be slippery when wet but slick enough to aide getting a stubborn pet in while he/or she is "putting on the brakes" and one that would last for many, many years.

We were really "taken to the cleaners" on this one, totally ripped off! The floor that was put down in our beautiful new hospital started peeling and flaking up after the first year. The resin they used in it starting turning yellow (not good for an animal hospital since that looked like urine or urine stain) and to make matters worse the company went out of business and there was NOTHING we could do... except start saving for a new floor. So here we are, lots of hard work later! We have a brand new floor and would love to show it off! Welcome, welcome and bring your pet too! If you don't have any other reason to stop by then come by anyway, grab a treat for your pet, and then you will have a chance to see our lovely new floor.

Linking the Veterinary Healthcare Team

National Veterinary Technician Week begins today!!! It's pretty cool to work in a profession that has a whole week set aside each year to honor it!
Here I am monitoring this cutie until the DVM was ready for her.
I have been a Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT)since 1995 when I graduated from the Maple Woods Veterinary Technology Program. Back then National Vet Tech week was just getting started. It began in 1993 with a goal to make the public aware of Vet Techs and also to honor us for our outstanding contributions in pet healthcare. Most people back then had never heard of us or even knew what role we played in their pets healthcare. In fact, before applying to the Maple Wood's program I had never even heard of a Veterinary Technician! The college admissions office recommended it to me when I called to check on veterinary programs. I had to go to the library (I'm dating myself here...back then no internet!) and I looked up everything I could find on Veterinary Technology. I'm glad there were some books published on this career because I had to write a paper explaining why I wanted to be a veterinary technician to even get excepted into the program! Luckily, they excepted me, so here I am! I've worked at Blue Springs Animal Hospital since my first year as a student veterinary technician in 1993.

I started the 2 year program in '93 and graduated with an Associates of Science in Veterinary Technology. Being an RVT is more than just a degree from an accredited veterinary program. Besides taking a state certification test and passing and then each year taking the required continuing certification, we also follow an oath. As members of the veterinary healthcare team, RVT's are educated in the latest medical advances and we are skilled at working along side veterinarians to give pets the best medical care possible. An RVT cleans teeth.We work closely with veterinarians, assistants- actually the whole hospital team, as well as the patient, and owners to be an essential link with all involved in the care process. I like how NAVTA states, "Pets give us unconditional love and veterinary technicians give us peace of mind."

If you like to shop around and compare prices make sure you ask each veterinary hospital if they employ credentialed veterinary technicians.
An RVT places an IV catheterIf your like me, my little pet family has become like my children, I want the best for them that I can provide, in all areas of their lives. Having the confidence that they have a great hospital to go to if something were to ever go wrong is very meaningful to me. Blue Springs Animal Hospital employees 5 Registered Veterinary Technicians and 1 second year vet tech student. We mostly work behind the scenes here, but if you could see how much we all love each and every pet like they were our very own you would have to agree it would be very meaningful to you too.

In this photo Tammy, an RVT assists Dr. Rodier in surgery.
We are lucky to have a week to acknowledge our profession, to pat ourselves on the back and let others tell us how much they appreciate us. Saying that I would like also like to add that, speaking for our hospital, our entire staff is amazing! Hey, maybe we should have a Blue Springs Animal Hospital week!?! Wow! What a great idea!!

Look for the Big Red Dog at Fall Fun Fest 2009!!!!

It's that time of year and once again Blue Springs Animal Hospital and Pet Resort will be participating in the 40th annual Fall Fun Fest Parade. This year the parade motto is : From the Moon to Main Street. Our big red dog is ready! Tammy, an RVT for Blue Springs Animal Hospital got in touch with her creative side and fabricated a space helmet for the big dog. Made out of casting material and sprayed silver, our group will really "shine" this year! Most likely our dog will not wear the helmet on parade day but will carry it under one arm but Tammy models it here for us.....

Be sure and head out early for the parade on Saturday, September 19th. It is always a lot of fun!! We will be handing out treats and would love to see you and your pet!

Valentine gets acupuncture

Many people are not aware that animals can have acupuncture and chiropractic care to help with certain medical conditions. My little dog, Valentine, had a back injury about 8 years ago. We don't know how it happened but I was fortunate enough that Dr. Perkins was a DVM at The Blue Springs Animal Hospital at that time. She had a special interest in chiropractic care in animals. She has since gone on to get all of her certifications and has opened her own clinic in Lee's Summit that specializes in western medicine, chiropractic care and acupuncture. We will refer our clients to her when our doctors feel like she could help one of our patients. I think she is amazing!

Valentine gets very weak in her hind quarters. She just doesn't get enough "umph" to get her back end up a single step some times. Her lower back will be very hot to the touch and she acts sore. I will take her to Dr. Perkins and she will work her magic and Valentine will be playing and jumping and feeling great! Keep in mind, this little gal will be 17 years old in January 2010!! I know that one photo of her on the lower left makes her booty look alittle big but in reality she only has a little chunky dunk. :) I have never had acupuncture but the needles never seem to bother Val. She will even lay down with them in and relax as you can see in the above photos. Cats are more difficult but can be helped if they are not too aggressive. In fact, Dr. Perkins had some equine (horse) patients for awhile but now, to my knowledge, she only does dogs and cats.

I just thought that I would let as many people know as I could that there are options out there for your pet. Our doctors will assess your pet with a good physical exam, we will take radiographs (x-rays) when needed and we will refer you to see Dr. Perkins if that is an option for your pet.

AVID Microchip for your pet

I have briefly touched on micro-chipping your pet once before in my blog on preparing for an emergency. Today, I thought I would tell you a couple of good stories about the advantages of your pet being permanently identified.

First, let's discuss what is an AVID® microchip? A.V.I.D. stands for "American Veterinary Identification Devices". The AVID® microchip is a tiny computer chip which has an identification number programmed into it. The chip is then encased in a strong, smooth glass that is small enough to fit into a hypodermic needle. The chip it's self is no larger than a grain of rice.


Once your pet is injected with the chip, he or she can be identified throughout his or her life by this one-of-a-kind number. This identification cannot be lost, altered or intentionally removed.

How does the microchip & scanner work? Generally, this rice size chip is injected deeply under the skin and sits safely there, totally inert. A special scanner is used to send a radio signal through the skin of the pet to read the chip number. The pet feels nothing as the scanner is passed over him. When the chip receives this signal, it sends data (the microchip number) back to the scanner to be displayed in a viewing window. It appears in the viewing window, for example,as: AVID® 560*903*354.

How long does the microchip last? The microchip has no power supply, battery, or moving parts and is designed with an operating life of over 25 years. AVID® is guaranteed for the life of your pet. Once injected, the microchip is anchored in place when a thin layer of connective tissue forms around it. The chip requires no care. It will not pass through or out of the body.

When microchips are purchased, they will be traceable back to their facility of origin, in our case that would be us (Blue Springs Animal Hospital & Pet Resort)
unless the registration of the chip is changed. To change it the pet owner will need to fill out the PETtrac form and mail it in with a small fee.

The AVID® PETtrac program is a global computerized system for pets identified with the AVID® chip. Your pet is enrolled, for a small fee, under the your name with complete detailed information about both animal and owner. In this way, if a shelter picks up the pet, you, the owner, will be contacted directly without going through your veterinarian.

Otherwise, we will be contacted if a recovery is made and we will need to be sure and have your current phone number and address always on file.

All animal shelters and animal control officers have been educated and informed about microchip identification and how it works. They have universal AVID® scanners on hand and routinely scan lost pets. A majority of veterinary hospitals also have the scanners and can scan pets. Once a microchip is located in a pet, the appropriate steps are taken. If the pet is registered with AVID's PETtrac™ Recovery System, the shelter or veterinarian will be given the owner's name. If the animal is not registered, they will be given the name of the establishment that the chip was sold to, like us, if we implanted the AVID® chip in your pet.

Not long after AVID® was first introduced to the veterinary world we had a local medical doctor that decided to be one of the first to microchip his little Yorkie. Only a few months after he made this wise decision his little dog turned up missing. Six years went by and the doctor had given up thinking he would ever see his beloved dog again. Then one day someone picked up a stray Yorkie running the streets of Blue Springs. She was matted and scared. We didn't know her story but we scanned her and we were very pleased to see she had a microchip. We were also really excited to tell her owner that we had her and that she was safe. When they were reunited you could tell that neither one of them had ever forgotten the other! They both were so happy! It was something I'll never forget seeing. That has been many years ago now and she has since died of natural causes at home, which is the most any of us could ever hope for with our beloved pets!

Hurricane Katrina displaced many, many animals. It left over 250,000 stranded and starving pets!!

Our own hospital boarded a few as volunteers tried to sort out who these animals belonged too. With no tags or collars with identification, which many of these animals were without, finding their way back to their families was next to impossible. That is when the push to really get as many pets micro chipped as possible came to be. Many states in our nation are now organizing systems to try and accomplish this goal. Most of them are relying on veterinarians to educate people on the importance of having a reliable permanent identification system for their pets such as AVID®.

We strongly urge all our clients to consider this for their pets. It is an link back to you that will last for the life of your pet!

Dieting

Dieting is NO FUN! Take it from me, I've been yo-yo'ing with weight for many years now. If your a cat or dog it's even worse! As humans we can understand what is "bad" for us to eat and that we need to exercise more. We can communicate to our doctors that our backs hurt or our knees and that is why we are not as active as we need to be. Animals don't have that luxury. If we don't pick up on their needs they can go unmet.

Overweight dogs now have a friend on their side. Pfizer has come up with Slentrol, it the 1st FDA approved drug to manage obesity in dogs. It's a weight loss drug that helps them to drop pounds when combined with diet and exercise. To learn more ask one of our veterinarian's or go to the Slentrol website.

This handsome devil is Chancy,

a 4 year old cat that has been battling the bulge since 2005. Cat's can't take Slentrol but they can be put on a weight loss diet. It's important to get the weight off as being overweight can cause cats to be diabetic, have heart disease or become arthritic. Science Diet makes a formula called Prescription Diet® r/d® . He was put on a diet of 1/2 cup dry and 1/2 cup wet of the r/d® daily and has dropped 3.5 lbs. in 1 year! That is fabulous!! Prescription Diet® r/d® is low in calories, high in fiber and has the highest levels of L-carnitine to effectively reduce weight while increasing lean muscle mass to help cats feel full. Since it's hard to exercise cats it's very important to help them stay at a healthy weight by managing their diet. To learn more go to the Hill's website. We are proud of Chancy and his owners for sticking with his diet!!

Tell me your stories

Hi everyone! I'm looking for stories, your stories! These are stories I would like to share with our staff or use on our blog when I'm at a loss for words....I would like to request that our clients/readers tell me some stories about Blue Springs Animal Hospital and Pet Resort. I'm looking for anything amazing, cute, funny, touching, embarrassing, etc. and if you have a tale to tell about a certain doctor or staff member please mention their names. You can email me at: staffbsah@yahoo.com
or send the hand written story in to the hospital at:

Blue Springs Animal Hospital & Pet Resort
1201 W. 40 Hwy
Blue Springs, MO 64015

Attn: Stacey
or leave a comment below.

I would like to also have a copy of any photos taken of our staff or hospital over the years so if you come up with any of those I would be very grateful!
Thank you in advance for any and all efforts! Stacey D.

I need a HOME!!!

Foster needs a home!!
This little beagle boy came to us by accident and one of our doctors has been gracious enough to give him a foster home (therefore, he earned the name "Foster"). She isn't able to keep him but she has been utilizing the time they have together and working on some training with Foster. She reports that he is very stubborn but he seems to learn quickly.

Foster is a very sweet boy.

He is about 1 1/2 years old and he is neutered. He is current on all vaccinations, and is on heartworm and flea prevention. He gets along well with other dogs and loves to run and play. He may not be the right pet for a household with children. If you know anyone in the Kansas City, MO area that is wanting a sweet male beagle please send them our way.

Call Dr. Elise Lesko at 816-229-1544.
Leave a message in her voicemail if she is busy with an appointment.

TPLO is at BSAH!!

Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy- no wonder it's shortened to TPLO!
x-rays are measured & marked to prepare for surgery.an epidural is placed the day of surgery.

Here are a few photos of Dr. Rodier performing a TPLO surgery on Oliver. Tammy, one of our RVT's at Blue Springs Animal Hospital was his surgical nurse for this surgery.




Post op x-rays. ( Notice the plate)
Dr. Joe Rodier became certified in this fascinating procedure and has since performed it on many dogs with very successful results. There are many aspects to this surgery that require precise skills. Lots of measuring and calculating is required for this surgery along with skilled surgical hands and Dr. Rodier seems to have mastered them all, giving dogs a new chance with a stronger knee and a better quality of life.

TPLO is a surgical correction for cranial cruciate ligament rupture or in slang, "a torn up knee". This ligament provides structural support in the knee and without it there is severe pain and inflammation resulting in rear leg lameness. Many people will say that their dog was sprinting towards a squirrel or playing with another dog when they cry out in pain and start limping. It begins with a sudden non-weight bearing lameness in the affected leg. If the ligament is only partially torn then the dog may only suffer from mild episodes of lameness until it completely ruptures. Once the tear is complete, there will be a period of non-weight bearing lameness, which may be followed by the dog gradually starting to bear partial weight on the leg again. Smaller breed dogs my recover normal use of the leg with only mild arthritic changes but large breed dogs generally require surgical intervention or they will have debilitating long-term arthritis and pain in the joint.

Oliver was a recent surgery for Dr. Rodier. His owners brought him in for consultation after Oliver began limping. Oliver's owners were greatful that they had VPI pet insurance which helped take the financial burden off of them. If your pet does not have health insurance we highly recommend it. You can enroll by going to www.petinsurance.com In order to diagnose cranial cruciate ligament ruptures the joint must be palpated (moved/felt) under anesthesia. If Dr. Rodier can move the tibia back and forth under the femur freely, called a positive drawer motion, then that would indicate the cruciate ligament is not intact. An x-ray would be taken and measurements made that will be used in the TPLO surgical procedure. Post operative x-rays are also taken so Dr. Rodier can check and measure his surgery. You can read more in depth about TPLO symptoms, causes, diagnosis, etc. on our website or call our office (816) 229-1544 to schedule a consultation with Dr. Rodier. Oliver is doing great!

I need a name!

My family is having a hard time thinking (and agreeing) on a name for me. I welcome your comments and suggestions and maybe you can help them decide on something soon!! Otherwise, this girl is going for the other shoe!!

New Puppy?

This little pup was worried about his first visit to the vet. It is pretty intense. All that oowing and awwing from our staff!
A puppy's first visit, and every visit after, includes a good physical exam. Even if the person you got your puppy from says that all the vaccines are current it is really important to let a veterinarian check your pup over for any signs of illness that may pose a threat now or in the future. Also, make sure and have the puppy checked for parasites! All puppies and kittens have worms, it's the way the roundworm life cycle works. They can have a multitude of other parasites as well, some live in the gut, other's on the skin or in the ears. We want to give them the best shot of starting off as a healthy member to your family and we Y them very much so that makes our jobs so much easier! Please call us if you have any questions at all about your puppy's first visit, we would love to meet them and maybe even get a "worried" picture or two!

Money Saving Tip for Cat Owners

The last time I purchased litter box liners I got them from a discount store & paid under $2/box and bought about 25 boxes. Needless to say, I ran out. I went out shopping for liners and realized the price has gone up considerably since I last looked!

My cat's litter box at home is roughly 7" deep by 15"wide and under 25" long. I decided instead of purchasing a box of 10 liners for $5 plus that I would buy some large trash bags. I chose the 33 gallon size (2ft 9 in x 3 ft 2.5 in .8mil) and I got 120 bags for a little over $12. I put my litter box inside the trash bag and I used a file folder rubber band to go around the rim of the litter box to hold the trash bag in place. (I purchased those at Office Depot for $3 for a box of 25) I've also found that if your trash bag is large enough that you can stretch it around the box and still rubber band it in place.  This keeps the cats from pulling in any excess part of the trash bag into the dirty litter box. I also made sure the bag laid flat against the bottom of the litter box so the cats were stepping into a solid foundation not one with a lot of "air bubbles".

When it came time to change the litter box I just removed the rubber band, turned the trash bag in on it's self so that all the dirty litter was now bagged up and ready to be tied and hauled to the trash can. If you stretch the bag then just take the rubber band off and bring the bag sides up to tie.  The rubber band can be used again. Very easy & cheap! I hope this tip helps save someone else some money too!

Ali gets his teeth cleaned!

This is Ali. (He is a very distinguished cat.) He was told he needed a dental cleaning by Dr. Carey. His blood work results all came back normal from his Wellness visit on February 10, 2009(see blog on that date). (He is very overweight so his "mom" was very glad he did not prove to be diabetic!)

First he was checked in by a registered veterinary technician (RVT). Our hospital has 5 of those on staff! Then he was examined again by Dr. Carey to make sure that he checked out okay for his anesthesia.
After that exam he was given some pre-meds
by Dr. Carey's surgical technician team. All our doctors (we have 7!)have at least 2 RVT's that work with them on their surgery days. Dr. Carey's surgery day is Wednesday. Pre-surgical medications help with pain, inflammation, and help to "take the edge off" while a patient is waiting for a procedure. Ali was very good and the pre-med's didn't bother him at all. This is Ali with his RVT, Tammy.

He is ready for his anesthesia so he is given an IV dose of anesthetic drugs that make him sleep for about 5 minutes. This gives us enough time to intubate him so we can hook him up to a gas anesthetic machine that will keep him asleep until we turn the gas off and wake him up.
During this time he is on a heating pad, he is on a respiratory monitor, and he is hooked up to a blood pressure monitor. If their pressures get to low (as Ali's started to) or to high we adjust their gas levels and/or fluids to help with their blood pressure. There are other steps we take if we continue to get abnormal readings. We take very good care of our patients! His teeth are cleaned, probed for pockets, rinsed with an oral hygiene rinse and fluoride given.
If we would of found any abnormalities then we would of x-rayed and or pulled any necessary teeth that need to come out. Some animals come in and their teeth are so bad that they actually feel better immediately after their procedure. In fact, we once had a twenty year old cat that was not eating and pawing at it's mouth. We removed some nasty teeth and the cat ate that night!

Here are Ali's before and after pictures, taken while he is still intubated.

Almost all our patients go home the same day after surgery or dentistry. There a few exceptions such as major surgeries or pets that have extensive dental work done. Ali went home the same evening and is feeling great.