THIS PAGE WAS DESIGNED TO KEEP OUR CLIENTS INFORMED OF ANY CLINIC NEWS AND ABREAST OF ANY NEW MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS THAT MAY HELP KEEP YOUR PET AS HEALTHY AS POSSIBLE.
June 18, 2007
News Flash!! News Flash!! News Flash!!
Hello Clients and Happy Spring!! It has been a long time since we have updated the website, but we have lots of exciting news to share with you!!!!!
The most thrilling change at Nassau Veterinary Hospital is that a new doctor has joined our team. Dr. Shiera Gilbert has come to us from south Florida after completing her internship at Florida Veterinary Specialists. She is a graduate of the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine (GO GATORS!!!), and brings with her the expertise of an intensive medical program at the highly regarded specialty practice in Tampa , Florida . We invite you to schedule an appointment with her for your pet for any of their health needs. Dr. Kim and all of the staff are tickled to be working with her and benefiting from her expertise.
We have extended our hours on Tuesdays. We now open at 7:00am to better serve those clients who need to have an early drop-off or appointment to accommodate their work schedules. We hope this helps those of you who find it hard to get in to see us at other times that the office is open.
Just a reminder of our normal office hours:
Monday 8am to 5pm
Tuesday 7am to 5pm
Wednesday CLOSED
Thursday 8am to 5pm
Friday 8am to 5pm
Saturday 8am to 2pm
We are also very excited about are ability to provide our canine patients with a once yearly screening test that not only detects heartworm disease, but also will tell us if your canine friend has been exposed to Erlichiosis, or Lyme's disease which are both transmitted by blood arhropods (ie: mosquitos, ticks, and fleas). These diseases show very vague symptoms until major organs are involved (liver, heart, kidney), and the animal may not be able to be treated back to health. If these parasites are caught early, then usually the animal makes a full recovery. Please let our receptionists know that you would like the benefit of this very valuable test when you bring your pet in for their annual check-up.
Every day that we are open, we can schedule routine appointments, or surgical procedures. For patients that need medical workups and special diagnostic procedures, we recommend drop off appointments so that we can efficiently and competently perform these tests.
We have now adopted a modified vaccine schedule for both dogs and cats. We feel that this not only continues to protect our patients from very serious viral and bacterial diseases, but also does not overtax their immune systems with too much stimulation that vaccines inherently cause. Below is the new vaccine protocol that we will be following so that we can provide the best medical care for your pet.
FELINE VACCINE PROTOCOL :
Kittens will be ascertained to be free of Feline Leukemia and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus before a vaccine protocol will be decided upon. Vaccinations start at 8 weeks of age at the earliest. If the cat is to be kept totally indoors, then discussion with the owner will determine whether the Feline Leukemia portion of the vaccine is desired. Since this virus is spread by casual contact, most owners elect for this very important vaccine. All kittens will receive the core Feline Upper Respiratory, Distemper, and Chlamydia series. This is a vaccine that we require on a yearly basis. If owners elect to provide their feline friend with Feline Leukemia protection, after the first two boosters, then this vaccine will be administered every other year. After the initial first Rabies Vaccine, it will be boostered one year later and then every 3 years after that. A new Rabies Tag will be sold each year that a vaccine is not administered so that owners may show proof that their cat is up to date on Rabies vaccination and are able to purchase a County License and Tag.
CANINE VACCINE PROTOCOL:
Puppies also start vaccination at 8 weeks of age. Initial vaccination includes protection against Distemper, Parvovirus, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza, and Coronavirus. Since puppies develop natural immunity against Coronavirus by the time they are approximately 10 weeks of age, we only administer this part of the vaccine once. The second series of booster vaccines include all of the above (except Coronavirus) and we add protection against Leptospirosis, an organism that can cause severe kidney disease. Vaccines will be given every 3-4 weeks until the puppy is at least 16 weeks of age, at which time a Rabies Vaccine will be given. The Rabies vaccine will be boostered 1 year later and then every 3 years after that. The Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Parvovirus, and Parainfluenza will be boostered once yearly. If some animals experience any type of reaction or problems with vaccination, we offer antibody titre tests which measure how much antibody your pet carries to protect them against these diseases. If these levels are determined to be adequate, your pet will not be required to be vaccinated for that year.
If levels are inadequate, we will take precautions to ensure that your pet does not experience any adverse effects from their vaccine protocol. Each patient is treated as an individual, and as such, several different treatment options will be explored.
In an effort to provide our patients with ever-increasing state-of-the-art medical care, we have added the capability at our hospital of blood electrolyte analysis. This laboratory test gives us vital information regarding the function of major organs in diseases such as chronic renal failure, heart disease, liver dysfunction and monitoring of certain long term medications that patients must be on
(ie; medication for hypothyroidism, congestive heart failure and osteoarthritis).
We have also added the capability to measure blood pressure for our canine and feline patients. Again this provides us with invaluable information regarding response to medication and possible deterioration of our patients who have serious illnesses that affect many organ systems.
Controlling our patients high blood pressure improves their quality
of life as well as slows the progression of many detrimental
changes that occur with untreated hypertension.
NASSAU VETERINARY HOSPITAL IS PROUD TO NOW OFFER BEHAVIOR
TRAINING CLASSES FOR BOTH PUPPIES AND ADULT DOGS
Todd Ashker is an animal behaviorist who has worked with
a large variety of different species and has tremendous
insight as to what motivates good behavior. He believes
in a “gentler approach” to achieving acceptable
behavior in our pets. He will be offering classes on Saturdays
and is also available for private “one on one”
sessions in the home environment if additional help is needed.
Please feel free to call the hospital to inquire about class
times and cost. We will also be happy to mail you a brochure
that gives you a little more information about Todd and
his philosophy.
As a closing note, we so appreciate you, our clients, and the trust you place in us when caring for your very special friends. Please be assured that we will give you 100% of our expertise, our compassion and our availability to make sure that you receive the best medical experience.
Here's to another wonderful year of our dogs and cats making our lives happier, healthier, and more ALIVE!!!!
If you have any questions, or you would like to make an appointment,
please give us a call at (904) 225-2050.
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