YES! AN END IN
SIGHT!
My demeanor has been frazzled (to
say the least) ever since construction of our new hospital
facilities started last June. But now - 5 months and 25
changes later, we can see some light at the end of the 15,000 sq.
ft. tunnel.
Thank goodness for that As a result
of our ongoing construction we have had to deal with all sorts of
problems that aren't supposed to happen to civilized, polite folk;
Loss of power, cut phone lines, abrupt water stoppages, no air
conditioning, leaking roofs backed up plumbing and down computers -
all of that on more than one occasion.
The stress of managing and
practicing veterinary medicine is enough in itself. If we
throw this into the mix, you wind up with a frazzled owner and
staff. What keeps us going is knowing that we will be better
able to help your pets live healthier and longer lives.
In our determination to keep you
posted on our progress, you should know that our grooming
department has moved to the basement to avoid the inconveniences of
construction. We apologize for the muddy parking lot as well
as the lack of parking, but let's stick this out.
As you can imagine, we have heard
the usual jokes. You know: Which wing is mine? Is Dr.
Meakin building the Taj Mahal?
Sure we know you are kidding.
Actually, we feel that our clients own the hospital. Without
your support, we wouldn't keep growing and improving this
practice. So, please tolerate just one more month of
confusion.
In addition to having more room in
which to treat your pets, we plan to stay open on Sundays for
vaccine clinics and emergencies. Giving the cell phones of
Drs. Meakin and Yerovi a day of rest.
We hope to occupy the new building
soon. This will be a wonderful Christmas and New Year present
to our staff, pets, and clients. Details regarding an open
house will be announced soon.
In addition to all the changes going
on, many other things have happened lately at All Creatures.
We're enjoying one of the most exciting times in our history.
The following are examples of what is happening with our staff as
well as various changes that are enabling us to grow and mature as
a client-centered animal health care delivery business.
NEW DOCTOR
Dr. Jamie Greenstein has joined our
medical staff. Dr Greenstein was born and raised in the
Detroit metropolitan Area. He graduated from Michigan State
University in 1995 with a BS in Behavioral Zoology. He worked
for 3 years in biological field work for several government and
private agencies. He graduated from Ross University in
September of 2003. Dr. Greenstein chose All Creatures partly
because we have a relatively high exotic caseload, giving him an
opportunity to treat reptiles, birds, small mammals and
pigs.
Recently Dr. Greenstein had the
opportunity to treat a Serval. This is a remarkable cat from
Africa which is known for its extraordinary long legs which can be
up to 3 feet in length, a small but long head, and large rounded
ears. These ears are unusually valuable they help provide a highly
sophisticated hearing which helps to pin point small prey.
The serval can also jump up to 10 feet off the ground to catch
birds.
RUMORS AND
FACTS
When Dr. Specht left us last summer,
we decided to discontinue our large animal/equine
practice. In spite of rumors that we're adding an equine
facility, this isn't true. Instead, our addition will contain
the following:
Basement: A total of 24
indoor/outdoor runs, 12 pet suites, 8 drop off runs, 4 isolation
runs, bathing areas, boarding reception and storage areas
First floor: this will have a new
reception and check-area, an expanded grooming area, 3 new exam
rooms a surgical release room, pharmacy storage, a garage for our
mobile veterinary services, doctors offices, an expanded surgery
and recovery areas, and management offices. This will enable
us to use the existing surgery as a special procedure/dental
room. Also a laboratory area will be created in what is now
our pack prep area.
Second Floor: This will be for
training and day care. We will offer more space for classes
and more class times. When not teaching class, Karen Pilis
will give private lessons and provide day care in the 5,000 sq. ft.
dedicated to this purpose.
One exciting aspect about offering
our clients the largest and best equipped veterinary hospital in
this region is that most vendors think of us as their biggest
client , providing cooperative opportunities that naturally come
with scale.
For example, Pfizer Drug Company
arranged for Dr. Julie Ridgeway, a board certified internist from
Colorado, to give a private evening seminar to our doctors last
month. She spent a day reviewing endoscopies and procedures
at All Creatures - and even examined some of our clients
pets.
During Dr. Ridgeway's visit an hour
was spent examing and discussing Holly Stringer, a 10 year old mix
breed from Mt. Washington. The owners sought out All
Creatures for a second opinion because Holly could not chew her
food or grow hair. Holly has Cushing's disease and was being
treated for this and other problems. Sadly, the
situation was hopeless, and Holly has passed away.
Lately, we have had guest
consultants at All Creatures at least once a month. In
September, Wendy Meyers, a national speaker for veterinary support
staff, spent two days with our receptionists emphasizing customer
service skills and role-playing with our staff.
In keeping with our goal to become
the best veterinary hospital in our region, our four doctors meet
weekly to discuss cases. for instance, if you make comments
about our performance and make suggestions on how we can improve on
any aspect of veterinary care, we review these suggestions at our
meetings.
Please feel free to make us aware if
you feel your needs are not being met. We're here for you,
and we're highly appreciative of your input, opinions and
support.
Dr. Dan Meakin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GERIATRIC PET
CHECK
The more we at All Creatures devote
ourselves to preventive pet care, the more we have come to the
conclusion that if you don't schedule annual checks for your pets,
they (and you) may well be missing something that is vital to their
health
We feel even more strongly about
this than we did at the beginning of our involvement in pet
care. let's go back to the old adage (which is not quite
accurate, but never mind) that each year of a dog or cat's life
equals seven years in the life of a human. Then let's get
down to a set of simple questions:
Assuming that the 7-year rule of
thumb is accurate enough for this purpose, would you visit your
doctor for a checkup only once every 7 years?
Are there good reasons for
subjecting our pets to that checkup (which by mo means is painful
or very time consuming)?
If you are concerned about the cost,
have you considered taking out pet insurance so you can better
budget your pet care?
Cushing's disease and low thyroid
disease (hypothyroidism) are two reasons pets actually need a
minimum of a biannual visit to a veterinarian.
There are many conditions we should screen with your pet if he has
reached middle age, ir 6 years old.
At that time of life, we recommend
having a minimum database taken which includes a urinalysis, bet
screen blood chemistry, CBC, and a thyroid blood test. In
addition, your pet may need some x-rays, or and EKG, depending on
the examination findings.
As veterinarians, we know that our
pets hide diseases. They cleverly mask them as a survival
technique which they have carried with them through the ages,
the instinctive feeling being that if your predators know that
you're sick, you will wind up being dinner for your enemies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PATAGONIAN
CAVY
An unusual find had us scratching
our heads one Thursday in September. A mystery animal was
found with a broken leg on the side of a local road. After
surfing the internet our staff discovered that this animal was a
Patagonian Cavy from Argentina. This 35 pound 3 ft long rodent's
closest relative is the guinea pig. This is really one of the
most interesting animal to come our way in a long time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUPPORT A LOCAL SCHOOL WHEN
SPENDING AT ALL CREATURES.
St. Bernadette School in Amelia has
a script program that supports the school with your help, which
actually adds up to doing normal shopping.
Participation is easy: In advance of
your spending for your pet's needs at All Creatures, all you have
to do is purchase gift certificates for service from Cathy Jaehnen
from St. Bernadette School. The gift certificates are
available after church on Sunday and can be picked up (call
752-5721) or delivered to you if you live in an area that is
covered by St. Bernadette representatives.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
YOU REALLY NEED TO READ
ABOUT CUSHING'S DISEASE
Is your older (at least 6 years of
age), slightly obese dog drinking more water, urinating more,
always hungry, loosing hair and getting potbellied?
If so, a combination of these can be
signs of Cushing's disease. Basically, Cushing's disease is a
tumor of the adrenal gland, two lima bean sized glands located near
the kidneys.
Adrenal glands produce cortisol. a
hormone which can be overproduced. When this occurs, the side
effects of this cortisol excess ar4e a sign of Cushing's
disease.
Here at All Creatures, we are
currently treating between 20 and 25 dogs for Cushing's
disease. These patients represent all Breeds and sizes.
The chemotherapy treatment can be dangerous, so we strongly
recommend frequent monitoring of Cushing's diseased dogs,
especailly at the beginning of treatment.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PET INSURANCE www.petinsurance.com
The great thing about pet insurance
is that it is designed so that the things your pet needs annually
or biannually are included.
At times some pet owners
understandably struggle with costs for treatment. This kind
of problem could be avoided through pet insurance. After all,
if your pet has a serious health problem and you want to do
everything possible to help get his health back, having pet
insurance is a great way to avoid a second mortgage.
Frankly, there is nothing more
discouraging for a veterinarian than euthanizing a pet which could
have been helped if the client had taken out pet insurance.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THANKS, ALL
CREATURES
Dear Doctors and staff at All
Creatures,
Each pet we have is so precious and
individual in personality. It is a privilege to love and care
for these special creatures created by God. they give us so
much love and beauty and demand nothing of us except out love and
care. We gave our cat, Lynx, all the love we could, and we
know, thanks to all of you at All Creatures, that Lynx got the best
of care.
Though the grief we feel upon Lynx's
passing is painful, it is well worth the immeasurable love he gave
to us. The good times, by far, outweigh and make up for the
pain. And, as we grieve, we are thinking to the near future
when we will return to All Creatures with a new kitten. Our
new kitten will certainly not replace Lynx, but it will be an
enhancement of the affection we felt for him.
We loook forward to honoring the
memory of Lynx by putting all the bits and pieces we learned from
our dearly beloved cat to use in training and getting to know a new
one. Lynx holds a special place in our hearts and for sure a
new one will make a place of its own.
We feel blessed to have the doctors
and staff at All Creatures providing the health care for our
pets. You are a special group of people for which we are very
grateful. Thank you for all you have done for the Gerhardt
family.
Sincerely,
Sara, Dave, Joy & Paula
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOAH'S FEATURE
ANIMAL
Bounce came to us recently.
She had been in someone's dryer for 30 minutes without being
noticed. She was in shock and needed medical attention
immediately which her owners couldn't afford. They signed her
over to Friends of Noah's adoption program. She is now
recovering from burns on her ears and nose and will soon be spayed
and put up for adoption. She is a very sweet and loving cat
and has been named "bounce". If you're interested in sharing
your home with Bounce, please call Pam Bradshaw at 513-797-7387 ext
109
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOAH'S TREASURES IS MAKING
REAL PROGRESS
We started out pet adoption program
at All Creatures Animal Hospital in 1992. Since that modest
beginning, more than 1,000 animals have been adopted through the
program.
We started by saving one Mama and
her kittens. It wasn't long after that wonderful experience
that we started caring for several cages of kittens and puppies
(many without mamas) and working to find homes for them.
Noah's Treasures first opened its
doors in November, 2000. Its purpose was to help fund the
growing number of abandoned animals that came our way in search of
help. All of these new friends were spayed, or neutered,
vaccinated and wormed before being put up for adoption.
In fact, many came to us - and still
do- weeks before being weaned. Many are sick or injured when
they arrive. The cost of their care and medications have been
donated by Dr. Meakin and his caring staff.
These days, what started as a modest
adoption program has grown into a non-profit organization that we
named "Friends of Noah" - a program which is helped enormously by
volunteers. All of us continue to be excited about being able
to help hundreds of animals that were seemingly thrown away by our
society.
One of the goals of the "friends of
Noah" is to gain funding for our low income spay/neuter assistance
program. We currently accept applications for assistance, but
are limited in what we can do financially. The profits from
sales at Noah's are now being directed to that fund, and any
fundraiser proceeds that are collected will also be added to this
fund.
We will accept volunteer
applications for caring people who love to help these animals as
much as we do. New facilities for All Creatures are currently
under construction, since space currently being used is too
limited. Because of our space shortage, the many kittens that
are not yet ready for adoption are housed in Noah's Our employee
lounge has also been converted to a temporary adoption room for the
many cats and kittens that are still waiting for the special homes
they need - and we believe, need them.
We continue to have a need for
mature volunteers for daily cat and kitten, care not to mention TLC
(tender loving care) Also, if you are interested in adoption one of
our felines, or if you just want to help our, please call Pam
Bradshaw at 513-797-7387 ext, 109
And, yes, donations are always
welcome. Please help us help them.
