Annie's Shenanigans

Happy Halloween!

Thanks to all the wonderful pets who showed up in costume. Here are some of the highlights!

 Chloe the Ballerina

 Zsa Zsa Noelle and Valentine Chanelle as pretty pumpkins

Kazuma the Bee

Westbury Animal Hospital is unique in that we offer emergency service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with a doctor being on call every night and on the premises until midnight. I want to take a moment to highlight our urgent care hours that have become very popular. 

This past year, Westbury has been offering additional hours for sick patients that need to be seen but are not critical. These urgent care hours come at a regular office fee as long as your pet is not critical and the times are as follows:

            Monday- Friday   4pm-8pm                                                                                                    Saturday      12pm- 4pm

We have two emergency veterinarians who work during these hours in addition to serving as our in-hospital doctors all evenings until midnight. You should get to know Dr. Noe Galvan and Dr. Alissa Koschany who are here for your pets needs after regular business hours. 

We strive to get your pet’s visit processed quickly during these urgent care hours and pets are seen on a first come-first serve basis. Just like human urgent care facilities, pets that are more critical are always pushed ahead and seen as an emergency. We appreciate your patience as we work to get to your pet assessed a timely manner. You can assist us in helping you by considering some of the following:

We are always open during regular business hours for appointments if you know your pet is not acting normally, but we understand pets don't just get sick during the day and are happy to provide you with round the clock service when needed!

"Grain Free" is a term that has become extremely commonplace in the pet food industry. It is amazing how much this trend has seeded itself into the mind of consumers who are now perpetuating the market of grain free diets. This is likely a spill over from the human side of nutrition with human gluten intolerance, but the fact remains that <2% of the 1% of pets with food allergy have a sensitivity/allergy to grain. That is an extremely tiny amount of the general population!

The purpose of the information in this blog is to help you understand what the term "Grain Free" implies and to take the taboo out of non-grain free diets. 

So lets get the facts straight:

1. Whole grains contribute valuable nutrients including vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids to the diet. Dogs and cats can utilize carbohydrates for their health and for energy in place of proteins, but usually a balanced diet should include some meat proteins and carbohydrates

2. Generally grain free diets will be higher in protein. Some animals need less protein such as in the case of older pets with kidney insufficiency.

3. If your pet has been suspected of having a food allergy your veterinarian will not be placing that pet on a grain free diet first for a food trial. The most common allergens in dogs are beef, chicken, and dairy.

4. Grains are high sources of carbohydrates. However, pets still need carbohydrates so in place of the grains, these pet food companies often use other sources of carbohydrates such as potatoes, tapioca, peas or carrots.

Choosing a pet food is a confusing endeavor. You should be working with your veterinarian to choose the appropriate diet and feeding quantity for your pet. There are so many factors that go into choosing a diet including age, breed, concurrent illness, skin condition, body condition score, how you need to feed to fit your schedule, other pets in the house who will be eating this food, and of course cost. There is not one answer for everyone, and not something you should NOT be asking your pet store clerk to help you decide. 

However, owners need to be very careful in this part of the country with high incidences of heat stress. 

Check out this link to our "The Heat is On!" article by Dr. Betzen on common issues and signs of heat stress

Heat Stress

Please keep these tips in mind:

1. Never leave animals in a car unattended even for a few minutes. 

2. Always provide shade and water for pets outside

3. Walk and jog your pets in the very early hours of the morning

4. If you suspect even mild heat stress in your pet wrap them in a towel doused in cool (not cold) water and bring them to the veterinarian immediately!

Hanging around the veterinary clinic, I get to hear a lot of the common questions asked by pet owners. I wanted to take the time over the next few weeks to answer your questions for the public to learn from too.

Common Question of the Week: Why does my dog eat poop and how can I stop it??

I'm not going to lie. I LOVE POOP! Cat fecal matter is my specialty, especially the ones that are fresh and tasty, but I digress...this is a common habit, and only a habit. 

Many people are afraid this means their dog is lacking an essential nutrient from their diet, but this is likely not the cause. It is true that a very small percentage of dogs can develop coprophagia, or eating stool, from medical issues such as a poor nutrition, but most case are behavioral.

Most pets enjoy eating feces, sometimes out of boredom, sometimes because we have a big appetite, and sometimes we just like the disgusted reaction on your face. Some dogs will eat their own feces when scolded during potty training to hide the evidence. 

The easiest way to solve this problem is to pick up your pets poop after they defecate outside, keep the litter box in an unattainable place to everyone but the cat, perhaps by elevating it or using baby gates. 

Another option is to seek help from a behavioral dog trainer. One tip I often hear is to train your pet after eliminating to come to you and sit for a treat. They will then focus on coming for treats instead of scavenging the area for other sources of "cookies". 

And last but not least, another option is to try some over the counter products to add to your pets food to make the poop even more less tasty than you humans think it already is...but that is not a guarantee. 

The biggest concern that can come from eating the stinky's is intestinal parasite contamination from unknown pets. If your pet is a big stool eater consider having them tested for parasites regularly.

Hope this helps battle your frustrations, although if I had my way I would choose those yummy cat snacks any day of the week

Annie’s peers have made their selection! Congratulations to Maria!

Maria has been nominated this month by her peers for going above and beyond. Maria was nominated for several different things this month by different persons which proves she has excelled in many different areas.

Maria has been working at Westbury for a little more than 1 year as a technician.  Her peers believe she is deserving of this award for making good use of her time at work to completely revamp the dental suite. Thanks to her, the room is well organized and stocked, she has allowed for more space and allotted for the radiograph machine to reach both exam tables. She has implemented, and most importantly followed through with all dentals receiving before and after photographs of their teeth for owners visual education. 

Maria was also selected this month for her excellence with at home euthanasia. Maria has been willing to accompany most of the doctors to house calls. This can be a very emotional time for owners and Maria is very caring and efficient during this time to give owners comfort and support.

And yet another example! Maria, with the help of special mention, Bianca, have set up an exercise class for all the staff to keep us healthy and motivated! Way to go ladies!

Maria is a great example of how our staff can step outside their normal role, push the envelope to improve their role in the hospital. Maria saw how inefficient dental cleanings can be and chose to do something about it! She chose to put her time into helping clients in need of support and to improve the morale of staff with her exercise class.

Thank you Maria for going above and beyond for Westbuy!

Spring break has come and gone. Westbury Animal Hospital was in a flurry of activity as pets from all around came to board, be treated, or just to have their check-ups. Over the course of the last two weeks, Westbury Animal Hospital boarded close to 356 dogs and cats! There were so many wonderful animals and great stories to tell. I wanted to highlight some of the cutest I found while roaming the halls.

The Frenchie Ottoman. This senior fellow feels compelled to take a nap at the expense of his companion who is very obliged to act as a head rest!

This is what I like to call, "The Sniper" move. This kitty is so affectionate he will grab hold of anyone who passes by to encourage a head pat or a treat. 

What would spring time be without puppies!!! A whole pile of puppies blessed us with their presence when mom needed some veterinary assistance. All puppies and mom are doing great!

This boarder was found with remnants of Mom's goodbye kiss on her forehead. So nice to be loved!

Thanks to all the lovely critters who came to visit over Spring Break. You brought us much joy!