We’re all ready for warm weather and sunshine, but are your pets? The Companion Animal Parasite Council recommends monthly flea, tick and heartworm preventative medication monthly year-round. Heartworms are spread by mosquitoes and can cause severe, potentially fatal lung disease, heart failure and other organ damage. The parasite mainly affects dogs, cats and ferrets but there are reservoirs of infection in wildlife like coyotes as well.

There are many options for heartworm prevention including Simparica Trio and Interceptor Plus. These monthly chewable tablets contain low doses of a parasiticide that will kill any circulating heartworms before they grow into full size worms in your pet’s heart. If there has been a lapse in your pets’ monthly heartworm medications, make sure you schedule an appointment with us to ensure your dog is heartworm-free BEFORE restarting preventatives. For more information, please see the National Heartworm Society.

Hopefully by now, we are all making plans for our summer vacations! While you take this time to plan a trip for you and your family, don’t forget that your pets may need a place to stay while you emBARK on your travels! Consider boarding your pets with us at Riverside Pet Retreat! Here, your dog or cat will enjoy comfortable amenities and frequent playtime customized to your dog or cat’s personal needs and preference. During their boarding stay, you can also treat them to some additional niceties such as a private trail walk (dogs only,) a bath and nail trim, or individual cuddle time with one of our amazing kennel attendants!

If your dog needs a place to burn off some energy or to socialize with other dogs, we also offer doggy daycare. They can come for half a day or a full day to play and make new friends in a structured and supervised environment. Even the most energetic dogs will come home tired and happy! Many behavioral disorders arise when pets do not get enough exercise or are poorly socialized. Daycare can provide an outlet for those driven or anxious pups and interaction with other dogs can improve self-esteem.

You can purchase individual days as the need arises, or you can prepay for a package of 10 days for a discount. Those days can be scheduled at your convenience but are first-come, first-served so please plan ahead.

We are excited to now offer kitty daycare! This can be helpful to you if you have a long day away from home or construction projects planned and you anticipate stress or an escape risk.

Before boarding or daycare, your pet will need several required vaccines so don’t wait to reach out and learn more. Please note that the CIV (canine influenza vaccine) that is typically required is on backorder nationwide and will be temporarily waived for boarding. This is NOT the same as the Bordetella vaccine which is still required and available. We will notify you once the vaccine is in stock again.

With longer days and warm sunshine around the corner, we will soon welcome spring blooms!  Keep in mind that certain plants in the garden can be toxic to your pet. One of the most common and dangerous plant toxicities we see is lily ingestion by cats.  Many cats love to lick and chew on greens and ANY part of a lily plant from the pollen to the roots can cause potentially fatal kidney failure in cats. As Easter approaches, cat owners should always avoid lilies in pots or bouquets in the home. The ASPCA poisonous plant guide is the best place to check before you and Fluffy start your yard projects this season.

Warm wishes and BEE well!

Everyone knows that February 14th is a time to think of love, but what you might not know is that February is Responsible Pet Ownership Month! Our furry friends rely on us to provide shelter, food and water, take care of their medical needs and of course, provide lots of love. To show your pet the same love that they show you, think about how you meet the needs of your pet. Does your pet get the exercise that they need? Are they fed a high quality diet and in portions that optimize their health? Do they see the vet on an annual basis who can assess their health and offer suggestions to keep them at their best? These are the key components which define a responsible pet parent. February is also dental health awareness month. Call us for a dental evaluation! 

The one thing all pets have in common is the need for a highly nutritious diet. We recommend Purina Pro Plan for all of our patients because Purina has a wide selection of nutritional options ranging from therapeutic diets for pets with complex health issues to well pet formulas that are designed to meet the nutritional needs of dogs and cats in each stage of their life. Purina’s therapeutic diets can help manage dermatological, kidney, heart, GI, weight and allergy issues. If you want to learn more about a well pet or a veterinary formula diet please call our office at 585-889-8340.  To shop, visit https://www.proplanvetdirect.com/ and enter our clinic’s code: JOH9J 

This month you may decide to treat yourself or a loved one to some chocolate. While this is a delicious treat for us, keep in mind that this delicious treat is toxic to our pets! Chocolate contains a chemical called theobromine which dogs and cats can not metabolize. Clinical signs of chocolate toxicity include vomiting, diarrhea, increased thirst, panting, and a racing heart rate and seizures. Call us immediately if you suspect chocolate toxicity. If this is after hours, visit our website at https://riversidepet.com/useful-links/ to view a list of emergency hospitals.  

Giving your pet safe treats does not come without risk. Pets eager to gobble up their goodies can run the risk of choking. Your pet may begin to cough to try and expel the object stuck in their throat. If you see your pet in distress it is important to remain calm, but act immediately. Open their mouth and look for the foreign object. If you see it, try to swipe it away with your finger. If you are unable to remove it, perform the Heimlich Maneuver. Once your pet has stopped choking, call us for further evaluation.

It seems like the snow has finally arrived and is here to stay! Exposure to the winter elements can cause chapped paws and itchy, flaky skin. Winter walks can be dangerous if ice melting chemicals are licked off bare paws. Minimize the time your pet spends outdoors and make sure to dry your pet as soon as they come inside. Keep your dog’s coat just long enough to provide warmth but minimize clinging snow and ice. Smaller dogs or dogs with shorter hair will benefit from wearing a coat or a sweater. You can massage petroleum jelly on their paws before going outside to help protect their pads. Just remember, if it’s too cold for you, it is probably too cold for your pet!

During these cold months we can’t hibernate like bears, so we wish you warmth and good health this winter season!

Sincerely, 

Your Riverside Family

We are pleased to announce the immediate offering of cold laser therapy to your pets. Lasers have been used in human medicine for over 30 years and are now making huge advances in the veterinary field. The versatility of the laser allows us to treat pain and speed up healing for things such as sore muscles and joints, degenerative joint conditions, wounds and infections, and other forms of acute and chronic inflammation all delivered in a fast and pain-free way! To see if laser therapy may be beneficial to your pet, please contact the office. Additional information on MLS Therapy Laser can be found at Cutting Edge Laser Technologies: www.celasers.com

Feline osteoarthritis (OA) occurs when cartilage in the joints wears down and causes the bones to rub against one another. You may think OA just makes moving harder, but it can also cause severe pain. Sadly, this pain is chronic and can get worse without proper treatment. Cats are very talented at hiding pain and a good way to tell if your cat may have OA pain is to notice if they are having difficulty moving around or reduced mobility. Other signs can include lethargy, decreased grooming, vocalization and irritability. Often, cats react to being brushed or pet along their back. Solensia is the first and only FDA-approved treatment to control chronic OA pain for cats. This is a once-monthly injection and works by reducing the pain signals of the nerve system. We have been delighted with the results we have seen so please call our office if you want to learn more!

The United States is currently experiencing a shortage of the canine influenza vaccine (CIV) and currently we do not have any in stock. We have reached out to the manufacturer and they were unable to provide us with a date of availability. In the meantime, we encourage you to keep sick dogs isolated from one another to reduce the spread. Until our stock returns, we will waive the CIV requirement for our boarding facility Riverside Pet Retreat. If your dog is sick and needs urgent care please call our office or contact one of the emergency veterinary hospitals in our area. A list of emergency hospitals can be found on our website at:https://riversidepet.com/useful-links/

Lastly, we would like to inform you of a couple of closures over the holidays. We will be closed Monday December 26th and Monday January 2nd but Pet Retreat will remain open during those times. If you get a new pet over the holidays, we would like to remind you to call our office as soon as possible to schedule an appointment. We are currently booking 2 months out for wellness visits.

We want to thank each and everyone of you for allowing us to care for your pets this year. We wish you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year and we hope you unleash all kinds of joy this season!

The current appointment status

Currently, sick or problem appointments are scheduling out 1-2 weeks and wellness appointments are 2 months. Unfortunately, this progression has been a pattern for the last few years and has become a national crisis in the veterinary community. In order to help alleviate this increased need for veterinary care we have implemented adjustments to our protocols to help accommodate the needs of our patients. Please call 1 – 2 months early to schedule your annual appointments!  We have adjusted our automatic reminder system so that exam and vaccine reminders are emailed 45 days in advance. If you already have an appointment, you can disregard that email.

Increased demand and decreased availability

The COVID 19 pandemic caused an unprecedented increase in activity at veterinary practices; during this time there was a marked rise in pet ownership while simultaneously a change in protocols that slowed efficiency and limited the ability to accommodate as many pets. At the same time, pet owners working from home led to earlier detection of illnesses and injuries as they were picking up on signs that may have been missed in the past.

Like other industries, staffing shortage is an ongoing issue in the veterinary world. Unfortunately, there has been a small but growing number of pet owners who take out their frustrations and grief on the veterinary staff, and verbal abuse is not uncommon. Every receptionist, veterinary assistant and technician has sadly experienced verbal abuse from clients.  This has led to burn-out and an unprecedented rate of turnover amongst staff and there are simply not enough new qualified applicants to make up for the loss.

What are we doing to improve the situation?

In view of the challenges that we are experiencing and in order to accommodate our patients, we have made multiple changes to our protocols.

We have established a phone tree system to manage the increased daily call load, help with triage, and streamline the many responsibilities of our receptionists. We have received feedback from clients who would prefer to speak with someone directly.  While we understand and sympathize with the frustrations, the phone tree helps improve clinic efficiency. Without the phone tree our lines would be constantly busy and urgent calls would go to voicemail.

In an effort to make sure more sick and injured pets are cared for quickly, we have limited the number of wellness appointments we see on a daily basis in order to have more availability for “problem” visits. We are also reserving a few appointment slots for “same day” availability so that we can accommodate urgent care visits.

Additionally, when time, space, and ability allows, we offer “Drop Off” appointments. Based on urgency, we will admit a sick or injured patient for the day so that the doctors can examine and treat the pet between other surgeries and appointments. While we realize this is not ideal for every client, it is sometimes the most efficient way to provide care. Staff will communicate a treatment plan via text, email or call and the patient will be discharged as quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience during this process, as timing may be unpredictable and out of our control.

Finally, we have implemented a non-refundable charge for missed appointments in an attempt to curb wasted time slots. We also require a deposit for multi-pet appointments to ensure large blocks of time are properly utilized. Please understand that these are hospital policies and do not take frustrations out on our staff for enforcing them.

What can you do to help?

Preventative care is the best care for your pet and can help avoid more complicated illness and injury!

• Ensure your pets stay on preventative medications like heartworm and flea and tick treatment
• Vaccinate your pet from preventable diseases
• Spay and neuter to avoid illness and cancer later in life
• Avoid obesity as it leads to diabetes and painful, chronic mobility issues
• Keep pets safely and properly contained when they are not supervised to avoid injuries, stomach upset, and toxicities

Keep in mind that we receive lots of phone calls every day, and while our phone tree system has helped us sort through the calls and prioritize based on urgency, we are still struggling to keep up with the volume of calls and cannot always return all phone calls within 24 hrs. Texting (585-889-8340) or emailing (riversidepetrecords@gmail.com) is a good way to reach us and we may be able to reply to those in a more timely manner.

If your pet is sick but it’s not an emergency, call us to make an appointment and we will do our best to get you in as soon as possible, but keep in mind we may sometimes have to refer you to a local urgent care facility.  Please bear in mind that these facilities are not immune to the time and staffing strains. At Riverside, we share your concern about lack of availability for emergency and specialty care and sympathize on a professional and personal level. If you have ever received a 9 PM call from Dr. Velez, or 2 AM email from Dr. Mueller, you understand their dedication.

Please remember to be kind to our staff – frustration and anxiety at the situation is understandable but taking that anger out on the staff is never acceptable, especially during times like these when we are trying to handle the overflow as best as we can. A little compassion goes a long way.

October 17th-October 21st is National Veterinary Technician Week! We take this time to honor our technicians and our entire staff for their commitment to compassionate high-quality veterinary care. We celebrate and recognize the valuable contributions that they bring to our practice.

Current available urgent care, emergency and specialty options:                                                    

** PLEASE CALL AHEAD FOR AVAILABILITY**

1. Veterinary Specialists and Emergency Services (VSES) 585-424-1277
   – Closed to intakes between 10 PM to 6 AM
2.  Animal Immediate Care (AIC) 585-684-7901
3.  Ark Urgent Care 585-487-8700
4.  Animal Urgent Care 585-442-6915
5.  Orchard Park Veterinary Medical Center 716-662-6660
6.  Green Acres Veterinary Center Tonawanda 716-694-0122
7.  Veterinary Medical Center of Central NY 315-853-2408
   – Closed from Friday 2 AM through Sunday 8 AM
8.  Urgent Veterinary Care in Auburn 315-515-3074
9.  Upstate Veterinary Specialists in Latham 518-783-3198
10.  Cornell University Companion Animal Hospital 607-253-3060
11.  Lap of Love in-home euthanasia 585-563-5993
    

Thank you for all of your continued support and we hope autumn leaves a smile on your face!

Riverside Veterinary Hospital will be closed Monday August 29th through Monday September 5th; we will reopen Tuesday September 6th. Please plan ahead and make sure any medications are refilled prior to the closure. Riverside Pet Retreat will remain open for boarding and daycare during this time. The staff at Pet Retreat are not able to answer medical questions, refill medications, accept specimen samples for testing, or book appointments.

While we are closed, please make note of the following veterinary service providers:

I.  For sick & urgent care visits:

●     Animal Immediate Care – located in Webster, more details at https://www.aicrochester.com/

(585) 684-7901

●     Ark Veterinary and Urgent Care – located In Henrietta, more details at https://arkvh.com/

(585) 572-7116

●     Animal Urgent Care at Pittsford Animal Hospital – only available on Saturday, Sunday, and Holidays. **By appointment only** please visit their website at https://pittsfordvet.com/rochester-ny-animal-urgent-care/ for details.

II.  For emergency services

●     Veterinary Specialists and Emergency Services – Across the MCC. Available Sunday through Saturday 6am to 10 pm.

https://vsesrochester.com/

(585) 424-1277

III.  For house call services and at-home end of life services

●     Doorbell Vet

https://www.doorbellvet.com/

(585) 441-0200

●     Lap of Love

https://www.lapoflove.com/find-a-vet/New-York/Rochester/about

(585) 563-5993

 

***Remember to always call first before heading to any urgent care or emergency facility to ensure they are available to provide services. Also visit their website for further details & instructions.

It’s always exciting to welcome home a new puppy or kitten! Puppies and kittens have many needs and one of them is making sure they are seen by a doctor in order to do a health exam and administer the appropriate vaccines. Ideally, healthy pets are seen at 8,12 and 16 weeks of age. We are currently booking two months out for wellness visits so if you know in advance that you will be taking home a puppy or kitten, we kindly ask that you call our office as soon as possible at (585) 889-8340 to schedule those three visits.

In addition to protecting your new pet, seeing a vet protects you. NYS has a law known as the Pet Lemon Law which is designed to safeguard the public and to ensure the humane treatment of dogs and cats by requiring pet dealers to guarantee the good health of any such animal sold to a consumer. Consumers who purchase an unfit dog or cat may be entitled to a refund, reimbursement for veterinary expenses or a replacement animal. To qualify for a refund or a replacement animal, a consumer must obtain a veterinary certification that the animal is unfit within fourteen business days of the purchase.

In addition to health exams, we recommend starting your pets on preventative medication to help keep them healthy. We commonly recommend Simparica Trio as it protects against heartworm parasites, some intestinal parasites, fleas, and ticks. Please note that Simparica Trio is currently out of stock at most online retailers. We still have some supplies available at our hospital but anticipate eventually running out. We will offer Bravecto in-hospital for rapid relief of external parasites and continue to provide other flea & tick preventatives through our online store (https://riversidevh.myvetstoreonline.pharmacy).

For heartworm prevention, we recommend Interceptor Plus as the broadest coverage for internal parasites (heartworms, tapeworms, whipworms, roundworms, and hookworms). Interceptor and others can also be ordered through our hospital’s online store. Keep in mind that your pet must be up to date on their annual heartworm test and annual exam to purchase.

Thank you for understanding and please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions!