A new year and a propitious one, starting as it did with a Blue Moon. This one was wonderful, riding as it did all night long, high and bright in a crystal-clear sky. Even the neighbor's fireworks at midnight didn't dim that magic, pale-blue glow. I plan to be just as excited (and hopefully as clear-eyed) to see the next one. That won't be until 2028, and I imagine I will still be hunched over a keyboard, using my two-fingered, hunt-and-peck style of typing to crank out another e-newsletter.
A few weeks ago, a staff member asked me whether I planned to retire when I turned 65, "as most people do." That stopped me short. Retire in 9 years? Unthinkable! I thought about it all day long that day, in between clients. And in musing over it more, on and off throughout New Year's Eve and day, I decided that I couldn't possibly think about retiring when I'm still so excited and happy to be doing what I get to do for a living every day! (You want to know what stopped me even MORE short? The same staff member asked me when I graduated from vet school. When I told her that it was in 1983, she stared at me wide-eyed. "Dr. Mitchell," she gasped, "I wasn't even born then! And I bet you're older than my Mom, too!").
So, from this old Doc, what's on the horizon for all of us here at Knollwood, and for our clients and patients and friends, both young and old? Well, first, we're pretty happy about the response to our change in days and hours. It turns out that even during a slow economic time, many of you DO like the option of being able to have a Wednesday appointment. So Wednesdays are a keeper. And, it seems you prefer the option of multiple surgery days, so that one is a keeper, too. We're not so sure about the later evening hours. Being a night owl myself, I was SURE that the later evening hours would be packed, but it turns out that they aren't. We'll monitor that into the spring, and if evening hour appointments don't pick up, we may ratchet back our closing time to the former 7pm or so. We'll keep you posted.
What else is a keeper? Well, response to our twice-yearly Dental Program remains strong, so we will continue to have a reduced-cost program twice yearly, to help you keep your pet's teeth in good shape. Our next Dental Program will be in mid-February through mid-March, and we'll announce the specifics on our home page. Stay tuned.
And, our commitment to minimizing your pet's vaccines remains in effect. If you're a relatively new client, what this means is that we will continue to quiz you as to whether your pet really needs all those vaccines you've said OK to, in the past. At Knollwood, we are firm believers in the vaccine mandate of all major veterinary groups, from AVMA (the American Veterinary Medical Association) to AAHA (the American Animal Hospital Association), to AHVMA (the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association). All of these veterinary groups now recommend that vaccines be given ONLY after an individualized assessment of the health risks of each pet, and that NO pet receive all of the available vaccines on the market, simply because they are available. We'll continue to talk to you about titers and core vaccines and three year vaccines as the safest alternative to over-vaccination, which is known to create or activate many health issues and diseases in our pets. Remember, simply NOT vaccinating isn't the answer! Rabies vaccine is required by law for both dogs and cats, no matter how many you own or care for. The titer test (a quick and easy blood test) represents the ONLY available assessment as to whether your pet is still adequately protected by that last distemper, parvo, or kitty distemper vaccine. Because some vaccines DO last for an extended time, checking a titer makes sense if you'd like to "skip" a vaccine year. We'll also talk to you about staggering vaccines by introducing three-year vaccines into your pet's vaccination program, so that often, your pet will get no more than one vaccination in a given year.
Our commitment to continuing education for our staff remains strong, even in this challenging economic climate. This month, we'll be sending our two longest-term hospital staff to the North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando. TNAVC is the largest veterinary conference in the world, with at least 10 tracks per hour, 8 or more hours a day - plus breakfast and evening lectures! (I'll be lecturing at the same meeting, on both the Practice Management track and the American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture track). All those learning options offer veterinarians and their staff an unparalleled educational opportunity. We know that Nikki, who heads up our Nursing team, and Chani, who heads up our Reception team, will benefit tremendously. And since a condition of sending any of our staff to such a meeting entails them presenting a seminar series to all staff about what they've learned during our monthly staff meetings, all of our staff will benefit in the long run.
So what's new at Knollwood? This month, we'll be rolling out our newest dietary additions to help you keep your pet healthy. We've made the commitment to start carrying the same healthy raw and freeze-dried pet foods here at the hospital that we've been promoting to you all along. Nature's Variety, the frozen raw diet that my own pets eat, will be available for sale, and Knollwood clients will have the option of ordering ANY other frozen or freeze-dried diet carried by our distributor, for the retail price. And, if you are a Knollwood client who does ALL your business with us, you'll receive an additional perk - a 10% discount off the retail price for all food purchased. What does "doing ALL your business with us" mean? It means that you've adhered to our recommended schedules for health maintenance exams, vaccines, heartworm and other blood tests, that you've done all recommended testing at our facility, and that you've purchased all of your preventative medications (such as heartworm and flea and tick products) from us.
We'll also be introducing some healthier treat and snack items for pets, too. Lizzie and Emmett mandated that one! Lizzie has fallen in love with the treats offered to her by her swimming therapy coach and now spurns her usual treats in favor of the new duck and bison treats. Apparently she told Emmett about it too, because now he only wants freeze-dried duck kitty treats. It's a small thing to do for a pet you love, and our new treats and snacks are a lot healthier than the supermarket junk treats, too!
New on the education front this year, I hope to attend the annual AAVA meeting in March and will attend some advanced herbal training later in the year. In May, I will take an advanced vascular and lymphatic therapy session of the Kortekaas manipulative therapy course. Among our staff, Chani will begin training as a veterinary Practice Manager. Nurses Jill and Jenn are continuing their training to achieve Veterinary Nurse III status, receptionist Tracy is cross-training as a Nurse Assistant, Jill is cross-training as a Receptionist, and Ashley, Lea, and Annabelle are cross-training as Nurse Assistants. By mid-year, nearly all of our staff will have completed cross-training in a new specialty.
We're not sure yet what Dr. Tartof's long term plans will be, but we do know that we will have her with us at Knollwood through at least March on a full time basis, and pssibly after that on a part-time basis. Depending on her future plans, (if we begin the search for a second of third full time Doctor), you may be seeing a lot of employment ads on our website, so that all of our Doctors have the appropriate amount of support staff to keep them efficient and reduce your waiting time in the office.
I thought about all these new plans for Knollwood as I wished on that New Year's Blue Moon - just as I know that many of us at Knollwood, and many of you probably did. No doubt some of these plans will come to fruition better than others, but the effort for all will be the same 100% effort we always give. My wish was no doubt similar to yours - a wish for a healthier, happier, and more fortunate year in 2010, for myself, my staff and family, and for my clients and their pets. May it be so!
Dr. Mitchell
