Dr. M's Blog: November 2011
In September, I described all the work we were doing at the hospital to update our hospital, train our dedicated staff, and get ourselves up to speed with our new Cornerstone computer system. The first two went magically easily - it's always amazing what competent, dedicated people all working towards the same goal can accomplish! We are now up-to-date with all medical records, we've transformed our medical record storage system, we're getting ready for our upcoming AAHA certification program and we have scheduled our winter Dental Special.
Our new in-hospital accountant, Lisa, has updated all of our financial records from the first of the year to date - a formidable task, given the state they were left in by former staff. She has given us the welcome news that while we are a long way from the favorable financial position we were in during the last decade (who isn't?), we are solvent and able to continue to update our equipment and services to you in order to serve you better in the years to come. So, while I am lecturing at the next few veterinary meetings this month and again in February, I'll be looking at new anesthetic monitors and critical care equipment, to allow us to do a better job with both our routine surgeries and with all emergencies. I suppose that only a veterinary nerd like me would look forward to this, but in my defense, I'm excited to say that much of this new equipment wasn't even available when I was in vet school!
We're also planning a major upgrade to our dental capabilities. Advanced training by area dental specialist Dr. Cindy Charlier will be our first planned step. Dr. Charlier is AVDC certified (American Veterinary Dental College) and does wonderful work. While we already have great equipment and digital dental x-ray capabilities, dental technology is always changing. We want to stay top-shelf!
Lastly, while we still have some minor computer woes, we're largely up to speed and have a few seminars planned in this area too, with the Cornerstone computer wizards. I hope you've noticed improved speed at check-outs if you've visited the hospital lately! Please DO know that I still read every single survey that you fill out for us - and if you haven't filled one out recently, I hope you'll go here on our website to complete one soon. I really do care what you think, and we base our changes on what you tell us about our services!
You will also be seeing my smiling face at the hospital on nearly all of the days we are open, at least into the new year. Dr. Bhatt will be returning to India to attend to some pressing family matters. Since her contract wth us is concluded, she likely will not be returning to our hospital. Dr. Mary Papacek, Dr. Rosemarie Niznik, and Dr. Melanie Laasch, our relief veterinarians of choice, will be filling in for me during some of my upcoming lecture days. In order to allow me to cover all of our hospital's days, without going stir-crazy, we will likely be revising hospital hours a bit, but we'll still be open early and close late most weekdays. Please monitor our Facebook site as well as this website for updates. If you've given us your e-mail address, this is another great way for us to update you. And if you want to update your e-mail address, just call us at 847-891-8944 or mail your info to knollwoodnews@gmail.com
I'm going to conclude with some great advice from Lizzie. Her words of wisdom for your pets (and you!) are still gold, just as when she first penned them. They may bring a few smiles to some faces, too!
Dear dog and cat friends,
I don’t like to brag, but ONCE AGAIN, your good friend Lizzie is scorin’ as the BIG DOG of the pack. Didn’t I tell you, just a few short months ago, about how probiotics and other good supplements to your food can help keep you healthy and feeling good? Didn’t I? And didn’t I tell you that my Mom, and a lot of other vets, too, have spent years and years telling their clients that these are good things that they should be making sure to give their dogs and cats?
Well, it seems that the veterinary guys and gals in the Ivory Towers of Academia and Research Far Removed From the Real World (ITARFRFRW) decided that they needed to put a study together to see if that was true. And guess what? They did indeed find that pets live a lot longer if they get supplements like vitamins and probiotics. And the pets feel a lot better, too. The researchers said so, in a study recently published in a major veterinary journal. Now, I guess the study was the next best thing to actually being the veterinarian making the recommendations and then seeing the pets back year after year to check the results - but the ITARFRFRW folks tend to think that kind of research is only for the vets who were not as smart as they are. I guess I always figured that they were the ones who were losing out! I mean, who wouldn’t want doggie and kitty kisses all day long? (I know that my Mom thinks her job is the best job in the whole world - she tells me so!)
So, moral of the story, kitty and doggie friends - you need to ask that owner of yours to get with the program and get you some healthy things to eat. Your humans can start out slowly, maybe by adding some fresh cooked meat, some eggs, or some yogurt to your food a couple times a week. And don’t forget a balanced vitamin - the ones with ‘trace minerals’ are the best ones. I don’t know what those are, but Mom says they can make your coat nicer and your eyes brighter and your mind sharper. And an omega-3 fatty acid supplement is good too, a couple times a week - I like the fish oil ones best because they taste so nice, but sometimes Mom gives me sardines instead and I like those too. They smell so good I could just drop and roll in them!
And don’t forget the probiotic! If you need to refresh your memory about those, you can read my column a few months back - although, if your mind were sharp because you were already eating right, you wouldn’t have to.....JUST SAYIN'!!!
OOH! And some fresh veggies are always nice. Now, you need to start slowly with these, if you aren’t used to them, or you could be in trouble for having potty accidents in the house. Remember, fiber is as good for us as it is for your humans. Just not a lot if you aren’t used to it! I like my veggies raw and chopped up fine but you might like them steamed better. The best ones to have are dark green ones and orange ones. If your humans are more McDonald’s eaters than healthy eaters, you could ask them to get you some canned pumpkin, like the kind used to make a pie. They could freeze it in an ice cube tray and give you a ‘pumpkin cube’ a couple of times a week. Now, THAT'LL keep ya regular!
Remember, my fuzzy friends, eating right starts with YOU. So go bug your owners for something healthier to eat than those awful (rhymes with Mup-Peronies, I don't wanna get Mom in trouble by naming names, ya know?) and other chemical-loaded worthless slop that TV commercials try to induce your humans to buy. Hold out for fresh veggies, meat, eggs, and yogurt – you’ll live longer, and be healthier, too.
Until next month, your good friend Lizzie will be browsing through the veterinary literature for news you can use!
