Category: Local events

148 Covid 19 and Garden Ridge Animal Hospital

As this pandemic reaches the US, Texas, and now Dallas, I have four concerns:

1) This is an airborne human virus. We are ramping out our sanitation even more than usual. I am sure no one wants to get sick or infect their loved ones. People might not have symptoms and still be infectious. Please don’t be offended if we not only sanitized the exam table, but also the chairs, doorknobs and light switches. I won’t be shaking hands or hugging people for a while. We will have Clorox wipes out for clients to use at the checkout counter, and our credit card Point of Sale Debit terminal can use “tap” as well as chip insert, if your phone or card is enabled. I want our clients to be assured we are doing everything we can to keep our hospital virus free.

2) We might be short staffed if we get sick. We are a small business and will soldier on. We might have to get creative (telemedicine) for rechecks and refills of medicines. If we have to close temporarily, we will post it on the website- www.gardenridgevet.com

3) We might have future drug shortages. The AVMA is monitoring the manufacturers closely, but there could be interruptions in our supply lines. If your pet is on a prescription medicine or diet, you might try to keep a 30-60-day supply at home “just in case”.

4) There might be fears that dogs (or cats?) might be “carriers” of the disease. As of March 4, 2020, there was one asymptomatic dog in Hong Kong that has tested positive twice whose owner is sick with Covid 19 . Pet hair could certainly carry this aerosolized virus around. If you get sick, it is recommended you let another family member take care of the pet and avoid contact.

144 Watching Dogs Perform

The days before Valentine’s day usually mean hunting for the perfect card, getting reservations at a special restaurant, or ordering gifts for that “special someone” online. For Dog lovers, it means time to watch the Westminster Dog Show on TV. I have never been to a real dog show, but the Westminster is the Super Bowl of Dog shows in US.

I used to assume it was just a “beauty pageant” like Miss America, but it is so much more now. There are separate Agility and Obedience competitions also. Last night, the Standard Poodle won the Best in Show section. Siba was an outstanding examine of a standard poodle, even with the crazy hair cuts that are the breed standard. She was beautiful and “floated” around the ring. I was rooting for the gorgeous merle Sheltie or the crowd-pleasing Golden Retriever, but the poodle won. After over 30 years in vet practice, I have a profound appreciation for the sturdiness and intelligence of poodles in general, even though I see many more Toy Poodles than Standards.

I also enjoyed watching highlight of the Agility competition. I personally took a Agility class with my Sheltie, Sarge, when he was younger.  It was so much fun, but it was exhausting to do outside in June in Texas. Sarge loved it though. He could hardly wait for his turn to run the course.

On a similar note, my husband and I attended the Fort Worth Stock Show last weekend, on the last day. There weren’t many critters there, but my favorite thing was watching the Sheep Dog competition. We saw dozens of border collies, working 3 scared sheep around a large sand area, working only from the owner’s voice or whistle. They had to listen, read the sheep’s body language, and move a group around a course, around barrels, though a fenced area, and ultimately into a small 10’x10’ pen, all by himself. We saw several overexcited dogs be disqualified to nipping at the sheep. But in their defense, some of the sheep were pretty stupid and didn’t stick together. Sometimes it reminded me of trying to herd cats. Or the movie Babe about the pig.

Overall, it has been a pleasure watching dogs do what they were bred to do, whether it was herding, agility, or a beauty pageant. Dogs are amazing.

Westminster Best of Show   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh8Bot1OfkE&t=1s
Agility Championship   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZn7oWMHD90
Sheep dog competitions  https://www.texassheepdogassoc.org/

143 Neighborhood Construction Projects

If you have driven around Garden Ridge Blvd or College Street in the last few months, you probably noticed lots of roads being torn up and blocked off. I thought it was upgrading of utilities like water or sewer, but my searches on the Lewisville website were useless. I had a client in this week whose home is on College and was impacted. He reported he had gotten letters from Atmos natural gas company that they are utility at work here, not the City of Lewisville. A search of the Atmos website revealed this is  the Line F upgrade, mostly 6 miles along Garden Ridge Blvd.

This Atmos utility work on Garden Ridge Blvd is a minor inconvenience to clients trying to turn onto Glencairn Lane into our parking lot since they have temporarily blocked the South bound Left hand turn lane. If you go a short distance further toward Main Street, you can turn Left at two locations and perform a legal U turn, and approach us on the Northbound side of Garden Ridge Blvd.  If you are driving North on Garden Ridge Blvd, it is narrowed to one lane, but it is easy to turn right onto Glencairn into our parking lot.  The “back route” is to use Glencairn Lane East of us, and turn right and cut through Garden Park Shopping Center to the Jack in the Box to get to Main Street, OR turn left onto Cimarron Strip to cut over to College Street.

There are two other construction projects in our neighborhood. The Chin Baptist Church in under construction just east of us. The Chin are Christian refugees from Myanmar (Burma), many of whom have settled in Lewisville.

The third project is the old Thrift City in Garden Park Shopping Center, which has been purchased by the Lewisville Independent Sschool District to create more administration space for professional development for the school district. The scheduled completion is November 2020.  We are happy to have the LISD Bolin Center and other administrative functions as neighbors.

114 Volunteer Opportunities

I have bumped into several clients and former clients this week who have no pets or have room for more pets in their life, but don’t want to adopt a new one for life. These people are realistic about the time demands of a new dog or planning on traveling soon, but feel a hole in their lives right now. I have a suggestion: Volunteer!

The City of Lewisville Animal Services has an active Volunteer program with formal training and background checks, starting as young as 16 years old with a signed parental waiver. Volunteers are allowed to do housekeeping chores, handle and socialize animals, provide needed human contact, interact with future adopters, and ultimately even “jog a dog”.  Check out their Facebook page.

For more information: https://www.cityoflewisville.com/about-us/city-services/animal-services/volunteer-with-animal-services

Breed rescue groups are always looking for temporary foster homes. I find many clients that LOVE a specific breed and know its idiosyncrasies make great foster families while the parent organization does the work to find a forever home. So if you love Golden Retrievers or Shelties, find their local rescue group, go through their process, and schedule fosters on your time frame. Win for you, win for foster pet, and a win for the rescue group.

The ultimate foster is to be a puppy raisers fora service dog. We actually have a national organization called Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) with an office in Last Colinas in Irving. This is a big commitment since you will raise their lab/golden mix puppy for 12-18 months to adulthood with basic training, CCI competes their specialized training, and then they are matched to a disabled person free of charge for their forever home. This would be an ultimate act of giving.

109 Twenty nine year Anniversary in 2019!

Yes, we really opened our doors April 30, 1990. My daughter was 2 then, and I had a different husband. I now have a one year granddaughter, and I am celebrating Fourteen years with my husband, Dan. My son is set to graduate from UT Dallas this month and was married last summer. Life if good!

New things during the last twelve months:

SIGN: We got at new sign around New Years! It actually fits the old frame, but with the new logo and new LED lights so it looks great at night.

FACES: We have some new faces: Larissa is the head nurse that started last summer. She already had 10 years of experience in other practices and we call her the “cat whisperer”. Kayla up front started about this time last year.

PUPPIES: I got my 2 terrier pups (Chuck and Sally) in November, and they are now 7 months old. They have been my refresher course on puppyhood and training, and a lesson in patience every day.

ONLINE PHARMACY:  I reevaluated several, but ultimately decided to stick with VetSource

PET INSURANCE: We added Petplan by AAHA to our previous recommendation of Pet Best

REMINDER: Soon we will offer an online portal so you can get custom reminders: postcard, email or texts

CONTINUING EDUCATION class on Canniboids:  I just finished an online vet CE class on medicial canniboids for pets and am blown away by the potentials. There aren’t any medicines to prescribe yet, but I am on a learning curve for this new class of medicine.

94 New Signage for 2019

Well it has taken a while to get the new sign up, but it was worth it. It all began about two years ago when I decided to redo my logo. I used an online company called 99 Designs to create a new logo to be put on business cards, websites, letterheads and a new sign. It was a fun creative process where you state your preferences, and dozens of global graphic designers submit graphic ideas to you. Over a few weeks, you narrow it down, keep tweaking it, and commit to a final design. I remember I wanted it to be simple, easy to read at 30 mph, convey the species we see, reflect the “garden” in the name, and have 2 colors. You see the winning design.

We began using the graphics on business cards and websites, then this blog, but the sign was the last project. I held off getting a new sign waiting on construction next door, at The Beehive Assisted Living/Memory care facility, thinking I would piggy back on their look. But the Beehive never built out the front, just a structure way in the back.

This is actually the 3rd sign at Garden Ridge Animal Hospital. The first was a rectangle, dark blue, with our name in clear plastic, lit from inside. But it was hit by a car, and was replaced 20 years ago with the one we had until this week.

You may notice we kept the same frame shape, which reflects the cupula shape of our front exam room roofline. The new LED lights inside illuminate it nicely after dark. I think Sigma Signs in Highland Village did a nice job for us. Let me know what you think!

63 Father’s Day

So Father’s day is coming up, and what gift shall Fido or Fluffy give Dad? This website has some cute ideas:
https://www.hgtv.com/design-blog/entertaining/fathers-day-gifts-for-pet-lovers
There are mugs, socks, hats, cufflinks, journals, tee shirts, and artwork.
Or why not do a picnic at the dog park? Or try some of the local restaurants that allow dogs outside on the patio like Twisted Root in downtown Lewisville?
Or if it is Dad’s chore to walk the dog, pick up the backyard (you know what I mean), or clean the litterbox, why not do those chores for him for Father’s day?
One of my favorite hobbies is photography with my fancy digital camera, but anyone can take some good portraits of pets & people. Why not take some pictures of your man with Max and Missy? Your boyfriend with Buddy and Bella? My secret trick- get in really close! Take lots and shots- you only need 1 good one. And use natural lighting- like through a window, or just go outside. For more pet photography tips- https://digital-photography-school.com/top-10-pet-photography-tips-techniques/;
https://digital-photography-school.com/9-pet-photography-tips/
I would love to see some of your pet photos. Please email them to me (drpam@gardenridgevet.com), and I will put them on the website (with your permission).

56 Medication disposal event on April 28, 2018

Our local cities are teaming up with Lewisville school district and the Drug Enforcement Agency to hold a free medication disposal event. The goal of this operation is two-fold: to reduce the risk of prescription drug abuse and increased awareness of this critical public health issue. Plus it is a safe way to disposed of expired prescription and Over The Counter Drugs, for humans and pets. ). This a great way to keep medications OUT of the landfills and water supply. For more information-https://www.lisd.net/Page/1587

The event is scheduled for Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. As with past events, the Lewisville disposal location will be the parking lot of Lewisville High School at 1098 West Main Street. Many other cities are participating in this event, and all the high schools in the LISD are involved ( Marcus, Flower Mound, Hebron and The Colony)

This is a great opportunity for those who have missed previous events, or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of those medications. So check out those medicine cabinets and dog medicine stashes and get rid of expired medicines!

55 What is a “Dangerous Dog”?

After the recent attack of a woman in South Dallas by 4 dogs, I have heard this phrase being used. Legally, Texas defines a Dangerous Dog as one that “makes an unprovoked attack on a person that causes bodily injury and occurs in a place other than an enclosure in which the dog was being kept and that was reasonably certain to prevent the dog from leaving the enclosure on its own.”
https://www.animallaw.info/statute/tx-dangerous-subchapter-d-dangerous-dogs
In the recent attack, there were 4 dogs outside their fence: 2 pit bull terrier mixes, 1 boxer mix, and a Queensland heeler mix. None were current on rabies vaccination, not spayed or neutered, and not microchipped. (But the neighbors knew whose dogs they were). Certainly, 4 medium to large dogs “at large”, or roaming the neighborhood can be hazardous. Dogs in a pack can behave very differently than individual dogs, just like teenagers. I see lots of pit bulls, and don’t believe they are more aggressive to humans than other breeds, but they can be dog aggressive. I also caution my pit bull owners to always have the best behaved and well trained dog on the block because they will always get blamed because of the breed’s “reputation”.
When a human gets injured, especially in this case, they seek medical attention. The doctors often are the first to report that a bite has taken place. That triggers the local Animal Control to investigate, ensuring proper management of biting animals, and enforcing local and state rabies laws. Usually, if the pet is current on rabies vaccination, they can be quarantined at home for 10-14 days, and then released. If the rabies vaccination is not current, they will have to be quarantined at Animal Control. If the animal is suspected to be rabid, euthanasia might be recommended, and the head will be sent to Austin to be checked for rabies. There is no “blood test” for rabies. Sometimes after the pet completes the rabies quarantine, the owner does not want the dog back. Or they can’t afford to fix the fence, get all their vaccines, etc. It doesn’t always end happily. In the South Dallas case, the owner authorized euthanasia on all 4 so they could be tested for rabies so the victim wouldn’t have to go through rabies treatment while waiting the 10 days of quarantine.
If owners elect to keep a dog that has attacked a person, a judge might legally deem the dog “dangerous”, and that triggers another set of rules to follow. Those owners must register their dog, keep them vaccinated for rabies, provide proof of homeowners insurance, have them microchipped, keep the fences locked and childproof, and have their fences inspected regularly. They can’t go out in public without a muzzle.
https://www.cityoflewisville.com/about-us/city-services/animal-services/animal-services-ordinances
So a legal “dangerous dog” has to have an unprovoked attack on a human (not a pet), that causes bodily injury, outside the pet’s normal enclosure. If a person comes into your home or fenced yard, and the dog bites them, this doesn’t apply since they were in their normal enclosure. If two dogs “fence fight” and one gets injured, this doesn’t apply. If a dog on leash bites a stranger that wasn’t provoking it, it might be deemed a “dangerous dog”. I worry about some of my canine patients that just don’t like children, are out on a leash, minding their own business, when a child runs up to it and tries to hug them. Those dogs feel provoked, and might bite a child in the face or hands.
The bottom line is keep all your pets (cats too) vaccinated against rabies for your legal protection, and make sure they can’t get out of the yard, or off leash. You are legally responsible for any damages that your pet causes, including injuring another human. Fortunately, most home owners’ insurance policies cover this. If you see a dog “at large”, call Animal Control. They are trained to handle lost, scared, fearful dogs and cats. They can scan them for microchip and identification. And they will be the first place a concerned owner will call to find them.
https://www.animallaw.info/statute/tx-dangerous-subchapter-d-dangerous-dogs

52 Bunnies and Easter

As we get close to Easter this year, I began wondering why a rabbit is a common symbol for the holiday. And we have already started getting calls from clients that they have found an”abandoned” litter of baby bunnies in their yard.
Wikipedia had some answers to my Easter Bunny questions. In the 1700s, German Lutherans brought the tradition of the “Easter Hare” who was like a rabbit version of Santa Claus that judged children‘s behavior, would dress in clothes, and carry a basket with eggs and candy. Another theory has to do with the prolific reproductive abilities of rabbits to have many offspring, representing a fertility symbol for spring.
As a vet, I do see pet rabbits of all ages. But I don’t recommend “wild” rabbits as pets, which are not the same species as our common domesticated rabbits. Bunnies, like all live pets including dogs and cats, should not be “gifts” for children.
What should you do if find baby bunnies in your yard? There is some great information on http://www.wildrescuetexas.org/. Wild bunnies are prey, so they don’t stay at the nest like a dog or cat might. Mamma bunnies stay away, only coming in a few times a day, generally under cover of darkness, to quickly feed the babies and leave again. So it is perfectly normal NOT to see the momma bunny. Don’t panic, check out the website for tricks to see if babies are OK, and how to check if mom has checked on them. Fun fact, baby rabbits have their eye closed (like dogs and cats also) until they are 10 days old. By 3 and ½ weeks they are weaned, and by 4 to 5 weeks they are ready to go out in the world on their own.
What if your kids want to “see the Easter Bunny”? He will be at the Lewisville Mall (now called Music City Mall, 11am-7 pm every day until Saturday, March 31, and Easter Sunday he will be there noon- 6pm for pictures. http://www.mcmlewisville.com/ The Highland Village annual Easter Egg Hunt at Unity Park was last weekend, March 24. Last weekend was also the Funny Bunny Festival for Lewisville at Railroad Park with a petting zoo, train, egg hunts and pictures with the Easter Bunny.
There is a new event this weekend called Fido Fest 2018 at Westchester Park in Flower Mound, Saturday March 31, from 10 am to 1 pm. There will be a dog walk, contests, activities, vendors, and entertainment. Admission is free, dogs are welcome, but some activities have fees. For more info, HumaneTomorrow.org/FidoFest.
For more Bunny information:
http://www.wildrescuetexas.org/
https://www.greensourcedfw.org/articles/north-texas-wild-dallas-rehabber-wild-rabbit-rescues-multiply-spring