Mid North Animal Hospital Top Ten Stories of 2011

#10) A new diet to treat feline hyperthyroidism has been released by Hill’s Pet Nutrition in October, 2011.  This diet, y/d, has been labeled to treat feline thyroid disease without medication. Our doctors our currently beginning to use the product and early reports are positive.  This diet reduces iodine intake in your cat with hyperthyroidism, and can be fed to all cats in the house.  However, cats without hyperthyroidism should receive a tablespoon of dry or canned cat food not restricted in iodine once daily to help prevent their iodine levels from being too low.

#9) Do you travel with your dog to Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, or the suburbs? We have begun to see an increase in incidence of diseases transmitted by ticks in recent years, and in many cases, the history in positive patients indicates a recent trip to Michigan, Wisconsin, or Indiana.  To help prevent problems, it is critical to use Certifect®, Frontline Plus®, or other quality tick control products regularly to kill ticks and prevent their ability to attach to your dog.  While we can prevent transmission of these diseases by killing the ticks, we may also want to consider vaccinating your dog for Lyme disease.  We recommend discussing whether you should vaccinate for this disease with your dog’s veterinarian.  During your pets annual wellness visit this year, we’ll be reviewing our recommendations and your pet’s lifestyle risks.

#8) Digital x-ray technology improves our ability to diagnose your pet.  Using digital x-ray technology has allowed us to capture better quality images in less time.  In addition, we are now able to send your pet’s x-rays electronically to a radiology specialist for review.  While we are not doing this for every pet, if your doctor feels your pet’s x-rays should be reviewed by a board certified radiologist, you will be given the choice of doing this, receiving results in as early as 4 hours after the x-rays are sent.

#7) Certifect® has arrived!  Merial®, the makers of Frontline Plus®, have released a new product with superior tick repellent and killing power.  We consider this product, Certifect®, to be Frontline Plus® on steroids when it comes to its tick protection capabilities. It offers the same action as Frontline Plus® against fleas on the pet and in the home, but the addition of a small amount of a product called Amitraz allows it to not only kill ticks more effectively, it also causes ticks that are already attached to detach within 6 hours.  This product can be safely used in homes with both dogs and cats, though it cannot be used directly on cats.  We will be asking all of our clients to review their parastie control plans as you come in for your pet’s wellness appointments this year. 

#6) We now recommend Advantage Multi® as the Heartworm Preventive for your cat.  Our doctors have taken some time to re-evaluate our heartworm prevention recommendations for your feline family members, and we have decided to change our recommendation for regular heartworm prevention in your cats to Advantage Multi®.  Don’t worry if you still have your cat on a different product. Go ahead and finish what you have and we will simply refill your prescription with the new Advantage Multi® when you’re due.   Remember, all cats, indoor and outdoor, should be on heartworm preventive year round for full protection.  

#5) Are you on Facebook? Mid North Animal Hospital now has a Facebook page too.   We’ll keep this page up to date with breaking news, so be sure to look us up and “Like” us to receive your regular updates.

#4) We’re taking a quick break to pat ourselves on the back! Mid North Animal Hospital just passed our reaccreditation inspection from AAHA, the American Animal Hospital Association. Only 3,200 veterinary hospitals nationally and in Canada are accredited. This accreditation is voluntary and asks us to meet 900 standards for pet care, facility quality, and client service and record keeping.  We undergo reaccreditation every three years.  Being sure your pet is being treated in an AAHA practice insures that you are working with a team dedicated to the top quality of care and service for you and your pet.  We thought we’d share some specific points our inspector made, and we hope you agree: “The staff exhibited admirable teamwork; The practice exemplifies good implementation of the AAHA standards of excellence; The hospital is sparkling clean and fresh smelling,”   We are excited to have been re-certified, and make the commitment to you, our client, to continue to strive to meet the highest standards of veterinary care. Take a moment to congratulate one of our hard-working staff today!

#3) We are excited to announce that Mid North has chosen to join the Animal Emergency and Treatment Center (AETC) Partners Network! What does this mean for you? This partnership brings many cost saving benefits to you, our clients.  AETC, a state of the art emergency and specialty center, will not charge our clients an emergency office visit for routine after hours care, such as minor incision issues and vaccination reactions.  They will only charge you for any additional medications or procedures they may need to perform, just as we would.  If we need to transfer your pet to AETC from our office at any time, there will be no transfer fee.  These significant savings help us to provide the best possible care for you and your family member.  So, when you call AETC after hours at 773-516-5800, be sure to mention you are a client of Mid North Animal Hospital to receive these benefits.

#2)  Happy 20th Anniversary Dr. Schnoor! Mid North invites you to help celebrate Dr. Schnoor’s twentieth anniversary with Mid North Animal Hospital.  Hard to believe 20 years has gone by so quickly!  As a token of our appreciation for her years of service, the staff and hospital gave Dr. Schnoor a new digital stethoscope which can record heart sounds for future reference.  (One side benefit is that it helps both doctors, whose ears are getting a little older, to hear those heart sounds better.  Do you have a special memory of Dr. Schnoor or something you’ve always wanted to thank her for helping you with?  We invite you to send your best wishes and memories to her on this milestone. We’ll put them all together and be sure she gets all of them!

#1)  Thank you for your continued support over the year!