August FYI 2003
Remember to give your dog and cat its monthly heartworm medication
and to apply frontline plus flea and tick treatment
WE HAVE EXPANDED OUR regular appointment hours
to make it easier for you to schedule wellness and medical visits.
Monday through Saturday morning appointments start at 8 AM. We are
scheduling appointments from 12-2 PM Monday - Friday as well. On
Saturday we will be seeing regular appointments until 5 PM. Wednesday
and Thursday we will be scheduling appointments until 8 PM. We will
be able to admit and release boarders, medical cases and grooming
cases until 5 PM on Saturday as well. For those of you with busy
weekly schedules we are now making surgical and dental appointments
on Saturday. Our lab will be fully staffed on Saturday so that we
can offer our full range of advanced care. One of our five doctors
will continue to be on-call all day, every day should an emergency
occur. After hours, our tech staff remains in the building to provide
care and supervision to all our medical cases and boarding guests.
GROWING PAINS ARE EVIDENT everywhere you look
at Sylvania Vet. We are sorry for the inconvenience that this is
causing you. With five doctors and four exam rooms we sometimes
back-up because we do not have an exam room. This will be corrected
in the new hospital when we double our exam room space from four
to eight. In the mean time we are going to try to schedule every
service you request. Releases after hospital procedures are an area
we are going to work hard to schedule. Our schedule has been adjusted
to leave open spots to catch up, see the necessary walk-in emergency
and the unexpected delay with a case. One area we will not change
is that we will devote the time needed to answer your questions,
take a complete history and make our best possible recommendations
to you. If this thoroughness puts us behind we hope you understand
that when your pet needs similar attention it will get it. We are
also working hard to adapt to our new computerized scheduling. To
help this along we have added two new computer stations. If we know
we are running late we will try hard to call you or inform you when
you arrive about the delay and let YOU decide if you wish to wait.
NEW HOSPITAL PROJECT is progressing but is
a bit behind schedule. When the Willson Brothers Construction Company
started construction an optimistic completion date of November 13
was established. During our first two months of building weather
delays, material arrival delays and subcontractor late arrivals
have caused our project to fall two weeks behind. We now hope to
pick up a week and be open for Thanksgiving but occupancy in early
December is now probable. By September 1 we should have a realistic
assessment to be able to take boarding reservations for Thanksgiving
in the new facility. For sure we will be taking Christmas and New
Year reservations for the new cat and dog boarding facilities.
"CATAMINIUM" PROTOTYPE to be delivered
by August 10. We will be displaying our state of the art cat boarding
enclosure in the retail space. Designed by Dr. Bob and built by
a local firm, 2 Scale, the large cat-housing unit will make our
feline friends' boarding visit stimulating and relaxing. The cataminium
design creates a space 30" x 30" x 80" with multiple
levels, resting shelves, a sleeping loft and separate litter box
room. A picture window overlooking a bird garden will be provided
for each housing unit. Up to three cats from the same family will
be able to comfortably reside in one of our "cataminiums".
SYNTHETIC PHEROMONE PRODUCTS are now available
to help our dog and cat patients deal with stress and anxiety. D.A.P.
is the product that is marketed as a plug-in that releases Dog Appeasing
Pheromone for up to one month. D.A.P. is synthesized from a component
of canine milk, which has a calming effect on nursing puppies. We
have observed improvement in dogs with separation anxiety and fear
of storms. We are trying this new, unique product for several other
canine behavior problems. Feliway has been on the market for several
years and we have used it for stressed cats and cats with litter
box or spraying issues. Feliway is produced to be similar to a hormone
released from the facial marking gland. Depositing this chemical
is why cats rub their face against wall, furniture or legs. Initially,
Feliway came in a liquid spray bottle. It now comes a plug-in, similar
to a Glade plug-in. We intend to use Feliway plug-ins in our cat
boarding and cat hospital room in the new hospital.
COMPLIMENTS ARE GREAT and always appreciated.
When you have a good experience please pass along your good thoughts
to anyone on the staff. We share these comments at our monthly staff
meetings. If, on the other hand, we don't measure up to your expectations
please call Dr. Bob and share your thoughts. Compliments buoy our
spirits but constructive criticism helps us improve. Dr Bob will
thank you for sharing your thoughts with him. He takes each concern
seriously and has implemented changes that benefit all based on
one concern. In a nutshell, share your compliments with everyone
and share your concerns with Dr. Bob.
MS JOANN IS OUR MOUSE MAKER. A retired housewife
uses her sewing skill to make the cute and enjoyable cat nip mice
that we sell at the front desk. We sell between 50-75 hand made
mice monthly. Anyone have a great idea for a similar point of sale
object for dogs?
LATE SUMMER AND FALL is the prime time for
seasonal allergies in our pets, mostly dogs. Allergic dogs are usually
itchy, lick their feet, have recurrent ear infections, bite their
tailhead and lick their abdomen. Infection is a common secondary
problem associated with seasonal allergies. Most dogs with severe
allergies require medication to control their itching. A steroid,
cortisone, is the most effective allergy medication. Antihistamines
are used but are not as predictably effective in controlling the
signs of allergy. If your dog is itching enough to wake you up at
night, pull out its hair or discolor the hair on its feet then it
needs medication. We will not prescribe medication without making
a diagnosis each year. Pets with year round itching may need a food
allergy elimination trial or allergy testing and hyposensitiszation.
FOR SALE (REAL ESTATE ONLY) sign is posted
in front of the hospital. Tom Grogan is our realtor. If you know
anyone looking for a building for their business, a great location
and a fair price for downtown Sylvania real estate, have them call
Tom Grogan or us. Moving a business from a strip mall, an office
building or an out of the way location to a well placed free standing
building will cause immediate growth and profitability. If the purchaser
of the building is from outside the City of Sylvania there will
be some tax credits provided by the city. You can help us and help
the purchaser if you help us find a new owner for the existing building.
DR LOVE has been with us less than one month.
She recently attended the AVMA national convention. She brought
back several good ideas for improving our avian and reptile care.
Dr. Lucas survived her first night on call after being called in
at 2 AM. She did great and the cat with respiratory difficulty survived.
We are proud of our new doctors. We know you will love their thorough,
caring approach to your pet's visit.
PET PARADE will be part of the Octoberfest
weekend in downtown Sylvania. Sylvania Veterinary Hospital will
be sponsoring the parade and will award prizes to the best-dressed
pets and their owners. Check with the hospital for more information
about the pet parade.
BOARDERS ARE EXAMINED every time they stay
with us by our overnight and weekend techs. This complimentary exam
is free and helps us ensure your pet is in the best health when
it stays with us. Additionally, we do not charge extra to administer
medication, give special diets or walk your dog outside. These value-added
services have made boarding at Sylvania Vet very popular.
DAY CARE COMPATABILITY exam reservations are
being taken. Though our first day care visit is several months away
Barb Harris is ready to do the initial entrance exams necessary
to be able to bring your pet to our new day care facility. Call
the office, 419-885-4421 to schedule an exam with Barb.
FALL OBEDIENCE AND PUPPY KINDERGARTEN CLASSES are
scheduled for September. Call Barb to get your dog signed up for
one of her classes. 
HAVE A GOOD AUGUST
WATCH THE HOT, HUMID WEATHER
