It is Christmastime: a time of reminiscence for Christmastimes past, a time to be with family creating new memories. What better time of year to include a very important part of our families, our pets, in our activities during this season of joy and giving?
Read this story in the ObserverLast week, we at the Dunkirk Animal Clinic decided to accept donations for the pet victims of Hurricane Sandy. Kathy Raab, surgical technician for the clinic organized the food drive by contacting the Red Cross in Jamestown to see if they were accepting pet supplies for the hurricane victims. Kathy was directed to Deacon Fred Johnson who would be driving a truck donated by Regal Services Co. of Ripley. The truck was to leave Friday of last week and would be taking any supplies donated by the community for people and their pets. A notice was placed in the Observer on Tuesday of last week and by Friday our clinic had acquired over 3 carloads of food, treats, carriers, leashes, collars, toys, pet bedding, food dishes, and much more. We were thrilled to see the generosity of the community in such a short period of time. We are so grateful and thankful for all those individuals who very willingly gave to the hundreds of homeless pets and the organizations rescuing these pets and reuniting them with their owners. Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts! On this week of Thanksgiving, it is wonderful to see people giving back to those in need!
Sincerely,
Dr Rebekah Frost and the staff of the Dunkirk Animal Clinic
Maizy, Dr. Frost and Chili
Our crazy Maizy
Maizy joined our family at 4 months of age – all legs, hair, and drooly tongue. She was one of the newest fads, mixing two purebred dogs to try and get the best traits of both. She was a happy- go-lucky goldendoodle, one of eight pups from a golden retriever mother and standard poodle father. The goal of mixing the two was to get a non-shedding dog with both brains and personality, and boy, did Maizy have the personality!
As she continued to grow, she never really got used to her long lanky legs. She would run across the yard after my kids, trip over her own feet, and land on her back. She would come down the stairs from our bedroom, miss a step, and go head first down the flight of stairs “clunk, clunk, clunk!” Besides knocking the kids over accidentally on occasion, she was always good with them, allowing my 3-year-old daughter to grab her by the hair on top of her head and lead her to trouble.
“Come on, Maizy,” my daughter would say. “Let’s go!”
We’re Working with Local Fire DepartmentsDr. Frost and Veterinary Surgical Assistant Kathy Raab have been busy donating free sets of pet oxygen recovery masks to area fire departments to keep on hand. The masks are designed to provide vital first aid specifically for pets. We obtained 10 sets from HELP Animals Inc., a Florida-based vendor who donates part of the sales of the rescue masks to animal shelters.
Read all about it in the Observer Today article:
Pet-saving Equipment: Animal Clinic Donates to Area Fire Departments
The month of September is Rabies Awareness Month and Sept. 28 is World Rabies Awareness Day. Rabies is a deadly zoonotic disease that can be easily spread from animals to humans. A zoonotic disease is any infectious disease that can be transmitted across species particularly from animals to humans.
There are many zoonotic diseases today and it is believed that many of our modern diseases started as a zoonotic disease. Zoonoses can also relate to a disease spread between animals and humans by way of a common vector or an agent that carries the disease. Below, I am going to discuss the most common zoonoses in small animal veterinary medicine and how you can protect you and your family.