Meet Jeff Larsen!!! Our featured Employee of the week!

Jeff is another local to the SLO county area. He grew up in the Five Cities and joined our Customer Service Team in August 2010. Jeff has his two little dogs P-nut and Buddy (which including himself makes PB&J!) Becoming a Registered Veterinary Technician is one of Jeff’s goals along with earning degrees in accounting and dance. Jeff enjoys all performing arts, but is especially passionate about dance and choreography. He’s been dancing and putting together shows, dance concerts, and various other performances since the age of 15. Equally, he has developed the same love for marching band and colorguard. Jeff has performed with and taught several scholastic and independent marching units, including Arroyo Grande High School Marching Band and Colorguard, The Northern Lights Winterguard from Portland, Oregon and The Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps from Concord, California.

Tips to Make Your Pet More "Green"

Written by Richard Tao, DVM
Americans, particularly Californians, are considered innovators and early adopters of going green.  I am sure that we can all agree that a clean environment is better for ones health and that practicing energy efficiency can help bring huge cost savings.   Yet, how can going green also be carried over to owning pets?  After a bit of research I found that pet ownership, sadly, is not the most sustainable practice and that the most carbon neutral pet you can own is a goldfish!  Let’s face it.  Every day we plop giant bags of dog food and buckets of kitty litter into our gas guzzling SUVs and head over to the dog park to take Fluffy out to breathe in the fresh air.  Then we zoom over to Animal Care Clinic to pick up Fluffy’s heartworm preventative right before dropping her off at the day spa for a pedicure.  There’s no doubt we as pet owners can all do just a little bit more to help mother earth.
Fortunately, there are some simple steps we can take to help reduce our carbon footprint and Fluffy’s carbon pawprint.

1. Scoop the poop!  The first step is hopefully a no brainer.  Not only is proper disposal of your pets poop socially responsible it’s the healthy thing to do.  Use biodegradable bags instead of plastic bags that will take hundreds of years to break down.  I discovered some kitty litters are extracted from mines using incredibly destructive strip mining techniques.  Products made from renewable resources are a good alternative.  Flushable cat litters should be avoided.  New research suggests a link between parasites from cats to recent die-off marine mammals due to sewage run off.
2. Spay or neuter your pet.  Overcrowding in shelters is becoming an unfortunate reality.  Let’s help keep this tragic thing from happening.
3. Use sustainable goods.  That new squeaky toy for Fluffy on aisle 5.  Well it’s probably made from plastics in a toxic factory overseas.  Imagine freight cars full of rubbery and smelly squeaky toys floating in a container ship across the ocean just so Fluffy can tear it to shreds in the blink of an eye.  Then recall the hours of entertainment he had crawling in and out of the cardboard box it came in.  Cardboard box wins every time.
4. Plan your pet outings.  Those separate trips to the dog park, pet store, groomer, and veterinarian all add up to lots of gas.  Plan your route to group your pet outings together.  Most pet stores allow you to bring your leashed dog into the store so there isn’t a worry about leaving them in a hot car.

These are just some simple steps you can start right away.  I’m also happy to report that at Animal Care Clinic we are also taking steps to reduce our energy and resource consumption.  We recently upgraded our radiology equipment to a digital system eliminating the need for film and processing chemicals.  We’re also two years into a conversion to a near paperless record keeping system.  Whatever you do to help green your life.  Just know that even small steps can make huge differences.

Follow-up on Max (tumor birthing video)

Written by Bonnie Markoff, DVM, ABVP

The video of Max was taken several years ago, and due to our own technological advances we only recently have shared the video of Max and his 17-pound tumor.  Here’s what happened…

Max recovered beautifully.  The mass was a benign hematoma.  Over the next few days he gained energy and weight and within just a few weeks was back to his normal, beautiful self.  Max moved out of the area several years later and I had one call from the owner when his back went out – sounded like a spinal tumor, disc or other neuro issue.  I believe he died then.  He absolutely died of unrelated issues and it was at least 2 years later.  I think he was 9-10 years old when we did the surgery.  Pretty amazing!

To see the tumor birthing video, check it out on our You Tube page or on our Videos page at our website.

Animal Care Clinic goes Into Africa

By Bonnie Markoff, DVM, ABVP

I am off to Africa this week.   After a short time at home following my Mongolian Gobi desert trip, I am heading to Zambia.  Last year `I accompanied my dear friend as she travelled to Zambia to teach at the International School.  While I was there, I met a veterinarian and spent a week riding along on her calls.  I will join up with Dr. Allison again this year and am excited to see what adventures await me!

My favorite story from last year’s trip involved a case of rabies.  While Allison and I were out working with horses one day, two young boys wandered into the clinic area without their parent’s knowledge.  They snuck into the kennels and were playing with a young puppy.  One of the boys was bitten on the finger and luckily told one of the kennel attendants who washed his hand and sent him on his way.  Two days later the puppy started showing signs of rabies.  I have never seen a case of rabies in the states.  My brain went immediately to diagnostics.  In the US we would euthanize the dog and test its brain to confirm the diagnosis.  There are no facilities for that in Zambia and there was no doubt in Allison’s mind – this was rabies and we had to find this child or he would die.

We knew this was a white child and therefore could narrow down the possibilities of where he went to school.  A letter was sent to every principal, but we heard nothing.  The child had 7 days to start preventive vaccines.  After a few days of no word, Allison and I drove to every school and talked to the principals.  I was talking about the story every night at dinner with the teachers from the school where my friend was working.  Finally, on Friday (the sixth day!), we found the boy in the school where we were working!  He had not told his parents about the bite.  He got his vaccines in time.

Few Americans think about rabies.  In fact, most people see rabies vaccination and licensing of pets as an intrusion from our government.  I am certainly no proponent of over-vaccination, but I do believe that vaccines for horrible diseases like rabies are one of the greatest medical advances ever.  Over 50,000 people die of rabies every year.  The vast majority of these people are infected by the bite of an unvaccinated dog.  I hope to see broader use of the vaccine during this trip to Zambia.  Keep an eye on this site for an update from my trip when I return!

Presenting Amico's Firecracker, UCD

written by Marissa Greenberg, DVM

For those of you who read last week’s blog, you know that Mico and I were showing in obedience this weekend at the SLODOG United Kennel Club Show in Santa Maria.  Good news to report- Mico and I did well and received the last qualifying score we needed for him to earn his United Companion Dog Title!  We received the highest score we’ve gotten since we started showing a year ago.  Because his title was finished, I showed him once more this weekend just for the practice.  In this picture you’ll see him showing off his ribbons!  The small blue ones are the most important-they mean that we received a qualifying score.

Now that Mico is done with his United Kennel Club Novice title, we’ll be working on finishing the equivalent in the American Kennel Club.  We will show at the San Luis Obispo Kennel Club Show at the Paso Robles Event Center the 3^rd weekend in November.  We need one qualifying score there to finish his Companion Dog Title (CD).  Then we’ll spend the winter perfecting the skills we need to show in 2011 in the Open classes.

We hope everyone enjoyed the weekend and did something fun with their dogs, like Mico and I did!  And hopefully managed to stay cool, too!

Meet Ashley Ventimiglia! Our featured employee of the week!

Ashley grew up in Maui, Hawaii and is currently attending Cal Poly and Cuesta and majoring in Animal Science, concentrating in pre-vet and zoo/exotics. She has joined the veterinary nursing team at Animal Care Clinic in June 2010. Ashley has a Maltese, named Pilikia. She enjoys the beach, hanging out with friends, surfing, hip hop dancing, hiking and bowling. As Ashley is only 5 feet tall, she often referred to by friends as “short stack” or “fun size.”

Dr. Greenberg visits San Luis Obispo High School

Marissa Greenberg, DVM demos sterile surgery techniques

written by Marissa Greenberg, DVM

I’ve been given the opportunity to be a guest lecturer at Mrs. Anna Bates brand new veterinary science class at San Luis Obispo High School. Mrs. Bates' and I attended Cal Poly together, and she is now a very popular teacher in the Agriculture Education department at SLO High. When she started planning this class, she asked for my input on how to make it fun and exciting for the students. We have enjoyed working together to come up with ideas for this class. I’ll be visiting their class several times this trimester to give lectures or demonstrations. On my first visit, I brought my dog Mico with me to demonstrate some of the equipment we use to monitor anesthesia at Animal Care Clinic. On my second visit, I demonstrated sterile techniques used during surgery. Future visits will include lectures on wound healing, first aid, suturing, and bandaging, just to name a few!

By visiting the classroom, I hope to spark interest in the veterinary profession in these young minds. I also hope to educate them on other professions that are available to them if they don’t want to be a vet, but still want to work with animals. I also hope to help them realize the importance of their science and math education. In addition, I hope to share with them how much of my job is about working with people, not just the animals. The Agriculture Education Department and Future Farmers of America (FFA) do focus on teaching communication skills, and I hope that I can emphasize the importance of these skills in the veterinary profession as well.