The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) is an international association of more than 32,000 veterinary care providers who treat companion animals. Established in 1933, AAHA is well known among veterinarians and pet owners for its standards for hospital and pet health care. Over 3,000 veterinary hospitals voluntarily participate in the AAHA hospital evaluation program. Trained consultants regularly visit these hospitals to ensure compliance with AAHA's standards for services and facilities. Individual veterinarians can also be members of AAHA. AAHA reminds pet owners that they can help pets live healthier and longer lives by taking their pets to the veterinarian for annual physical exams, vaccinations, and dental care. As well as providing pets with fresh water, a balanced diet, and exercise. Heartland Veterinary Hospital is proud to be an accredited member of the American Animal Hospital Association. Our accreditation demonstrates our commitment to the highest standards of veterinary care. AAHA regularly inspects our hospital to ensure that we comply with the Association's standards for our facilities, equipment, and quality procedures. AAHA standards are recognized around the world as the benchmark for quality care in veterinary medicine. Our staff consists of a group of people that believe veterinary medicine is not just their job but their way of life. The entire staff attends continuing education seminars every year so we can provide the best up to date care possible for your pet. We love all animals and feel that without them in our lives we would be less complete and lack fulfillment. We have fun while we work and love to watch the antics of our house cats on their kitty climbing tree or our clinic dogs while they play with their favorite toy. We treat our clients like friends and their pets like our own. We can't help but smile when you see us because we get to come to our job but we would never call it "work". See you soon, Your friends at Heartland. Stop in and visit with our amazing adoptees! A new pet can provide you and your family with more unconditional love than you can imagine. Careful research and planning are essential to being a pet owner. It requires more than just providing adequate water and shelter. A pet is a lifetime commitment and should not be taken lightly. By becoming a pet parent, you take on the responsibility to care for their health and well being. This commitment includes providing your pet with proper healthcare, grooming, pet training, nutrition, and socialization, as well as spending quality time with your pet. You're about to make an important decision! In order to select the best fit for your lifestyle, Heartland technicians will inquire about such things as: Your schedule It is important to be realistic about how much time you have to give to a pet. How much time do you spend away from home? Children Are they old enough to interact with a dog or cat responsibly without hurting themselves or the animal? Companion pets Gather information on your pets likes and dislikes when it comes to compatibility with other pets. For instance, some cats don't mind dogs; others are terrified of them. Exercise and elimination accommodations Some dogs may require a fenced yard. Landlord permissions Rental units may have restrictions on pets. Cost The average life span of a dog can be 10-15 years, and that of an indoor cat can even be longer (up to 20 years). Your pet will need regular veterinary care, a nutritious pet food, toys, a crate, a pet carrier and other miscellaneous supplies. If you choose a special needs adoption, please think about the ongoing medical care for their entire life. Adoption Fee All fees and donations go directly to cover the cost of the care of the animals. You will pay a non-refundable fee for either a dog or cat and sign an adoption contract. The adoption cost includes: Spay/neuter First set of vaccines Dewormer Heartworm test One month of heartworm prevention A gift certificate good for one six week course of dog obedience 1 8 lb. bag of IVD Development puppy or a 4 lb. bag of IVD Development kitten food Feline Leukemia & AIDS Test Boarding is the answer. Our staff and kennels provide the security you need to enjoy your time away from home. Bring special toys, blankets, bones, diet and medications for your pets stay. Visit our facility and ask one of our staff members to give you a tour of our distinctive kennel area and play yard. We all want to own a well behaved dog that listens to us and follows our commands. This is accomplished by teaching your dog basic commands and by showing the dog how to perform the commands correctly and quickly. Training is recommended for dogs 5 months or older and is one night a week for 6 weeks. Behavioral problems such as jumping, biting and barking can be discussed. Obedience Can: Create a stronger bond between you and your dog Reduce the amount of stress on your dog, enabling him to live a longer, happier life Make your dog accepted in today's society and family structures Help you understand your dog better and more accurately predict your dog's reactions to new stimuli and environments Training Goals: Create a fun learning environment for everyone involved Reduce the number of dogs confined to outdoor living or shuffled from owner to owner Reduce the number of pets euthanized every year due to behavior problems The next Basic Obedience class will be held on Tuesday April 12, 2005 at 6:15 pm and 7:15 pm with the Orientation Night on Monday April 11, 2005 at 6:15 pm. Orientation Night You will be reviewing the course rules, lay out and the type of collar needed for class. Be ready to have a mind-boggling good time with your dog. Let's Go Sit Down Heel Come Stay All dogs and cats need regular grooming, but some need it more than others. Other furry pets such as long haired guinea pigs need grooming too. Dogs and cats can develop mats that can pull tender skin and cause pain that leads to hot spots or wounds. This can result in infection, fungus or insect invasion. Shaving may be the only solution for mats that have grown tight to the skin causing further irritation. Some breeds that need frequent grooming to prevent matting and to keep their coats healthy include: • Cocker Spaniel • Great Pyrenees • Poodle • Samoyed • St. Bernard • Maltese • Pomeranian• Schnauzer• Shih Tzu • Yorkshire Terrier • Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier• Bichon Frise • Chow Chow • Keeshound • American Eskimo • Bearded Collie• Old English Sheepdog • Shetland Sheepdog Start puppies early to ensure grooming habits become well established. Puppies should be taught to sit, stand or lie down to have their bodies checked over. During grooming pets should have their ears checked for fungus and bacterial infections. Nail trims are a must. A dog that wiggles will sooner or later be quicked during a nail trim. Toe nails have a nerve and a blood supply. Nicking a nail can cause bleeding and become a negative experience for your pet. If you are considering buying a new puppy or kitten, be aware that a pet with a long coat will require grooming throughout its life. Grooming can be a positive and bonding time for your pet and their groomer. Call or stop in today. Fleas and ticks are tiny creatures that can inflict misery on your pet. Fleas can cause flea allergy dermatitis and tape worms. They can also cause anemia in young, old or ill animals. Ticks can carry and transmit diseases, including Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. For every flea you see on your pet there are probably a hundred more in your pet's environment. If your pet is indoors most of the day, that could mean your carpet, drapes, and furniture. Dogs or cats can get fleas and/or ticks from any animal that they may come in contact with. Here are a few flea and tick facts: The United States has about 200 species of ticks and more than 22 species of fleas. A flea can lay up to 50 eggs a day. Some tick species lay 100 eggs at a time, others as many as 6,000. One flea can bite a dog or cat more than 400 times in a single day. An adult flea can live up to four months, but flea larvae can live in the enviornment for more than a year. Some ticks can take up to several years to complete their life cycle. This problem can be kept under control with a little vigilance on your part. Our winters in Kentucky do not stay below freezing long enough to kill fleas, their larvae and ticks. We recommend that you keep your pet on year round flea and tick prevention. Our staff members can give you a spell binding update on the best prevention for your pet. Stop by or call today. At our hospital, it isn't unusual to find one of our technicians sitting in a cage rocking and cradling a sick dog, carrying on a conversation with a homesick talkative bird, fluffing a pillow for a sleepy puppy, or carrying around a recovering surgical patient in a baby sling to monitor it's vitals more closely. In fact, it's just a normal day at Heartland. With hot water heating blankets, continuous EKG heart monitors, oxygen cages, and IV fluid pumps (just to name a few); we pride ourselves on the ability to give pets the most modern and innovative nursing care while maintaining a caring and compassionate relationship with them all. In human medicine, doctors can become board certified in many specialties and specific conditions. It is the same in veterinary medicine. If your pet were to require the skills of a specialist, we have close relationships with many board certified specialty veterinarians, most within 1 hour of our hospital. We would perform a phone consultation and if needed a referral to a specialist based on you pet's individual needs. At Heartland Veterinary Hospital, our doctors have developed a Senior Health Plan to accompany your pet's routine yearly visit in an effort to maintain our older patient's wellness. This plan is designed to prevent or diagnose early forms of disease common among aging animals. Although your pet may show no signs of aging, their vital organs may tell a different story. Testing them on a yearly basis, we can establish baseline values and identify problems. Signs to watch for in your Senior Pet: Not acting like himself/herself Responding less often or less enthusiastically Changes in behavior/activity level Having difficulty jumping or climbing stairs Noticeably gaining or losing weight Drinking more often Urinating more often, or losing housetraining habits Confused or disorientated Changing hair coat, skin or new lumps or bumps Bad breath/swollen gums Physical Exam allows our veterinarians to evaluate your pets: • Eyes • Ears • Teeth/gums• Lymph nodes • Skin/fur• Heart/lungs • Vital organs • Hips/joints General Health Panel, Complete Blood County and Electrolyte Panel can identify health risks such as liver disease, diabetes, cholesterol and any imbalances that can effect the heart and other vital organs, before they become evident. Urinalysis/Cystocentesis allows our veterinarians to see how the kidneys are functioning and can detect crystals, bacteria or other abnormalities in the urine. Thyroid Test measures the level of thyroid hormone in the blood. Thyroid disease can occur in both dogs and cats and can have a serious impact on health if left untreated. Electrocardiogram (EKG) can detect certain abnormal rhythms and heart rates not found during the physical exam. Radiographs are x-rays that will show the size and shape of the heart, clearness of the lungs and/or arthritis. At Heartland, we treat your pet as if he/she were our own. All surgical patients (regardless of the type of procedure) have I.V. catheters and fluids, pre-surgical pain medication, and take home pain medication as a requirement, in order to ensure a pain free experience and a smooth recovery. We assess any risk factors in your pet with pre-surgical bloodwork and EKG's, pre-anesthetic physical examinations by our doctors, and a good medical history. We use the safest and most effective fast acting anesthetics and long lasting pain control. We use the newest anesthesia monitors that will regularly check your pet's blood pressure, oxygen level, heart rate, heart rhythm, and body temperature. If your pet is having a dental cleaning or oral surgery, we take dental x-rays of the entire mouth using our dental x-ray unit and catch problems early in the mouth, under the gums, where no one can see. While your pet is recovering from their procedure, one of our veterinary nurses will be by his or her side, monitoring it's vitals and providing them comfort, until your pet is sitting or standing up. We wouldn't want our pets to be alone during that period and neither will yours.