Career Fair Fun

Where can you see a veterinarian, a chiropractor, a tax accountant, a fireman and a United States Marine all in the same room?  At the Utica Schools Career Expo!

Tomorrow night (March 21) I will be packing up a few of my veterinary technician friends and a box of pamphlets, photos and some worms in jars, to head off to the annual career fair.  Once there, we will set up our table and try to look as interesting as we possibly can, so crowds of children and their parents will stop by to ask us questions.  We will even have a basket of candy to attract those who may just stop by for the sweets.   We want as many people as possible to talk to us because, who wants to have the job that no one cares about?  We all want to have a popular career right?

Thankfully for us, many people love animals and will stop by our booth just to talk about their pets. That gives us an advantage over our non-animal career friends.  We also have a few little pets of our own to attract the younger kids. We talk about how much fun it is to visit with cute puppies and kitties each day and how we love returning ill pets to their families feeling healthier than they were when we met them.  We really get to save lives and enjoy what we do every day.

We usually have them convinced that our career is the BEST until they ask the magic question. "How many years do you have to go to college?"  When I say "eight years"  I lose a lot of them.  Their eyes glaze over thinking of the years of studying, and their parents drag them away shaking their heads with thoughts of the impending debt.  If I can convince a few brave souls that my career is worth the mental and financial sacrifice, I may just get some new colleagues out of it.  At any rate, the career fair is loads of fun.  Educating the public about the variety of things that we do each day and showing off the complexity of our profession is both an honor and a privilege.

If you are in the neighborhood tomorrow night, stop by to see us. We would love to see you and your family, and answer all of your veterinary questions.  The career fair is at Eisenhower High School.

Hope to see you there!

Dr. Cappel and the team at Warren Woods Veterinary Hospital.

Leftover Cats

As we approach spring, I feel a slight sense of trepidation because I know it is the beginning of kitten season.  Unwanted kittens will once again flood our office and we will spend countless hours bottle feeding, bathing, cleaning litter boxes and finding homes for the litters of unwanted kittens that will be rescued by our wonderful caring clients and soft hearted employees.  

Cats breed in the spring, so kittens are often found under decks, in car engines, in garages and even in the homes of people that didn't spay their pets.  Each year we raise and adopt these homeless babies without the help of a rescue agency or any government funds. We do it because we love animals and want to make a positive contribution to the people and pets in our community.  It is a wonderfully rewarding thing to do -  to take sick and starving day old kittens and tube feed, bottle feed, medicate and love them into beautiful healthy adoptable kittens and cats ready for new homes.  The only down side to the process is the lack of normal sleep that we get when we have a litter to raise and the adult cats that are sometimes leftover.  The mothers or older kittens that are found don't always get homes.    So each year we are left with a couple of beautiful adult cats that don't get adopted.  

These cats continue to reside at Warren Woods Veterinary Hospital waiting for that right person to come in and notice that they would make great pets.  They are all spayed and neutered, vaccinated and tested for Felv and FIV.  They are well socialized and are great with people because they have spent a lot of time with the WWVH team.  

If you have room in your home for one more sweet soul, please go to our website (www.wwvhcares.com)  or our facebook page and see who we have to offer.  It would be great if all of our homeless cats could find homes this year.  They don't like being leftovers.

Also, remember to spay and neuter your cats and dogs so we don't get any more unwanted pets out on the streets. 

Looking forward to spring with a great money saving offer from Merial

Today did not feel like spring, with winds over 20 miles and hour and a temperature of below 30 degrees, however the sunshine made me think that spring is just around the corner.  What does that mean for Warren Woods Veterinary Hospital?  It means more focus on parasite control, heartworm disease prevention and spring/summer allergies.  Veterinary hospitals focus more on these things during the spring and summer months because we are presented with more opportunity to do so.  Fleas, Ticks and Heartworm are seen each year and it is upsetting because these diseases are easily prevented.

 For example there is a new promotion from the makers of Heartgard and Frontline.  The company (Merial) that makes these products, comes up with new and better ways to promote the use of these preventative medications by coming up with better coupons each year.  There are so many products on the market now that they are forced to compete aggressively.  That is great news for the consumer. Last year the company offered $12 coupon/rebate for the purchase of 12 doses of Heargard.  This year they are offering the same $12 coupon with an added $25.00 immediate coupon off the purchase price of 12 doses of Heartgard with 6 doses of Frontline.  That is a $37.00 savings and with that offer comes 2 extra doses of Frontline.  All total a person will save close to $57.00.   That is a great savings and makes these products cheaper to get from a veterinary hospital than to buy over the counter or online.   The good news for veterinarians and clients of veterinarians is that we can get these superior products for a better price and when you buy from your veterinarian you know that the product is coming directly from Merial and not through a broker or overseas supplier.  The company guarantees and backs these products only if they are sold through a legitimate provider.    There are many products on the market that claim to prevent fleas, ticks, heartworm and internal parasites.  Heartgard and Frontline have been around for years and they are some of the safest and most successful products on the market.  I have used them on all of my dogs and cats for at least the past 10 years.  Ask your veterinarian about this great money saving offer from Merial.  (I don't work for the company-I just think it is a great offer)

Have a parasite free summer with your dogs and cats.