Winter 2011/2012 

    Congratulations Team NWPC     

Northwest Pet Clinic PLLC has again received accreditation following a comprehensive evaluation by the American Animal Hospital Association. The evaluation includes a quality assessment review of the hospital’s facility, medical equipment, practice methods and pet healthcare management.

Only 15 percent of all small animal veterinary practices in the U.S. have achieved accreditation by the American Animal Hospital Association. In order to maintain accredited status, Northwest Pet Clinic must continue to be evaluated regularly by the association’s consultants.

“Northwest Pet Clinic PLLC belongs to a select group of practices that are committed to meeting the standard of veterinary excellence,” says Gregg Takashima, DVM, AAHA president. “AAHA hospitals pass a stringent evaluation of over 900 standards covering patient care, client service and medical protocols. By attaining accreditation, Your Animal Hospital is demonstrating its dedication to offering the best care to its patients and clients.”

Established in 1933, the American Animal Hospital Association is the only organization that accredits veterinary practices throughout the U.S. and Canada for dedication to high standards of veterinary care.

Approximately 3,200 AAHA-accredited practices pass regular reviews of AAHA’s stringent accreditation standards that cover patient care, client service and medical protocols.

Congratulations are in order for the owners, managers, and the entire staff of Northwest Pet Clinic for continuing to improve their practice and the level of care that they provide. 

NEW HOURS IN 2012

Northwest Pet Clinic provides its community compassionate care 7 days a week.  In January 2012 we are expanding our hours to 8:00-5:00 pm on Sundays and will keep the door open an extra hour during the week.  Our new Weekday hours will be from 7:30 am to 9:00 pm.  Our clients share their gratitude for our extended hours and our urgent care operations.  It very important that we respond to our clients needs, if you have any feedback or suggestions please contact our hospital administrator Gary Zimnoch via email gary@nwpetclinic.com or give him a call at the practice 520.742.4148 ext.400.

Introducing Positive Paws Canine Behavioral Health Center's NEW TRAINER!! 

We would like to welcome Angel Holewa as Northwest Pet Clinic's newest professional pet trainer!

Angel has trained professionally since 2008 with Petsmart’s accredited pet training program.

Angel is a Tucson native, and has spent her life developing canine handling skills from fostering, dog grooming, and AKC shows at a young age.

As a lead trainer, Angel has come across a diverse spectrum of dog breeds and behaviors. In addition to conducting successful puppy classes, she has also taught adult dog beginner courses, and even expanded to advance skill building classes and fun trick teaching!

Angel has helped pet owners resolve adjusting issues ranging from anxiety and aggression, to behavior problems resulting from trauma or human-dog miscommunications.

Believing exclusively in positive reinforcement techniques, Angel has been a trusted trainer for a large group of southwestern pet owners.

Angel has partnered with her clients and their pets to reach goals such as passing service dog requirements through Delta (www.deltasociety.org), or obedience certifications such as AKC's Canine Good Citizen (www.akc.org.).   She has also given pets and owners guidance through fun activities such as agility and herding.  Most of all Angel has focused on preserving the wonderful bond between family and pet.

Angel’s primary objective is to serve as a trusted source of knowledge regarding training and behavioral health at Northwest Pet Clinic. Angel holds a strong belief in positive, reward based training methods that have been developed from proven behavior science. She is excited to share her knowledge and skills with pet owners to help enhance their bond with their furry family members.

Angel carries a humorous, bright, intelligent attitude which will give you and your pooch trust in our knowledge here at Northwest Pet Clinic, PLLC! Schedule a consultation to meet her and get started!

FDA Warns Against Purchasing Pet Drugs Online – Northwest Pet Clinic finds solution with Vetsource

The FDA recently issued a warning to pet owners about purchasing medications for their pets from online pharmacies. The FDA reports that they have found internet pharmacies that sell counter-feit drugs, expired drugs, make fraudulent claims about the drugs, and even sell drugs that have not been FDA approved. They also find that some of the internet pharmacies will dispense medications without a prescription from the veterinarian, which can be a dangerous health risk to pets.

Dr. Martine Hartogensis, deputy director of the Office of Surveillance and Compliance in the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine warns, "Pet owners who purchase drugs from these com-panies may think they are saving money, …ut in reality, they may be short-changing their pet’s health and putting its life at risk."

There are ways to save money by ordering online, but it’s important that it be done safely. The FDA recommends following some guidelines: First, make sure that you have a prescription from your veterinarian – or that your veterinarian approves the prescription. Here at Northwest Pet Clinic, when we receive a faxed request for a prescription from an online pharmacy, a doctor reviews the prescription and the patient’s file, to be sure there are no medication interactions, that the dose is appropriate, etc. We also make sure that your pet is receiving proper follow-up care.  

Certain kinds of medications (such as arthritis or heart medications) it may involve monitoring blood tests to check organ function, and screen for side effects. Maintaining this veterinarian-client-patient relationship is vital to the health and safety of your pet, especially when your pet takes medications on a regular basis.

Another recommendation for safe online medication purchasing for your pet is to use an outsourced prescription management service through your veterinarian. Northwest Pet Clinic has recently developed a relationship with Vet-source, which is an online pharmacy service provided by one of our reputable, licensed distributors - Webster Veterinary Supply. Vetsource was established as a compromise between the low prices and convenience of the online pharmacy, and the safety and accuracy of medications dispensed by the veterinary clinic. The advantage of outsourced prescription management services, such as Vetsource, is that they work directly with the veterinarian to make sure that the prescriptions are appropriate and correct. Also, using Vetsource means that the medica-tions you receive for your pet are from the same distributor that we use to supply medications for the hospital, so we are confident in the quality and safety of the products. Vetsource also checks prices of other online pharmacies on a regular basis, and adjusts prices to match them when needed – this ensures that you get your pets’ medicines for a competitive price. You can access Vetsource from the link on our website.

Finally, if you decide to use an online pharmacy aside from Vetsource, make sure that it is Vet-VIPPS accredited. These accredited companies are required to adhere to strict guidelines established by the National Boards of Phar-macy. You should see the Vet-VIPPS seal on the pharmacy’s website if they are accredited.

New Website Enhances Access to Information

We at Northwest Pet Clinic are delighted to announce that our new website will be launched in mid November. We have been working closely with our website development com-pany, and expect that you will be pleased with the result. Some of the highlights and changes you will see are: more specific information about our services, as well as pictures of the staff and some of the procedures we perform; links to Healthy Pet U – a very extensive and informative searchable website; and online forms (such as registration forms for new pets).

Our website will continue to have a link to Care Credit, where you can fill out an online application for a Care Credit ac-count. Care Credit offers a variety of terms and interest rates (some of them interest free) to help you find the method of payment for your pets’ care that suits your budget.

We will have a link to Vetsource, an online pharmacy. This pharmacy is a division of one of our medical supply distribu-tors, and can deliver medications (and even prescription di-ets) to your doorstep. Vetsource also regularly checks prices of other online pharmacies to keep their prices competitive.

You can also follow a link to visit our Facebook page, which we keep updated with information, interesting tidbits.

Pet Transport Unit Provides Easier Access to Veterinary Care

 

Having trouble getting your pet into the car? Is it diffi-cult for you to find time to bring your pet in for an ap-pointment? Hate fighting traffic? Don’t have a car? We have a solution to your veterinary pet transportation needs – the Northwest Pet Clinic Pet Transport Unit!

For routine appointments, we will be in a designated area of Tucson on each weekday. We will pick up pets in the morning, and transport them to the Clinic. Once at the clinic, your pet will be examined by a doctor, and all requested procedures performed. The doctor will call you to discuss his/her examination findings and any further recommendations. We can take payment via credit card over the phone if you desire. In the eve-ning, the pets will be returned home.

We can also transport your pet to the clinic if there is an urgent medical problem that arises. Once at the clinic, the doctor will examine the pet, call you to discuss the his/her condition, and make recommendations for diag-nostic tests and treatments. For these cases, we will arrange a specific time to return the pet home, or we may keep the pet in the hospital, or even transport him/her to the 24-hour care facility for further treatment or hospitalization. Transport for urgent care is dependent on schedule availability. We are not able to transport pet owners.

The Northwest Pet Clinic Pet Transport Unit is an ex-ample of our commitment to customer service and patient care. We want to be certain that all pets get the medical treatments they need and deserve, and minimize stress on their owners.

Thank you for your referrals of family & friends.

We welcome the addition of new patients to

our clinic

Safe Travel For Your Pet

Traveling with your pet can be a fun adventure. Ad-vance preparation is the best way to ensure that the trip is the most fun and least stressful for everyone. Here is some information to consider in order to be ready and prepared for a great vacation with your whole family.

Airline travel is practical for small pets. Domestic air-lines allow pets under 15 pounds to travel in the cabin of the plane. It is important to have the pet in a carrier that will fit under the seat of the plane – check with the airline for size recommendations. Be sure to mention your pet when making the flight reservation – there are sometimes limited numbers of pets allowed on a flight, and it usually costs extra. Most airlines require a USDA health certificate for travel on the plane. This is obtained through a veterinarian. Check with the airline as to how many days before travel the health certificate needs to be issued, and for how long it is valid. Also, the different states have differing vaccine requirements, so be prepared to booster vaccines be-fore you travel – your veterinarian will help you find the requirements. You may need to consider tranquil-izers for your pet, if he/she is not used to airline travel. Ask the airline if it allows sedated pets prior to re-questing medications from your veterinarian. For in-ternational travel, there can be complex requirements for animals entering from another country. It is very important to learn these requirements as early as pos-sible, as some countries have very specific and time sensitive protocols. The USDA database has informa-tion for most countries regarding travel with pets. To search the database, go to www.aphis.usda.gov.

There are many places in the U.S. that are pet friendly. Some helpful websites to help you find the best locations to travel with pets are: www.petswelcome.com, and www.dogfriendly.com.

Keeping in mind that dogs are not always accustomed to traveling, and may be anxious when taken outside of their environment, here are some behaviors that, if made part of your dog’s training regimen, will help your dog enjoy his/her vacation, and to keep it as safe as possible:

1. Walk on a loose leash - You want your dog to walk beside you, without pulling, especially if you are also trying to manage luggage, etc.

2. Come when called - This can be a life-saving com-mand if there are hazards such as traffic.

3. How to learn new behaviors, and get comfortable with new objects – If you accustom your dog to listen-ing to you and responding to treats when encountering new or scary objects, then you will have a dog who is relaxed and calm when in a new environment.

4. Riding calmly in a vehicle – Getting your dog used to traveling in a car will avoid panicking and carsick-ness, and allow your dog and you to enjoy the trip.

5. How to rest calmly in a crate – You may not be able to take your dog with you everywhere. A well crate trained dog will be comfortable and calm when left behind in his/her crate, even in a strange environ-ment.

6. Wait at doors for permission to exit – If you and your dog are staying somewhere with lots of people coming and going, you do not want your dog escaping unex-pectedly.

You can work with a trainer to help make these behav-iors part of your dog’s regular daily life. It will be useful in many aspects, not just for travel.

Some information for this article provided by Veterinary Information Network.