Grab a cup of coffee, sit down and learn about issues and items that can affect your pet's health and help them to have a long and enjoyable life!
Cancer is an ugly disease. It has affected our beloved receptionist, Barb, and our wonderful veterinarian, Dr. Kalf. Both have bravely fought this disease, and for Dr. Kalf cancer recently reared its head again. She has been undergoing chemotherapy and, one side effect is hair loss. Veterinarian Dr. Ahalt wanted to show support for Dr. Kalf and agreed to shave his head in solidarity. Check out his reaction as the clippers get close to his head of thick curly hair!
Clare Ahalt Photography provided Jefferson Veterinary Hospital with some beautiful pet portraits for the new animal hospital! Our veterinarian, Dr. Ahalt, and a few friends helped to install them over this weekend! We hope that you enjoy these portraits as much as we do - we think that it makes the veterinary hospital look a little less clinical and more warm and welcoming for our clients and patients!
We are delighted to be in the new Jefferson Veterinary Hospital and are still overwhelmed at the support of the local community. We are looking for an opportunity to give back and provide some complimentary services, not just for our clients, but for everyone in the community. We are considering some ideas, such as a bereavement group, a kids pet vet educational group and a program for girl and boy scouts, and have put together a poll. If you have a moment and wouldn't mind taking less than a minute to let us know you thoughts as to our ideas, as well as provide your own, we would love to hear from you.
We had the ribbon cutting and open house at Frederick County Md's newest veterinary hospital and were overwhelmed by the attendance and support from the local community! We look forward to practicing many years of veterinary medicine at your newest, state of the art animal hospital and cannot wait to continue to give back to the local Frederick County MD community!
We did it! We moved in and have opened Frederick County's newest veterinary hospital! Veterinarians Dr. Ahalt and Dr. Kalf started seeing clients at 3850 Roundtree Road, Jefferson MD 21755 from Monday December 12, 2016. So far, everyone likes the space and amenities provided by the new animal hospital and we have received good feedback, which makes us very happy! We are having an open house on January 7, 2017 between 1-4pm and we would love to see you there to show you around!
Hear it here first! Frederick County's newest animal hospital will soon be opening! Owner and Veterinarian, Dr. Ahalt, is watching the finishing touches be made to his veterinary hospital and starting to work on the logistics of moving from the current building to the new location. Thankfully, it's not a far move, less than 1/2 a mile from door to door. You can see the progress of the construction of the new veterinary hospital here and an exterior of the newest veterinary hospital is pictured below!
Veterinarian, Dr. Ahalt, saw his first patient at the new veterinary hospital the other day. It was a Chihuahua called fluffy. Pet Vet Dr. Ahalt consulted with his veterinary textbook, which Doc. McStuffins so kindly leant to him, and diagnosed fluffy with a case of the stuffies. She just needed a little refill. The case got put down in the big book of boo boos and fluffy is feeling better now!
Jefferson Veterinary Hospital young patients, labrador puppies from YBR Farm, were the star models at a photography workshop held by internationally acclaimed photographer Elena Shumilova in Northern Virginia. Dr. Ahalt's wife, Clare, is a professional photographer (you can see her portfolio here and her work from the weekend here), and is always keen on furthering her education. She participated in the workshop and YBR farms kindly loaned their chocolate lab and yellow lab puppies to her for a couple of days over the Labor day weekend. The puppies were incredible and responded so well to the child models (Dr. Ahalt's daughter also modeled for the workshop). A selection of the images from some amazing photographers are below.
Fall has arrived and as the leaves change and temperatures drop pet owners may fall in a false thinking that their pets no longer need flea and tick prevention until next summer. Wrong! In fact, fall is one of the most prime times of the year to contract Lyme and other tick and flea borne diseases. “Urban wildlife, particularly the booming whitetail deer population, warming climates and ticks’ natural resilience means the threat of ticks, and the diseases they carry is on the rise in almost every part of the country.” (Source Frontline and Merial) Adult ticks generally become inactive at temperatures below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Until those type of temperatures arrive and remain in place for a period of time, adult ticks will continue to actively seek out new hosts and meals in order to complete their life cycle.
Don't let your pet become a host to fleas and ticks!
As for fleas, “the life cycle can lay more than 40 eggs per day during peak production. These eggs can hatch in 1-10 days, but pre-emerged fleas can survive in cocoons for weeks or months waiting on a suitable host.” (Source Frontline and Merial) Optimal conditions for fleas are between 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit and 70% humidity. So with the cooler temperatures of fall why should you worry about fleas? Well here’s why… During the summer your home air conditioning removes humidity from the air, lowering levels to less than optimal conditions for flea development. However, flea cocoons can remain dormant and hidden during this time. Then the temperatures begin to drop so you turn off your AC and let that nice fresh air inside. This increase in humidity and warmer temperatures during the afternoons can be enough to trigger the pupal stages into waking up and hatching into adult fleas.
Most people keep their houses between 68-72 degrees year round it would will allow fleas a prime place to flourish should a population become established inside your home. So as you enjoy the beauty of the fall season make sure you continue to treat your pets against fleas and ticks. Here at Jefferson Veterinary Hospital we offer Nexgard & Frontline products to keep your furry friends happy and healthy. Stop by or call today for prices and to schedule an appointment.
- RECEIVE A 10% SAVINGS ON YOUR PET'S PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE! PURCHASE A 12 MONTH SUPPLY OF SENTINEL AND/OR A 6 MONTH SUPPLY OF FLEA AND TICK CONTROL PRODUCTS. ADDITIONAL MANUFACTURER REBATES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE AND MAY BE COMBINED.
Is your pet's breath no longer sweet smelling? Would you like your pet to have bright clean teeth and fresher breath so you can snuggle them closer and not be embarrassed to have guests close to their doggy breath during the upcoming holidays? Bring your dog to Jefferson Veterinary Hospital this September and have him open wide to receive a 15% savings on all dental treatments!
Your pet will leave Jefferson with a smile he or she can be proud of!
Plaque is full of bacteria which can enter into the bloodstream and damage parts of the body, such as heart valves and kidneys. Gingivitis can promote loss of gum tissue, can ultimately result in teeth loss. Up to 80% of pets have periodontal disease by age 3. Regular brushing can help keep plaque down, but once a pet has plaque on their teeth, it needs professional veterinary care to scale it off. If you have a puppy or kitten, or a pet that has recently had their teeth cleaned, regular brushing, such as 4 times a week, or even everyday like you and I, can help keep their teeth sparkly clean and give them a smile they can be proud of!
Due to the overwhelming demand in February for our dental month appointments, which sell out each year, we have extended it to include the month of September so our clients can have their pets teeth clean and sparkly in time for the holiday season! Receive a 15% savings on all dental appointments during the month of September. Call 301-473-4111 to schedule your appointment today and give your pet the gift of clean teeth and breath!
He will want to show off his smile!
He will no longer be embarrassed to play with his friends!
We are SO, so very happy to see this smiling face behind our reception and hope that our veterinary clients and patients will be happy to say hello to Barb again!
In May, we wrote a blog post about how your veterinarian, Frederick County MD native Dr. Ahalt, assisted the American Shark Conservancy with information on staples and whether they would be suitable to use while tagging sharks. The Frederick News Post saw this blog and wrote an article about it in Sunday's newspaper! Check out the full article here!
This cat was brought to Jefferson Veterinary Hospital after not eating for 3 days. As part of the routine examination, veterinarian Dr. Ahalt checked the mouth for a foreign body and discovered quite a large one in the form of a needle that was lodged towards the back of the cats mouth. We can say that this was a first for the veterinarians and veterinary technicians, who have seen ingested needles before, but never one lodged in the mouth of a pet.
Dr. Ahalt (who as you can hear in the video is a little camera shy) sedated the cat and carefully extracted the needle, which he discovered had some thread attached to it. Fortunately, as the needle was not ingested, and as the thread was thankfully not tangled in the abdomen, this foreign body case was fairly straight forward and the kitty got to go home and is having a fast recovery from their adventures.
Is there anything else sweeter than the love that pets can have for one another? It even crosses species from cats to dogs. Frequently we see bonded pairs of dogs and cats coming into our animal hospital to see our veterinarians and it's truly amazing how they rely upon one another. This is an old foxhound, and a new great dane puppy that has been recently introduced to the family. There is another younger samoyed puppy in the household that the great dane plays with, but every time he goes to lay down he seeks out the old foxhound and either lays alongside him or on top of him. The photograph below is a samoyed and a barn cat. They constantly find each other out every time the dog goes outside, and the cat will rub himself up against the dog and fuss around her. We would love to hear you stories of how your dogs and cats have bonded to one another.
We are seeing a lot of ticks in this area, which carry a variety of diseases including Lyme. Did you know that there is a Lyme vaccine for dogs? Make an appointment for your dog to get their shot today and help prevent this disease. To help your dogs from bringing ticks into your house, use a tick preventative and check their fur thoroughly when they come in from outdoors. If your dog has been bitten by a tick, or you find one on your dog, remove it carefully, ensuring you pull the head out and dispose of it - avoid crushing it as this can spread tick Bourne diseases and contact our veterinarians who can help determine if a course of antibiotics is necessary. This disease is awful, and can be transmitted via ticks to humans too - be aware and let's help prevent its spread!
