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In This Issue
Grove Bark Inn
Holiday Video
Pet Food Recalls
AHNA sponsors foster children
Pet Spotlight: Indigo
AHNA Expansion
Chronic Kidney Failure
Holiday Hazards
Holiday Party Pictures
Our Lab Team
Testimonial: Chico
Seasonal Links

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AHNA December 2011 Newsletter 
Happy Holidays!
Holiday Group
Here at AHNA, we are so grateful for the relationships we have built with our clients and patients. At this time of year, we naturally reflect on all of the gifts you bring into our lives every day, and we can't help but want to give back to our community.

We pride ourselves on our support of local animal welfare organizations, all of which are in need of donations of time, money, and goods. For this reason, we have strived to make it easy for pet-lovers to donate this holiday season by holding our annual Holiday Pet Food and Blanket Drive.

During this year's drive, we have deepened our commitment by pledging to match, up to 1,000 pounds, any pet food donated to our Holiday Pet Food Drive to benefit three wonderful local animal welfare organizations: Asheville Humane Society, Animal Compassion Network, and Brother Wolf Animal Rescue. You still have time to donate! We are collecting canned or dry food, blankets, pet toys and/or monetary donations until January 2nd! Please donate to help needy dogs and cats in our community! When you add to the growing pile, you make everyone at the hospital so happy!

Click Here to watch our holiday video!

Have a wonderful holiday season, and a very Happy New Year!
The Staff at Animal Hospital of North Asheville
Grove Park Inn
We are happy to announce that the Grove Bark Inn Gingerbread Doghouse Competition and Display was a wild success! We are proud to have supported such a fun event, which raised $6,500 for local animal welfare organizations!

The "People's Choice" trophy was awarded on Monday, December 12th in the front lobby of Animal Hospital of North Asheville. The winner, Mrs. Donna Valentiner, is from Ohio. The winning gingerbread doghouse took approximately 6 weeks to cook and construct.  Mrs. Valentiner traveled to AHNA with Grove Park Inn staff members in a specially decorated Lincoln town car, "The Gingerbread Car." But that's not the end of this gingerbread doghouse's adventures! If chosen, the house will travel to New York City and appear on Good Morning America! To see the full list of winners and more great pictures, Click Here.
Watch Our Holiday Video!  
  Click on the picture of Mick to watch our holiday video!
Or, just Click Here!!!

ALERT: Pet FoodRecalls  
This month, there have been two very important recalls of dog and puppy food due to aflatoxin levels. We immediately notified our clients of this recall on Facebook and Twitter. If you are not a fan of our Facebook page, you may want to consider 'liking' the page so that you get up-to-the-minute news on recalls as well as local pet information that affects you and your pet.

Here are the links with all the recall information you need:
Recall 1
Recall 2

AHNA Staff Sponsors Foster Children for Christmas 


Once again, the staff members of Animal Hospital of North Asheville are sponsoring several of Buncombe County's foster children by purchasing Christmas presents for them.

Each year, Cathy, our Client Care Team Supervisor, contacts Buncombe County Foster Care Association and gets the names, ages, and sizes of each child and a list of items that the children need or want. Cathy puts all the gifts on cards and our staff members take the cards, buy gifts, and wrap them for the children. As you can see, this year there is quite a pile, including four bikes, waiting to go out!

For information on how you can help foster children during the holidays, Click Here.
Pet Spotlight: Indigo
The Miracle Kitten
Indigo, a beautiful Siamese cat, joined John and Marjorie Hickman's family in August of 2010. Within a month of settling in to his new home, Indigo became very ill.

"Indigo had a toy mouse that he liked to chew on," explained John. "The plastic splintered and he swallowed it. The plastic punctured his intestine."

Dr. Riggle performed emergency abdominal surgery to repair the hole and Indigo slowly recovered.

"Dr. Riggle called it a miracle that Indigo survived and is now thriving. He was especially pleased with the outcome of Indigo's surgery," said John.

Now at 18-months Indigo is good as new. He loves to play, especially with his favorite bird toy, which is a feather on a stick. "Just this morning he was jumping three feet in the air trying to catch the feather. He drags the stick around the house and brings the toy to Marjorie and me. He meows at us until we play with him."

To read the rest of Indigo's story, Click Here.
The Latest on the AHNA Expansion!
It has been a busy month with our building project at Animal Hospital of North Asheville. You may not have noticed a great deal of change just driving by, but lots of important things have happened. Our veterinary hospital has many systems that must be installed and lots of different teams have been working hard to get these done. 

Our I
T company has been working to install our network of 40 computers with three servers that integrate everything including medical records, our in-house lab, digital radiographs, and ultrasound so that everything is at our fingertips to help your pet no matter where we are in the hospital. Doctors can even check on their patients from smart phones or their home computers! For more information, Click Here.

Chronic Kidney Failure
By: Dr. Warren Riggle
This article is in memory of Kasey, our 18 � year-old cat who died on November 29, 2011. My son, Ben brought Kasey home to us when he was in 7th grade. Kasey was a little white kitten who was a very active, inquisitive, spirited cat throughout her entire life. Kasey "demanded" attention, loved "Kasey rubs", and enjoyed sitting on your lap. Kasey was commonly found jumping onto countertops, computers, tables, and anywhere she was not supposed to be. She continued to be a very active and vocal until shortly before her death. We really miss Kasey, and treasure all of our memories of our special cat.

Chronic kidney (renal) failure is a common problem for cats and dogs, especially as they are getting older. It is possible, however, to have problems with the kidneys at any age. My own - to read more, Click Here.
Holiday Hazards
Lights, decorations, good food... every year, as we celebrate the holidays, we fill our homes with seasonal cheer for ourselves and our families. However, what may seem beautiful and harmless to us may pose hidden dangers to our pets. Don't let an emergency spoil the festivities! Below are some common holiday hazards for dogs and cats and ways to prevent them.

Dangerous Foods

The following can be toxic to pets: chocolate, raisins, grapes, macadamia nuts, garlic, onion, alcohol, caffeinated beverages, bread dough, sugar-free candy, and gum containing the artificial sweetener xylitol.
Regular Foods
Despite tradition, bones should never be given to pets. Even beef, ham, and other "regular" foods that are - for more information on how to protect your pet from holiday hazards, Click Here.

AHNA Holiday Party! 

This year's holiday party was held at Avenue M. We had a great time! Click on any of the below photos to view all the fun photos!  

   

   

Our Lab Team
The lab team at Animal Hospital of North Asheville is a very busy team. We are responsible for performing many of the diagnostic procedures that the veterinarians order. We are similar to the registered nurses and the registered technicians in human hospitals. Just as MDs would be hard pressed to care for patients without trained support staff, the doctors at Animal Hospital of North Asheville depend heavily on us. While we are proud of our abilities and skills, the main reason we veterinary technicians chose our careers is the great love we have for animals. Each of us has more than one pet and some of us have several! When we have a patient in our care - to read more, Click Here.
Testimonial: The Smile On His
Chico Before
Face Says It All!  
By: Tanya and Tom Camille
  

I wanted to let Dr. Thompson and staff know how much better Chico feels after getting his teeth cleaned and having 5 abscessed molars taken out.   

 

We had no idea his teeth were hurting or must have been. It had been 2 years since his last cleaning and we just thought it was time for another cleaning.   

 

Chico After

He feels so much better than before. He's 8 yrs. old and has a laid back personality as it is. He's so lively and playful and happy now. My husband and I can't believe the difference.   

 

The boat picture is 2 days after his surgery and the smile on his face says it all! The group picture is his two best buddies, Roxy and Vinnie.

Thanks again!

 -- and Chico Too!

 

To read more testimonials,  Click Here.   

Seasonal Links
Here are links to articles that may be helpful to you in taking care of your pets during the colder months.
 
Treating Fleas in the Winter
Pet Allergy Primer
Hiking Tips

By embracing new knowledge and state-of-the-art technology, our mission at AHNA is to provide the highest level of medical, dental and surgical care possible; to deliver it with integrity and compassion for our clients, but most importantly, to constantly see ourselves through the eyes of our voiceless patients who understand only that we are gentle and kind; to have as our first priority, relief of their pain and discomfort and to strive to minimize separation from the people they love.