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1625 Martin Highway
Palm City, FL 34994
Office: 772-288-3456
www.vet4yourpet.net |
  May 2012
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A NOTE FROM THE DOCTORS
We are pleas ed to announce the return of two of our employees, Kristen and Dr. Jolin. Kristen returned to work on April 16 and is already back in action. Dr. Jolin is set to return May 1 and she will resume her regular hours (Tuesday through Friday and every other Saturday).
On a sad note, we are saying goodbye to two of our employees. Ali, our newest receptionist, has been offered a great job in the education department at the Central Florida Zoo. Kaitlin, our veterinary assistant, is leaving to continue her education at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in the fall. Good luck to both of these exceptional young women in their future careers. We will miss them.
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MERIAL
PRODUCTS
COUPONS
 Make sure you are
checking your mailbox
and inbox!! Merial
has been sending
out several great
coupons!
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 Buy 12 Doses And Get A $12 Mail-In Rebate
 Buy 6 Doses And Get 2 Free Buy 3 Doses And Get 1 Free
 Buy 6 Doses And Get A $12 Mail-In Rebate Buy 3 Doses And Get A $5 Mail-In Rebate | Offer Expires: December 31, 2012
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HOSPITAL UPDATES / SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Anesthesia-Free Dental Day
 This month Pet Dental Services will be here on May 10th to perform the anesthesia-free dentals. If you would like to know if your pet is a candidate, please call us and schedule an appointment.
Royal Canin Gets New Names
As some of you may have noticed, a couple of the Royal Canin diets have had name changes as well as formula changes. To review the new diets, please visit their website: http://www.royalcanin.us/vcn/vcn.html.
1st Anniversary Dog Park Event
Central Barkway Dog Park at Poppleton Creek celebrated its 1st Anniversary on April 21, 2012. Martin Downs Animal Hospital was proud to have a booth at this pet friendly community event. We participated in this event last year for the Grand Opening Celebration and were very happy to be invited back for the Anniversary.
West Point Gold Tournament Sponsor
Martin Downs Animal Hospital is a proud sponsor for the 2nd Annual Charity Golf Tournament: Caring For Cadets. We are also submitting a basket for the silent auction. This is an event put on by the West Point Parents Club and the West Point Society of the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast. As many of you know, Dr. Waters and Dr. Poderski's daughter, Karolina received an appointment to West Point so this is a great opportunity to support her school. The event will be held on Saturday, May 12, 2012 at the Haig Golf Course in Palm Beach Gardens.
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ELANCO
PRODUCTS COUPONS
| Elanco, the makers of Trifexis and Comfortis are offering coupons online.
Buy 12 Months And Get A $20 Mail-In Rebate
Buy 6 Months And Get A $10 Mail-In Rebate
Go to their websites below to claim your coupons:
| Offer Expires: August 31, 2012
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REVOLUTION
COUPONS  |
Buy 6 Doses And Get 2 Free
Buy 9 Doses And Get 3 Free
| | Offer Expires: 12/31/12 |
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GROOM AND BOARDER OF MONTH
Lucy is our pick for groom and boarder of the month. She is a cute 7 year old toy poodle who was a first time guest in our Resort during the month of April. On her initial visit, she came in for Doggie Day Care for the day. During her last visit, she stayed for 3 nights and at the end of her stay, she was pampered in our spa area. She received a hydrosurge bath and professional groom by Cathy. She was ready to return home feeling renewed and refreshed. We hope to see a lot of Lucy-she's a sweet little girl!
Before   After
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SAVE 10% OFF
NEW GROOMS
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All pets new to grooming in our Spa will
receive 10% off these services.
MUST PRESENT COUPON FOR DISCOUNT
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ADOPTION CORNER
DOGS & CATS FOREVER - Mimi  Mimi is a 3yr old female boxer/hound mix. She is very playful and looking for a family with a big fenced yard to run and have fun. She has had doggie playmates at the shelter and would love to have a companion who could keep up with her high energy level.
URBAN TAILS - Canelo
This is a Beagle/Hound mix named Canelo. He is approximately 2
years old. He is neutered, up-to-date on vaccinations, and ready to be
adopted. He is friendly with other dogs and loooves people. He is
sooo sweet natured.
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PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE
Heartworm prevention is very beneficial for your pet's health. New products are popping up everywhere, and with online pharmacies, you should use caution. Especially during this economy, expense can play a very important factor on what prevention you use, but there IS a difference. If you purchase heartworm prevention online, you run the risk of getting old, expired or even foreign products. These products are not guaranteed by the companies who manufacture them and you can put your pet at risk by using them. Is your pet's life worth the few dollars you might save each month? With all the discounts and free products companies are giving away, you really aren't saving that much by purchasing online. We will offer you a brief overview of the products we carry, and the discounts that apply, as well as the approximate cost per month for each product.
Heartgard Plus:
~Heartgard Plus is a chewable monthly prevention made
by Merial.
~This product treats and prevents heartworms, hookworms,
and roundworms.
~(Buy 12 doses and get a $15 Mail-In Rebate)
~Approximately $6-$9 per month.
Trifexis:
~Trife xis is a monthly chewable tablet made by
Elanco.
~This product treats and prevents heartworms,
hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, and fleas.
~(Buy 12 doses and get a $20 Rebate -or- Buy 6 doses and get a $10 Rebate)
~Approximately $18-$20 per month.
Revolution:
~Revolution is a monthly topical application made
by Pfizer.
~This product is applied topically and absorbed
systemically. This is also very effective for cats. ~Revolution for dogs treats and prevents
heartworms, fleas, ear mites, sarcoptic mites and
the American dog tick.
~For cats it treats and prevents heartworms, fleas, ear mites, hookworms,
and roundworms.
~(Buy 6 doses and get 2 free -or- Buy 9 doses and get 3 free)
~Approximately $16-$20 per month.
ProHeart 6:
~ProHeart 6 is a biannual injection that last for 6 months and
made by Pfizer.
~It is used in dogs 6 months of age and older to prevent and treat
heartworm disease and hookworms.
~(There are currently no discounts or coupons for this product)
These are the preventions which we carry, but there are several more on the market. You just have to pick the product that best fits your pet's lifestyle and tolerability. In the case of the month section below, you can read about some prevention efforts that went awry.
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CASE OF THE MONTH
Ivermectin Toxicity
During stressful economic times, it is natural to explore different avenues to save money. Some explorations are harmless, however, recently we have seen some explorations that were costly and deadly. With permission from the owners of these pets' stories, we are sharing these cases with you so you won't be so easily tempted to follow in their footsteps. Both owners had good intentions. They thought they were protecting their pets and saving money at the same time. Unfortunately, neither goal was achieved.
 This is Angel, who was a 60# Australian Shepherd. She, as well as her 2 other pet siblings, were due for their monthly heartworm prevention. Her owner was advised by an employee at a local feed store to give the dogs a "fingertip" amount of horse paste dewormer that contained ivermectin. The owner was convinced that it was the same drug found in Heartgard and it would be much cheaper. Within 12 hours, Angel was comatose. Nearly 3 days of effort went into trying to save her. Angel passed away before her time. The other 2 dogs in the family showed no symptoms. Angel most likely had the MDR1 gene mutation that Collies are known to have. Dogs with this gene cannot process ivermectin and have serious consequences. Collies, Australian Shepherds, Old English Sheepdogs and a variety of other dogs can potentially have this gene. There is no way for an owner to know if their pet has this gene. This owner received poor advice. It cost her more than just money in the long run, it cost her her pet's life. Even though the other dogs did well, who would want to risk a second event?
Our next case involves an 11# Shih Tzu named Hannah. Hannah's owners saw some intestinal parasites (tapeworms) and were also advised to give a "fingertip" amount of horse paste dewormer to eliminate the parasites. Her owner did the process not once, but twice within a few days. After the second dosing, the pet became blind within 6 hours and showed severe neurological symptoms. Hannah was able to recover after repeated charcoal administrations and supportive care. After the third day, Hannah had about 70% of her vision back. Hannah did not have the mutant gene but instead had a cumulative build up of ivermectin in her system. She got lucky!! After all Hannah went through, she still had the tapeworms. Ivermectin was not even the correct medication to give to eliminate the worms!
Both of these owners can give testimony as to how cutting corners does not pay off. Medications, when used appropriately and at the proper dosage, will give your pet the desired effect. One should never be so cavalier as to not appreciate how dangerous any product can be when not used to labeled directions. Our FDA has made certain medications and preventatives are labeled properly. A horse dewormer is not labeled for dogs for a reason.
If you are worried you cannot afford monthly preventative for your pets, talk to our staff. We can sell single monthly doses or maybe price compare preventatives for you. Generally, we can find a way to make it work. The top end products cost less than $20/month and that's for a very large dog. The proper prevention will cost less than making a poor choice in using an alternative product or not giving it at all. Recently we were looking at heartworm products and realized it would cost 8 years of preventative to pay for one heartworm treatment! That, of course, does not take into consideration the damage that permanently occurs to the pet.
The following is a letter written by the young daughter in the family who had Angel. She wanted to share with you her personal words about the loss of her best friend.
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Military Discount 10% Off Select Services. Must Present MILITARY ID
Certain Restrictions Apply
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In Honor of all those serving or have served our Country
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