Saturday, December 25, 2010

Ceiling, Door and Cabinet Tour

As you walk in the front door, you face the reception desk (desk not installed yet)

To your right is the waiting area
The exam rooms are on the left. Not much to look at yet!

On the other side of the exam room, our pharmacy takes shape

On the way to the clinical area, you pass the doctor's office

As you enter the treatment room, the lab is on your left

The main treatment island has a dry (medical) side

and a wet (surgical prep and dental) side
The tile goes in next week, then the heavy duty sheet vinyl and poured epoxy kennel floor. We are still on schedule for a Feb 1 start date--more to come.

Beautiful Women


We recently had our clinic Christmas celebration at Clydes in Ashburn. As I told the staff, the new clinic that we are building is only a tool for us to practice good medicine and surgery. It is our staff that makes Towne Animal Clinic what it is. We are so proud of the role they play in helping to care for our patients. As we have grown together as a practice and family, we value them more and more, not just for their clinical skills and knowledge, but for the dedication to their families, the challenges they have overcome, the beautiful people they are.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Uncomplicated

The human-animal bond is truly a gift. One of the things that makes that relationship so special is how uncomplicated it is. When I come home, my dog is happy to see me. He doesn't remember that I didn't pay attention to him yesterday or that he didn't get that extra treat he wanted. When we play tug of war, he just wants to tug. No gloating at winning, no sadness at losing. He enjoys his food even though it is a nondescript nugget. He chases deer without thinking ahead to what he would do if he caught one. I can make his tail wag by just looking at him. A belly rub is as good as it gets. No complaints about not being able to sleep on the bed. No angst, no regrets, no worries about tomorrow.

I do wonder, however, what is behind that look of consternation as our new kitten eats from his food bowl!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Housebreaking 101

A lot of time and text is devoted to housebreaking, but of all the techniques I've heard, this, I feel, is the most effective. I describe it here because it comes up so often in practice, perhaps more than any other behavioral issue.

1. During the training period, keep your dog on an approx 8-10 foot leash or in a crate at all times. The crate should be just big enought for him to turn around in. (If he urinates or defecates in his cage for more than a few days, has medical issues or cage anxiety, these are special cases and we should talk!) Do not paper train unless you can't let him out for more than about 8 hours (less for very young puppies). Paper training blurs the line of what is an appropriate bathroom area.

2. When outside the crate, even indoors, keep him on a the leash so that you can immediately correct any inappropriate behavior (including attempting to use the bathroom inside) with a sharp "NO", rattle can, etc. You must keep him under observation at all times so that each infraction is interrupted and corrected immediately.

3. When you take him outside to urinate, go to one spot in the yard and just stand there with him until he goes. You can say "Go Potty"or a similar phrase, but do not pet, feed, touch, or play with him. Once he goes, then reward him profusely with treats and play.

4. If he hasn't gone in 10 minutes or so, take him back inside and watch him closely, again keeping him on the leash or in his crate. Be prepared to take him outside again if he shows any signs of having to go.

5. If he has an accident and you don't catch him "in the act", clean it up but do not punish him.

6. After at least 2 weeks of no accidents, start letting him off the leash, but if accidents occur, return to the program described above.

There are many subtleties to housebreaking, but this covers 95% of dogs, young and old. Best of luck!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Paint, Cabinets and Lights

While I was gone, a lot of progress was made on the new clinic. Walls were painted



Cabinets were installed

And light fixtures replaced the incandescent work lights.


Architectural Inspiration

My wife and I just returned from Rome, Italy and Paros, Greece where we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary and visited our daughter who is studying abroad. I'll give updates on the clinic progress in the next post, but the trip certainly put the scope of our project in perspective!


Pantheon


St John Lateran Basilica Doors


A Paros Sunset

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Keep Your Eye on the Ball

This is one of our favorites stories from several years ago:

Despite his lack of depth perception, “Bandito”, a 20 pound Jack Russel Terrier, was full of pep that June day when the yeast had finally won the battle over control of his ears. Little did we know as we sent him out the door, ear medication in paw, that a time bomb was ticking inside him, a vestige of maladies past and a vision of danger to come!

You see, Bandito’s poor vision was the result of an unfortunate shift in the location of his right lens and the resultant glaucoma that claimed his eye at the youthful age of 7. While his left eye was enjoying a mercifully low pressure, his right was a thing of the past, having been removed in its entirety. Seeking the most cosmetic outcome, his parents had elected to have the ophthalmologist place a rubber implant in the socket during surgery. In the following weeks, two separate implants failed. Both had been rejected shortly after surgery, and despite the ghastly looks from strange dogs on his daily walks (you know how cruel dogs can be) and the awkward moments in front of the mirror each morning, he had grown to accept his wink as a small price to pay for his suburban life and all the culinary perks that go with it.

One week after his ear visit, however, Bandito's world changed. Almost imperceptibly at first, he felt the shift. Up came the methazolamide, then up came the xalatan. Then gradually the waves of nausea crescendoed, leading to episodes of vomiting so numerous that within hours, his dedicated master had him looking at the wall of an exam room once again. Bandito considered biting Dr. Bollenbeck as he had seen the other terrier do in the room next door, but his gentle nature made him think better of it, resigning himself to a groan and menacing glance (to the left that is) as his abdomen was palpated.

The medication he was forced to swallow followed the same general route as the rest of his gastric contents that night, and the next day saw an even more dismal trip to the hospital. This time radiographs revealed a round foreign body in his intestinal tract. As he listened to the conversation between his master and Dr. Bollenbeck, he got the sinking feeling that he had been a very naughty dog. He then got very sleepy and recalled the room moving jerkily from left to right. Bandito’s next experience was expelling the endotracheal tube, a sensation that made vomiting feel like a good scratch behind the ears.

He happened to overhear the surgeon’s conversation with his master as he lay in recovery. He did not see the humor that Dr. Rice apparently did in having removed an eye prosthesis from his duodenum. After all, it had been over 2 months since Bandito had finally managed to scratch that darn thing out. Since it was too small to roll in, Bandito had followed the next prime directive regarding dogs and unsavory objects--he ate it. He recalled that it was smoother going down than most foreign bodies and had all but forgotten about its full-bodied, slightly woody flavor, but apparently it had not exited his stomach and started it's journey down the small intestine until yesterday.

He knew he was in the right home when his master graciously accepted the diagnosis and bore neither resentment nor scorn towards his entirely canine habits. And four months later, “blind in one eye and can't see out t'other”, he was confident that, should his left eye have to be removed, he certainly wouldn't be bothered or tempted by another prosthesis. Drs. Bollenbeck and Rice learned an important lesson as well--A dog's eyes aren't bigger than his stomach, but they are bigger than his small intestine!

The Gates of Trash

There are little signs of progress all around the new clinic space, but the dumpster enclosure is the first completed structure. She's a beauty, especially with the sun majestically rising behind her!