Congratulations to our veterinary assistant/technician student, Rebecca De Sena, for being awarded Otterkill Animal Hospital's Employee of the Year for
2009! She established a new standard for the rest of our team by achieving this award for the second consecutive year. Becca is a dedicated veterinary
professional who overcame multiple obstacles this year ranging from the unexpected death of her young pug, Scooter, to purchasing and moving into her first
home and then dealing with serious personal health issues. She also added to her responsibilities here by assuming management of our inventory control system
in addition to being the outstanding veterinary assistant she has become. We look forward to her completing her veterinary technician schooling next year and
utilizing her talents even more.
Special "Sunshine Awards" were also given to our two high school student kennel attendants, Mary and Melissa. Both come here after a long day at school
with smiles on their faces and manage to spread rays of sunshine everywhere. They have a long task list here every day ranging from assisting our technicians
to restocking supplies, surgical instrument preparation and cleaning. They play a big part in keeping Otterkill running smoothly.
It Takes Hard Work and Dedication to be Our Best
Part of our mission statement here at Otterkill is to "provide the highest level of veterinary care attainable for our patients". This takes an extremely
dedicated amount of continuing education for our entire health care team. This education is not required by any licensing agency but is our way of assuring
you that we are on the cutting edge of developing issues in veterinary medicine and providing the most up-to-date care possible. We accomplish this in many
ways. Dr. Zgoda attended the New York State Veterinary Conference in Ithaca in October. During that month Dr. Keller, Emily and Melissa H. attended the
Atlantic Coast Veterinary Conference in Atlantic City. Dr. Will plans to attend the North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando in January. These
conferences offer opportunities to attend lectures on hundreds of topics, keeping our knowledge current.
We also provide regular in-house lectures and webinars so that the entire staff may stay current in a variety of topics. Many of our employees are official
students in the profession also. Emily has just completed her technician program and will be sitting for the National Board Examination in January. We wish
her well and can't wait to add the initials L.V.T. after her name. Becca, Melissa H. and Kristen are all continuing in their veterinary technician programs
and studying hard to complete their degrees. All of this is part of our pledge to you. Otterkill Animal Hospital will always provide the best care possible
for your companions.
Winter Tips
Cold weather is finally arriving. Remember that outdoor animals must have continual access to fresh, unfrozen water and adequate shelter from the cold.
You may need to increase the amount of food fed in order to make up for the extra energy needed to stay warm. Of course, if possible, we always recommend
keeping animals indoors during this time of year. Here's a quick tip to avoid those "ice balls" that can stick to your dog's feet and drive them crazy. Apply
a light coating of Vaseline or petroleum jelly to the feet before going out to keep the snow from sticking. You can also use boots available from pet stores
or online although many dogs find these uncomfortable.
Holiday Pet Tips
- Keep animals from chewing on ribbons, trees and wrappings. Limit tinsel and garland type decorations. Almost every year we have to operate on some animal
to remove an obstruction for eating one of these objects.
- Keep the chocolate under wraps. Chocolate can be toxic to dogs even in fairly small doses.
- Limit those treats. Holiday over-eating can be trouble for our companions also. Ask your guests to limit those hand-outs. One cookie per animal please!
- A bowl of lemon peels under the tree can help keep cats from climbing.
- Remember that our animals give us the best gift of all - unconditional love.
- Don't forget to return the favor.
- Check out this cute video for a good chuckle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUtPKbMwnRo
Holiday Gifting
Out staff is once again collecting holiday donations for area shelters. A drop box has been set up in our waiting room. Lists of suggested items are
distributed throughout the hospital. E-mail Lauren at Lauren@otterkill.com if you'd like this list sent to you
before beginning your shopping. We also have gift certificates to Otterkill Animal Hospital available if you have family members or friends who are or would
like to become one of our special clients.
Season's Greetings
The doctors and staff of Otterkill Animal Hospital wish you, your family and animal companions a holiday season filled with joy, laughter, good company
and lots of treats. We hope 2010 is a better year for everyone. We'll all do our best to provide you with a year filled with health and happiness for you and
your animal companions. Thank you for being part of our Animal Health Care team. We'll always be here for you, ready to do our best.
PEACE!
