JUNE 2020

COVID-19 UPDATE

We have been pleased with the way the reopening of the clinic building has been going. We are saddened by the still increasing number of cases in Grant county (currently at 129) and the 12 deaths.  We are continuing to use policies to protect staff and clients from infection. All of LVC staff has remained healthy.

Here is a summary of the things we are doing at Lancaster Veterinary Clinic to continue to serve you and your animals safely:

• We will provide curbside service for clients who wish to stay in their cars. Please call and let us know what you are comfortable with.
• We are providing doggie daycare and boarding with drop-off at the outdoor dog run gate.
• Grooming will be dropped off and picked up at the back door to the garage. Phone information is on the door.
• Staff will be wearing masks. Clients coming in to the building will be required to wear masks and provided one if they need one.
• Animals will be picked up and dropped off in the exam rooms.
• All the vets are happy to take your questions and help your animals with information over the phone. Sending pictures of your animal’s problem(s) is helpful.
• We are sanitizing surfaces, esp areas like phones, door handles and computers, and washing hands frequently.

To protect yourself and your family and reduce viral spread, follow these tips:

• Wash hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water
• Avoid touching your face
• Stay at home
• Practice social distancing and use a mask when you do go out.
• Cover your cough or sneeze

The most common signs of COVID-19 illness are fever of over 100, cough and shortness of breath. Doctors have found that a sudden and unexplained loss of sense of smell and/or taste can indicate infection, even with no other signs. If you are experiencing such symptoms, call your doctor first. They can help you at home. People can be infected and spread the virus without feeling sick. Some are asymptomatic carriers, others are early in their infections.

Please continue social distancing and mask wearing when out in public. That is the best defense we have against continued virus spread.

WELCOME BACK STAFF!

We are pleased to welcome back the staff members who were laid off during the shut-down months of the pandemic. We are glad to be back at full staff and providing all our services to you and your animals.

We very much appreciate your loyalty and continued patronage during this pandemic time. We know that many people are struggling with unemployment or other loss of income.

CLIENT APPRECIATION PARTY

We do not have a party scheduled yet, but we are still planning on doing something.

DAIRY GOAT ACADEMY ON LINE

Southwest Tech has announced that the 2020 Dairy goat Academy will be offered virtually this year. The College will kick off the virtual Dairy Goat Academy on September 25, 2020 and will offer approximately 18 prerecorded sessions that students can view over the course of the month. The Academy will include a question and snswer area for students and presenters to exchange thoughts as well as a ‘vendor corner” to increase networking opportunities.

Registration will open July 15, 2020. Please check the webpage at www.swtc.edu for the latest information.

GRANT COUNTY FAIR CANCELLED

The county board’s Agriculture, Fair and Extension Committee voted June 8 to cancel the county fair for this year due to concerns about COVID-19 spread. Numerous other fairs have been cancelled this year, including the state fair. After considering many options, the committee decided that the only way to have a strong fair is to have one in 2021.

The Holstein Assoc had a well- attended district show June 18 and 19. Other departments are still considering whether to have their own shows. The auction sale may be done virtually. Please continue to support kids and their projects and make suggestions to your 4H and fair board members.

MAKE SURE YOUR PETS ARE VACCINATED

Summer is the time for people and pets to be outside playing and enjoying themselves. Summer is also the time for dog and cat bites, however. We have been seeing a number of dogs and one puppy for rabies observations because the animals have bit someone.

If your pet bites someone and is current on its rabies vaccination, the animal must be quarantined at home and be brought into the clinic for 3 exams. The cost for the 3 exams is $200 total. The 1^st exam must be within 24 hours of the bite and the 3^rd one 10 days after. The 2^nd one can be anytime in-between. We complete paperwork that is submitted to the health department.

If your pet is NOT current on its rabies vaccination, the cost is much higher because the pet must be quarantined at the clinic for 10 days in addition to the three exams and vaccinated at the end of the quarantine. Total cost is over $600.00.

Please don’t wait until your pet bites someone to find out that their rabies vaccination is not current!

HORSE SALES HAPPENING

Sally has been working with clients getting EIA (Coggins) tests and paperwork done for horse sales that are still scheduled. Most of the sales only require a current EIA test to go to the sale, but some require interstate health papers also. Please call and talk to Sally if you have questions about what you need for a sale.

HAPPY HAYMAKING! BE SAFE!

MAY 2020

COVID-19 UPDATE

We are starting to reopen the clinic building on May 26. We are saddened by the number of cases in Grant county (currently at 74) and the 10 deaths, most of which were at Orchard Manor. We are continuing to take steps to protect staff and clients from infection. All of LVC staff has remained healthy.

Here is a summary of the things we will be doing at Lancaster Veterinary Clinic to reopen the clinic building safely:

• We will continue to provide curbside service for clients who wish to stay in their cars. Please call and let us know what you are comfortable with.
• We are providing doggie daycare and boarding with drop-off at the outdoor dog run gate.
• Grooming will be dropped off and picked up at the back door to the garage. This change has been working well this past week
• Staff will be wearing masks. Clients coming in to the building will be required to wear masks and provided one if they need one.
• Animals will be picked up and dropped off in the exam rooms.
• All the vets are happy to take your questions and help your animals with information over the phone. Sending pictures of your animal’s problem(s) is helpful.
• We are sanitizing surfaces, esp areas like phones, door handles and computers, and washing hands frequently.

To protect yourself and your family and reduce viral spread, follow these tips:

• Wash hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water
• Avoid touching your face
• Stay at home
• Practice social distancing and use a mask when you do go out.
• Cover your cough or sneeze

The most common signs of COVID-19 illness are fever of over 100, cough and shortness of breath. Doctors have found that a sudden and unexplained loss of sense of smell and/or taste can indicate infection, even with no other signs. If you are experiencing such symptoms, call your doctor first. They can help you at home. People can be infected and spread the virus without feeling sick. Some are asymptomatic carriers, others are early in their infections.

We are looking forward to getting back to being able to offer all our usual services. Thank you for your continued support and cooperation through this pandemic.
 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Dr. Andrea McGowan will be celebrating her one year anniversary with Lancaster Vet on June 3^rd! Yay!! We are thrilled to have her on our team.
 

ANTITOXIN ON BACKORDER

Clostridium Antitoxin is still on indefinite backorder. We do not have any left in the clinic. This product is used to treat animals showing signs of clostridial infections, such as bloat, scours and tetanus. You can still treat these symptoms with regular penicillin orally and IM. Make sure your animals are appropriately vaccinated with clostridial vaccines to help prevent these infections. One vaccine that can be helpful is the C+D toxoid at birth.

Please call if you have any questions about treating or vaccinating animals with clostridium.
 

DO YOU NEED A COGGINS TEST?

Sally has been doing lots of Coggins (Equine Infectious Anemia) tests on horses so far this spring. If you do anything with your horse off the farm, you need a Coggins test. You also need a negative Coggins test if you are selling your horse or taking it out of state. You cannot go until the test results are back from the lab”the test can’t be just “pending.”

You can have your horses vaccinated at the same time as we draw the blood for the Coggins. Every horse should have at least a 4 way combination vaccine every year. That combination includes Eastern and Western sleeping sickness, Influenza and tetanus. If your horse is traveling or going to be bred or has other risk factors, we can consider adding other vaccines such as rhinopneumonitis, West Nile, rabies and strangles.
 

LIVING CONTAMINANTS IN YOUR FEED?

Many producers are seeing feed problems this spring due to the wet fall and muddy harvest season last year. Unseen contaminant factors may be hurting your feed efficiency and subclinically affecting cow health, both in beef and dairy cows and calves.

Contaminants in the feed such as wild yeast, molds with mycotoxins, clostridium, listeria and other bacteria can challenge the cow’s immune system. This active immune response consumes energy that would otherwise go to milk or feed conversion. Recent studies at Iowa State have found that 7 lbs of corn grain energy is diverted from production to the immune system during health challenges.

Living contaminants, especially yeasts, will also burn through energy and other usable nutrients in your feeds. What is available to your cows when they eat the feed may be very different from what showed in a feed test last fall.

Make sure to talk to us or your feed dealer and check into feed contaminants when intakes and digestion are variable or you are seeing a drop in performance or health issues.
 

TICKS ARE TERRIBLE THIS SPRING

We have been hearing lots of complaints and seeing LOTS of ticks on animals at the clinic. People are also finding ticks on themselves after being out in the woods for only a short time. We have also been seeing problems with ticks and Lyme disease in horses this spring.

We have lots of options and discounts when you buy a year’s supply of our flea and tick preventative products. One exciting product is Revolution Plus for cats. This product protects your cat against fleas, ticks, ear mites, heartworm, roundworm and hook worms”6 parasites with one easy monthly spot-on treatment.

The Seresto flea and tick collars for dogs and cats work great to kill and repel both fleas and ticks. These collars contain compounds that are released slowly over 8 months. We also have the oral Bravecto product for dogs that kills both fleas and ticks if you don’t want to have a collar on your pet.

We have a pour-on product that works to keep ticks off your horses. It is a little greasy, but you can put it along the mane and tail head areas so it does not get on your tack. If you are seeing signs of Lyme in your horse such as lameness, weakness, stumbling, weight loss, off feed, we can do a blood test that checks for both Lyme and Anaplasmosis. Both of these bacterial infections are spread by ticks and can cause similar signs.
 

CLIENT APPRECIATION PARTY??

We will be scheduling our annual client appreciation party whenever we can do it safely. We have been in our new building for almost 6 years now”hard to believe it has been that long. We are looking forward to seeing everyone”outside at a safe distance!
 

HAPPY HAYMAKING! BE SAFE!

While COVID-19 quarantines continue across the country, you may be spinning your wheels to stay busy, productive, and positive. Luckily, our pets provide a great deal of comfort and companionship despite the isolation and stress caused by the Novel Coronavirus. As dogs and cats get used to having you at home, you may need to add some new activities to your repertoire to help keep them busy and make the most of your time together.