MANCHESTER VETERINARY SERVICES
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  • Home
  • Services
    • Pet Health Questions
    • Wellness and Preventative Care
    • Laboratory Services
    • Surgical Services
    • Dental Health
    • Ultrasound and X-Ray
  • Emergencies
  • About Us
    • Our Home
    • Our Staff
    • Our History
    • Our Former Home
  • New Patients
  • Contact Us
  • Links & Referrals
  • PetPage Patient Portal
    • PetPage Instructions
    • PetPage Portal Login
    • Request Med Refill
    • Request Appointment
  • Order Online

DISCUSSIONS WITH MANCHESTER VET

When meds fall into the wrong hands...

7/12/2020

1 Comment

 
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​Countless times each year we are faced with pets coming in to see us, having non-specific symptoms that are difficult to figure out and pin to a specific disease.    Only after many expensive tests, imaging studies, and usually 24-48 hours of hospitalization do we come to the conclusion that these patients have gotten into something at their house.  ​
The problem is that despite what CSI and other TV shows might tell you, there is no single test for all possible toxins.  Testing for even just a few possible things can easily run into the hundreds of dollars, and many things pets get exposed to cannot even be tested for at all!  In addition, some things are not directly toxic to pets at typical doses - but pets don't often know when to stop so they ingest way more than would ever be safe for them.
This is why it is SO important to keep all possible toxic items out of the reach of your pets.  Just SOME of the things we have treated pets for in the past include owner's prescription medications, various over-the-counter medications, human food items containing xylitol, paint balls, and rat and mouse poison.
The most important trend lately that is a danger to pets is illicit drugs.  We all understand most illicit drugs and hopefully most households do not have them sitting around where pets can ingest them.  However, CBD-containing products are more and more widely available and are suddenly becoming commonplace in people's homes.  They are at the forefront of the drug debate these days, but that does not make them safe for your pet.  They are still illegal at the federal level in most cases, and there is no oversight on the companies that make them - so each batch, and even each different bottle can contain widely varying levels of CBD, ranging from dangerously high levels to sometimes none at all.  In addition, CBD-containing products directly interfere the metabolism of many commonly used prescription medications and supplements, which turns those commonly used things into things that can be toxic at even the usually-utilized dosing levels.  CBD products and their interactions are being researched, but they cannot be recommended until there is more control over the production standards.
The take home message is that the safest place for anything not directly prescribed to your pet is out of reach and locked up!  And if you think your pet has gotten into something, or you're not sure if your pet should take something - call us!
1 Comment

Have your pet's medications and food shipped straight to your door!

5/25/2020

50 Comments

 
We realize many of our clients are looking to purchase food and medication online for their pets these days. As promised, we have opened our online pharmacy that can ship food and medication directly to your front door! The prices and deals are great, your orders are automatically input directly into our computer system, most items qualify for free shipping, and you can set the deliveries to AutoShip so you don’t have to worry about ever running out. Check it out at 4103746522.vetstores.com, or follow the ORDER ONLINE link from our home page.
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50 Comments

Don't Bleach Fido!

5/19/2020

0 Comments

 
Pet Poison Helpline Logo
The veterinary toxicology specialists at Pet Poison Helpline have seen a 100 percent increase in the number of calls from concerned pet owners about the potential misuse of common cleaning items including hand sanitizer, bleach and wipes on or near their pets during the COVID-19 pandemic.
​
They made a helpful video for pet owners that can be viewed HERE.

The Pet Poison Helpline provides an inexpensive and invaluable reference service for both pet owners and their veterinarians in the case of toxic exposures. We use them every year to help guide the treatment of poisoned pets. You can also call them directly, 24-7 if your pet gets into something. They are available at 800-213-6680.

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New Clinic Update!

5/17/2020

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The wonderful team at Bridgeworks Construction is making great progress for us, and our new facility is really coming together.  We will keep you updated about our expected move-in date later this summer!
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Spring time means removing Ticks properly

5/10/2020

1 Comment

 
We have all been there - the creepy, crawly feeling when you are petting your dog or cat and you feel the unmistakable blip of a tick pass under your fingers.  It's spring - and we know they'll be out there!  The removal of ticks can be a pain, but if done properly you will minimize complications secondary to tick attachment and reduce the risk to your family.
  • Remove the tick as soon as you find it.  The longer a tick is attached, the more it will feed, and the larger it's body will be.  A small, flat tick is newly attached.  A large, swollen tick has been there for a long time.  The longer a tick is attached, the more likely it is to transmit the diseases it carried like Lyme disease.
  • Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.  When the tick is in deep thick fur, we often have to yank some fur or pinch the pet's skin just a bit.  The goal is to grab just the point of attachment, and not the body of the tick.
  • Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin.  If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers.  They will appear like tiny black dots at the bite site.  If you are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.​  We have seen many tick bites where the owner has gone a bit overboard trying to remove a tiny possible tick fragment, causing much more trauma than was necessary!
https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/removing_a_tick.html
  • After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.
  • Dispose of a live tick by putting it in alcohol, placing it in a sealed bag/container, wrapping it tightly in tape, or flushing it down the toilet.  They are extremely difficult to kill any other way, and you don't want them choosing you as their second feeding site.
  • No matter what the type of tick was on your pet, or how long it was attached, ticks can leave quite a local reaction.  There can be a red bump, swelling, itching, oozing and crusting, and this can appear intermittently for up to two weeks.  This does not necessarily indicate the transmission of any disease; tick mouths are nasty, reactive sites that leave quite a dirty mess for the body to clean up.  You can apply topical antibiotic ointment and monitor to make sure the area improves week by week.  If a tick bite reaction enlarges over time or does not resolve within two weeks, please call us to get it checked out!
1 Comment

How to take a picture that will tell us 1,000 words  ;)

5/7/2020

2 Comments

 
COVID-19 has turned a lot of us into internet and connectivity specialists on the spot, but there are still folks out there who have issues making technology do what they need it to do!  Don't worry - if that's you - you're not alone. 

One of the issues we are seeing families have right now has to do with when they try to send us pictures of issues their pets are having.  We often receive pictures of pets via email and Facebook.  The problem is that many times we cannot even tell which end of the pet the picture is of, or if it is even a picture of a pet at all!  Follow these pointers to help get pictures that will clearly identify what is going on for us.  It will help expedite our response to you, and improve our understanding of your situation!
  • Make sure the photos is in focus.  We can't fix this on our end!
  • Don't go in too close.  Most phones and cameras cannot focus if you're too close to the subject.  We can almost always zoom in to see better, but we can't un-zoom.
  • Include something in the picture we can use to judge scale - your finger, a quarter, something of known size
  • Tell us where on the pet the image is from - it helps us find our way around the image
  • Double check your attachments before sending - we get many messages with no attachments
  • If you're sending from a different email or Facebook profile - tell us who you are and how we can identify you in our system

The better the image quality we get, the more valuable our response will be!  The best bet is to take a lot of photos, check them over, and then send the best ones you have.   
2 Comments

Welcome to the Discussion!

5/6/2020

0 Comments

 
New Website, New Discussion! 

​We will post some of our favorite exam-room discussions here over the next few weeks to get this blog up and running.  Stay tuned!
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Contact Us


​Manchester Veterinary Services

Julie Baker, DVM
Jeff Callahan, DVM
Jan Wimer, DVM
Kelsey Smith, DVM

​4175 Hanover Pike Suite A
Manchester, MD 21102
​
Call us -  410-374-6522
Text - 410-498-8471
​Fax  - 410-857-8534


​Hours of Operation
Monday  8-5

Tuesday  8-7
Wednesday  8-4
Thursday  8-7
Friday  8-5




​Services by Appointment Except for 
Emergencies

come Visit Us

We are located on Route 30 in Manchester, just north of Tracey's Mill Road and Piper's Gas Station.
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