Showing posts with label wellness care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wellness care. Show all posts

Monday, March 11, 2013

Is Your Dog Ready to Romp and Play at the DFA?

Portage Park DFA

Keeping a dog leashed is extremely important, especially in a dangerous city environment, but who doesn’t love watching their dog running around unencumbered, wild and free? Luckily, we here in Chicago have Dog Friendly Areas (DFAs) in many of our parks and beaches. These are the only areas in the city where it is legal to let your dog off leash. The exercise and socialization these areas allow are very important to your dog’s health and behavior. And watching them play provides us humans with endless entertainment. 

In order to use these designated areas, so called “dog parks”, your dog must be up to date with vaccines for Rabies, DHPP, Lepto and Bordetella. They also must have a negative fecal result and a city license. These requirements help ensure that your dog is only interacting with other dogs who are vaccinated and free of worms. The DFA tag itself is not expensive - it’s only $5 - but without it the city can fine you up to $500! At Portage Park Animal Hospital, we will provide the tag free of charge if all 4 of the vaccines and fecal test are performed on the same visit.

The tag is good from January to December of each year, no matter which month it was purchased. Our nearest Dog Friendly Area is at 4100 Long Avenue, south of Berteau Avenue. More information can be found at http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/facilities/dog-friendly-areas.

Now if we could only convince the city to develop Cat Friendly Areas…
Portage Park DFA

Thursday, January 24, 2013

February 2013 PPAH Furry Friends News


February is an exciting time at Portage Park Animal Hospital. We will be participating once again in theCook County Spay and Neuter Program (Save $40) and be offering a Dental Special (Save 10%).

If your pet has not been spayed or neutered yet and/or has bad breath and is in need of a good dental cleaning call us today to schedule.

Financing options available through CareCredit.





Does your pet have bad breath? It may be time for a dental

When was the last time you looked at your pet's teeth? Take a moment and flip the lip....
Did it look like any of the photos below? If so, you should schedule your pet to have their teeth cleaned, they may even need extractions.





Research shows that proper dental care is probably the most important thing you can do to add years and quality to your pet's life. Just like in humans, pets are susceptible to plaque and tartar build-up, which can lead to gingivitis and even periodontitis, a chronic form of the disease that can be painful. Whenever it is possible, preventing disease is preferable to treating it. 
 If your pet is not cooperating with you to look in their mouth, bring them by for a free dental consult. One of our dental specialists can evaluate your pet's teeth and let you know what stage dental cleaning they will require.

Our dental packages include IV catheter and fluid therapy, dental x-rays, scaling and polishing, pain medication (when required) and a dental care kit. Bloodwork is recommended prior to anesthetic procedures (additional cost).

We do dental cleanings Monday through Friday.
Call us to schedule a dental cleaning for your pet today! 
  
Remember prevention IS the best medicine!

Thank you for placing your pet's health and trust in us. 

Sincerely,
Dr. Roger Schrock 
Portage Park Animal Hospital & Dental Clinic





Thursday, September 13, 2012

When Your Family Member Wanders

As our team members observed, we are taking in more and more stray pets lately. They now average at one or two each day. A lot of them are older dogs that need special attention and care. Please rest assured that we do everything we can to reunite lost pets with their owners. In addition to scanning the online resources, it may also involve legwork, scouring for signs in the neighborhood and even paying visits to people’s homes when phone numbers are disconnected.

Today we caught another runaway, Alley, at Portage Park. Her outdoor adventure lasted for only 45 minutes. After sneaking out of the house, she headed straight north, managed to safely cross several major streets and ended up the park being chased by police in vain. Our receptionists, Denise and Danielle went out there with treats and brought her back here without any trouble. Lo and behold, Alley had a microchip which allowed us to trace her owners in a matter of minutes. They had not even realized that she’d gone missing!

This success story is another reminder to all responsible pet owners: please consider micro chipping your pets. It is one of the best ways to assure their life-long companionship and safety. Feel free to contact us for more information. We offer Home Again chips and implantation with no examination charge.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Do You Budget For Emergency Healthcare For Your Pet?

Insurance. It’s part of all of our daily lives –we insure our homes, our cars, and the health of our families. Insurance provides us with peace of mind, and you should have that same peace of mind when it comes to your pet’s health. When your pet is ill, our number one concern is getting him healthy again. But, for many pet owners, this concern becomes overshadowed by the financial burden of treatment for a sick pet. Often pet owners are forced to choose less effective treatment options, or in more unfortunate circumstances, no treatment at all, as a result of cost concerns. Veterinary Pet Insurance offers affordable plans that can ease the financial strain of your pet’s healthcare needs. Rather than worrying about the cost, you can concentrate on helping your pet get well and stay well, and rest easy knowing you helped to provide him the best possible treatment available. Put your pet’s health first –ask us about Veterinary Pet Insurance today.

Do you budget for emergency healthcare for your pet? Many pet owners do not. However, one chronic medical condition or emergency procedure can end up costing the same or more than several years of wellness care. Even the pet owners most attentive to their pet’s healthcare cannot predict how or when an accident may occur. In the unfortunate event that your pet is injured or develops an illness, what will you do? Sometimes, these unforeseen medical issues can require weeks or months of treatment. How will you pay? Unexpected medical expenses can require large cash outlays, which puts you in the uncomfortable position of figuring out where to find the money for them. Don’t let an emergency or medical condition catch you and your pet unprepared. Veterinary Pet Insurance is like a safety net for your pet. In a difficult time, having pet insurance can mean that money is one thing that you don’t have to worry about.


Like human health insurance, veterinary insurance will often exclude certain pre-existing conditions your pet may have. Treating pre-existing can be expensive. Younger pet will have fewer pre-existing conditions, so if issues do arise over time, your pet is more likely to be covered for them. On the other hand, older pets will often already have illnesses, and those could be excluded from coverage. Your secret weapon? Enroll as early as possible. Besides, pet insurance isn’t just for illness! Coverage is available for routine wellness procedures such as exams, vaccinations, and dental prophylaxis, and even some laboratory diagnostics associated with wellness care. We recommend two types of pet insurance: VPI and Trupanion. In addition to traditional plans ranging from preventinve service, illness and accident coverage, both of these companies cover chiropractic and acupuncture services that we offer. Over the course of your pet’s lifetime you could save hundreds of dollars on the high quality care you’d want for your pet regardless of the cost. And with high quality care comes the best reward of all –more time for you with your pets. Please call us for some more information!

Sincerely,

The Doctors and Staff at 
Portage Park Animal Hospital and Dental Clinic