Newsletter Archives
Fall 2002

Senior Pets

September is senior pet health care month. A senior pet is one that is seven years or older. Like their human counterparts, senior pets are prone to a variety of ailments associated with age. These include hyper- or hypo-thyroidism, diabetes, arthritis, heart and kidney disease, and many others. Diagnosing these problems early so that treatment can begin immediately is the best way to help your aging pet.

Starting in September, our hospital will offer a senior care health package. The canine package will include two physical exams and two bordatella vaccinations (done at six month internals), one comprehensive blood profile, one dental (with intravenous catheter), one heartworm test, one fecal examination, one anal sac expression and three nail trims. The feline package will include two physical examinations (done at six month intervals), one comprehensive blood profile, one dental (with intravenous catheter), one heartworm test, one fecal exam, one anal sac expression, one rabies vaccination, and three nail trims.

These services are already available. However, purchase of the senior care package will save you 20% over the cost of individual services. Furthermore, if chest x-rays are indicated to diagnose heart disease, they will be discounted 25%.

This senior health care package is a great benefit for everyone. You save money while insuring that your pet reaps the health benefits of quality care. The doctors and staff know that they are helping your pet age as gracefully as possible.

Yorkie Playtime

By chance, three Yorkshire Terriers (or Yorkies) were boarding with us at the same time. Enjoying the extra attention are (clockwise starting at the top) Chantz Hylton, Madison Deitrick, and Maggie Williams.

Summer Observation Program

In the spring newsletter, we announced our summer observation program for students in junior high and high school interested in the veterinary medicine field. Twenty-eight students participated in the program. They accompanied the doctors during appointments, observed surgeries, and asked lots of questions. The program was a great success both for the students and our hospital.

Meet the Staff: Andrea Frey

Featured this quarter is a staff member who is a home-grown success story. Andrea Frey worked her way from kennel assistant to veterinary technician at our hospital in just five years.

Andrea was born in San Diego, California. However, her father was in the military, so she lived many places, including Hawaii and Las Vegas, before her family settled in our area six years ago.

While in high school, she began working at our hospital as a kennel assistant. She quickly mastered that position and began learning other skills. She enjoyed the work immensely, learned quickly, and was soon training as a veterinary assistant and a receptionist. She graduated from Hylton High School in 1999. Impressed with her hard work and potential, the hospital offered to send her to Northern Virginia Community College to become a licensed veterinary technician. Andrea completed the two-year program, including an internship at our other hospital at Gunston, this summer. She received an Associate Degree in Applied Science and is now a full fledged veterinary technician at our hospital.

Andrea currently lives with her parents and her sister in the Dale City area, and she became engaged this past year to Josh Tiede. She has a dog, Chip, a Golden Retriever that she adopted from the hospital after it was treated for rat poisoning; and Luke, a Birman cat that she adopted from one of our associate doctors. Her fiancé also just adopted two kittens.

We are proud to have Andrea as a member of our team at the hospital.

As always, summer is a busy month for our fund. Many stray kittens find their way to our doors. This summer the hospital has given new homes to approximately 12 kittens.

On the other end of the scale, Lady (pictured here) was also a benefactor of the fund. She is 14 years old and her owner was no longer able to care for her. The hospital adopted her and she was subsequently diagnosed with Cushings Disease (a disease of the adrenal glands). She is taking medication to help control the disease. In spite of her age and health problems, one of our clients adopted her.

Contributors to our fund for this period are listed below:

• Linda Boland
• Dave Cummings
• Ann Mays
• Patricia Lattimore
• Claralyn Weisbrod
• Gwen Smith
• Estelle Johnson
• Alfred and Susan Hughes
• Constantine Borawski (In memory of Missy)
• Judith, Rachel, and Gretchen Schneider (In memory of Buster)
• Ann Lewis
• Diane Frohn
• Geordine Morris
• Ann Kline