Latest / Ask The Experts / What Sets CheckOut Apart from Other Veterinary Clinics
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Thirteen ten WIBA and ask the experts with check out
- 0:03Speaker 1: Veterinary online. The website checkout vet dot com. That's checkout
- 0:08Speaker 1: vet dot com. Great website and resource to learn more
- 0:12Speaker 1: about checkout Veterinary. We'll talk a little bit actually this
- 0:14Speaker 1: morning about what makes checkout Veterinary so unique. I will
- 0:17Speaker 1: tell you it is a great concept. You can learn
- 0:19Speaker 1: more again on that website checkout vet dot com. All right,
- 0:22Speaker 1: tel number six so eight three one eight sixty seven hundred,
- 0:25Speaker 1: that's three one eight sixty seven hundred. Open Monday, work
- 0:30Speaker 1: every day except for Thursdays. And I would say Monday
- 0:32Speaker 1: through Friday, but that would not be true because they're
- 0:33Speaker 1: also open weekends, closed on Thursdays from nine am until
- 0:36Speaker 1: five pm. And of course joining us at studio this
- 0:38Speaker 1: morning is doctor Marty Greer. Doctor. There's got to be
- 0:40Speaker 1: got to figure a smoother way to point that out.
- 0:43Speaker 1: You guys are open though on weekends and all that
- 0:45Speaker 1: great stuff. I'll figure it out. How are you doing
- 0:47Speaker 1: this morning? I'm great.
- 0:48Speaker 2: And we're closed on Thursdays at checkout because it tended
- 0:51Speaker 2: to be our slowest day. But we're open Monday through
- 0:54Speaker 2: Friday at check in. Its sister clinic, so you're not abandoned.
- 0:58Speaker 2: It's not like Thursdays you're on your own. And then
- 1:00Speaker 2: we also will have the Marshall Pet Care clinic as well.
- 1:03Speaker 2: That will be Monday through Friday, so we'll have two
- 1:05Speaker 2: Monday through Friday locations and then the other location will
- 1:08Speaker 2: be closed on Thursdays until we doctor up a bit
- 1:11Speaker 2: more and can get to that point.
- 1:13Speaker 1: But have you mentioned that on the area yet or
- 1:15Speaker 1: is I know we talked about the new clinic off there.
- 1:19Speaker 1: Is this the first time it's come up on the show.
- 1:20Speaker 2: I think maybe we mentioned it a couple times ago.
- 1:23Speaker 2: But yeah, So that's new and exciting for us. So
- 1:27Speaker 2: Marshall Petcare's veterinarian, doctor lu Schumacher, after a long and
- 1:31Speaker 2: very great career, has elected to retire, so she's going
- 1:35Speaker 2: to be handing the clinic off to us at the
- 1:37Speaker 2: beginning of September. So we're very excited to be able
- 1:40Speaker 2: to keep that clinic open in that small community. It
- 1:43Speaker 2: was going to look it was looking a little bleak
- 1:45Speaker 2: there for a bit. We want all of their clients
- 1:47Speaker 2: to know that we're there for them. We're going to
- 1:49Speaker 2: keep as much staff is interested in staying We're going
- 1:52Speaker 2: to keep as many things the same. The phone number
- 1:54Speaker 2: is the same, the website's the same. We're not going
- 1:57Speaker 2: to change anything up. I have a new manager, my
- 1:59Speaker 2: CVT that's been working for us for a year is
- 2:01Speaker 2: going to be managing that. She has twenty years of
- 2:03Speaker 2: experience in the veterinary field, so it should be really great.
- 2:07Speaker 2: And we're going to be for the short term substituting
- 2:10Speaker 2: doctors in and out until we finally get somebody in
- 2:12Speaker 2: there that can be solid, but we will be available
- 2:16Speaker 2: there as much as possible based on doctor availability.
- 2:19Speaker 1: That's great to hear. And I think sometimes you know,
- 2:21Speaker 1: and we deal with as people and our you know,
- 2:23Speaker 1: I had a doctor that I had for years and
- 2:26Speaker 1: he retired, and you kind of go, oh, yeah, it's
- 2:28Speaker 1: great to have that continuation of saying, and especially for
- 2:31Speaker 1: a great community where a smaller community has that great
- 2:34Speaker 1: relationship with the clinic and you know, and that type
- 2:36Speaker 1: of thing, having somebody that's able to take that honestly
- 2:39Speaker 1: enough to worry about going to a new city, new environment,
- 2:41Speaker 1: those type of things too.
- 2:42Speaker 2: So definitely, right, your pets used to it, You're used
- 2:45Speaker 2: to it. So the website will be the same the
- 2:47Speaker 2: same person, I'll be answering the phone. It should be
- 2:49Speaker 2: as smooth as transition as we can possibly make. So
- 2:52Speaker 2: we're trying to keep everything as level as possible so
- 2:54Speaker 2: that it doesn't shake anybody up. And you know, it's
- 2:57Speaker 2: a really nice little clinic and it's a nice little
- 2:59Speaker 2: town and I kind of like small towns, and I
- 3:02Speaker 2: just didn't want to see this place disappear.
- 3:05Speaker 1: It'll be great. Well, of course, we'll keep folks posted
- 3:07Speaker 1: on all the developments. And speaking of learning about the clinics,
- 3:10Speaker 1: check out vet, let's talk about checkout Veterinary and the
- 3:12Speaker 1: clinic and Sun Prairie. Just just a very very cool
- 3:17Speaker 1: concept for people that haven't heard you talk about. And
- 3:20Speaker 1: let's talk about what kind of the start of this,
- 3:24Speaker 1: the idea, and then of course what it's become.
- 3:27Speaker 2: Sure, so the idea really came from a garage that
- 3:30Speaker 2: we built at their clinic and the Mayra. So to
- 3:32Speaker 2: be clear, we are a family owned business and myself
- 3:35Speaker 2: and my husband and we have one associate there, so
- 3:37Speaker 2: we're not corporate. We're a small, family owned business. We've
- 3:41Speaker 2: been in business for forty three years, so we've been
- 3:43Speaker 2: around a bit. So we built it originally a garage
- 3:46Speaker 2: in the clinic and the mayra for client conveniences. They
- 3:48Speaker 2: could pull in and their pets could go in and
- 3:50Speaker 2: out after surgical procedures, and if the weather wasn't good,
- 3:53Speaker 2: and those kinds of things, litters of puppies, you know,
- 3:56Speaker 2: the things that we want to protect from the weather.
- 3:58Speaker 2: So about ten years ago I started kind of playing
- 4:01Speaker 2: around in my head after a meeting the opportunity to
- 4:04Speaker 2: do something on a larger scale along the same lines.
- 4:07Speaker 2: So we have four garage bays that each have two doors.
- 4:09Speaker 2: You drive up to the door, we open the door,
- 4:11Speaker 2: You pull into your vehicle into the garage bay. That
- 4:14Speaker 2: becomes your exam room. So it's the biggest exam room
- 4:16Speaker 2: that you'll probably ever be in. So you pull into
- 4:18Speaker 2: the garage, we close the doors. If you have a
- 4:20Speaker 2: dog that's comfortable in the car or they have mobility issues,
- 4:23Speaker 2: they can stay in the vehicle. If you have mobility issues,
- 4:26Speaker 2: you can stay in the vehicle. You never have to
- 4:28Speaker 2: get out, so you can have all the care provided
- 4:30Speaker 2: in the car. If your dog wants to get out,
- 4:32Speaker 2: roam around the garage bay or dogs, so you can bring,
- 4:35Speaker 2: you know, as many as you want at one time. Well,
- 4:38Speaker 2: we'll do the whole family at the same time. They
- 4:40Speaker 2: can come out. We have an exam table in the
- 4:42Speaker 2: garage base so that they can be on that. And
- 4:44Speaker 2: then if you have a small dog or a cat
- 4:46Speaker 2: that's more comfortable on an exam table, there's an adjacent
- 4:48Speaker 2: examroom with a window, so you can stay in the
- 4:50Speaker 2: car and see your pet through the window. Your pet
- 4:52Speaker 2: can see you through the window. You never have to
- 4:54Speaker 2: get out of the car. If you have kids with you,
- 4:56Speaker 2: say the kids are sleeping in the car, you don't
- 4:58Speaker 2: want to leave them in the parking lot. That's day.
- 5:00Speaker 2: We don't want to do that. If you have grandma
- 5:02Speaker 2: with you and you're worried that she might take off,
- 5:04Speaker 2: you know, forget that she's not supposed to be driving,
- 5:06Speaker 2: and she takes off and goes over to McDonald's. So
- 5:10Speaker 2: you can keep an eye on everybody, they're all right
- 5:11Speaker 2: there together. You never have to go into a lobby
- 5:14Speaker 2: a waiting room. There's never a rottweiler staring at your
- 5:16Speaker 2: little dog or your cat. There's never a cat screaming.
- 5:19Speaker 2: None of those things are happening. That pets are really
- 5:21Speaker 2: comfortable in that environment. So we find that in that
- 5:25Speaker 2: fear free kind of opportunity where pets just don't want
- 5:28Speaker 2: to be stressed, and you don't want to be stressed
- 5:30Speaker 2: by your pet being stressed, that this offers opportunities for that.
- 5:34Speaker 2: So people that have dogs that are uncomfortable or cats
- 5:36Speaker 2: that are uncomfortable in those settings, you don't have to
- 5:39Speaker 2: do that anymore. You just pull in and all you
- 5:41Speaker 2: want to do is just come look at us. You
- 5:44Speaker 2: don't have to pay us a penny. You can come over,
- 5:46Speaker 2: you can drive in, you can let your dog out,
- 5:49Speaker 2: you can bring your cat in. They can just wander around.
- 5:51Speaker 2: If you don't want anything done, oh then I just
- 5:53Speaker 2: want to see this place. I want to meet the doctor,
- 5:55Speaker 2: I want to meet the staff. I want to understand
- 5:57Speaker 2: how it works. I want people to feel percent comfortable
- 6:00Speaker 2: and that that's why we're doing first visit free, So
- 6:04Speaker 2: your first exam is free. After the exam, if you
- 6:07Speaker 2: do bloodwork, need heartren medications, any of those things in
- 6:09Speaker 2: there's a charge for that. But the physical exam the
- 6:12Speaker 2: doctor will do on your pet is done at no charge,
- 6:15Speaker 2: so that you can feel completely comfortable with the level
- 6:18Speaker 2: of experience that the doctor has with their way they
- 6:20Speaker 2: interact with you and your pet. We want you to
- 6:22Speaker 2: be really comfortable. So that's what this is about, is
- 6:25Speaker 2: really making people feel safe in a world that doesn't
- 6:28Speaker 2: always feel that safe.
- 6:30Speaker 1: It's really it's a really great concept. Today's a great data.
- 6:32Speaker 1: Of course, you mention the website checkout vet dot com.
- 6:35Speaker 1: You can request appointment right online. Of course you can
- 6:37Speaker 1: stop on in right at twenty seven to ten Prairie
- 6:39Speaker 1: Lakes Drive in sun Prairie. That's twenty seven to ten
- 6:42Speaker 1: Prairie Lakes Drive in sun Prairie. Open every day except
- 6:46Speaker 1: Thursdays from nine am until five pm. And you mentioned
- 6:49Speaker 1: check in VET available Monday. I got to write those
- 6:53Speaker 1: days down Monday, Monday through Wednesday, Friday, Monday through Friday.
- 6:57Speaker 1: I'm going right there we go.
- 6:58Speaker 2: I got check check your So check in is the
- 7:01Speaker 2: inpatient clinic. Check out is the outpatient clinic. And so
- 7:04Speaker 2: we rebranded. We took Nature to Preserve pet Care, which
- 7:08Speaker 2: we purchased about six years ago as the foundation for
- 7:11Speaker 2: this that was named originally pet Care Center than Nature's Preserve,
- 7:14Speaker 2: and now it's called check In. We actually did have
- 7:17Speaker 2: a client that ran through the wall of the building
- 7:19Speaker 2: last September she accidentally hit the gas instead of the
- 7:22Speaker 2: brake and she drove into the building. That wasn't really
- 7:25Speaker 2: the intention when we called it check in, but that
- 7:28Speaker 2: kind of helps you. Distinguished check in is the inpatient
- 7:30Speaker 2: We can have surgery, dentals, x rays, ultrasounds, any of
- 7:34Speaker 2: the complete care that you need that needs to be
- 7:36Speaker 2: done for your pet, dog or cat can be done
- 7:39Speaker 2: at check in. And then the outpatient things the less serious.
- 7:42Speaker 2: No diagnostics, no, well, we send out blood work, but
- 7:46Speaker 2: we don't do any in house blood work, So anything
- 7:49Speaker 2: that you need that just needs a looxi and some medication,
- 7:52Speaker 2: your routine annual wellness, your routine heartworm test, your fecal analysis,
- 7:57Speaker 2: your booster vaccinations, poppy, oh gosh, we love having puppies
- 8:00Speaker 2: and kittens, and it's really fun to come in with
- 8:02Speaker 2: a puppy or a kitten because that's what they get
- 8:05Speaker 2: to know from the very beginning. And if that's all
- 8:07Speaker 2: they know is this is how veterinary care is provided,
- 8:10Speaker 2: you're going to have started them with a great foundation
- 8:12Speaker 2: of being comfortable at the vet clinic.
- 8:14Speaker 1: That's an amazing model. Check it out the website. Look
- 8:17Speaker 1: at that. Check out vet dot com. That's check out
- 8:19Speaker 1: vet dot com. I want to ask you about blood
- 8:22Speaker 1: work in just a moment. But first last week we
- 8:23Speaker 1: started talking about healthy weights for your pet, and diet
- 8:27Speaker 1: came up and I was going to ask you and
- 8:30Speaker 1: we ran out of time, and thank goodness, we've got
- 8:32Speaker 1: a chance to talk today. Life stage diets is I
- 8:36Speaker 1: see you know you'll see like puppy food or adult
- 8:40Speaker 1: or senior? Is there actually a difference between those? Is
- 8:44Speaker 1: this marketing or is it something as a pet owner
- 8:46Speaker 1: you really want to pay attention to.
- 8:48Speaker 2: No, it's for real. The older pets, we have lower calories,
- 8:52Speaker 2: more fiber, different quantities of fat. Sometimes I put in
- 8:55Speaker 2: some amino acids to help with weight loss. There's definitely
- 8:58Speaker 2: differences in life stage. Puppies need to have that higher
- 9:01Speaker 2: caloric intake so that they can grow. Their little tummies
- 9:04Speaker 2: aren't big enough to hold the amount of food they
- 9:06Speaker 2: need for growth, so those are important things. Of course,
- 9:08Speaker 2: we have prescription diets that veterinarians can sell that are
- 9:12Speaker 2: specific for medical conditions, and again those are very specific,
- 9:16Speaker 2: so we can treat bladderstones and diabetes and kidney failure
- 9:19Speaker 2: and joint disease. And you know, if humans ate as
- 9:22Speaker 2: well as our dogs do on these prescription foods, we'd
- 9:24Speaker 2: all be a lot healthier. Unfortunately we're not that good
- 9:27Speaker 2: at it. And then oil Canaan has a line of
- 9:30Speaker 2: foods that are breed specific, both for cats and for dogs,
- 9:33Speaker 2: and again people kind of roll their eyes a little
- 9:35Speaker 2: bit and they think, well, this is just marketing or
- 9:37Speaker 2: just gimmick, and it's really not. The docs and diet
- 9:39Speaker 2: is meant for low long dogs that have a tendency
- 9:42Speaker 2: to get too heavy, and it's not grooved for their backs,
- 9:44Speaker 2: so corgies do well on docks and diet. German shepherd
- 9:48Speaker 2: diet works really well for dogs that have a sensitive stomach.
- 9:51Speaker 2: Those dogs German shepherds in general stress for their guts,
- 9:55Speaker 2: so they don't always do well on certain kinds of foods.
- 9:57Speaker 2: So this is a highly digestible diet. The most highly
- 10:00Speaker 2: adjuticble food you can get without a prescription. Bulldog food
- 10:03Speaker 2: is like Persian cat food. They make it shape so
- 10:05Speaker 2: that those little flatter faces can pick the kibble up
- 10:08Speaker 2: off the bottom of the bowl. Labrador of food has
- 10:10Speaker 2: a hole through the middle of it, so as they
- 10:12Speaker 2: gulp down their food, they swallow less air. They have
- 10:15Speaker 2: all these things really well designed, both from a nutrient
- 10:17Speaker 2: perspective and from the shape of the kibble and the
- 10:20Speaker 2: size of the kibble so that they're more specific for breeds.
- 10:22Speaker 2: So if you're having a particular problem with food, are
- 10:26Speaker 2: you not sure? Maybe you don't even know if you
- 10:28Speaker 2: have a problem. Every time you go to the vet,
- 10:30Speaker 2: your veterinary clinic is more than happy to discuss nutrition
- 10:33Speaker 2: with you. So ask the vet tech, ask the veterinarians.
- 10:36Speaker 2: Many people are well trained and nutrition, so don't hesitate
- 10:39Speaker 2: to jump in and say, hey, can you tell me
- 10:41Speaker 2: if there's a better food I should be feeding? Is
- 10:43Speaker 2: this one? Okay? You know there are people that just
- 10:47Speaker 2: don't understand nutrition, and part of the problem is when
- 10:50Speaker 2: you read the label on the food, people are reading
- 10:52Speaker 2: an ingredient list, not a nutrient profile, and so they're
- 10:55Speaker 2: a little concerned about what some of the dry kibble
- 10:58Speaker 2: has in it. And you know, there's a lot of
- 11:00Speaker 2: great marketing going on right now on TV for some
- 11:03Speaker 2: of these pet foods that aren't actually as healthy for
- 11:06Speaker 2: your pet as the marketing people at the companies would
- 11:09Speaker 2: like you to believe. So listen to your veterinary clinic.
- 11:12Speaker 2: We're you know, people say, well, you veterinaries, you all
- 11:14Speaker 2: get kickbacks. No, no, actually we don't know. And yes,
- 11:18Speaker 2: actually we do have nutritional education when we're in vet school.
- 11:21Speaker 2: So your vetex, your vets, they're all skilled at this.
- 11:24Speaker 2: So don't overlook that resource when you're looking for what
- 11:27Speaker 2: to pick for your best pet food interting.
- 11:29Speaker 1: When you when you mentioned, as we talked this morning
- 11:31Speaker 1: with doctor Marty Greer of Checkout Veterinary Doctor, when you
- 11:33Speaker 1: mentioned different breeds, and you know, when you break it
- 11:36Speaker 1: down like that and different dietary needs, it really well
- 11:40Speaker 1: illustrates and we always for I think oftentimes as pet owners,
- 11:44Speaker 1: we tend to forget that there's a there's a whole
- 11:47Speaker 1: history of these breeds and where they came from, what they're,
- 11:52Speaker 1: what they were bred for over generations and generations, sporting
- 11:56Speaker 1: and those type of dogs. They all have very unique
- 12:00Speaker 1: needs all around, whether it's exercise needs, dietary needs, that stuff,
- 12:04Speaker 1: And when you explain it that way, it starts to
- 12:06Speaker 1: make perfect sense. I let me ask you about that too,
- 12:10Speaker 1: different dogs, different exercise regimens. Is that another area that
- 12:13Speaker 1: maybe pet owners need to really be aware of when
- 12:16Speaker 1: they're oh thing about dogs.
- 12:17Speaker 2: Yeah, especially we've talked about this before, but especially the
- 12:20Speaker 2: break these tophalixis short face breeds like the Frenchies, the
- 12:22Speaker 2: bulldogs of course, the Frenchies and everyone breed right now.
- 12:25Speaker 2: There's a lot of them out there. So we have
- 12:27Speaker 2: to be very careful in warm weather, hot weather, humid weather,
- 12:29Speaker 2: that we're not overdoing it for those pets. You don't
- 12:32Speaker 2: want to go out and run the lawnmower and have
- 12:34Speaker 2: the dog follow you through the yard every time you
- 12:37Speaker 2: make a pass, because we see dogs that come in
- 12:39Speaker 2: just heat exhaustion from things like that. So you want
- 12:41Speaker 2: to be careful. You want to be smart, be careful
- 12:43Speaker 2: when the weather's really hot, that if you're going to
- 12:45Speaker 2: take the dog out on the asphalt, that you place
- 12:47Speaker 2: your hand on the asphalt and hold it there for
- 12:49Speaker 2: five seconds and see how that feels to you before
- 12:52Speaker 2: you take your dog on a walk or to the
- 12:54Speaker 2: farmer's market or you know whatever.
- 12:55Speaker 1: I mean.
- 12:56Speaker 2: It's really fun to take our dogs places, but you
- 12:58Speaker 2: have to be smart about it. Be careful of swimming.
- 13:00Speaker 2: Certain times a year. We see blue gray, blue green
- 13:03Speaker 2: allergy this time of year. That can be toxic. So
- 13:05Speaker 2: be thoughtful, be smart, and you know, just be careful
- 13:09Speaker 2: with your pets. Care because although they may really look
- 13:12Speaker 2: like they're having a good time, they don't have great judgment.
- 13:15Speaker 2: Sometimes you just have to like put the brakes on.
- 13:17Speaker 2: They're like your kids, you know enough. Yeah, if you
- 13:21Speaker 2: got to stop.
- 13:21Speaker 1: One of the things I love about my little Chiuala
- 13:23Speaker 1: I see the leisure Lee Walker. It's a stroll. We're
- 13:26Speaker 1: not not in any particular hurry, but yeah, it's really
- 13:29Speaker 1: good stuff. I want to ask you to and I
- 13:31Speaker 1: mentioned asking you about blood work. I want to ask
- 13:33Speaker 1: you about that and it will do that in just
- 13:34Speaker 1: a moment as we talk with doctor Marty Greer. Of course,
- 13:37Speaker 1: doctor Grear comes to us from Checkout Veterinary the website
- 13:39Speaker 1: check out vet dot com. That's check out vet dot com.
- 13:43Speaker 1: Of course, doctor Marty Greer the twenty twenty three Veterinarian
- 13:46Speaker 1: of the Year from Westminster Kennel Club. And of course
- 13:48Speaker 1: we get the chance to talk with doctor Greer each
- 13:50Speaker 1: and every Thursday at eight thirty. Don't forget if you
- 13:52Speaker 1: miss any part of the show, you can always listen
- 13:54Speaker 1: back to the podcast. You can subscribe as well online
- 13:56Speaker 1: at WIBA dot com. We'll continue our conversation with doctor
- 14:00Speaker 1: Greer next as ask the Experts with Checkout Veterinary continues
- 14:03Speaker 1: right here on thirteen ten dialible U I B A
- 14:07Speaker 1: thirteen ten dollible U I B A and ask the
- 14:10Speaker 1: experts we check Out Veterinary and doctor Murty Greer. Of course,
- 14:13Speaker 1: doctor Greer does come to us from Checkout Veterinary the
- 14:15Speaker 1: website check out vet dot com. That's checkout vet dot com.
- 14:20Speaker 1: I'm talking earlier just about different life stage diets and
- 14:24Speaker 1: also a little bit about Checkout Veterinary. What makes it
- 14:26Speaker 1: so unique? And doctor when you were talking about bringing
- 14:29Speaker 1: your pet in. Some of the things that, of course,
- 14:31Speaker 1: as pet owners you want to get is things like
- 14:34Speaker 1: like blood work and other tests. What is and I
- 14:36Speaker 1: hear that term blood work obviously as a pet owner,
- 14:39Speaker 1: I've seen my pets, my dog's blood and cats blood
- 14:43Speaker 1: be drawn before. What are you looking for there? What's
- 14:45Speaker 1: how does that, how does that all work? What's going
- 14:47Speaker 1: on there? And is it? Is it a very helpful
- 14:49Speaker 1: useful tool?
- 14:50Speaker 2: Sure? And that's a great question. So there's a lot
- 14:52Speaker 2: of things that we test. Probably the one thing that
- 14:55Speaker 2: most people hear the most frequently is about the heartworm test.
- 14:59Speaker 2: So we do test frequently, usually once a year a
- 15:02Speaker 2: heartroom test, and many clinics are also running a test
- 15:05Speaker 2: that includes lime disease, anaplasmosis, and er lichia, and those
- 15:08Speaker 2: are kind of a mouthful. A lot of people know
- 15:10Speaker 2: what lime disease is. It's a tick born disease that
- 15:12Speaker 2: can cause arthritis. We can see kidney failure from it.
- 15:16Speaker 2: It's a pretty serious disease. So we want to make
- 15:18Speaker 2: sure that if our pets are exposed to ticks that
- 15:20Speaker 2: are carrying anaplasmosis, aer lichia, or lime disease, that we're
- 15:23Speaker 2: testing for it and diagnosing it early enough before the
- 15:26Speaker 2: pet has symptoms that we can treat that and eliminate
- 15:28Speaker 2: it from their system. Some dogs, once they're positive for
- 15:31Speaker 2: lime disease, and sometimes for the other two as well,
- 15:34Speaker 2: anaplaus and aer lichia, they may be positive for many
- 15:37Speaker 2: years now. There's an additional follow up test that is
- 15:40Speaker 2: run right now. It's just run by one lab. It's
- 15:42Speaker 2: called a C six. It's a confirmatory test that tells
- 15:45Speaker 2: you what level of lime disease exposure your pet has.
- 15:48Speaker 2: So if it's under thirty, it's an old infection and
- 15:51Speaker 2: something in the past, maybe two years ago, they were
- 15:53Speaker 2: exposed and you cleared it with antibiotics. But if it's
- 15:57Speaker 2: above thirty, and we've seen them as high as eight hundred,
- 16:00Speaker 2: that these pets have a pretty serious and active infection
- 16:03Speaker 2: to lime disease. So we need to get a handle
- 16:04Speaker 2: on that before they go into kidney failure or end
- 16:07Speaker 2: up with other organ dysfunction. So that's the test we
- 16:10Speaker 2: most commonly know about. Of course, heartwom disease. Heartworm is
- 16:13Speaker 2: really a worm that lives in the dog's heart. Not
- 16:15Speaker 2: commonly seen in Wisconsin. It's more common in the dogs
- 16:18Speaker 2: that come from the South. So a lot of the
- 16:19Speaker 2: rescue dogs that come up from the southern tier of
- 16:22Speaker 2: States are positive for heartworm. That again can be treated
- 16:25Speaker 2: if we get it diagnosed and taken care of early enough.
- 16:27Speaker 2: So important that you're doing that test every year. People
- 16:30Speaker 2: want to push back and say, well, do I have
- 16:32Speaker 2: to really do it? I'm giving my heart room preventive,
- 16:34Speaker 2: And the answer is heartworm preventive. Sometimes fail your dog
- 16:36Speaker 2: spits it up behind the couch, they vomit it up,
- 16:38Speaker 2: you forget a lot of things happen, So it is
- 16:40Speaker 2: recommended that that test is done annually. Now, a lot
- 16:43Speaker 2: of dogs as long as we're drawing that blood, we
- 16:45Speaker 2: will run a summer wellness on them. So it does
- 16:48Speaker 2: a CBC and a chemistry panel. A CBC is exactly
- 16:52Speaker 2: what it is in humans. It checks three different kinds
- 16:54Speaker 2: of blood counts. It checks the red blood cell count,
- 16:57Speaker 2: which measures for anemia, It checks a white bla's SO
- 17:00Speaker 2: count that checks for infection, and it checks a platelet
- 17:02Speaker 2: count that checks for blood clotting. And Erlikia is one
- 17:05Speaker 2: of the tick boorn diseases that can make the platelet
- 17:07Speaker 2: count drop and cause the dog to have hemorrhage, sometimes
- 17:11Speaker 2: under the skin, sometimes overtly, so again that's important that
- 17:15Speaker 2: we're monitoring that. And then the chemistry panel checks liver function,
- 17:19Speaker 2: kidney function, checks for diabetes, checks electrolytes, so it checks
- 17:24Speaker 2: for an array of different organ functions, metabolic diseases that
- 17:28Speaker 2: we see in pets, young pets, and old pets. It
- 17:30Speaker 2: doesn't have to be just an older pet that can
- 17:32Speaker 2: have those problems. And it's very similar to the blood
- 17:34Speaker 2: panel that your physician would order for you on an
- 17:37Speaker 2: annual basis when you go in for health care. Sometimes
- 17:40Speaker 2: we'll also check for thyghrid disease, so it just depends
- 17:43Speaker 2: you know, if your pet's over age seven, we're probably
- 17:45Speaker 2: going to be checking for that. So it depends on
- 17:47Speaker 2: the age of the pet, it depends on what we're
- 17:49Speaker 2: seeing on physical exam or your history of what kind
- 17:51Speaker 2: of changes you're seeing. So those are all really commonly
- 17:54Speaker 2: done tests. We're happy to share those test results with people.
- 17:58Speaker 2: The problem is sometimes you look at those numbers and
- 18:00Speaker 2: if you see something that looks a little bit off,
- 18:02Speaker 2: you don't know if that's something to be a little
- 18:04Speaker 2: concerned about, or not concerned at all, or a lot
- 18:06Speaker 2: concerned about. You know, if the glucose is high, I'm
- 18:08Speaker 2: going to get a lot more concerned than if one
- 18:10Speaker 2: of the deliver and simes is high. And in a
- 18:12Speaker 2: fourteen year old dog, many dogs that are in the
- 18:14Speaker 2: fourteen year old category will have an elevated alcfoss because
- 18:17Speaker 2: it goes up with arthritis. So you know, those are
- 18:19Speaker 2: things that as a veterinarian, I'm going to shrug my
- 18:21Speaker 2: shoulder and say I'm not too worried about it. But
- 18:23Speaker 2: you may look at that number and not really know
- 18:25Speaker 2: how to interpret it. It's sort of like on EPIC
- 18:27Speaker 2: when you go to your physician and they give you
- 18:29Speaker 2: your results on epic through my chart. You look at
- 18:31Speaker 2: it and you're, you know, like, oh, like your hair
- 18:34Speaker 2: catches on fire. Kids, I go, is this bad?
- 18:36Speaker 1: Like is this serious? To get to it? Yeah, exactly.
- 18:39Speaker 2: So you want to make sure that your veterinarian or
- 18:41Speaker 2: your veterinary technician is helping you with the interpretation. Don't
- 18:44Speaker 2: go off the rails and start googling everything because you'll
- 18:46Speaker 2: make yourself crazy doing that.
- 18:48Speaker 1: Let's all I want to ask you that about pet
- 18:50Speaker 1: owner vet relationships is obviously we focus a lot on
- 18:54Speaker 1: pets and their experience. Having that good relationship and that
- 18:59Speaker 1: ability to communicate well with your vet's that's a big priority,
- 19:03Speaker 1: is it.
- 19:03Speaker 2: Oh yeah, we are part of the family when it
- 19:06Speaker 2: comes to medical care. So I you know, people will
- 19:09Speaker 2: call us say my vet, well, you know a lot
- 19:11Speaker 2: of people's vets. But yeah, I'm glad to think of
- 19:14Speaker 2: me that way. But it's really important that you do
- 19:16Speaker 2: have that good relationship that and you need to be
- 19:18Speaker 2: kind and polite to everyone on the veterinary team. Call
- 19:22Speaker 2: and be nice to the receptionist, be nice to the technician.
- 19:25Speaker 2: You know, don't be that person that calls up and
- 19:27Speaker 2: is difficult to manage and then think that when you
- 19:30Speaker 2: get in front of the doctor that you can make
- 19:31Speaker 2: all that up by being nicely nice, because you know what,
- 19:33Speaker 2: we all know what's going on. Yeah, and if you
- 19:35Speaker 2: have something that your veterinary staff member especially went out
- 19:40Speaker 2: of their way for, thank them for it. Take them
- 19:42Speaker 2: up plate of cookies. It doesn't have to be anything
- 19:44Speaker 2: fancy or expensive. Take them up plate of cookies. Buy
- 19:47Speaker 2: a pizza for lunch someday. Many days they don't get
- 19:50Speaker 2: a break for lunch. They don't get out on time
- 19:51Speaker 2: at the end of the day to get home and
- 19:53Speaker 2: get their kids to soccer practice. They don't get their
- 19:55Speaker 2: errands run. You know, don't and don't tackle them at
- 19:58Speaker 2: the grocery store. If you see them, they're like like space, yeah, exactly,
- 20:01Speaker 2: like oh, just say hi to them, but don't corner
- 20:04Speaker 2: them and say, hey, I have just a good question,
- 20:07Speaker 2: which turns into twenty five minutes later, it's not such
- 20:09Speaker 2: a quick question. But be really kind to everyone at
- 20:12Speaker 2: the veterinary clinic. They all have your pet's best interest
- 20:14Speaker 2: in mind, and if you are kind to them, they
- 20:16Speaker 2: will help you out when you need something managed, because
- 20:20Speaker 2: at some point your pet is going to have some
- 20:22Speaker 2: kind of a crisis, and I never want to see
- 20:24Speaker 2: that that happens, but at some point, and I'll tell
- 20:26Speaker 2: you that the most heartfelt thank yous that we ever
- 20:29Speaker 2: get from a client is after a euthanasia. And to me,
- 20:33Speaker 2: that's really touching because we know how important that if
- 20:38Speaker 2: it goes well, that is how important that is to
- 20:40Speaker 2: a pet owner to see that end of life care
- 20:43Speaker 2: being done well for their pet. So you know, please
- 20:48Speaker 2: please just be aware of that. And speaking of that,
- 20:50Speaker 2: we do have a new book in our practices called
- 20:54Speaker 2: Promises to My Pet, so we carry that at the practice.
- 20:57Speaker 2: If you do need some help with making some of
- 20:59Speaker 2: those decisions, you can buy it online at Amazon. But
- 21:02Speaker 2: please realize that your veterinary clinic is there to help
- 21:05Speaker 2: with those kinds of decisions and their veterinary team is
- 21:08Speaker 2: there to support you when you're making decisions. So if
- 21:11Speaker 2: you have a quality of life decision, bring it up
- 21:13Speaker 2: and talk about it. Your VET wants to help you.
- 21:15Speaker 1: Really good day to start that relationship, start that conversation.
- 21:18Speaker 1: Of course, you can learn more about checkout VET online,
- 21:21Speaker 1: checkout vets dot com. That's checkout vet dot com. Telphy
- 21:24Speaker 1: number six so eight three one eight sixty seven hundred.
- 21:26Speaker 1: That's three one eight sixty seven hundred, Doctor Greer, it's
- 21:30Speaker 1: always great talking with you. You enjoyed this fantastic day.
- 21:32Speaker 2: Thank you.
- 21:33Speaker 1: News comes your way next right here at thirteen ten
- 21:35Speaker 1: Wuiba