Pet Health

We are committed to providing you with the latest in pet health information. This information is for educational purposes only to help you understand your pet’s healthcare needs. Please contact us directly for specific concerns about your pet.

Pet Health Checker

A tool to help you decide if your pet’s symptoms require veterinary attention and how quickly that attention is needed.

Pet Health Library

Over 1200 articles professionally written and updated by practice experts and reviewed by practitioners to bring you the most up-to-date high quality client information.

How-To Videos

A series of helpful short videos on dog and cat care.

 

Hi to everyone, from Chippawa Animal Hospital

Well the culmination of a very unusual year is a very different Christmas season. Many people are struggling with the current situation, either physically or mentally. My hope for us all is that we can find the resources to creatively navigate a very tough time.

When COVID-19 first hit our province we had a very strong response and managed to reduce the infection rate and hospital case load over the spring and summer. The situation is different now, and this is a critical point for the health system and for the decisions we all make in the next few weeks.

At Chippawa Animal Hospital we continue to do what we can to reduce the possibility of COVID-19 transmission, remembering that any one of us could be infectious without knowing it. So we all wear masks, wash our hands, disinfect surfaces and maintain the distance that we can. In that respect we are still asking clients to stay outside, and allow us to bring their pets into the clinic for care.

The risk for becoming infected has increased, and at any time there may be the need for a Veterinary Hospital to close due to potential exposure or actual infection within the group. If that happens we hope that other animal hospitals will take our clients for urgent care, as we will try to do for them.

One aspect of this crisis is that our local animal emergency centre, the Niagara Veterinary Emergency Clinic (NVEC) has been much busier than usual, and they have warned us that there may come a time when they will be unable to maintain their current hours (24/7). We have had updates on their status and have learned that the Christmas season could present a crunch time for them. You may already be aware of the prolonged wait times (8 hours has not been rare). They see patients based on triage of urgency, so the sickest go first. In fact, they may refuse to see a pet if it is determined that they can wait until the regular veterinarian is available. Our clients are not able to go into the emergency clinic, similar to our own procedures. They will also be asking COVID 19 exposure questions.

As much as possible we are trying to reduce the demand on the NVEC and you can help in a few ways:

1. Please don’t wait if you think your pet is acting different from usual. Call us as soon as possible while we are still open.
2. If we are closed, and you aren’t sure how urgent the problem is, you can enter your pets symptoms and get information from our Pet Health Checker.
3. We will be handling as many of our own client emergencies during regular hour. That means non-urgent procedures may be postponed at the last minute. If we call you to reschedule your appointment please understand that when your pet needs us urgently we will be prioritizing them in the same way.
4. If you have questions about common emergencies, or toxicities, you may find answers on our Pet Health Library that can help to determine your best course. You can use our Pet Health Library to search for up to date, reliable information.

And Take care,

Our best wishes for you, your family and all your fur babies

Chippawa Animal Hospital Staff