Jennifer Melling, DVM

Kind clients make our job worth it! ❤️❤️

Preach!!!!!!

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Looking to attend fun community events? Come visit us next weekend at the Tails, Ales and Tunes event in Central Park, Maple Grove. From food and drinks to games and music and of course dogs! Hope to see you there

What is your dog telling you? Drs. Dodman and Pike discuss "What Your Dog’s Facial Expressions Really Mean" in the latest Readers Digest. https://www.rd.com/article/dog-facial-expressions/

Come help us celebrate National Pet Parent Day at our hospital! We will have drinks, snacks/treats, goodie bags, paw prints and a raffle! All are welcome. Please see flier for more details. Hope to see you then!

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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/feb/26/us-vet-shortage-pets-health

‘A soul killer’: what’s behind the US’s critical veterinarian shortage? As vets turn away from the profession citing poor mental health and high costs, experts say public health is at risk

I’m reviewing veterinary continuing education courses available to take at our upcoming state veterinary conference in February. It brings me great sadness that this is now a course they have to teach to veterinarians this day and age. I’m very worried for our profession….😞

Verbal De-Escalation Techniques and Krav Maga Basics
Workshop Details:
Verbal de-escalation is a very important part of practical self-defense and an art. It should be your first line of defense. Many times, you can talk our way out of a situation without resorting to physical action. The best fight is the one you avoided. Let us remember that the ability to talk and de-escalate a situation is a critical part of your training. The main goal of krav maga self-defense training is survival. Krav Maga is a simple, aggressive, easy-to-learn and easy-to-remember system of self-defense. Krav Maga training focuses on principles rather than techniques because no two attacks are ever the same.

What to wear/bring: Wear comfortable clothes since we will be doing movements as a part of the training. Consider dressing in layers as conference rooms can be chilly and we want our bodies warm for the movements. Also, bring a water bottle and a yoga mat or towel.

Cost: $20/per person

Limited Space Available

CE Credits: 3 CE credits

Please be kind and appropriate to people when you are in public. I’m tired of calling the police on people. Ughhhhh

Bahahaha, true story

Do you do a safety inspection before offering a toy to your cat?

Don’t panic! Get the facts here first about the “respiratory disease sweeping the nation” from a legit veterinary source.

Respiratory Disease in Dogs Sweeping Across the US: Outbreak of Disease or Media Attention? I’ve held off writing about this but since I’ve been answering many emails about it every day, here we go. The questions I keep getting (as usual) are

Now offering Proheart 6!!

Proheart is a one time injection that protects your dog against heartworm disease for 6 consecutive months. It also treats the intestinal parasite, hookworms.
Do you struggle to remember to give your monthly pill? Do you struggle to get your dog to take said pill? Call us today to find out more or schedule your appointment!

Veterinarian shortage persists across Minnesota and U.S., leading to calls for action The pandemic exacerbated workforce shortages in veterinary care, but the University of Minnesota and others are working to tackle the problem.

Trust your vet. Not google, not your neighbor, not your family member, not your “research”. It only delays your pet’s care and makes your veterinarian think twice about continuing to work with you.

The Unparalleled Experience Your Veterinarian Brings to the (Exam) Table – DC Journal - InsideSources When a person brings a pet into their household, they assume the responsibility of providing the animal with love and care – from food and water to daily

Pet Halloween Costume contest!! 🎃🎃
👻Win a $50 gift certicate to either our CR or MG hospital location!!!

👻Show us a picture of your pet dressed in their costume in the replies below.

👻The pet with the most positive responses will be the winner!!

👻 Contest ends at 10pm on 10/31.

👻Anyone is eligible to play—share this with family and friends!!!

There are so many ways to cultivate a culture you want to be a daily part of….
Here’s just another example of how I lead my team! Congrats to Samii!

Miracle drug!

🚨🚨NEW ARTHRITIS PRODUCT ALERT!!
Does your dog suffer from stiffness after sleeping or exercise? Is your older dog “slowing” down? Does your dog show hesitancy to get up and down off furniture or stairs?
Arthritis is the number one cause of pain in dogs. Limping, stiffness, sleeping a lot, slowing down are all signs of PAIN.
At WellHaven, we have great treatments to help your pet including laser therapy, oral pain medications, and most recently….LIBRELA!
Call us today to learn more about this life changing treatment for your dog!!

https://www.librelavetteam.com/discussing-oa-with-your-clients

When you cultivate a work culture you truly love being apart of, it shows in your patient and client care! 👏🏻❤️

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WE PASSED!! Help our team celebrate our AAHA RE-accreditation today! We work hard to provide the best level of care possible to our patients and their pet parents by following the AAHA standard of care. Great job team, you are amazing!!

I received a complaint today that I offered “poor service”. This client was upset that extractions were recommended for her pet and couldn’t believe it because her pet was only 4 years old.
Guess what…I didn’t cause the pathology to your dog’s tooth but it’s my job to educate you on this pathology and the recommended course of action whether you like it or not.
I used to get so offended and hurt when clients weren’t pleased with the care I provided. It made me question my career when I’d go above and beyond for a pet with no recognition of it or a complaint as if I didn’t do enough.
Time and experience has either made me numb to these type of clients and/or made me realize the age old saying of “you can’t please everyone”. If anything, this has taught me to appreciate those clients that appreciate what I DO do and don’t waste time or feelings on those clients who don’t. Life is too short. And you don’t need to cater to everyone, especially the unappreciative. Stay strong, don’t give up on what you love doing because of the small minority that try to bring you down. ❤️

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Thank you to all our clients who voted for us! We appreciate you!!

CommunityVotes Maple Grove 2023 Official 2023 Community Voting Awards Platform for Maple Grove, MN. Where the community votes for their favorites every year.

Every. Single. Day. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Vet Clinic C**n Rapids

Time to understand how big of a problem pet overpopulation truly is. Please do your part—
*be a responsible pet owner, get pet insurance to help with cost of owning a pet
*work on behavioral issues with your vet from the start
*spay and neuter
*microchip and provide proper ID in case they get lost
*donate time, money or foster for your local animal rescue
*be kind to those who work in the pet industry ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Earlier this month, our executive director shared her personal struggle and the challenges going on in the Minnesota rescue world today in our e-newsletter. We felt it important to also share here as our communities feel and see the changes happening.

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“I have been struggling. Struggling to find the words that would express effectively what rescue and sheltering work in Minnesota is like right now while staying positive.

I hit a wall. I've been paralyzed not knowing how to "write the story". Many of us have been there and we know how difficult it can be to get on the other side of those walls. It's been really hard but I must start to climb over.

Minnesota pets and people need me, they need us, and they need Pet Haven.

At Pet Haven, it's very important to create "pawsitivity" around our work. When we tell a story, we make sure the story is complete so you can see even though the journey of a particular pet may not start out well, in the end, the completed story shows how our work changes lives for the better.

Positive. Good. Impactful Work.

My hope is you will be uplifted, inspired to engage, and be a part of this community of rescue work. Fostering love, changing lives, and creating families.

Work with purpose and joy for those we help but right now Minnesota is in crisis. Many of us on the rescue landscape are really struggling. This is one of the most difficult times I have seen in my career in animal rescue.

Minnesota's largest shelter is closed due to the importation of Canine Influenza from Texas and Oklahoma. This shelter provides stray hold services for many smaller cities and counties. They can no longer take pets in. This shelter also provides owner surrender services and stray drop-offs. This shelter can no longer take pets in. This shelter can no longer take in any pets in need, from owners to reservations to strays at large.

The ripple effect of this has been huge.

We have over 60 dogs waiting for a Pet Haven foster home to open up and 137 cats/kittens waiting in the wings. In 2022, we received over 2,000 applications to surrender a pet in the duration of the year. In the first quarter of 2023, we have received almost 1,000.

Our city municipal shelters are bursting at the seams. Minnesota shelters have been very lucky this past decade not having to euthanize for space. That is quickly changing. Minnesota rural shelters are having to turn people and pets looking for help away due to staff shortages and capacity issues. Many shelters have been forced to adopt the "leave them be" policy for cats unless pregnant, sick, or injured. Some shelters just say no and many city and rural municipals won't even take cats.

Many more animals are being abandoned and left behind due to lack of affordable/inclusive housing and financial resources with nowhere to bring them.

Our Reservation partners are bursting with owned and stray pets needing help and people needing food for their pets. This year so far we have shared over 75,000 pounds of food with our Reservation partners donated to us by BIXBY. We are incredibly grateful for their generosity. There are little to no resources for pet owners on our Minnesota Reservations. We will continue to share resources and work with our partners like Leech Lake Legacy to help as many pets and owners needing to surrender as we are able to and bring them into our Foster Care Program.

Frankly put, it's been extremely challenging. But we, Pet Haven, are determined to keep our arms open and say YES to those that need us. That is where I need the help of the Pet Haven Community. A community of over 12,000 caring individuals.

I need your help. Over the month of May, we will be sharing our Bridge The Gap Funding Campaign. This campaign is to help "bridge the gap" between what we receive in adoption fees and our rising medical expenses. I will be featuring amazing stories of success, stories of the strength and perseverance of pets and people, and our journey of building a future for Pet Haven and those we help!

Our Minnesota pets need Pet Haven.

But they need you too.

Many rescues are having to go on intake hold so we MUST keep our doors open to help more pets. You can help us do that.

YOU can directly impact a life.

Skip that coffee tomorrow and give that $5 to help us say YES to providing high-quality medical care, and keeping our arms open!

Work with a purpose, work that’s making an impact. Work worth doing!

Thank you for being part of the amazing journey of rescue work! As challenging as it can be, I would not want to do anything different!”

Kerry D'Amato
Executive Director Pet Haven Inc of MN

https://pethavenmn.org