Bivens Animal Hospital

Those of you who have been with me a long time remember my son, Jared, who spent his baby years at my office.

Well baby graduates law school May 13th!! As such, I am not seeing appointments May 13th and May 14th as I will be attending his graduation ceremony.

I have staff working who can refill meds, run labs or X-rays if needed, but there will be no doctor visits those two days. We have a doctor covering for us, so if your pet needs to be seen Monday and Tuesday call the office and my staff will direct you where you can be seen.

I thank you for your understanding.

Andrea 

UPDATED RECALL - Blue Ridge Beef is expanding their recall to include additional lot numbers of their 2 lb log of Kitten Grind, 2lb log of Kitten Mix, and 2lb log of Puppy Mix due to contamination of Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.

The products were distributed between 11/14/2023 – 12/20/2023. These products were packaged in clear plastic and sold primarily in retail stores located in the states of: CT, FL, IA, IL, MA, MD, MI, NC, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, TN, VA & WI. More info: https://bit.ly/48D8dAY

The FVMA and the University of Florida have provided recommendations regarding the clusters of respiratory disease currently mentioned in the media.

We currently have not seen any of these cases, but here is our summary and plan regarding the illness.

* It remains unknown if this is a typical player in respiratory diseases in dogs (Bordetella, Influenza, etc) or if it is a new disease.

* It presents as a snotty nose, coughing, lethargy, fever and can (but not always) progress to pneumonia

* If your dog is not a 100% stay at home dog, we should vaccinate for both Bordetella and Influenza. Please call for an appointment.

*If you just had an appointment and we did not include those vaccines, please also call and we will update them. These recommendations were released last night (11/28/23).

*If your pet presents with cold like symptoms, please call right away for an appointment, as the University and the FVMA advise rapid testing so a diagnosis gets made.

*Please do NOT be afraid to bring your pet to our clinic, as we routinely see our appointments for possibly contagious dogs in a completely separate building which has no physical connection (AC or otherwise) to our main building.

*If your pet is showing symptoms of lethargy, eye or nose discharge, cough, fever or seems otherwise unwell, please keep pet away from others. Do not go to parks, pet stores, groomers, boarding kennels, or play groups with your unwell pet.
We will continue to update you as we receive updates.

Call for further questions: 941-621-4818

Happy November!

Our Thanksgiving week office hours this year are:

🦃 🦃 🦃 🦃 🦃

✅ November 20-22: Normal hours
❌ November 23 & 24th: CLOSED

*Remember that most Thanksgiving food items are high in fat, these ingredients can cause pancreatitis, upset stomach, vomiting and diarrhea.

We've had a few clients call to check so we wanted to let everyone know we are open our normal business hours 👍

**Office closure notice**

Tomorrow, August 25th, we will be closed from 9:30am - 12:00.

Dr.Bivens and staff will be attending K9 Copper's celebration of life.

If you need us we will be at the office before & after the service.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

We have been made aware that there is a post saying we have puppies for sale at the clinic. That is NOT TRUE. To whoever posted this, please take it down. We have never sold puppies here. We are the veterinarian for a rescue who has puppies available for adoption, but we are not in the business of selling pets, nor do we have any say in the decisions made by the rescue.

365petinsurance.com/faq/pyometra-dog-surgery-cost/

Since I have had two patients this week already with a pyometra, seems like we ought to discuss this disease.
The newer recommendations to stop early spay/neuter may be stopping some people from spaying their female dogs.
The facts are that unspayed female dogs risk breast cancers and pyometra. Pyometra is a surgical emergency which occurs when the uterus fills with toxic bacteria. It is absolutely deadly if left untreated.
Signs usually include drinking a lot, acting lethargic, vomiting, squatting to urinate frequently, and enlargement of the v***a. Not every dog will have every symptom. If you have an unspayed female dog, with any of these symptoms, she should be evaluated for this condition. Generally (not always), a pyometra occurs a couple months after a female dog's estrus cycle.
This is a good article about the costs and procedures involved with treating a pyometra versus a routine spay.

How Much Does Pyometra Dog Surgery Cost? - 365 Pet Insurance Pyometra dog surgery costs can be high. Learn precisely how high by reading our guide to pyometra dog surgery costs.

We are open normal hours today: Monday, December 26. We will be open 8 am to 5 pm. 941-621-4818

Nykol’s rescues is having their annual benefit this Sat between 5 and 9 at downtown Punta Gorda’s Harbor Social Club.
Please come join us for drinks, fun, and auctions.

This is a great cause; none of the movers in this organization take any salary. All funds raised go to the dogs.

All of us from the office are going and we would love to see you there!

In recognition of Thanksgiving our office will be closed Thursday and Friday allowing our staff to spend much needed time with their family and friends.
If you think you are going to need prescriptions, prescription diets, or if your pet has a medical problem, please try to get with us Wednesday.
We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones.

Please do not feed your pets off the table at Thanksgiving.
Keep them healthy over the holidays!

To all who have unsuccessfully reached us or are feeling the chaos which is our current life.
Our electric utility and their out of town colleagues did a great job getting us power.
Our well is not 100%, but we have water.
Comcast. . . Still no where to be seen and they control our telephones and our internet.
Thus we are operating off a T-mobile home
Internet box from my home and employee cell phones.
I apologize sincerely for difficulty reaching us and hope
comcast gets us back to normal soon.
Thanks everyone for your patience!

Our heroes!!!

Horse Owners:
The Florida State Ag department is willing to assist any equine owner in any way: mending fences, clearing debris, etc.
Call 850-509-8040!
Please share!!!

Our phones are down but we are here seeing patients. Email or
Just show up. We will close at 4.

We are open!

We are opening tomorrow. There will be some limitations to what we can do, but if you need help, come in. Our phones are probably not going to work so head in.

Does anybody sell and install well equipment. This is my water system at the office.

This is a Great idea for next time!

This morning's weather announced an upgrade from a hurricane watch to a hurricane warning. Hopefully, we only see tropical storm winds, which are much less scary.

We remain OPEN today unless weather begins to look frightening. The predictions show tomorrow much worse than today.

Please call early today if you need anything. We will do our best to get you in, get you sedation if your pet needs it, or update your vaccines prior to an evacuation.

If your pet is unwell, remember it will be VERY difficult , if not impossible, to get help during the storm.

941-621-4818

We hope for a safe ride through this for everyone, and God willing, we will all be over prepared and under affected!

Good morning everyone. So far the map looks better for us, but in the event this tropical storm/hurricane hits us, please make sure you have:

1. Plenty of pet food
2. Plenty of fresh water for your pets
3. Current Rabies vaccine and certificate for your pets.
4. A good supply of necessary medications.
5. Crates and leashes enough for each pet.
6. MICROCHIPS IN YOUR PETS!!!!!!

When hurricanes have happened in the past (in case you aren't a long term Floridian), we lose power, our water supply is compromised (city water can have contaminants), well water relies on power.
Trees and power lines can obstruct roads preventing stores and clinics from being opened.

We will be open normal hours Monday. Unless this thing looks like it is coming right at us, we will be open until it is unsafe to do so throughout the week.

We can put microchips in at a normal appointment and have them registered before you check out of the building.
We will do our best to squeeze you in to update your Rabies vaccines this week and/or get health papers written in case you are evacuating.

941-621-4818

We are looking for a high school student M thru Fr from 2:30 to 5.

This is a minimum wage job for a kid:
Cleaning cages
Scooping waste from back yard
Sweeping
Mopping
Laundry

For a kid wanting to ultimately go to vet school, this is a good resume’ item.

Monday morning PSA: Great reminder at . Please share with your clients.

Charlotte County has issued a rabies alert in our area after identifying a Rabies positive animal.

Make sure your dogs, cats, and horses are vaccinated.

Do not touch wildlife that seem injured or lack the appropriate fear of humans, instead call Animal Control.

We will squeeze your pet in for their Rabies if they are due.

Pinkest nose ever

RECALL ALERT - Sam’s Club is recalling all Member’s Mark Beef Stick Dog Treats sold since March 1, 2021 due to the potential presence of metal material.

The recall was initiated across all Sam’s Clubs following a limited number of customer reports. https://bit.ly/3cCWwz9