Animal Care Clinic

We are excited to announce the official start of clinic renovation! We are more than doubling our footprint by expanding into the entire building, as well as expanding the building itself. This is much-needed as we have very quickly outgrown our current space!

Some of the highlights of this expansion include:
- Increasing from two to five exam rooms
- Increasing from one small to two large sterile surgical suites and adding an area dedicated to sterile pack and prep.
- Adding a new procedure room for procedures not requiring full sterility.
- Increasing the size of our reception area.
- Adding large dog runs for the benefit of our larger patients.
- Increasing our treatment area size substantially to include a dentistry and oral surgery nook (complete with a wall-mounted dental radiography unit) and two other treatment stations.
- Adding work-stations in the treatment area for doctors, technicians, and assistants, in addition to a break-room.
- Adding dedicated space for our in-house laboratory and pharmacy.

We hope to post updates as the construction and renovation progress. The construction will occur in stages, to allow us to continue to be open for our clients and patients.

Please be aware that there may be quite a bit of extra noise with this expansion, and it can be hard to predict exactly when and where the noise will be in the clinic. We are going to do our best to be flexible, and we may need to use our available space creatively at times. There will be times when our entrance will change, but signage will be posted to direct you to the correct door. We will do everything in our power to make this as easy and low-stress as possible for our patients and clients, but please feel free to let us know if there is any special way we can accommodate you and your pets during this exciting transition!

It’s only fitting to celebrate the project start and wall breaking of a vet clinic with a pup! 🐶⚒️👷

The Rush Commercial Special Projects Division will do a phased approach for this project. They will build out what was an old salon into the new section of the vet clinic. The clinic will then move to this new space and our team will remodel the existing clinic. We can’t wait to see the finished product and all the animals that will benefit from it!

Pictured: Rush Project Engineer, Kody Alger and Dr. Emily Hoots, Animal Care Clinic

Due to terribly icy road conditions and for the safety of our staff, Animal Care Clinic will be closed today. Our email will be intermittently monitored through the day. We will be back open for business on Tuesday, December 27th. Please stay safe out there and have a joyous holiday!

I don’t know how we would function here without Easy Cheese. Blu the golden retriever puppy doesn’t know either. He wholeheartedly approves, even if it does come with a side of vaccinations.

Animal Care Clinic updated their business hours.

Just a few short weeks ago, little Leo was petrified and completely unable to be handled for an exam of a chronic wound and a new swelling on his shoulder. We tried again with some anti-anxiety medications on-board and here he is - still timid, but feeling safe with Taylor (one of our awesome veterinary assistants). Leo was then able to have surgery while minimizing his fear and stress. Leo is now recovering from surgery at home, and we are grateful to his owners for trusting our methods and recommendations! Leo came back yesterday for a recheck and was enjoying belly rubs while getting his drains removed

Here are Leo and Taylor forming an important bond (posted with permission)

Zero-Tolerance Policy

We greatly value our relationship with our clients and appreciate your continued support as we strive to provide locally owned, exceptional veterinary care to our community.

Animal Care Clinic employs a zero-tolerance policy regarding abusive behavior and will maintain a respectful environment for our clients and staff.

While visiting Animal Care Clinic, prohibited behaviors include, but are not limited to:

• Angry outbursts or yelling at any member of our team
• Speaking in a demeaning or rude manner to any member of our team
• Vulgar language in general, but specifically calling any member of our team vulgar names
• Disrespect towards any team member based on physical appearance, race, or gender
• Insinuating that any member of our team doesn’t care about a pet or values financial gain over a pet’s health/safety
• Any acts of intimidation which may include threatening physical harm, destroying property or to smear Animal Care Clinic or our employees’ reputation on social media

Violation of this policy will result in immediate termination of any existing veterinary-client-patient relationship (VCPR) and dismissal from our practice.

The basic foundations of any relationship include mutual respect and trust. Our mission is to provide the best possible care we can for every pet we encounter and to support and develop our team in a safe and engaged environment.

Emily Hoots, DVM
Eric Hoots, DVM, MS, DACVS

You may have noticed that we are talking about heartworms during wellness exams at Animal Care Clinic.

In the past, heartworms were just not something we needed to worry about in Western Washington. But in the last 5 years, the number of heartworm cases has risen significantly in the area. We attribute this to a few different factors: many dogs are being relocated here from heartworm-endemic areas and not receiving appropriate health clearances. It also takes up to 7 months from the time of initial infection for a dog to test positive for heartworms! Many cases of heartworms can be missed due to not testing dogs regularly for this reason. We also have a large urban coyote population that can act as a heartworm reservoir, and we have mosquito species that can transmit heartworms to your dogs. The climate is warming, making it more hospitable for mosquitoes, and there are many urban "micro-climates" where mosquitoes make themselves at home. All it takes is one heartworm-positive dog or coyote in your neighborhood to put your pets at risk.

At Animal Care Clinic, we follow the guidelines recommended by the American Heartworm Society. Year-round heartworm prevention and yearly heartworm testing are the standard of care and are discussed during wellness appointments.

Heartworms are not something to take lightly and are one of the most dangerous and damaging parasites we see in our furry companions.

For more information, please visit www.heartwormsociety.org

https://www.seattledogspot.com/canine-heartworm-cases-in-washington-continued-upward-trajectory-in-2020/

Canine Heartworm Cases in Washington Continued Upward Trajectory in 2020 | Seattle DogSpot The number of canine heartworm cases in Washington climbed from 461 in 2019 to 733 last year, an increase of 59%.

Dr. Hoots had the pleasure of having handsome Wally as her very first patient at Animal Care Clinic! He was a perfect gentleman for his visit on our grand re-opening day.

Dr. Hoots has some big shoes to fill now that Dr. Janie has retired, but we know she’s up to the task!

Our adorable friend Dusty with a little Tuesday fun- Why didn't the Shih Tzu like the rain? He didn't want to step in a Poodle! 🤣

Here is a cute little French Bulldog to start off your Monday. Louie passed Dr. Janie's tests with flying colors and even threw in a few kisses 🥰

Happy Puppy Friday from handsome shih tzu puppy Wagner- named after the Seattle Seahawks football player🐶

Meow! Zephyr here to let you know our office will be closed Friday May 14th😺

Happy Friday from Employee of the Month 11 years running Lillee! After her pile of treats she will enjoy a well deserved nap🐶

Happy Puppy Friday from beautiful pomeranian pups Millie and Fritz😍

Behind the scenes snuggles with adorable Shih Tzu puppy Coconut!

Meow!😻Zephyr here to wish everyone a great Friday!

Happy Puppy Friday from last week's cute doodle puppy Millie! 🥰

How did your furry friends enjoy the snowy weekend? 🥶

Happy Puppy Friday from handsome 12 month old Rottweiler 'Valor'! 🐶

Wiggle wiggle wiggle! Sprocket the Bernese Poodle mix was showing off his beautiful blue coat😀

Fridays are perfect for fluffy maltese puppies! 🥳

Clifford proved to be the favorite of the office today! Even the masks couldn't stop us from that puppy breath😍

Happy Puppy Friday from handsome little frenchie Ace!