Happy New Year!!!

First 24 Vet would like to wish everyone and their pets a safe and Happy New Year!

We're sure you and your pets had a great holiday, but keep them protected from dangers. When the leaves of a Poinsettia plant are chewed on, they can cause localized irritation of the mouth. If dogs or cats drink the water from your Christmas tree, it can cause digestive upset. Be aware of the extra hazards around the holidays, especially when taking down your decorations.

Happy Holidays!

First 24 Vet would like to wish everyone and their pets a safe and Happy Holiday!

Tis the season to be safe!

Tis the season to be safe! It’s easy for pets to get into trouble during the holidays. Look at all the fun stuff we provide for their curiosity. Gifts, decorations and holiday foods pose dangers for all pets. Be aware of the extra hazards around the holidays. Cats love to play with ribbons and tinsel! If ingested they can sometimes act as foreign bodies causing intestinal blockages. Make sure that your pets are protected from all the festivities this holiday season.

Dogs are Awesome Too!

Holiday Pet Dangers

Homemade Dog Biscuits Recipe

Did you know that 56% of dog owners plan to give their canine companion a gift this holiday season? Are you part of that 56%? If you are stressing about the perfect gift for your furry friend, try this Homemade Dog Biscuit recipe by Martha Stewart.

Ingredients
Makes about 5 dozen
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup brewer's yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup low-sodium canned chicken stock, plus more for brushing

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, wheat germ, yeast, and salt; set aside
2. Place oil in a large bowl. Add stock and flour mixture in three alternating batches, beginning and ending with stock. Mix well.
3. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to about 3/8-inch thick. Shape biscuits using a dog-bone-shaped cookie cutter or by cutting around a store-bought dog bone with a butter knife.(Make biscuits that are appropriate for your dog's size.)
4. If desired, you can spell out your dog's name or a holiday message in the dough with a toothpick (wet the toothpick first so it won't stick).
5. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough.
6. Bake biscuits 10 minutes. Brush with stock; rotate baking sheets, and bake 10 minutes more. Turn off oven, leaving door closed. Let dog biscuits stand in oven to dry completely, about 1 1/2 hours. Wrap as a gift, or store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Amazing Pet Story

On Thanksgiving Eve, Bagheera, a 13 week old poodle puppy, wandered into his owner's backyard. Like most Arizonans, his family had a pool. It was a cold fall night and Bagheera, a curious little boy, decided to venture into the freezing waters. Bagheera's family found him shivering and cold in the backyard and rushed him into our ER. His temperature was too cold to register on a thermometer, making him at least 10 degrees below what a normal canine temperature should be. He was in shock and hypothermic. The Dr. and Nurses on staff at First Regional worked vigorously to warm up Bagheera and treat him for shock. He was wrapped in a warming blanket, given warm IV fluids, oxygen therapy and blow dried over the first couple of hours of treatment. Throughout the night, Bagheera's personality started to shine through. He transformed from a freezing, minimally responsive puppy into a barking, tail wagging ball of black fur who gave copious amounts of kisses to anyone in his path. Bagheera continued to improve during his overnight stay and was sent home the next evening to spend Thanksgiving with his family. Great Job to all the staff for their hard work and dedication in making sure Bagheera's family had him home for the Holidays!

Traveling with your pets this holiday season?

The holidays are approaching and many people are traveling to visit their families. Do you have any interesting holiday pet travel tips or stories to share? Leave a comment telling us your pet travel tips.

Stocking up on all the holiday goodies?

Are you stocking up on all the holiday goodies?  Beware of guests who may give your pet cookies, chocolate and other sweets. Those treats are not healthy for them. Your pet’s digestive system is not adapted for such rich foods, and chocolate contains theobromine, which can be harmful and sometimes fatal. Keep plenty of treats especially for your pet around so they don’t get the urge to try and sample some of your holiday feast. Just a tip from First 24 Vet.

Pet of the Month

First 24 Vet is proud to honor Sean as our Pet of the Month.
Sean, his sister Sophie and brother Seamus were released to Scottie Kingdom to find forever homes.
Ken with Duncan riding shotgun made a twenty-two hundred mile round trip mile drive from Chandler (AZ) to Dallas (TX) in May 2010 to meet and greet Sean.
Obviously Sean and Duncan hit it off because Sean is now a forever member of the McLeod Scotties family.

Decorating Dangers

The holidays are a great time for everyone, including your pet, but take precautions this decorating season. Glass ornaments and tinsel can be harmful if swallowed. Extension cords, if chewed, can electrocute your pet. Keep pets safe while decorating for the holiday season.

Christmas Pet Safety

The holidays are quickly approaching!

This is a special time for everyone, including your furry family members. When preparing for the festivities, it is always important to consider your pets because we often don't realize that they can get sick from the things we take for granted...like the plants that we bring in for the holidays! Mistletoe, Poinsettias and Holly are a few that can be dangerous if consumed. Protect your pet as you start to decorate for the holiday season.

10th Anniversary of First Regional Animal Hospital

FIRST Regional Animal Hospital celebrated its 10th anniversary at its building at 1233 W. Warner Road in Chandler. We would like to thank all of our faithful clients who have given us the chance to serve their pets over the past decade.

We have so much to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

Missing a turkey wing?

Missing a turkey wing? To make sure your dinner doesn't fly away, we want to remind you to have plenty of food and treats for your four legged friend on Thanksgiving. Remind your guest to please "do not" feed the pets. Those tasty turkey bones can splinter and perforate the stomach and other major organs. Ingesting a bone is a common holiday hazard. Cooked poultry bones may seem like the perfect gift for your pet, but do him a favor and save them for the soup. Even large cooked bones are prone to splintering, which can pierce through the animal's intestines. Keep pet's safe this Thanksgiving holiday.

How to properly trim a pet's nails

Celebrating the holidays at your house this year?

want to remind you to keep an eye on the foods your pet eats during this time. Some foods like chocolate or onions can be toxic to your pet, while other fatty foods such as meats and cheeses can cause pancreatitis, a painful GI condition that often requires hospitalization.  To keep your pet safe and healthy, keep hard to resist items out of reach and feed only foods and treats made specifically for him or her. Just a fall reminder from the staff at First 24 Vet.

TEAM MEMBER OF THE YEAR

•  All the staff at each hospital were given a ballot to nominate their top 3 team members who have been here since at least December 31, 2009.

•  From these ballots, the top 7-10 nominees for each hospital were selected.  (See nominees below).  Starting this week, the number of nominees will decrease by one each week as Team, Members grade the nominees on these Standards: Dependability, Knowledge, Loyalty, Work Ethic, Attitude, Team Player and Client Service.

•  The Team Member of the Year 2010 for each Hospital will be selected from the last 3 nominees remaining.

•   The winner will be announced at a special Awards Ceremony at our All-Hospital Party in January 2010.

Nominees:

1^st Emergency Pet Care

Mary Lou

Dr. Grguric

Amanda

Karen

David

Nicole

Trina

Lisa

Viviane

North Valley Regional Animal Hospital

Dr. Begay

Darci

Dr. Lunt

Jennifer M

Lynda

Jennifer R

Malea

FIRST Regional Animal Hospital

Shari

Renae

Elana

Dori

Kristi

Kristina

Alison

Alfredo

Dr. Reniker

Meghan

Congratulations to all these great nominees!

Arizona Animal Welfare League Walk to Save Animals

My name is Elana Gulla. I work in the Internal Medicine Department at First Regional Animal Hospital. On Saturday November 13^th 2010, I am participating in the Arizona Animal Welfare League Walk To Save Animals. It is from 10a-2p at Tempe Town Lake Park. To raise money for AAWL, people donate/pledge money for me to walk. I have a dog that I adopted from them last year who will be participating in the Alumni Parade.  There will also be other fun events there such as face painting, vendors, pet photos, and of course, dog adoptions.

The website for the AAWL is www.aawl.org.

My weblink for pledges is :  http://aawlwalk.dojiggy.com/Elana80.

Keep pets safe this Thanksgiving season!

Missing a turkey leg or pumpkin pie?  Dogs and cats love holiday dinner just as much as you do but those tasty leg bones can splinter and perforate the stomach and other internal organs. We want to remind you to keep trash containers secure and to please remind your guests to "please do not feed the pets".  Just a Thanksgiving safety tip from the staff at First 24 Vet.

Join First 24 Vet's Book Club!

Join First 24 Vet's Book Club! November’s Selection is 'From Baghdad with Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava', by Jay Kopelman. We encourage you to read the book this November, and on December 13th we invite you to join us in a blog discussion. Read Lava's story this month and join us for discussions on December 13th.


Click here to visit Amazon.com and check out this months book!

He loves helping out around the house!

November Seasonal Tip from First 24 Vet

While people love the sights and smells of the Thanksgiving season, this can be a dangerous time for your pet. Their sense of smell is hundreds of times better than ours…and can get them into trouble! Be sure to keep rich foods and gifts of food out of reach of your pet. For a special holiday treat, pour sodium-free broth over your pet’s regular food.

 

 

Happy Halloween!

Visit First 24 Vet's Youtube Channel!

Visit our Youtube Channel and learn more ways to keep your pet safe this Halloween season!

Click here to visit our Youtube Channel!

Halloween Pet Safety

Trick or Treat! Halloween means it’s time to keep your pets away from all the goody bags your children bring home. Remember that foil wrappers on candies may cause internal injuries if swallowed and candy, especially chocolate, may cause digestive upset and be harmful to your pet. Be careful what you feed your pets during this season of tricks and treats…Just a Halloween tip from our team.

First24Vet

Welcome to our blog at First 24 Vet.  We have 3 veterinary hospitals in our ‘family’– FIRST Regional Animal Hospital in Chandler, 1^st Emergency Pet Care in Mesa and North Valley Regional Animal Hospital in north Phoenix.

Although the hospitals are all open 24 hours a day, each practice has a different name and each is unique.  FIRST Regional Animal Hospital (FRAH) provides not only emergency and critical care, we also have board certified specialists in Internal Medicine (Dr. Shery Babyak), Surgery (Dr. Patricia Kupanoff) and Critical Care (Dr. Alisa Reniker) and we have general practice services.  Currently, FRAH is the only animal hospital in Arizona with all 3 of these services. 

North Valley Regional Animal Hospital (NVRAH) provides 24 hour emergency and critical care and general practice services.  NVRAH is our newest practice and we believe it is a beautiful hospital for our clients and their pets to visit.

1^st Emergency Pet Care (EPC) is a pure 24 hour emergency practice.  It is the smallest of the 3 practices and the most efficient.  1^st EPC serves Mesa, Gilbert, Apache Junction, Queen Creek and even Globe/Miami/Superior.  We have a great reputation for compassionate care. 

Our Team Members at each practice are experienced, friendly and work hard to make sure your pet companion receives the best care and that you receive excellent customer service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Thanks for your interest in First 24 Vet,

Randy Spencer, DVM

Hospital Director