Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Farewell to Dr. Anna Ulfeng


November 20 was the last day for Dr. Anna Ulfeng with Cedar Pet Clinic Lake Elmo. After eighteen years working for Cedar Pet, Dr. Ulfeng is changing her focus to all emergency medicine. Here, Dr. Baillie recalls her time in the practice.

Dr. Baillie and Dr. Anna Ulfeng
"Dr. Ulfeng started with us at Cedar Pet Clinic Minneapolis when she was an undergraduate in college, working in animal care which involves feeding animals, walking dogs, and a lot of cleaning kennels. When she started at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, she worked assisting the veterinary technicians with medical and surgical care. We were proud to welcome her as her first job after she graduated as a veterinarian in 1999; she started just a few weeks after her June graduation, and has been with us ever since.
At the beginning of her career, Dr. Ulfeng worked full time at both our clinic locations, Minneapolis and Lake Elmo. After her first child was born in 2004, she went to part-time in Lake Elmo, and has developed strong relationships with clients and with their pets with her tremendous work ethic, her dedication to good medicine, and her genuine love for the work. She has been committed to continuing education for all the species we work with here, and a great staff person. She has been especially good with children who come in with their sick animals, and stepped up to assist in our volunteer veterinary work for The Wildcat Sanctuary. She's been a wonderful colleague and an important part of Cedar Pet Clinic for nearly twenty years.

Dr. Ulfeng will be working at the Animal Emergency Clinic, a new opportunity for professional growth, expanding her knowledge of emergency veterinary medicine. We wish her all the best in her new work."

Sunday, November 18, 2012

FROM OUR VETS: Dr. Baillie Talks Chickens



The first city chicken I ever saw in practice, back in the seventies, was an orange rooster named Jerry.   Jerry and owner Tammy lived in Phalen in St. Paul and they'd been calling all over the Cities trying to find a vet to help her with Jerry's health concerns; he was her favorite in her backyard flock.  This was at the original Cedar Pet Clinic in south Minneapolis.
Today, backyard or urban chickens are one of the fastest growing areas of our practice.   As many owners discover, chickens are a delight to have as pets...although the roosters can be a little noisy.  Many communities are starting to recognize that they be safely kept in town, and ordinances are changing to allow them as pets.  Some chickens live in the house and go outside during the day, and others have fancy coops and pens to live in year round.  Chickens form strong lifelong emotional bonds with each other as well as other species.  They are routine- and home-centered and can thrive in a space the size of a normal urban backyard and home.  They can coexist happily with compatible dogs and cats and have similar life spans.  

We see a variety of health issues in chickens including injuries, respiratory, intestinal, reproductive and parasitic issues, but most are treatable with the owners providing most of the care. We see chickens in all different sizes and colors. Breeds include Bantams to Wyandottes, and everything in between.  Some of the Bantams only weigh a couple of pounds and the largest breeds may go over twenty pounds.  And you can only imagine the colors -- reds, white, orange, black, grey and many different combinations.  


Just another of the many different types of pets we see at Cedar Pet Clinic Lake Elmo, and you may get to see (or hear!) them in the reception area.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Howl-o-Ween!

Sometimes it's good to hang on the holidays!   We can't bear to retire the fun photos YOU sent in for Halloween.    Watch for our holiday photo opp, coming up in just a few weeks, just as more holidays are arriving!!