National Pet Week!

Can you match all of the animals to their correct outline?  Let us know how you did!

Celebrating National Pet Week: Have fun!

National Pet Week is widely celebrated throughout the United States and other parts of the world. In 2012, National Pet Week is celebrated from May 6-12. The goals of National Pet Week are to promote responsible pet ownership, celebrate the human-animal bond, and promote public awareness of veterinary medicine.  We thought we'd celebrate by posting pet-oriented games for families -- enjoy!

Connect the dots activity (printable)

Poetry for Cedar Pet!

Stillwater poet Ann Bushnell offered a commissioned poem this winter as a fundraiser for her church, and we signed up.  She made several visits to the clinic, visited with Dr. Baillie, and here are the results.  We enjoyed it, and hope you do, too.  (We like reading it out loud!)

Poetry for Cedar Pet Clinic Lake Elmo
by Stillwater poet, Ann Bushnell

CEDAR PET CLINIC LAKE ELMO

Doctors Baillie, Ulfeng, Plantz

are here to offer a fighting chance

for those with feathers, fur or hide.

Sick or hurt, they're brought inside

so their lives can be enhanced.  

The entire staff helps everyone,

owners, patients, all who come.

On the counter sits big Kitty Moe

who watches the ever-changing show

and he may let you pet him some.

They'll treat a parrot or your pet rat,

a beagle, a basset, a calico cat,

lizards, chickens, chinchillas, too.

I bet they'd take a kangaroo

if it should come to that.  

Clinic's in Lake Elmo, a country town,

but people come from miles around,

bring Buddy and Max, Bailey and Beulah,

Fifi and Daisy, Amelia, Tallulah,

some striped or spotted, brindled or brown.

It's not just patients that come through

to visit the Clinic, it's Girl Scouts, too,

and each first grade class across the street

is shown around. They think it's neat, and

draw animal pictures to say, 'thank you.'

Doctors and staff have been together 

for so many years, they have the measure

of each other.  They know their need is

for owners and patients to succeed;

these efforts give them pleasure.

Essential to the clinic is Peg, Doc's wife,

who designs the website,, cheers his life,

reads telephone holds, writes the blog,

appreciates every cat and dog,

and knows they are treated right.

This clinic has been Doc Baillie's dream

for forty years and now it seems

at last it has been realized.

Lake Elmo knows it has a prize --

The Cedar Pet Clinic and its team.   

The Numbers are in! 846 pounds!

Clinic Kitty Moe Posing Atop the Pile

Thanks so much to everyone who contributed to our annual Pet Food for the Food Shelf drive this year.  If you were in during the month of March, you will have seen the gigantic pile of pet food, for all species,  donated by the community as part of March FoodShare month.  Clinic kitty Moe got into the habit of posing atop the pile and demonstrated considerable interest in sniffing all the different kinds.   We eventually loaded it into staff vehicles and delivered it to the Valley Outreach Food Shelf in Stillwater, which weighed us in at 846 pounds of pet food.   The Food Shelf is grateful;  they know, as we do, that feeding a beloved companion animal is an important part of many people's lives.   Thank you very much;  next year we may have to add on a room to hold the donations!

Visiting the Elementary School Science Fair

We're proud to be regular visitors at the Lake Elmo Elementary School Science Fair, and one night a few weeks ago, Drs. Baillie and Plantz, and five staff members travelled across the street to join in the fun.   We had a classroom, a few tables, and a laptop or two, but the real stars of the evening were Joso (Dr. Baillie's golden retriever), Red the Tortoise (owned by vet tech Kris), and  Crackers the Amazon Parrot (from practice manager Mila).  "There were so many people in there, that we mostly responded to questions from the children", said Dr. Baillie.  "Kris talked about the proper set-up and care for Red the Tortoise, and we fielded many questions about heartworm and tick-borne diseases.  Crackers was very vocal and entertaining and the kids were fascinated by a talking bird.  And Joso, who adores children, may have actually gotten his fill of petting;  he was pretty tired when I got him home!"  The children... and the adults...enjoyed a laptop display of radiographs showing, among other things, a chicken with an egg inside, and we also showed a program on Dog Bite Prevention for children.  (We have staff trained in this kind of work, and sometimes take Dog Bite prevention programs to summer festivals in the area.)

 All in all, we think the children had a good time, and we know that we did.  The Science Fair is one of our favorite nights of the year.  

FROM OUR VETS: Spring is springing already?

Early Spring in MN!
Photo Credit:  Colorful Tulips by Vera Kratochvil

Dr. Baillie was featured on KARE 11 TV last week talking about wildly early warm temperatures this year... 75 degrees before St. Patrick's Day!... and the Baillie family golden retriever Joso has been doing his own demonstration.  Joso is very light-colored, and he's been showing wood ticks and deer ticks frequently over the last few weeks as he comes in from the yard. As the vet's dog, Joso is protected year round, and that is what we advise -- all parasite control should be used twelve months of the year for both dogs and cats.  We have Frontline Plus in stock, as well as Heartguard for heartworm/intestinal worm protection.   There has been a significant increase in other tick borne diseases (Anaplasmosis and Ehrlichia) in the last few months,  and we are recommending to clients to get started now to protect your companion animals from these pests.  

View the news clip:

Pet Food is Piling Up!

Official clinic greeter Kitty Moe enjoys perching on the pet food!

It's only been one week since we announced that we would again be collecting pet food for the Valley Outreach Food Shelf, and already our consultation room has more than 300 pounds stacked in a rapidly-overflowing corner.    Thank you so much for your generosity!   Dr. Baillie reports that, after the Pioneer Press picked up our announcement on March 8,  calls and drop-ins began to increase from all over the east metro.   "Bags of dog and cat food are coming in, and some bird food as well", said Dr. Baillie.  "At this rate, we'll have to make two trips to the food shelf.  Last year's total was 650 pounds of food, and it looks like we'll exceed that this year."   The clinic will accept donations through the end of March FoodShare month; any brand, any size, for any kind of pet.

See www.cedarpetclinic.com for business hours.