Cedar Pet Clinic Lake Elmo

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!!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

2012 Staff Pumpkin Carving Contest!

Pumpkin Carving Contest 2012

Here are some entries from our staff pumpkin-carving contest for 2012. Spooky!

From Dr. Baillie, in honor of Moe the clinic kitty!

From Kristen, a pumpkin remembering our dog friends.

From Dr. Plantz, a wolf howling at the full moon!

From Kathleen

From Sue, a witch holding out a tiny pumpkin.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Halloween Hints for Pets

Our vets and staff have a few suggestions to make sure this wonderful holiday is as much fun for pets as it is for humans!

1. Keep the candy away from your pets, and your pets away from the candy. Many people know that chocolate can be poisonous to pets. Small dogs can be affected by small amounts, even a snack-sized bar or two. Some ingredients in hard candies and other human treats are bad for our pets. And of course, our excited pets sometimes eat wrappers, too; foil and plastics are not digestible and can cause serious health concerns.

2. We all know to be careful of candles. But if you're using dry ice to create a creepy mist, keep pets away; the fog is composed of carbon dioxide gas.

3. Strangely-dressed strangers coming repeatedly to the door! Bells ringing, ghosts wailing, sound effects! And we ourselves put on costumes, looking and sounding differently than usual. Minimize stress for your pets and if they are anxious, put them in a quiet room with the door shut. Don't take your pet trick-or-treating and remember that a scary mask can frighten a dog as much as it can a small child.

4. Many people enjoy putting costumes on their pets. Remember that some pets can become scared, irritated, or uncomfortable in costumes. A Halloween bandana might be enough!

5. Remember our curious cats, some of whom are attracted to the glow sticks which have become popular in recent years. Using a glow stick as a chew toy can cause mouth irritation and foaming.

Monday, October 8, 2012

We go to a Jungle Boogie...and Dr. Plantz wins an award!

On Sunday, October 7, Cedar Pet Clinic Lake Elmo was well-represented at the annual Jungle Boogie, a fundraising party for the Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone. Dr. Baillie is the volunteer medical director for the Sanctuary, in charge of the health of 120 rescued wild cats from Bengals to bobcats, from servals to cougars, and tigers and lions as well. He sits on the board of directors and our whole staff is involved in caring for the big cats (see wildcatsanctuary.org for some amazing stories about this wonderful organization.) The clinic always takes a table at the fundraiser, and Dr. Baillie shows another side of his personality, serving as the live auctioneer.

Our Dr. Noemi Plantz was honored at this year's event with the Lion Pride Award, for her volunteer work at the Sanctuary. Director Tammy Thies named the award for a "pride" of lions, noting that it takes a group of individuals to keep the Sanctuary going. Dr. Plantz started helping out even before she went to veterinary school, and now works with Dr. Baillie in primary medical care for the Sanctuary residents. (See an earlier story in this blog about our doctors' work when tiger Titan received four simultaneous root canals!) "I enjoy working on the big cats", Dr. Plantz said, "many of whom arrive at the Sanctuary with significant medical problems."

Dr. Baillie is a previous recipient of a Lion Pride Award.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Everybody Wins Children's Pet Show

The doctors and staff at Cedar Pet Clinic Lake Elmo thank all the participants and all the observers of this year's free Everybody Wins Children's Pet Show, presented on September 8 as part of Lake Elmo Days community festival. We include here a list of the winners --- every entrant is a winner! We particularly thank David Falbaum for photography, the festival organizers from the City of Lake Elmo, Public Works and Park Superintendent Mike Bouthilet, whose staff set up our area in a shady spot near the fire station, and the staff at Lake Elmo Elementary School for helping us get the word out to children and families about the show. A good time was had by all... and it's one of our absolute favorite days of the year!!