We now offer you the convenience of ordering your refills online.

What better way to order your pet’s medication than to order it form someone who knows your pet.

Use the “Shopping” link at the top of this page or go here to order!

During National Poison Awareness Month, CATalyst Council Warns of Common Cat Poisons.

During National Poison Prevention Awareness Month, the CATalyst Council warns of common cat poisons.

To mark the start of National Poison Prevention Awareness Month, the CATalyst Council, a national initiative comprised of animal health and welfare organizations working on behalf of cats, is reminding cat owners of the following common household items that pose a poisoning risk to their pets.

• Household plants. Cats are frequently poisoned by nibbling on plants. While most of the time an upset stomach is the only result, there are plants that can kill your cat if ingested. Lilies– especially Easter lilies– are the most common lethal plant. Should you suspect that your cat has eaten a plant, bring the plant (or part of it) to the veterinary clinic so the source of the poisoning can be identified.
• Human food. Giving your cat table scraps is never a good idea. While most table scraps only lead to stomach upset, there are human foods that pose a risk of making your cat seriously ill, like onion, garlic, chives, chocolate, caffeine and macadamia nuts.
• Medications. The ingestion of medications, both human and animal, is one of the most common causes of poisoning for cats. Be sure to keep all medications (even the medications prescribed for your cat) in a safe place that your cat can’t reach.
• Mouse or rat poison. Cats usually don’t ingest these poisons directly; rather, they eat it when they catch a mouse or rat that died or was made ill by the poison.
• Flea collars and medications. While it’s important to protect your cat from fleas and ticks, it’s just as important to ensure that you are doing so in a safe manner. Cats can be poisoned by flea collars if they ingest them. If you use one, make sure that it is properly secured. If you use a topical flea and tick preventive, be sure to apply it properly as recommended by your veterinarian.

If you are ever concerned that your cat has ingested something it should not have, call your veterinarian or the ASPCA’s 24-hour Emergency Poison Hotline at 888-426-4435, and make sure you have those numbers handy in case of emergency.

Special Announcement to all of the Animal ER’s Referring Veterinarians

The Animal ER has raised the bar to continue caring for all of your emergency medicine and critical care needs for family pets!

With this in mind, we would like to announce that we are moving! Our anticipated opening date is on Friday, February 24th, 2012. To better serve you and the community, our new, 3,750 square foot, modem, high-tech facility is conveniently located just east off of 9A and Gate Parkway!

We will continue to strive for excellence, providing the most modem and specialized emergency and critical care medicine available. Our team of doctors consists of Chief of Staff, Dr. Rebecca Owens (owner) and 10 year Assistant Chief of Staff, Dr. Earl Marshall. With our new location, doctors and organized, highly trained management and nursing staff, we will be able to provide exceptional customer service to your clients and quality nursing care for your patients!

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Animal ER management team! Dr. Owens, Mary Lynn, and Sarall are more than happy to help with the transition and making the move as easy as possible!

Our new location will be at:

AnimalER
11512 Lake Mead Avenue, Suite 601
Jacksonville, Florida 32256

(904) 642 – HELP (4357)

Directions

• 9A, Exit at Gate Parkway
• Head east on Gate Parkway (Deerwood Park Dr on MapQuest)
• Make the first right onto Ozark Road (In the open field)
• At the Stop Sign make a right onto Lake Mead Avenue
• Our building is building 600, which is the 3rd building on the right

If you have prescription or over-the-counter medicine and for one reason or another, they end up unused, be careful how to dispose of them. Medicine thrown in the trash can end up in our drinking water, lakes, and rivers.

Here are some tips:

• Don’t flush it
• Bring it to a local medicine take-back program
• Mix medicines with cat litter or coffee grounds in a sealable container such as a coffee can before throwing it in the trash
• Mark out any personal information before recycling your pill bottle

Let me take a minute to tell you a little bit about myself. I’m a Pointer/ Terrier mix. Needless to say as a female I’m a little shy about telling you my weight, but I’m about 45 lbs (mostly hair.) I’m originally from All About Animals, located in Blackshear, Georgia, but I’m being fostered by the wonderful staff at River City Community Animal Hospital (RCCAH.) See, I recently had to have major eye surgery–actually I had to have my eye removed. The staff at RCCAH donated the surgery and I was sent to Florida for recovery.

I was a little sad to lose my eye, but I was excited to go to Florida. In Florida, I went to the beach, rode in a boat, and met wonderful new animals and people. My foster family was very pleased since I got along with their large Parrots and numerous cats.  Although my foster family loves me very much they think it is time for me to find my forever home. My eye is completely healed and I’ve adjusted well to being a “special” dog.

If your family has room in their hearts and home for a special girl like me, please call RCCAH at 904-733-8123.

Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon!

I am a very young and single mother who was dumped…yes, DUMPED…with my kittens at Clay County Animal Control many weeks ago. I was absolutely terrified and certain I would die there with my kittens, but instead, a miracle occurred!!

 First of all, some of my children were adopted. I am so thankful for that, although two of them are still there and it is not looking hopeful (this is a “high kill rate” shelter and it is cold without heat and so few people come to adopt.)

I can’t tell you much about my early life, as it is a blur, but I have a special needs issue  that has upset and scared many people who have seen me….I have no back feet.

I really don’t remember well what happened. I wasn’t born this way. My legs were cut off at the ankle, and I had to learn to walk on and around the nubs. Of course, it didn’t stop me from getting pregnant, either, and having normal babies, but it has made it hard to escape from mean people and dogs and I cannot run, so I have to have a very protective home for the rest of my life, if I hope to survive safely.

My luck started to improve when a very kind lady, Peggy Haynes (with Pet Rescue North) found out about me and tried to help spread the word about me. She told Dr Gionet about me and Dr Gionet and Dr Brooke Davis decided to rescue me. Peggy Haynes (she is named Peggy even though she has both back feet) sent a volunteer down to Clay County Animal Control and rescued me from certain death. She brought me back to the shelter at Pet Rescue North and Dr Gionet came and picked me up and I stayed with her family a few days and then Dr Davis came and took me home.

I have been tested for Feline Leukemia and also for FIV and I am clear of both, and I  am being dewormed and vaccinated this week and will be spayed, as well. I am a pretty girl, even if I do say so myself, and am so very grateful to have a chance to live…I just want everyone to know that a miracle occurred for me and I will have a chance to grow old somewhere in a forever home, thanks to kind people who cared enough to save me.

If you could ever do the same for another helpless kitty (my kittens are still there, remember,) PLEASE consider saving a life!! You will never regret it, I do promise you, and such a small act on your part can literally mean life for one of us.

If you cannot adopt right now, but wish to help contribute to my medical expenses, please just get in touch with us through our website or e-mail (www.rccah.org or  rccah@comcast.net,) and anything at all would really help with expenses.

Thanks for listening….and thanks for rescuing or adopting and I thank everyone for giving me a HAPPY NEW YEAR AND HAPPY NEW LIFE!!!!

Love, Peggy

Every day, literally, I see people who purchase dogs. The irony is that they come to our non-profit hospital to receive lower fee spay and neuter and accompanying health care and education (which they actually rarely want,) and claim they cannot possibly afford standard veterinary fees. However, they had enough money to BUY a pet (and therefore do nothing but line the pockets of breeders and puppy millers, many of whom cannot even spell the breed of puppy they sell,) and may have spent many times over the amount it would have taken to care correctly and responsibly for a wonderful pet already born and desperate for a home.

As many as 8-10 million wonderful dogs and cats are killed in our shelters every year, all for the crime of being homeless. Yet people continue to BUY pets, believing somehow that this confers status, prestige, sophistication, or that alleged “purebreds” are somehow superior to mixed breed dogs…(and, by the way, “Mixed Breed Dog” is the correct medical term for the PT Barnum fad of “Designer Dogs.”) WONDERFUL dogs, many even “purebreds,” can be adopted for a minimal fee from any shelter or rescue group in the country, usually already spayed or neutered, vaccinated, dewormed, heartworm and temperament tested, and all for a fraction of the fee these “consumers” pay to purchase one with none of that.

Some facts:

There is only one qualification anyone needs to call themselves a “breeder:”
You have access to an animal.
Period.

AKC means only as much as the ethics of the “breeder.” Many breeders have no interest whatsoever in improving a breed, they only find two reasonable breed types (Dachshund female X Dachshund male) and then they order and swear to the AKC papers that the dogs are purebred and show alleged “pedigree.” Not all breeders are unscrupulous, but responsible breeders do not ever sell to pet stores, flea markets, roadsides, through “shopper” ads or Craigslist, and they are extremely careful with puppies and the people who purchase them. We, in our non-profit hospital, do not see puppies or kittens from these types of “breeders,” and therein lies the problem. In puppy mill situations, often parents (DAM and SIRE) are chosen at random and listed on the papers. Who would know? Who would prove it? Having AKC papers can mean nothing more than showing that my own birth certificate states I am a purebred Caucasian, because my parents were. It does not mean I am healthy, intelligent, a good example of my species or breed, nor that I am even good tempered. Jeffrey Dahmer was an AKC Caucasian. And CKC papers simply means this type of puppy cannot even meet AKC standards.

Breeders that care about their pups would never EVER sell to a pet store or broker (where and how most pet stores obtain puppies,) and would do home investigations. How often does this happen? How much do “breeders” care? If they cared, they would not sell to people who 1.) know nothing about the breed, 2.) make impulse buys, 3.) ignore or are aware of the importance of heartworm prevention, sterilization, good nutrition, an appropriate vaccination protocol, and commitment to the entire life of the pet. Backyard breeders sell for money. FOR MONEY. Period.

Every veterinarian sees puppies with owners who think that because the seller gave a “shot” or “shots” (this applies to downing whiskey in small glasses, or a firearm projectile, but does not always mean “vaccination,” the actual CORRECT term,) that the pet is covered for every disease for life. Does the seller care?? Of course not; all they are interested in is convincing anyone with a body temperature to buy a puppy, often much younger in age than they tell you. And even a monkey can be trained to give an injection, but over-the-counter, feed store purchases, and “breeder” administered vaccines are often unreliable, may be inactivated, too much, too little, and can even do more harm than good to the pet, especially in small breeds. Every pet is different, and every pet deserves to have the best and correct vaccination schedule, something you rarely, if ever, see in purchased pets.

There is a lot to be said for hybrid vigor, as well. Most mixed breed dogs are more robust and have better constitutions and even conformations than the backyard breeder-puppy mill babies. Poorly or carelessly bred “purebreds” often have unfortunate genetic defects like open fontanels (permanent “soft spots,”) malaligned, missing, retained or extra teeth, deafness, unstable kneecaps, umbilical and other hernias, Demodectic (genetic type) “mange,” poor bone or muscle structure, and temperament and intelligence disturbances. NONE of these are the fault of the puppies, but the direct result of human irresponsibility and ignorant or blatant greed. While some owners believe these genetic or congenital abnormalities make their pet more charming, cute, or unique, it is not fair to the puppy and certainly ironic to see people encourage bringing more challenged pets into the world, and then see the owners fail to provide the best possible care for them, or to see wonderful homeless dogs and cats die in shelters because someone preferred to buy rather than save a life.

Please, if you care at all about animals, do some homework BEFORE adding a pet to your family. Please see your veterinarian and discuss your plans and what may be best for your family or living situation. Learn in advance what to expect and what is needed for the lifetime commitment of a pet. Spread the word, save a life; adopt a stray, rescued, or shelter animal. Help eliminate the tragedy of MILLIONS of needless deaths in shelters and on the roads each year due to too many pets for the number of people adopting them. A shelter dog of cat can love you just as much as a purchased one…and probably more, as they already know that the world is not very kind, and appreciation is something they have but your money cannot buy.

And by all means, spay and neuter, and the sooner the better.

Check out this list of the top 10 dangers for your cats this holiday season!

(ANNAPOLIS, Maryland) November 7, 2011—The holiday season is fast approaching and the CATalyst Council, a national initiative comprised of animal health and welfare organizations working on behalf of cats, is reminding cat owners that there are some things they need to be wary of during this festive time of year.

To help keep our feline friends safe and healthy this holiday season, the CATalyst Council suggests you keep the following top 10 seasonal dangers for your cat in mind:

1. Dangerous wrapping—Brightly colored bows and ribbons are a festive and enjoyable part of the holiday season, but remember that ribbon can be extremely dangerous for your cat. If ingested, it can cause a cat’s intestines to bunch and get twisted, and in many cases this will need to be remedied with surgery. If left untreated, this can be fatal.
2. Hanging ornaments—From your cat’s perspective, low-hanging ornaments on a tree are just begging to be swatted at and then played with on the floor. If you have any low-hanging ornaments on your tree, be sure that they are made of materials that your cat can’t chew or otherwise destroy and ingest.
3. Poisonous plants—While poinsettias have long been believed to be extremely dangerous for cats, the danger they pose when ingested by a cat (stomach upset) is not as bad as some other common holiday plants, such as mistletoe, pine tree needles, amaryllis lilies, red azaleas and paperwhites. If you have festive plants, make sure they are somewhere your cat won’t be tempted to chew on them. If you are unsure if a plant is poisonous, or are concerned that your cat may have eaten something dangerous, call your veterinarian or the ASPCA’s animal poison control center (888-426-4435) for more information.
4. Candles—Your cat probably isn’t going to be too intrigued by the candle itself, but a wayward swishing tail can easily knock a candle over, causing a host of problems. Keep candles out of reach, and make sure you stay vigilant around lit candles. The last thing you need over the holidays is an injured cat or fire damage to your home.
5. Holiday foods—While it may be tempting to give your cat just a nibble of turkey or other holiday food, resist the urge. Rich foods can upset a cat’s digestive system, which could produce unpleasant effects. Also, cats should never be given any type of bone, as they can splinter and cause internal injuries to your cat.
6. Stress—Cats like routine and predictability, so when their schedules or environments change, they can become upset. If you are planning on having holiday guests and your cat isn’t used to entertaining, create a safe, quiet space away from the action where your cat can have some peace and quiet. Dr. Brunt, CATalyst Council’s Executive Director and a feline veterinarian for more than 20 years, adds, “Be sure to have food, water and a litter box available in this secluded area so your cat can be comfortable away from your gathering.”
7. Tinsel—Like ribbon, tinsel is almost irresistible to cats and, if ingested, it can require surgery to extract. Which would you rather live without: tinsel or a night at the veterinary emergency clinic?
8. Cats given as gifts— Every companion animal deserves a home where it will be wanted and well taken care of. Shelters nationwide report an uptick in new arrivals right after the holidays, when people surrender the “gift pet” that they may not have wanted.
9. Christmas tree water—The water that keeps your tree fresh is frequently treated with chemicals that can make your cat sick. Be sure that your cat can’t access the tree water.
10. Travel dangers—If you are traveling with your cat during the holidays, be sure that your cat is properly secured in a carrier and that he or she has adequate identification, including a microchip. That way, if you get separated, your cat has a way to be reunited with you. Also, prior to leaving home, find contact information for a veterinarian or an emergency veterinarian in the area you’re visiting, so that, if your cat gets injured or becomes ill, you know where to go to get your cat the care and attention it requires.

Enjoy the holiday season with your cat and, as always, if you have questions or concerns, contact your veterinarian. They are your best resource for information about your feline friend.