Hello all. Our new sign went up on the building today. It is beautiful. We used the natural steel of the sign and matched the logo color, using a matte vinyl. The sign really emphasizes our beautiful logo and we should be much more visible when people are driving by or walking up to the clinic. Since many of you live in the neighborhood, walk on by and check it out. I'd love to see you standing outside the big garage door with your dog staring up and smiling. I hope you are thinking "I didn't know a veterinary sign could be so artistic!" 

  

 

Certificate of Donation

This weekend we went over to Firehouse 9 on 39th to donate two sets of Oxygen Masks to the station. 

The Chief examines one of the masks

Since we've been open the clinic has participated in the Mom Cat Tom Cat Special event organized by a coalition of animal organizations. The event goes on every year between Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day as part of the National Spay Day event. People in need of financial assistance can have their cat spayed or neutered at a discounted rate. The clinic takes all of the proceeds collected from the program and lets the staff choose how to spend the money. This year we donated the pet oxygen masks to our local fire station. 

Demonstration on how to make a leash muzzle

On Saturday Dr. Bussmann, the staff and I (as well as our brave volunteer, Chutney) presented the masks to the Firehouse. It was a lot of fun. We went over how to use the masks. Chutney was so brave to let us put the mask on her! We also went over CPR on pets, how to tell if the animal needs oxygen, how to hook up the oxygen and the Ambu-bag (breathing device), and even how to restrain pets using a leash and the fancy bag that holds the masks.  

Chutney bravely demonstrating the Oxygen Mask

The place we purchased the masks from is called Wag-N Enterprises and they do an excellent job of providing not only the masks and a leash and bag, but also a DVD for the firemen and easy to access instructions on how much oxygen to use for each size mask and a quick guide to pet CPR. 

Krissy and I pantomiming how to use the bag for cat restraint

I want to thank the staff for all of their great work on the Mom Cat Tom Cat Special and the excellent idea to donate the masks to the fire department. Also, thank you Michael for the great pictures! We hope your pet never needs to use the masks but we feel a lot safer knowing that our local station has the means to provide care to your pets as well as they do for you.

      

You may remember the sweet blog entry Michael wrote about my Spot Magazine Award for Veterinarian of the Year. Well, it's voting time again. Spot Magazine offers the opportunity for you to fill in a form to vote for all of your favorite Pet related businesses for their 2011 Top Dog Awards. 

VOTE!

Click on the link and vote. Make your voices heard. We appreciate you considering us for your favorite Veterinary Clinic! 

There are a few things I would change in the clinic if I could go back and start all over but really not many - maybe an extra exam room, lighting over the wet tables and a ceiling on the dog room. But after this weekend's disaster, I still wouldn't get rid of the carpet. I LOVE the carpet in the clinic. The warm feel it gives and the way dogs are so comfortable walking on it. My favorite image is walking into one of our exam rooms to find a client lying on the floor next to their dog. Where else could you do that? 

The aftermath - scraping away the adhesive

When I give tours of the clinic to friends, family, new clients and especially people in the veterinary industry they eyeball the carpet and then look at me as if I am crazy. Well, maybe I am a little. We are always quick to explain that the carpet is actually tiles and if there is a mishap we can simply remove the tile, wash it and replace it with another. Boiled down...it really is THAT simple. If you recall a blog post (Clean up on Aisle 2) from early on when we first opened the clinic we had our first diarrhea event on the carpet tiles and Sam (our UPS driver's dog) was kind enough to go in the center of ONE tile - such a sweet boy. Mojo as a puppy - before she was ours - peed on a carpet tile in the Lobby. Easy cheesy - peeled it up and put a new one down. This weekend was a whole new ball game! 

Scrubbing Sam's carpet tile - 2008

Now, I should tell you that we celebrate when pets have an accident on one tile and groan when they hit the corner of 4. Tiles that have been pulled up before are so much easier to remove then the tiles that have been in place since the begining. (I distinctly remember Michael putting down the adhesive and me encouraging him to apply more! What was I thinking?!)Well, we had a whole variety this weekend. New ones, old ones and some impossible to remove quickly. 

It started out innocently with a kitty patient put into a room that at the end of the exam the client showed Krissy a small spot on the toe that was likely ringworm. We shut down the room for decontamination (that goodness the carpet tiles are bleachable and we disinfect them once a week on Saturday). We'd have to run our busy Saturday, down one nurse, with only 2 rooms. It sounds like a challenge from the Amazing Race or like a really bad country song and it really felt like a mix of the two. 

Next came my first appointment - a new client arrived a little late with 2 dogs and one of them had an accident and urinated on a few tiles. That had never happened to her before...but it had never been the Great Carpet Tile Disaster weekend before either! Rushing to prep the room when they were finished we doggedly peeled the tiles, cleaned up the floor and put down new tiles only to have the next patient walk in and use a few more tiles as a potty spot - sigh - peel and repeat. From then on it was diarrhea and more potty accidents. We found that a couple of tiles were hit that are halfway underneath the bureau in the dog room. Oh NO! That piece of furniture is SO heavy. Thankfully it was the end of the day so we did not need to move quickly to remove the tiles. All in all - 15 tiles sat in a pile waiting to be scrubbed.   

Baby Mojo sitting by the carpet tile she just peed on

Although the air hung heavy with the overwhelming nature of the task ahead, there were small giggles of disbelief as one tile after another got scrubbed and we had to figure out where to dry them all. So that was the start of the Memorial Day weekend for me. To avoid such future disasters (at least with the Bureau tiles) I decided to remove that row of carpet tiles. That was easy enough. From there I spent the rest of Saturday scraping up the adhesive. Sunday was awash in chemicals to remove the rest of the glue and even after all of that the floor is still a little sticky. I have plans to go in today and remove the rest of the stickiness so we can be ready for tomorrow. Let's hope for a tile free week!

Thanks to my wonderful staff members who went above and beyond, sniffing and feeling around to be sure we got all of the tiles up, scrubbing and rinsing, and innovating ways to lay them out to dry - all with a positive attitude. Next time you come in you might not see the carpet (or the staff) the same way knowing the historical happenings of the Great Carpet Tile Disaster 2010!

Hey everyone. It's been awhile, eh? I bet you thought all of that fame went to my head but...well...no, although it was really fun I've just been really busy with the clinic. We've been honing our processes to decrease your wait time, going to continuing education to better our skills and learn the latest and generally trying to decrease the entropy of everyday business. 

May 6th saw our 2 year anniversary! Can you believe it? 2 years?! It's funny. I alternate between saying "I can't believe it's been 2 years!" and "Really... it's only been 2 years?!".  It's been an amazing journey and I am so thankful to all of you that have supported us through being clients, giving referrals, and general friends of the clinic offering your encouragement and comments. We could not have opened the clinic without your generous support. The clinic couldn't exist without our wonderful staff! From our starting employees - Katie and Daniela who really helped get the clinic off the ground to the additional support Melissa brought to streamline our systems and bring great organizational skills. And the addition of our associate veterinarian, Krissy (I could not have asked for a better associate!) and the staff to support her and our growth - Theresa, Nettle and Sara. Let's not forget Debbie, our fill in receptionist and reminder czar and my mother-in-law Barb, our bookeeper. We could not ask for a more amazing set of people to bring you the service and support you have come to expect from our clinic.

We have changed the way we are offering some of our services since the New Year. Nurse appointments are now offered Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and Wednesday evenings to keep our flow going smoothly and offer the best service to you and your pets. We now offer surgery every Wednesday as well as every Friday to be able to accomodate all of the procedures that want to schedule. We still have evening and Saturday appointments for those of you that appreciate those times and we do offer 4 urgent appointments a day during the week and 2 urgent appointments on Saturday (although they do fill up fast!). Urgent appointments are prioritized for existing patients. We are still closed Mondays.

I wanted to mention one more motivation for coming back to the blog now. I visited my uncle Rich in the hospital over Mother's Day weekend while my mom and I were visiting my Gramma back in Illinois. He told me how much he loved the blog and he read it all of the time. He loved the updates and the connection it offered. I found out yesterday that he passed away after his long battle with cancer. I took his advice to heart and sat down today with those bittersweet tears in my eyes to reach back out to you. I will miss him. 

Stay posted. I promise not to stay away so long next time.

Most of you who read this blog already know who the best vet in Portland is... but it's nice to get a little validation. And so now it's official - Kristin was voted "Best Veterinarian" in Spot magazine's annual Top Dog issue! It's very rewarding and satisfying to see all of her hard work and efforts being recognized. 

Since modesty forbids her to brag too much, I figure it's my job to let everyone know :)

I've met a lot of veterinarians over the years, and while of course many are excellent, none of them can quite match Kristin's unique combination of strengths. Of course she stays up to date on what's current in medicine, and she works tirelessly to solve problems. Obviously she loves animals, and has a lot of compassion. Like many of her peers and friends she's focused on keeping things moving, always improving herself, and never letting the ball drop.

But any veterinarian can stay late, diagnose an illness, bandage a wound, or prescribe a medication.

The thing that sets Kristin apart is that she genuinely cares about both her patients and her clients, and sees that relationship as an indivisible unit. Clients need to understand the process, their options, and the overall plan - and they need to be listened to, engaged, and understood. If they're not educated and involved then half the work a veterinarian does can be lost when the patient leaves the building. Kristin effectively turns her clients into "Deputy Veterinarians", "Field Nurses", and "Patient Advocates", so they can bring their personally motivated effort and love for their pets into the process.

Without that philosophy, she might only be the second best vet in town. But she's not - she's the best. Did I already mention that?

There's an awards celebration downtown at Hotel Monaco this Thursday at 6. Everyone's invited, and we'd love to see you there - dogs are welcome too!

Congratulations Kristin!

a few outtakes from our Best Veterinarian! photo shoot

     

We hope you had a bountiful thanksgiving. We had two! And some of our staff had 3 or 4! (Lots of family to spread the joy.)

A turkey at farm sanctuary

 

Our first big meal was a vegetarian Pot Luck for our staff where we took our meeting time and had a wonderful meal (I am thankful for all of the good cooks we have) and shared pictures of our pets. Nettle gave us a beautiful pictoral tour of Farm Sanctuary where she worked for awhile in Northern California. You can read about thier new turkeys here. The hardest part as you can imagine was getting back to work on a super full stomachs and really just wanting a nap!

On Thanksgiving Day each of the staff celebrated in their own ways. Michael and I went on a hike to Oneonta Gorge with some good friends and then prepared a great feast with friends and family. It was delicious. DeeDee and Mojo and Cousin Reggie (Aunt Jean's dog) had Duck and Potato filled frozen Kongs that lasted through the entire meal. What a treat!

Share with us how you celebrated this bountiful holiday. Were your pets involved?

Dr. Krissy Bussmann joined Mt. Tabor Vet Care in April 2009 and loves her job! For more information, check out her bio on our website.

I can’t count how many times in my veterinary career, especially in emergency medicine, I’ve had the responsibility of taking care of my injured or ill patients and also have to reassure my clients and guide them through their options in a stressful situation. But I never thought about how I might react when the injury was in my own dog and I was called on to be not only his mom but also his veterinarian.
 
Two weeks ago my dog Tommy broke his tail. He’s a whippet with a long skinny tail, and it got in the way of the car door. I was on the opposite side of the car when the door slammed, and I couldn’t see what was happening. He started screaming and my first thought was that he was being murdered. Thankfully only his tail had gotten caught in the door and he is healing with it all wrapped up with a tongue depressor as a splint. He still breaks my heart when he looks sad or whimpers despite his pain medication.

This is an X-ray of Tommy's broken tail. We found an old, healed fracture just past the new fracture!

Fortunately, neither of my dogs have ever been seriously ill. But Tommy is a senior dog at 13 and he has early kidney insufficiency. What makes it so hard to make major decisions for our pets is that they can’t speak for themselves. My two dogs, like your own pets, completely trust that we will provide for them and protect them, and I feel a huge responsibility (as you must) to be their guardian and safe-keeper.

Here is Tommy modeling his tail splint. There is a tongue depressor wrapped up in there for stabilization!

Honestly, if I had to make a huge medical decision for them, I don’t think I would be able to do it on my own. My knowledge as a doctor would fly out the window and I would panic. There is no way that I can both be my dogs’ mom and their doctor at the same time, and that is clearly demonstrated by the blind, sheer panic I felt when the tip of Tommy’s tail broke. I would need and want a trusted medical professional team to help me work through my options, hold my hand and support me through the difficult situation.  

Both Kristin and I have experienced medical issues with our own pets and we are grateful to have a community of supportive veterinary friends to let us be the moms while taking excellent care of our pets. We both feel that this is what makes the veterinary care we offer so special – we know what it’s like to be worried about our companions and we understand the overwhelming responsibility of making the best decisions for our pets.

Belmont Street Fair Booth

Wow! What a great turnout we had for our second annual Teddy Bear Surgery at the Belmont Street Fair. We had crowds of kids waiting to save the lives of our bears.

Nettle assists the surgeon

We set up our mobile surgery unit at our booth. The surgeons would come and pick out a patient - a pesky sick bear that had swallowed some candy whole WITHOUT removing the wrapper, get outfitted for surgery with a cap and mask, anesthetize the patient and then preform delicate surgery to remove the offending foreign body. Then they would expertly close the patient up with a shoe tie bow and recover the patient to take them home. 

Removing the obstruction

It was so much fun. We had some repeat surgeons from last year showing off their skills. Some kids really hammed it up, rescuing their teddy bears from complications all while talking on their cell phones! Some of the smaller kids needed some assistant from their surgical team but everyone had a great time. 

Dr. Krissy Bussmann assists a surgeon

This year we even had Teddy Bear Surgeon tattoos for the kids which was an excellent addition.

 

Dr. Kristin Sulis and Dr. Krissy Bussmann sporting their Teddy Bear Surgeon tattoos

We ran out of bears just after 2:30pm and with two and a half hours to go we held back a couple to refill.  We are rethinking some improvements for next year so be sure to come by and check us out! 

Our booth at the Belmont Street Fair

I want to thank all of our staff for coming out and making this event so successful. Special thanks to Barb Sulis for working all year to create the bears! (See her handiwork from last year's blog).  She looked pretty overwhelmed thinking of how many we will need for next year! 

                 

 

Hello All!

We are very excited for the Belmont Street Fair tomorrow. We will have a booth in the main area where we will be conducting Teddy Bear Surgery again with twice as many sick bears! This year we have temporary tatoos so come visit us from 10am - 5pm! Our booth will be near Laughing Planet and after you visit the booth you can ride the free Trolley (with live music) up to the clinic for a tour.

The clinic will be officially closed for appointments tomorrow but we will be around if you need us.