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

     

Please join us Saturday, June 13th from 2pm to 6pm for our first anniversary open house! Details, including a map, are below... we hope to see you there!

Hey All - it's Michael.

Two cool opportunites came up at the same time, so I thought I'd post them together. Check it out!

1. Best Friends Animal Society

The singer-songwriter Neko Case, who has an incredibly beautiful and haunting voice, is asking blogs to post her new song "People Got A Lotta Nerve" and for every blog that does, she'll donate $5 to Best Friends Animal Society. So here it is!

You can play it right here:

or you can download the MP3 to keep in your normal collection.

If you have a blog of your own, please post the song as well - not only does it promote a great independent artist, but it provides money and media coverage for animal welfare.

2. The Humane Society of the United States

To promote Spay Day 2009, the HSUS has launched an online photo contest, where you can vote with dollars (contributed to HSUS). The HSUS is anincredible force for change, and if you doubt that your dollars are going to good use, check out the impressive list of accomplishments for 2008 - and those are just the state-level legal victories!

So, you can either enter your own super cute pet, or we can skip the formalities and you can simply go and vote for the most awesomest pup around, the master of face-chewing disaster, the howlin' hurricane of the west, weighing in at 45 pounds (although technically she should be 50), the Undisputed Champion of Cuteness, MOJO!, who I've already taken the trouble of entering.  I suppose if you'd like, you could also browse through the other contestants, but honestly that would just be a waste of everyone's time, wouldn't it?

It's been a litle while since the last Mojo update, and I know she's everyone's favorite three-legged mutt puppy, so sorry to keep you waiting!

Last weekend I was up at the cabin again on a 2-day software retreat (thanks for letting us use it Steve and Karen!). On Saturday, the weather was hot, but the cabin stayed nice and cool (it's very shaded) - still, I thought a hike with Mojo would be nice, so we hiked a trail along the Salmon Creek.

We've never really attempted to see what her endurance is, so I was fully prepared to carry her back if I had to. We brought plenty of water and snacks, and she did pretty well for the first half-mile. The next half-mile she slowed down considerably, and needed a few breaks. The third half mile was really pushing it... we had to stop every 100 yards or so to take a break, she'd lay down in the shade and recover.

But then... the river! When we got there, she flopped down in the sand along the bank, totally exhausted, and the sand (a little wet and shaded) was nice and cool. Then I tried to get her interested in the water... at first she was nervous and skeptical, but then suddenly she remembered (from the treadmill at Back on Track, I think) that she LOVES water, and she FREAKED OUT. I've never seen her go so completely crazy, it was insanity. She was snapping at the water, jumping in then out, then sprinting away from it, then sprinting back at it. She would stop at the shore, dig into the sand with her paw, and when the water started to fill up the hole she'd smash her paw down on it and bite it. At one point she was running on the sand and she sort of flipped over on her side, but like a bug her legs just kept cranking in the air like she was still running.

When she finally calmed down, I found a good spot with some shallow water she could stand in, with a sharp drop-off. I waded out into the deep part (brrr that stuff was SNOW just a few hours earlier) and held onto her harness to pull her out towards me, and she started swimming! Even with just the one front paw (going double-time) and her lean build, she was keeping her head up. Okay I was giving her a *little* bit of lift occasionally, but not much!

Next time we're headed out, we'll have some flotation for her (a little doggy PFD!) to help keep her front end up higher, and I think she'll REALLY love the water.

Unfortunately, I had my hands full, so between her, the water, and the sand, I couldn't really get the camera out for any "crazy dog" shots. Maybe next time.

Oh, and the sad pathetic puppy coming down the trail needing a rest, was magically transformed into a ball of energy on the way back. She was going so fast I was jogging with her, uphill, for about half a mile!
 

Mojo's car seat... watching the redwoods go by

I suppose technically this has nothing to do with the clinic, but since it involved Mojo travelling I thought some of you might be interested.

We drove down to Westport, CA in Mendocino County last weekend to meet Kristin's family, and took the dogs. DeeDee is a veteran traveller and camper, but this was Mojo's first road trip, and first night spent in the great outdoors. We only camped one night, but it was in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park, and it was really beautiful there.

We also stopped at Navarro Vineyards and Anderson Valley Brewery while we were there, and since the tasting area at Navarro had some outdoor seating we were able to hang out with the dogs. They both did a little wine tasting - many of you may not realize just how much of a palate DeeDee has. We all thought the wine was great, but she said she's tasted better liquid in a toilet bowl - maybe this is a species thing?

taking in the bouquet...	tasting like a pro...	uh, not very impressed...

 

They both did great in the car, and Mojo helped to further prove our favorite axiom... "All Dogs Love the Beach!" Overall it was a great weekend, nice to get away and see family, and spend some time tidepooling and hiking in the redwoods.

Mojo and DeeDee tearing it up on the beach!

Once again, I took LOTS of pictures, and I've posted the ones from this trip on my flickr account if you're interested.

 

 

 

 

EDIT (MJS 7/7/08) I wrote this early *last* week, but never got around to publishing or announcing it. So, it's a week out of date. We've just returned from the trip mentioned at the bottom of the article, so I'll post about that in a couple days.

----- 

Last weekend some friends let us use their cabin up near Rhododendron for the weekend. I left early, Thursday night, and brought all my computer gear - the whole system! Two monitors, keyboard, surge protector, etc. I've found that I can really produce a staggering amount of work if I'm alone with no distractions.

Kristin didn't get up there until Saturday evening, so for the first couple days it was just me and Mojo. It was her first time experiencing nature!

We hiked to the Salmon river, chased squirrels, chewed up a lot of douglas fir cones, and split firewood. Overall, I'd say I was better at splitting firewood, but she beat me at chewing up douglas fir cones. But I gave it my best effort!

As you might expect, she did a couple of faceplants trying to navigate the irregularity of the natural world, but she's unstoppable! She can plow face-first into the dirt and shake it off while she's moving, like nothing ever happened. The excercises and therapy we've been doing under the direction of Dr. Shaw from Back on Track seem to be helping a lot - Mojo's looking a little more surefooted, and a little less bent and bowed. It looks like at the very least we've avoided the need for an immediate surgery (hooray!) although someday as she ages she still may end up needing surgery for her hips. But, we'll take it as it comes - and for now, she's one happy puppy!

I also managed to complete the first (alpha) release of our clinic's custom software , which we'll use for client and patient tracking, appointment scheduling, exams, invoicing, reports, etc. (for those of you who don't know, my "real job" is developing and integrating computer systems) Kristin and I both have been pretty unimpressed with vet software we've seen in the past, so we're making our own. More on that next week.

This weekend we'll be travelling with the dogs, so we'll keep you posted on Mojo's outdoor adventures.  Since I take a lot of pictures, I decided to post a bunch from last weekend on my flickr account, so feel free to browse them there.

In the process of planning for our Grand Opening Celebration (you do know about it, right? you're invited!) we were discussing showcasing all of the elements we incorporated which focused on sustainability, and environmental concerns. I'm reluctant to jump on the bandwagon and make a big fuss about how "green" we are (like every other company today) but then again, it truly is important to us, and I'm sure those of you who know us will recognize it as genuine concern.

1. No Commute
The clinic is deliberately located close to home so we can reduce our fuel consumption. Kristin's previous commute was about 30 miles round trip, now it's 1.4, and she almost always walks or rides her bike. So she'll now use about 3 gallons of gas per year commuting, if she drives once per week. She was using about 6 a week before!

2. Supporting Local Businesses
Keeping it in the neighborhood is also key to doing business locally - we know the businesses around here, and we're buying from them, recommending them, and giving out gift cards to them for our referral program. Keeping our business part of a neighborhood (instead of a metropolitan area) helps people keep their lives focused locally, which further reduces fuel consumption.

3. Natural Light
The space we chose has abundant natural light from skylights, and we struggled to use it as best we could, basing the whole design around it. Where we needed ceilings, we used relights (interior windows) to use whatever natural light we could get. During the greater part of the day, the whole hallway, treatment area, laundry, and kitchen need no additional light at all.

4. Compact Flourescents
We used them wherever possible - unfortunately there's a few fixtures where these still don't work (a couple due to size, a couple because they're dimmable) - but the majority of the lighting we *do* have to add to our natural light comes from compact flourescents.

5. 100% renewable
We've signed up for the "Green Source" option with PGE, which means 100 percent of our electricity usage is offset with renewable resources - about 85% wind, and 15% biomass.

6. Paper reduction
We're still in the process of going entirely paperless, but almost everything we do is digital (faxing, record storage, emails) with very little printed material.

7. Recycled Paper
When we do have to print, it's on 100% recycled paper. Our business cards, mailers, printer paper - everything.

8. Heating and Cooling
The building's orientation and construction (masonry) keep the temperature pretty moderate and stable, so we don't anticipate needing lots of energy for heating and cooling. The owner of the building also added a lot of additional insulation on the roof while remodeling. Actually, once in the winter while I was working in the space, it warmed up for a couple of days, but remained 10-15 degrees colder inside the space the whole time!
We also incorporated fans into the design of the space to keep pushing the heat down from the open area above - you can really feel the difference, even with the fans on just slightly.

9. Tankless Water Heater
We have a gas-powered tankless water heater, which means the water is heated on demand, instead of keeping a 75 gallon tank heated 24 hours a day. The only drawback appears to be that the water takes a bit longer to heat up, so I suppose we're using more water than we should in return for a reduction in fossil fuel consumption - so...

10. Dual-flush toilet
...hopefully we're offsetting that increase in water use with this - it's got two buttons, let's just call them button "number one" and button "number two". I'll let you figure out what they're used for, I don't have to spell it out for you do I? And button "number one" only uses a half-volume flush, which is what's used most of the time.

11. Fleece exam pads
For the exam rooms and kennels, we're using fleece pads instead of cotton, since they dry so quickly, and therefore require a lot less energy.

12. Humabuilt Doors
We really wanted wood doors to contribute to the warm feeling we were trying to achieve, but luckily found an option that we thought was the best of both worlds - Humabuilt Doors. They're made from wheat chaff - which is annually renewable - pressed into a particle board, and then covered with a thin, nicely engineered maple veneer. The result is a beautiful door that looks like solid wood, and is about halfway between the weight of a solid-core door and a hollow one.

13. Natural Finish
The doors are finished with a clear wood wax called "Osmo Polyx Oil" which is really beautiful and durable, and easy to repair when needed. It's made of ingredients like sunflower oil, Carnauba and Candelilla wax. It's got a very small amount of (benzene-free) mineral spirits in it, but other than that it's all natural.

14. PaperStone
This stuff is truly awesome - it's dense like hardwood, durable, beautiful, and it's made from recycled paper and natural resins. And when I say dense and durable, I'm serious - we went through 3 jigsaw blades just cutting the oval for the sink! One of them was embedded so tightly I thought it was going to have to become a permanent part of the countertop. A few stats:

A 1" by 60" by 144" (we used about twice this amount) slab of PaperStone Certified (versus a regular phenolic composite manufactured from virgin fiber and a regular, commercially available, solvent-based resin) saves:

• 1233 gallons of water
• 2.03 million BTU's of energy
• 131 pounds of solid waste
• 254 pounds of greenhouse gases
• 55 pounds of petroleum-based phenol
• 22 pounds of natural gas-based methanol

Plus it's dimensionally stable, and amazingly tough structurally - it has a compressive strength of 45,000 psi and you can cantilever it 4' with less than 1/16" deflection.

15. Salvaged Redwood
Our shelves up front are reclaimed railroad timbers from the great people at EcoPDX here in Portland on North Interstate. They typically reclaim Indonesian hardwoods and make furniture, but at the moment they have a huge pile of reclaimed California Redwood railroad ties from a dismantled goldrush-era railroad. They split them and glued them for us, and we built them into the design. You can still see holes from the railroad spikes, and staining from the oils that got into them.

16. Mango hardwood furniture
Yet another way we managed to get some really nice wood without cutting down trees in a tropical rainforest. Mango plantations are a great source for beautiful dark hardwood, since the oldest trees stop producing fruit, and are felled to be replaced by new ones.

17. Marmoleum Floors
In a couple areas we wanted floor covering (near the kennels) and went with Marmoleum - which is a "true" natural linoleum, as opposed to the PVC-based stuff that passes for linoleum these days. It looks cool, comes in a million colors and patterns, and it's made from linseed oil, jute, and rosin - no harmful chemicals are used, so there's no long "offgassing" period like there is with vinyl flooring. Plus when it eventually does wear out, it's completely biodegradable.

18. Low/No VOC paint
Most of our paints were extremely low VOC or no VOC paints - Benjamin Moore Aura, Yolo, and Devine Green. VOCs are emitted from traditional paints for years after they're dry, and some are known carcinogens.

Okay, enough already. That will teach you to get me started. If you're still here after all that, you deserve a drink on me. Come to the Open House and take me up on it! It's this Saturday, June 14th. General Public from 3-6, Industry/Friends/Family from 6-8, then from 8-midnight we've got space reserved at the Backstage (behind the Bagdad Theater) for food, pool, and beer.

yeehah!!!

We had a minor complication with the inspector today involving something the Fire Marshall already signed off on, then he sort of shrugged it off, and said "want me to sign the final on this?" - do you think anyone ever answers that question in any other way than a booming and emphatic YES?!?! That's what I did anyway, so he signed it, wished us luck, and disappeared. So, as of 3pm today, we were officially OPEN FOR BUSINESS!

We can barely use the phone system, the software's not ready, the shelves are empty, the credit card processing machine just showed up this morning, we still need to put up the door trim and baseboards. But the phones have been ringing - lots of existing clients, and even a couple new ones already. We've got six appointments scheduled for tomorrow already, and a few surgeries on Friday! So, despite having a lot to do still, we're open, and we already have a little momentum, which feels great!

Sorry this didn't get posted until so late, I know some of you were dying to know how it turned out - but we're just getting home now, and I still need to rig up some temporary patch so we can produce statements for clients tomorrow when we charge them. So I've got to get back to work, just thought we'd share the news.

CLICK HERE for a nice big image of our completed inspection card :)

 

Well, one final (?) gripe about the permitting process, then you won't have to listen to me whine anymore.

As Kristin mentioned, JUST LAST WEEK we heard that our modest little oxygen tank requires its own sprinkler, and a vent, and a fresh air supply, and a 1-hour fire rated enclosure. Yes, just LAST WEEK - after months of permitting, reviews, discussions, phone calls, emails, inspections, and corrections... someone just finally figured this out.

Well, we got that sorted out - it turns out we don't really need all that - just a separate "room" for our oxygen. Apparently nobody at the city bothers actually READING the code, so I have to do that for them. I think maybe they sort of *glance* across the pages, see the word "sprinkler" in there somewhere, and make the rest up. I'm serious. And since they don't even read the code, I'm hoping they don't read this blog either. Or if they do, I'm betting they won't see it between the time I post this and the time they sign the card tomorrow morning. They can read it all they please after that :)

So anyway we built a tiny little wall, with a steel door on it, and the Fire Marshall came out today and, after scaring me with a couple new suggestions, said he'd sign off on it as it is... and there was much rejoicing (hooray!)

We also got our final approval on our mechanical permit today... additional rejoicing ensued (hooray again!)

So all that's left is to get the final inspection completed - last time he was out, in addition to the oxygen tank incident, he pointed out that we needed a smoke gasket on the back door, and a door closer... fair enough. I put those in, and called him back. Hopefully when he comes out tomorrow, he'll just nod and sign the card... then I'll scan it and post it here in victory... wish us luck!

Also - the REAL website has been released! All this blog activity is groovy and all, but we need a general-purpose sort of site. It's not all final, or perfectly functional (the record-access parts aren't hooked up yet) but it's generally all there, and looking pretty nice thanks to a spectacular design by Lia at Avive Design, some excellent copy written by Kristin, and some mediocre photos by YT (no Drew, not the girl from snowcrash).

So, go check it out by clicking on the "Mt. Tabor Vet Care Home" link on the top of this page... or in case that one's too subtle for you, here's a more conspicuous one...

http://www.mttaborvetcare.com

let us know what you think! You can also check out the "Portland Picks" website - we're running an ad there all month on the lefthand side of the front page.

starting to look like a genuinely official place of business, is it not?

 

It was a pretty exciting long weekend for us, with a lot happening. Our lab equipment was delivered and installed, our digital radiography system was installed along with the dental xray system, and the electricians hung the ceiling fans and light fixtures. Then on Saturday, we painted like mad, and then hung out drinking and eating pizza afterwards. Thanks VERY MUCH to everyone who came out to help us paint, we were really seriously relieved to have gotten so much done in one afternoon. And thanks to everyone who stopped by to hang out, have a few drinks, and check out the clinic - it was really nice to see everyone there!

Omar setting up our lab equipment	Electricians installed the ceiling fans
light fixtures from Schoolhouse Electric	Paint and maple doors

Digital radiography system installed, and working! This is our test shot of Katie's dog Frida who was kind enough to pose for us

Dad	Mom
Lia	Barb
Ben	Katie

Hopefully tomorrow we'll actually be flipping light switches in the space, turning on our lights! Kristin and I put bulbs in them all today, and the electricians have been finishing everything up quickly - things are moving fast!