March 26th, 2020

​ COVID-19 UPDATE May 12, 2020
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HEARTWORM SEASON  June 1st is rapidly approaching and as our dog owning families know, HEARTWORM SEASON is from June through to and including November.  As a reminder, heartworm disease is predominantly a dog disease that is literally a disease of worms in the heart, which they get from mosquito bites.  This serious and potentially deadly disease gets passed on through bites from infected mosquitos.  The parasite is warm weather temperature dependent, and that is why we have the seasonal nature of the disease.  You do want your dog protected, starting June 1st.The normal veterinary process is to run a blood parasite test every spring on every dog, before starting his or her heartworm preventative medication.  This year because of the current COVID-19 protocols in place the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association has published a suggested guide advising veterinarians to dispense the medication for our patients, so that disease can be prevented, and we will "catch up" with the blood test as soon as the "urgent care"  restrictions are lifted.
 Please click this link for a short video we have recorded on heartworm disease and the prevention of this serious condition in your beloved dog.

Youtube Video - Dr. Gold discusses  Heartworm

 Please e-mail or phone us so that we can prepare the prescription for your dog.  We have a number of preventative medications available.  Many of our families will want to stay with the same medication that  their dog had last year, but there are a number of options to consider.  Please watch the quick video that we have prepared for you, (with the above link) and then reach out to us so that we can help you to protect your special canine family member.
TICK TALK.  Ticks have become common.  We are seeing ticks on our patients every week.  We have medication available that kills ticks when they bite our pets.  Some of the Heartworm prevention medications also kill ticks.  You will hear more from us about ticks in a later newsletter. Please click on the following link for a very short video on TICKS

You Tube Video - Dr. Gold briefly discusses TICKS

URGENT CARE RESTRICTIONS are still in place.  Our veterinary hospital is open to see  patients, for urgent care.  The decision on whether the concern is urgent or not is to be determined on a case by case basis, so please call or e-mail your every concern and we will help you by deciding if it is a matter than can be postponed, helped via a telemedicine consultation or whether your pet should be presented for a full physical examination.  As soon as the "URGENT CARE" restrictions are lifted and veterinary medicine goes back to "ESSENTIAL SERVICES", we will contact you to let you know that we will once again be able to accommodate wellness examinations, annual physical examinations with vaccination appointments and most importantly run the HEARTWORM blood testing.

HOURS   10 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday, until further notice

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