Posts in Category: Felton Veterinary Hospital News

If you’ve ever needed veterinary care for your beloved pet (who hasn’t?), you know what a significant role veterinary technicians play. Having an experienced, compassionate vet tech can make all the difference in getting your pet the care and comfort they need. Sometimes called veterinary nurses, these unique individuals are an integral part of our team.

The third week in October is Veterinary Technician Appreciation Week each year. It’s a beautiful opportunity to learn about what these professionals do and for practice managers, veterinarians, and pet owners to show appreciation for their daily contributions to animal well-being.  

What is a Veterinary Technician?

Simply put, veterinary technicians do whatever is needed to assist the veterinarian in caring for pets. In addition, they possess invaluable skills in pet care and pet owner education. They also bring their experience and an extra set of senses into the exam room or treatment room as they assist the veterinarian. 

Each state has different requirements for licensing veterinary technicians. In California, individuals must attend a licensed veterinary technician school accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). Once completing their schooling, an individual must pass the Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE) and an additional California state board examination before earning Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) status. 

In addition, to maintain their license, individuals must earn a minimum of 20 hours of continuing education courses every two years. This requirement ensures that RVTs maintain current knowledge of medical advances and new technology in the veterinary field. They may also pursue specialized training and certification in specific disciplines, including dentistry, surgery, anesthesia, oncology, and nutrition, to name a few.

To Our Covid Weary Pet Owners

As of June 17, 2021, and in light of California and CDC recommendations, we are taking a cautiously optimistic approach and partially unlocking our front doors! Your pets will be so happy to be accompanied into our building by their people again AND so will we! For our safety and yours, our doors will not be “wide open” quite yet. Let us define our Cautiously Optimistic Approach:

We will still have ALL appointments types call us from the parking lot when they arrive.

Many of us were woken in the middle of the night on August 16, 2020 by a violent wind and dry lightning storm. But perhaps few of us were aware that we would be evacuating our homes hours or days later. The CZU Lightning Complex fire, which started from dry lightning strikes in our beloved Santa Cruz Mountains, ultimately caused the evacuation of over 64,000 people, burned over 80,000 acres in Santa Cruz and San Mateo Counties, and destroyed over 1400 buildings, according to Cal Fire. 

Is your older kitty “slowing down?” Has your agility dog suffered an injury that just won’t heal? In these and many other scenarios, it’s possible that laser therapy could be the answer to your pet’s pain and discomfort. 

Used for years in humans, laser therapy for pets uses Class IV laser light to stimulate healthy cell growth, repair damaged cells, and promote healing and pain relief. 

At Felton Veterinary Hospital, we are proud to offer this therapy, and we are thrilled to share the benefits with our patients and friends. 

Thank you all for your patience over the past 2 months while we had you wait in your cars as we examined your pets inside our building. Your cooperation (and appreciation) has been amazing! You have helped us find a rhythm to a difficult new routine. We realize retail businesses have started to open their doors. With the intimate nature of our business (face to face in the small exam room while we examine your pet), there is a lot to consider before we do the same. We want to do what is right for you, our clients, and for our staff. With the recent rise in Covid cases, for now, we want to continue our “new rhythm” of having our clients wait in their cars during their pet’s exam. We cannot wait for the day when our office is not just full of wags, purrs and tweets (ok, we admit, not all of our patients are THAT happy to see us) but also full of YOU, our wonderful clients from our wonderful community!

In light of the ever-changing conditions surrounding the pandemic, our protocols have also been very fluid.
In an effort to continue to protect our clients and our employees without sacrificing the care of our patients we have decided to discontinue the “traffic” into our building.
If you have a scheduled appointment, please call our office when you arrive in the parking lot. We will ask that you remain in your car while we take your pet’s history by phone. A nurse will take your pet from your car into our building for its exam by the doctor. After the exam, the doctor will call you with any questions or concerns, the nurse will return your pet to your car and we ask that you make your payment by phone before you leave.

Update as of 3/16/2020:

Today, along with many other counties in California, Santa Cruz County has issued a “Shelter in Place” order.  Veterinary Clinics are considered an “Essential business”. Our doors will remain open! We will continue to schedule appointments, we can refill your pet’s prescriptions and supply their prescription dog food. We will, however, be canceling our Wednesday vaccine clinics for at least the next 2 weeks as an extra safety precaution.

Does your dog hike or run with you in grassy open areas? Or do they love to go sniffing in overgrown areas in your yard or neighborhood?  Uh oh, foxtail season is HERE. Here’s how to recognize, and more importantly, prevent these nasty weeds from hurting your dog.

What is a foxtail?

A foxtail is a grass-like weed that blooms every spring and releases barbed seed heads. These barbs can work their way into any part of your dog’s body- including eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and even directly into the skin. Because of their barbed nature, they tend to be very difficult to remove, and even worse, they can travel beyond sight very quickly.

You know you need a dog first aid kit for hikes or camping trips you take with your canine, but do you know what should be in it? In this short video, Dr. Sarah Wooten covers basic first aid supplies — like butterfly bandages, tweezers and a muzzle — and how best to store them.

Before you go out with your pet on such an adventure, read up on basic first aid procedures, including when to induce vomiting and when not to. And, of course, if your dog has special needs, consult with your veterinarian for recommendations about additional supplies.

Vestibular Disease

What on Earth is the Vestibular Apparatus?

In a nutshell, the vestibular apparatus is the neurological equipment responsible for perceiving your body’s orientation relative to the earth (determining if you are upside down, standing up straight, falling etc.), which inform your eyes and extremities how they should move accordingly.

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