December-Team Member of The Month!!!

December Team Member of the Month- Sue Dunkelberger

Sue Dunkelberger has been a HAH team member for a total of 27 years.  Her first roll was as our Receptionist Supervisor and after a hiatus into human medicine she returned in 1995 as a dedicated member of our elite group of phone operators.

Sue brings energy and enthusiasm to the phone room. By decorating for all the holidays, Sue keeps spirits high while our team assists clients as they call in.  No matter the curve balls thrown at her personally, she always manages to bring her glowing personality to work! We are grateful she has been part of the HAH for all these years and are pleased to honor her as Team Member or the Month!

December Patient of the Month- "MilkDud"

This month we would like to honor as our Patient of the Month, a pup that is very special to our Hollywood Animal Hospital family.  “MilkDud” ,  a 12 year old,  red dachshund; the proud pup of our very own Kathy Ziezio .

After monitoring a few days of diarrhea the “Dud” began vomiting and no longer wanted to eat. Kathy immediately came in and saw Dr. Grasso. X-rays were ordered and showed a mass in “Milkdud’s” abdomen causing fluid to build up.

Kathy hospitalized the “Dud” throughout the weekend and on Monday Dr. Sessa ordered an ultrasound to get a clearer picture of what the mass looked like.  During the ultrasound Dr. Murphy was able to see that the mass was affecting the spleen and also her gallbladder. Surgery was scheduled for the following day. The surgery was serious but “Milk Dud” came through beautifully and then started the process of recovery.

Often the post operative care is as important as the surgery and “Milk Dud” benefited from the many minds that our hospital has to offer. For the next 10 days “Milk Dud” was giving TLC and aggressive medical therapy.  She received several transfusions to increase and maintain her blood cell volume and was hand fed every night by her momma.

“Milk Dud’s” pathology came back with a less then desirable result but did show that Dr. Sessa had removed as much of the effected tissue as possible. For now, “Milk Dud” is home and getting back to the business of playing with her sisters “Samantha” and “Daisy”. Most recently, she stopped in with Kathy, donning a Santa costume to hand out presents to the staff.

We are so happy to honor “MilkDud” as our December Patient of the Month!

Team Member of the Month- Lee Ashton

Team Member of the Month- Lee Ashton

We would like to honor Lee Ashton by making her HAH’s team member of the month for November 2012.  Lee has worked in the hospital kennel since December 13, 1996.  Lee is a soft spoken woman…unless she feels you’re not doing what is best for a patient or the hospital in general!

Lee is definitely set in her ways and knows how she wants things done. That’s why we are going to miss her so much when she moves to Pennsylvania in December.   We want to wish her well and should she decide the “sunny south” is the place to be, we hope this is the first place she stops!

November- Patient of the Month Highlight

 
Koas, an eight year old mixed canine was seen on emergency for multiple gunshot wounds. That morning his owner returned home from work and let Kaos out only to be awaken later by the sound of gun shots and Kaos running inside.  He had been shot three times.

 Kaos had two bullets lodged in the soft tissue around his chest and abdomen and a shattered left scapula. His temperature was elevated and he was in shock. Our emergency doctor, Dr. Lukens, triaged Kaos and stabilized him.

The following morning Dr. Shapiro took over the case and discussed the poor prognosis with the client. Due to massive injury from ballistic penetration into the thoracic and abdominal cavity requiring multiple surgeries, with high risks of anesthesia, infection and potenital suffering, Koas' owner's had a difficult decision to make.

Meanwhile Kaos seemed to be resting comfortable even wagging his tail. That is what changed things. Kaos was a strong boy with a great spirit and together his family decided to go forward.

Kaos was hospitalized for a week where he underwent two surgeries that addressed the soft tissue damage caused by the gun shots. His scapula was left to heal naturally and he was sent home with instructions for bandage care and scheduled bandage changes. Within a month, Kaos was healing beautifully and was even putting some weight on his left leg.

Kaos’ spirit was the initial key to his success. He was a strong patient that always had a tail wag or lick for everyone. His progress was a joy to be a part of.  We are happy to highlight him as our patient for November.

Our cat expert, Dr. Anne Romano!!

In honor of National Cat Week we would like to highlight our cat expert, Dr. Anne Romano.

Dr. Anne Romano joined the team at Hollywood Animal Hospital as part of the hospital’s internship program in 2007 after graduating from Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2007.  (Go BIG RED!)  After the internship was over, Dr. Romano stayed on as an associate and has been part of the Hollywood Animal Hospital ever since. 

Dr. Romano has known she wanted to be a veterinarian since she was a little girl.  According to her parents, her first words were “I see kitty.”  This led her on a life-long course to become a veterinarian, and during that time she was guided by her love of felines and other animals she knew she wanted to care for.  She is currently pursuing certification with the American Board of Veterinary Practitioner’s Feline Specialty.

Dr. Romano met her husband, Chad, in high school.  After dating throughout undergrad and grad school, they were married in 2007.  They currently have two cats – Guenhwyvar & Spicey McHaggis. 

2012 Best of Hollywood Award

Hollywood Animal Hospital Receives 

2012 Best of Hollywood Award

Hollywood Award Program Honors the Achievement

HOLLYWOOD October 18, 2012 -- Hollywood Animal Hospital has been selected for the 2012 Best of Hollywood Award in the Veterinarians category by the Hollywood Award Program.

Each year, the Hollywood Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Hollywood area a great place to live, work and play.
Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2012 Hollywood Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Hollywood Award Program and data provided by third parties.

About Hollywood Award Program

The Hollywood Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Hollywood area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.
The Hollywood Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy.


Hollywood Award Program

We are proud to highlight Dr. Guoan!

Dr. Guoan grew up in Naples, Florida. After high school graduation, she found herself  in Nashville, Tennessee knee deep within the music industry interacting with Pam Lewis, manager of “Garth Brooks”, as well as having her own interest in artist management, tour management and sound/lighting. While in Nashville, she attended Middle Tennessee State University where she played collegiate soccer. Upon graduation, she continued on the music path as a tour/artist manager as well as broadened her athletic career by playing Professional women’s football for the Nashville Dream Team, which is part of the National Women’s Football Association.

In 2004, she chose to turn corners and explore her other passions in life. Since then, she has been within the Veterinary community and has been consumed with unconditional love from animals. A 2012 graduate of University of Florida, Morgan was a Student Ambassador,  president of “Team Vet Med”, which is a cycling team geared to providing scholarships/support for veterinary students. She was also Hill’s Science Diet’s school representative. While not consumed with school, Morgan was a free lance writer and wrote for the “Critter” which is a nonprofit animal newsletter.

Morgan finds her true love in veterinary medicine as an emergency doctor. She also is actively involved in palliative/hospice care.  Her life experiences being an athlete, working in the music industry and having a life on the road, have enabled her to learn people and their lifestyles and to enjoy many different personalities and walks of life. Her past has taught her how easy being unconditional to someone can be, when you are able to put your own judgments aside. Being an ear to someone and a voice for others helped shape her into who she is today.

August Team Member of the Month: Glorivee

We are proud to highlight Glorivee as our August Team Member of the Month! Glorivee started working as an employee in June of 2010. Before then she was a high school student volunteer, with boundless energy. We are pleased to say that her

 forever smile and energy has been a benefit to our team! Glorivee first worked in the kennel and did a wonderful job caring for our boarders and patients. She is now one of our veterinary assistants and the patients, as well as our clients, enjoy all of that positive energy!

Free Grill!!

FOR OUR CLIENTS WHO USE HEARTGARD, CERTIFECT AND FRONTLINE PRODUCTS

AS A THANK YOU, A BRINKMAN GAS GRILL HAS BEEN PROVIDED FOR HOLLYWOOD ANIMAL HOSPITAL’S MERIAL PRODUCT USERS!

HEARTGARD PLUS – FOR PREVENTION OF HEARTWORMS & INTESTINAL PARASITES

CERTIFECT – FOR TICKS

FRONTLINE PLUS – FOR FLEAS AND TICKS

FRONTLINE TRITAK FOR DOGS AND CATS – A THIRD GENERATION NEW PRODUCT FOR FLEAS AND TICKS (AVAILABLE SOON)

 FOR EVERY PACKAGE OF ONE OF THE ABOVE PRODUCTS PURCHASED BY CLIENTS OF HOLLYWOOD ANIMAL HOSPITAL BETWEEN JULY 1, 2012 AND AUGUST 31, 2012 AN ENTRY WILL BE MADE INTO THE RAFFLE.

FOR A 6 DOSE PACKAGE =1 ENTRY

FOR A 12 DOSE PACKAGE = 2 ENTRIES

TRITAK IS 3 DOSES AND 1 ENTRY WILL BE APPLIED

August Patient of the Month: Niki

Niki Zawada is an 11yr old German shepherd that was brought in on emergency one Friday morning.  Niki was intact and presented with signs of a pyometra; infection of the uterus. She was not walking and generally uncomfortable. The infection in her uterus was powerful and in an effort to maintain balance her body worked overtime resulting in sickness throughout many organ systems. Her kidney, liver and multiple other blood values were elevated causing her to go into a diabetic crisis.

Niki was immediately hospitalized and treated for the most urgent ailment, the sugar crisis.  After hours of aggressive treatment, antibiotics and fluid, Niki underwent surgery to remove her infected uterus. The surgery was tough for her and her recovery was slow.

Over the next week, Niki was treated for a variety of ailments that resulted from her body trying to return to normal. Niki received a total of 6 plasma transfusions to nourish and rehydrate her and underwent a series of blood test to monitor her ever changing symptoms.

Within a week she began looking like herself again and was discharged with strict orders of antibiotic, subcutaneous fliuds and TLC at home.  Fifteen days from the day she was brought into the HAH, her blood values were normal and she was finished with her meds. She was back to being Niki!

During her stay, Niki became a treasured part of our hospital. Her loving disposition and her struggle toward wellness touched us all. Today Niki, is home and healthy and both her family and the HAH are so happy with her recovery.

Over-the-Counter Medications & Pets

Pets are often curious creatures, wanting to check out things around the house. Because of this characteristic, it’s important to always store dangerous substances like medicine far from their reach. Pets have been known to accidentally ingest whole packages of pills and the results are often serious, sometimes fatal. Keep your pet’s safe at home by storing your medicine safely out of their reach.

Highlight: Dr. Erica Bello

We are proud to highlight Dr. Erica Bello! Dr. Erica Bello grew up on a small farm in rural New Jersey. She has been a competitive equestrian since the age of 8. Her family has always had a vast array of animals including horses, goats, dog

s and cats. Dr. Bello received her bachelor of science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. She then went on to gain a degree in Veterinary Medicine from Ross University located on the beautiful island of St. Kitts in the eastern Caribbean, followed by completion of a year-long clinical program at Colorado State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine. Her interests include oncology, soft tissue surgery, and critical care. During her free time, Dr. Bello enjoys riding her Thoroughbred mare “Lily” and being entertained by her very energetic Jack Russell Terrier, “Hunter”. She and her fiancé Jerren like soaking up as much of the South Florida lifestyle as possible, and the beach is usually on the top of the list.

Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease spread in the urine of infected wildlife including deer, skunks, raccoons, moles and voles. We recommend and have available the Leptospirosis vaccine at Hollywood Animal hospital. It is not a part of our standard vaccine series but we do recommend it and believe it is important for any pet that has access to animal feces and standing water. Call us today at 954-920-3556 for more details about the Leptospirosis vaccine. 

What our clients are saying about us......

Name: Ofc. Curtiss Richardson, Key West Police Dept.

Message: Dr. Herrington and Staff of HAH,
I just wanted to take the time to express my thanks for the treatment and care you all showed myself and my partner K-9 Cyress. I was a nervous wreck the moment I step through the door. All who came in contact with me and K-9 Cyress made us both feel at home and a little more at ease. 

Dr. Herrington, the K-9 community needs more great supporters like yourself and your staff. I look forward to seeing you all soon.

Respectfully,
K-9 Ofc. C. Richardson
Key West Police Dept. K-9 Unit
Email-crichard@keywestcity.com

With dogs we bust, in paws we trust

Dr. James Carson

Dr. James Carson grew up in Louisville, Kentucky the oldest of three boys. After receiving his undergraduate degree, he earned a Master from Auburn University (WAR EAGLE!) and his DVM from LSU. His professional interests include surgery, general practice and critical care. In his time off he enjoys deep sea fishing, learning how to drive in South Florida and spending time with his wife and three cats, Ollie, Milo and Rugburn.

Team Member of the Month: Melanie

Melanie Cash joined our team in August of 2008 as an experienced veterinary technician.  She has a great personality, always smiling and the ability to get along with everybody.  Melanie is currently the supervisor of our day tech team.  She is always willing to do whatever is necessary to keep our hospital running smoothly, by filling in where ever needed.  She works in our laboratory currently due to a technician being on maternity leave and another moving out of state....and still she manages to keep our tech team on the straight and narrow!  We don't think there is a task we could give her that she wouldn't be able to master! We are very fortunate to have her as part of the HAH family!

Client Testimonial

Good Afternoon,

I had to rush my young kitten to your emergency room Sunday night/Monday
morning as he had a couple of seizures and was not doing well at all. I
had been to an animal hospital closer to my home a year ago when my cat
was ill and refused to go back to that place because the care we received
there was not to my standards. I had heard wonderful things about your
facility and I wanted to tell you after our visit the other day that my
expectations were exceeded.

Unfortunately the visit did not go the way we hoped and we made the
difficult decision to let the kitten go due to his condition. Dr. Londono
and the vet tech (I am sorry but I do not remember her name, she was very
tall and very nice though) as well as the girl who gathered our
information were exceptional. Everything was explained to us and we were
treated with the utmost sensitivity and care. They were wonderful at a
very difficult time.

I know often the only thing companies hear are complaints about their
service or things that went wrong but I wanted to share with you how
impressed we were with your facility and staff. I hope that I will not
need emergency services for any of my animals but in the case that I do
the only place I will take my animals to is your facility. I will also
highly recommend your facility to anyone I know that is in need to medical
care for thier animals.

Thank you for providing the comfort and support we needed at a difficult
time and for doing your best to help our little kitten. A special thank
you to Dr. Londono and the girls that helped us!

Name:Julie Reger

Pet of the Month: Mini

We are proud to honor "Mini" as our June Pet of the Month! 

“Mini” is a 4year old ‘mini’ mixed canine that was rescued a year ago after her previous owner discovered she had heartworm disease and could not manage the medical care. Her new owner welcomed her into his home and immediately began addressing her medical needs.

“Mini” was diagnosed with stage I heartworm disease which required three rounds of treatment consisting of multiple injections over a period of two months and strict cage rest.

“Mini” was not a fan of the cage rest but complied and at her 6month recheck she was clear of all heartworms. “Mini” is back to herself again and is on a consistent regimen of heartworm preventative. 

A truly heart touching story of a young girl's wish for God to care for her dog "Abbey"

This heart touching story of a young girl that wants to be sure God will look after her dog "Abbey" in heaven has been seen recently throughout the internet and seemed very worthy to share.

Here is her story....

Our 14-year-old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.

I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her, you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love, Meredith

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven.

That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought he had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, "To Meredith," in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, "When a Pet Dies." Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away. Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.

I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love.

Love,

God

Team Member of the Month for May: Ashley Cutter

Ashley Cutter started working at the Hollywood Animal Hospital in February, 2007 as a receptionist. Although it was her ultimate goal to become a Veterinary Assistant, she was a terrific receptionist and it was hard for us to let her go. About a years ago, we finally relinquished her and she got her wish to be a Veterinary Assistant. Ashley excelled in that department as well. Most recently, Ashley has become a Veterinary Technician in training and has already become an outstanding part of our technician team! What makes Ashley one of our most valued employees is, her willingness to lend a hand in any department. Her positive attitude is something we wish we could bottle!