April- Team Member of the Month

Knowledgeable, compassionate, versatile; these are just a few words that can be used to describe this month's Team Member of the Month. Dalila Reyes has been at the HAH since 2006 and has served in a variety of capacities and excelled in all!! She has been the personal technician to Dr. Shapiro for the last four years but that has not kept her from branching out and taking charge of our in-house canine blood bank and managing our digital radiography records. She is known by our clients as someone that can be trusted and her own doctor would say that she "goes above and beyond the call of duty. She has great patient care and takes the initiative to do more than is asked. Dalila has a thirst for knowledge and strives to improve and learn new skills. She is one of the most loyal employees” Dalila is a model employee and for that reason we honor her as our April Team Member of the Month!!

April-Patient of the Month- Qi Mei [Chee May]

 

Qi Mei [Chee My], meaning life/beautiful, is a 10+ year old female Shar Pei, that has been a patient of the HAH since she was 2months old. She is the oldest of three puppies that along with her mom, share in the credit for this success story.

Over the years, Qi Mei has seen many doctors for well health visit and routine procedures as well as a series of close encounters with foreign objects like a tasty corn cob or rock but her heart belongs to Dr. Herrington who her mother would call -her savior.

Last month, Qi Mei came to see Dr. H. Her mom, who is very in tuned to the nuances of all her girls, noticed Qi Mei not eating and experiencing episodes of vomiting and diarrhea. Her feces were tested and parasites were present. A treatment of antibiotics was prescribed but when the following day her behavior was still not quite right, blood work and x-rays were done as well. Another foreign body was suspected.

The x-rays showed not only a possible foreign object in Qi Mei but also revealed a mass on her liver. Ultra-sound confirmed this mass and surgery was scheduled. Dr.Bibevski and Dr. Sessa performed the surgery and did in fact find foreign material (a tasty plastic toy and rocks) along with a mass on Qi Mei’s liver.  Both the foreign material and mass were removed and Qi Mei recovered from anesthesia normally.

However, all procedures come with a risk of complications and even a well executed surgery without abnormalities can go wrong. Five days after Qi Mei’s surgery her behavior was noticeable changed and her mom returned her to the hospital. The tissues in Qi Mei’s intestines were not healing as they should and Dr. Herrington and Dr. Bibevski returned her to surgery. This time what they found was a very sick tummy and in order to help they needed to flush it out and leave it “open” to drain. This procedure sounds radical but is necessary to allow the bad bacteria to leave the body and not fester. After just a few days the doc’s went back in and cleaned her up again. This time they closed her abdomen.

For the next 7 days, she continued to receive intensive care to monitor her healing. She had drains and tubes in her as you might see in a human ICU and our 24 hour attention was essential to her progress.

 “The staff went above and beyond for her while in the hospital and Dr. H kept me positive throughout the whole ordeal.” said Qi Mei’s mom

What was unique though, and perhaps as important to her recovery as her surgical and hospital care, was Qi Mei herself. Qi Mei was patient. She was willing. She was loving. Never once did she shy away from going outside or hesitate when yet another treatment needed to be completed. She plugged along and soon was starting to act like herself again.

Twenty days after her initial visit, she was heading home with strict instructions for careful monitoring and care. Her mom and three sisters, Jasmine and Cha Siu Bau [Cha Su Bow] would need to temper there tremendous enthusiasm to have her home and help her rest and relax. Quite a task for the close knit group!!!

                                                                                                  

At her recheck, Qi Mei was definitely on the mend. Her blood work was improving and Dr. Herrington continues to closely monitor every change.  Qi Mei is a wonderful example of the teamwork it takes to care for patients and we are happy to recognize her as our patient of the month!!

Relay For Life of Hollywood

We encourage you to come out and participate in the Relay for Life of Hollywood next Friday April 19th at 6pm at the Arts Park At Young Circle.  The American Cancer Society invites you to take that step with us by joining the global Relay For Life movement. When you walk to end cancer at a Relay event, it's your opportunity to not only honor cancer survivors and remember loved ones lost, but also to raise awareness about what we can do to stay well from cancer and raise money to help fuel the world's largest walk to end cancer.

35 teams and 132 participants have already raised $15,551.68

Click here to Donate or Join our Team!

Hollywood Animal Hospital is one of the sponsors of Relay for Life of Hollywood in honor of Terry Adams, one of our former employees. Participate in this event or donate 

Tomorrow is National Pet Day

Tomorrow is National Pet Day, a day set aside to remind pet owners and caretakers about the importance of proper care for pets. When was the last time your pet had a regular check-up? Is your pet up-to-date on vaccines and preventative medicines? Contact us today if you have questions about your pet’s health.

April is National Pet Month

April is National Pet Month, a time set aside to honor your pets! 

Free Public Lecture Series- April 11, 2013

Free public lecture in Miami, April 11, 2013 for all pet owners, rescue workers and animal lovers.
The South Florida Veterinary Foundation invites you to attend: 

What big eyes you have!  Keeping your pet’s eyes healthy – common ocular diseases.
Presented by Robert Swinger, DVM, DACVO
Animal Eye Guys, HAH, SVRC


The Golden Years - Common diseases and problems in senior pets.
Presented by Vera Maeckelbergh, DVM, DACVIM
Miami Veterinary Specialists
 
Thursday, April 11th, 2013 from 7-830pm
Whitten Learning Center, University of Miami, Room LC120
RSVP by email: info@sfvet.org or by calling 786-258-VETS

May Free Eye Exam for Service Animals!!!!

 Hollywood Animal Hospital and Animal Eye Guys, in conjunction with the American College of Veterinarian Ophthalmology and Merial will offer free eye exams to all service animals throughout the month of May. Guardians and handlers of all qualified service animals are invited to visit the clinic for a free eye exam provided by Dr. Robert Swinger, D.V.M., Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmology.

"I will be checking for problems including redness, squinting, cloudy corneas, retinal disease, early cataracts and other serious abnormalities. Early detection and treatment are vital to these working animals," said Dr. Swinger. "It is truly an honor to provide exams for animals who so selflessly provide support to their people and communities."


To qualify, animals must be active working animals such as guide dogs, handicapped assistance animals, detection dogs, therapy animals, and search and rescue dogs that have been certified by a formal training program/organization or are currently enrolled in a formal training program. The certifying organization can be national, regional or local in nature.

Owners/agents for the animal(s) must first register the animal via an online registration form
beginning April 1, 2013 at www.acvoeyeexam.org. Registration ends April 30th.
Once registered online, the owner/agent will receive a registration number. They can then simply
call Hollywood Animal Hospital with that number to make an appointment.

"For 65 years, the veterinarians and staff of Hollywood Animal Hospital have been deeply devoted
to companion animals and the people of South Florida," said Dr. Jim Herrington. "When Dr.
Swinger presented the ACVO/Merial National Service Dog Eye Exam program to us, we jumped
at the opportunity to participate."