Talbot Road Veterinary Services

03/18/2025

Talbot Tuesday: FAQ

Q: What is the "heartworm test waiver" and why do I have to sign it?

A: The 4Dx blood test - commonly referred to as a "heartworm test" - is actually a 4-part, in-house diagnostic tool that tests for heartworm and 3 tick-borne diseases, including Lyme disease.

Unlike some clinics, at Talbot Road, we do not require patients to have a 'heartworm test' in order to purchase flea/tick/heartworm prevention. If a test is declined, clients are asked to sign a waiver acknowledging their choice not to have the test.

Aside from the benefit of screening for tick diseases - which can occur even in animals on prevention, if doses are missed or are not appropriate for the dog's weight - a negative 4Dx also confirms that the dog does not have heartworm.

In very rare circumstances, a dog that is unknowingly heartworm-positive may have a serious reaction to prevention medication. This is particularly a concern in dogs coming from or having traveled to warmer climates, where mosquitos and thus heartworm are more prevalent.

While modern prevention products are very safe, and some are even used to treat positive infections, the safest option to ensure no complications is to confirm the animal is heartworm negative.

Our veterinary team is happy to answer any questions you may have about the 4Dx test!

03/11/2025

Talbot Tuesday: 5 Things

Five Things That Make Talbot Road Veterinary Services Unique

1) We are PRIVATELY owned - TRVS is not affiliated with any corporation, and all business decisions are made by the same people who provide your everyday care. 👩🏼‍⚕️🧍🏻‍♂️

2) We are a MIXED animal practice. While horses, dogs, and cats are our primary patient species, we also see sheep, goats, camelids, beef cows, small flock poultry, pocket pets, and some exotic species. 🐴🐶🐱🐷🐮🐰🐔

3) We offer mobile service. Our service area (see website for map) includes parts of Elgin, Brant, Norfolk, and Oxford counties. This service is available for a mobile fee based on distance of travel, and is used for ambulatory farm care, routine care such as vaccines, and some medical care. Pre-booked at-home humane euthanasia is available to both clients and non-clients. 🚙

4) We provide our own after-hours care to active patients and clients. To qualify, both the client and the patient MUST be active with the practice; this means the animal has been examined by one of our doctors within the past 12 months. This service is only for emergencies, as our small team of doctors work full-time in addition to on-call on evenings, weekends, and holidays. 🕐🩺

5) We are poised for growth! Our young but dedicated team is committed to learning about and applying the latest in veterinary medicine. The future is bright, lit up by the potential of the people, equipment, and services yet to come! ☀️

03/08/2025

Happy international women’s day to the many amazing women of Talbot Road! ❤️. Here’s to another year of outnumbering the office manager! 😉

03/05/2025

For all our long eared friends!

03/04/2025

Talbot Tuesday - Staff Spotlight!

Izzy - Reception

Many of you have had the pleasure of meeting Izzy, who has joined our reception team part time. You can find her out front greeting clients, in the back handling a myriad of phone calls, or at her desk, preventing Nugget from eating her lunch.

Family: Izzy lives with her husband Jon and their rescue, Mina the wonder dog.

Fun fact: Izzy was a regular volunteer at Ralphy's Retreat pig sanctuary when it was located in Norfolk county.

Our staff pick 3 words to describe her: Caring, resolved, helpful

What is your favourite thing about working At Talbot Road?: "Getting to work with a team of inspiring women who work tirelessly to treat all animals with care and compassion."

What completely non-veterinary-related things do you enjoy?: "I play the theremin and enjoy surfing on the waves on Lake Erie."

If you were to win a small lottery and had to add something fun to the clinic, what would it be?: "I would build a fenced-in dog run with a swimming pool".

02/25/2025

Talbot Tuesday: Did you know?

Veterinarians are expected by their regulatory college (CVO - College of Veterinarians of Ontario) to complete a minimum of 50 hours/year of Continuing Education. Here is a sneak peek at what our DVMs have been working on!

Dr. Emily - Recently finished a 42 hour, in-depth Equine Lameness program. TRVS offers extensive soundness/lameness packages for horses of all types! 🐎 🏇🩺

Dr. Courtney - Has obtained the Opthalmology Certificate (a 30 hour course) from Vet Girl, a veterinary CE service. Next up is an intensive hands-on Equine Opthalmology course in the U.S. this spring 👀👁️🐴

Dr. Carleigh - Is Fear-Free certified in multiple species. She is currently working on Vet Girl's Exotics & Small Animal certificate. 🐹🐰🐷🐔🐢

02/18/2025

Happy Talbot Tuesday and Happy (belated) Birthday to our very own Nugget. At two years old as of yesterday, Nugget has broken records as the world's youngest human resources manager, Norfolk County's worst customer service agent, and the only three-legged feline known to transform into a piranha when hungry. We wish Nugget a happy birthday filled with good vibes and good behaviour 🎁🐈‍⬛😈

02/14/2025

Good Morning and Happy Friday!

Please be advised our regular appointment bookings for our hospital will be closed on Monday February 17th, 2025 for Family Day.

We will still be offering emergency after hour services for our existing clients (Patient has been seen within the last year during regular office hours).

Please call the clinic phone number at 226-931-5362 and leave a voicemail for the oncall Veterinarian for further assistance should you need our emergency services.

In order to better understand what should constitute a middle of the night call we’ve created a chart with examples for each species of urgent (should be seen within ~24 hours) versus emergent (needs to be seen immediately or within a very short time period). Only emergent cases should prompt a late night/early morning call.

Dogs:
Urgent case examples: Not eating, vomiting, lethargy, fever, smaller wounds
Emergent case examples: Broken limb, non-productive vomiting/gagging in a large breed dog, toxin ingestion (chocolate, grapes, rat poison, anti-freeze etc), a wound with uncontrolled bleeding, seizures lasting longer than 5 minutes, sudden onset paralysis

Cats:
Urgent case examples: Not eating, vomiting, lethargy, fever, smaller wounds, struggling to p**p
Emergent case examples: Male cat unable to urinate, broken limb, toxin ingestion (grapes, lilies etc), wounds with uncontrolled bleeding, respiratory distress, sudden onset paralysis

Horses:
Urgent case examples: Off feed, fever, leg that is suddenly swollen but without trauma, lethargy, smaller wounds
Emergent case examples: Broken limb, colic signs (call vet to help triage the seriousness), wounds with large amounts of bleeding or that are overtop/near joints, choke, any birthing complication, down and unable to rise

Ruminants (Cattle, goats, sheep):
Urgent case examples: Off feed, fever, lethargy, small wounds
Emergent case examples: Uterine prolapse, birthing difficulties, “down cow”, bloat, sudden onset paralysis

02/11/2025

This Talbot Tuesday, we are gearing up to celebrate all the love we have for each other and for the many different animals in our lives! Whether it's a pig snout, a horse muzzle, paw/hand-holding, or the pets getting along for once, we cherish the bonds with and between our non-human friends. Happy Valentine's Day! ❤️💕💜💖🐾

02/10/2025

Did you Know?!?!

Given the steady rise in cases of Potomac Horse Fever in Ontario we are now offering and recommending the vaccine for any at risk horses! Take a peek at our newsletter and don't hesitate to reach out to our team with any other questions!🐴🐌💩

https://www.talbotveterinary.com/post/diseases-from-the-south

02/04/2025

Talbot Tuesday presents: Ernie the Equestrian

RVT Emily's cat Ernie, an FEI-ranked dressage pro, took Ted the stallion for a brief spin in the pasture. We'll be watching for him at the 2028 Olympics 🐴🐈‍⬛

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/15uNu6Jytw/?mibextid=wwXIfr

01/30/2025

Important reminder from the American Association of Equine Practitioners!

01/28/2025

Talbot Tuesday: A serious post

This past weekend, multiple television features were aired covering the rising costs of veterinary care. Members of our profession are devastated, but not surprised, at the volume of cruel comments and discourse that have ensued. Such remarks are made every day - to our faces, in reviews, in online posts, and more.

While the corporatization of veterinary care is a significant and complicated issue, the people on the 'front lines' are no more responsible for the prices you're charged than a cashier is responsible for the costs of your groceries.

As a privately owned clinic, Talbot Road strives to provide high quality, personalized care to all clients and patients. Like any other business, we need to remain financially viable in order to keep our doors open. We work hard to keep our costs as low as possible while paying our staff a living wage and ensuring room to meet the growing needs of our clients and community.

Unlike many clinics, we serve a wide variety of species. Our team recognizes the shortage of care available to all animals in our community, and especially to those not considered 'companion animals'. On top of working 5 days a week, our small team of doctors is then available for emergencies in the evenings, on weekends, and holidays, sacrificing time with friends and family. Our staff work in all climates, with higher safety risks and less-than-ideal working conditions.

Veterinary staff have one of the highest su***de rates of all professions. Long hours, tireless work, and physical, emotional and mental drain have led to a mass exodus of employees from the veterinary field. Contributing to the verbal and written abuse that staff face on a regular basis will only lead to further shortages. In turn, this will further raise the costs of veterinary care or, worse, result in gaps where no care is available.

These are very tough times for all of us. We understand and appreciate that all living costs have increased dramatically in the last few years, and veterinary care is no exception. However, we ask that you consider the humans behind such care before attributing these costs to greed or selfishness. Veterinarians discount more than any other profession. Veterinary staff pour literal blood, sweat, and tears into their jobs every day. They live on salaries dwarfed by other medical fields despite equivalent skills and training.

Not a soul in veterinary medicine is here for the money, but if the cruelty continues, many won't be here at all.

🐾

01/24/2025

Excellent tips for all pet owners, not just horse ones ❤️

Though we wish our horse doctors could be there for our equine friends in any emergency, the reality is that our horses' primary veterinarian cannot be available 24/7 and still juggle the needs of their own personal lives, health and happiness.

The most significant pain point for many veterinarians is caring for their clients during regular business hours and then also being on call for emergencies after hours. For single-doctor or small practices, this traditionally has been the case most nights of the week.

However, private veterinary practices and veterinary schools have more recently focused on developing new models for emergency care which ease the strain on individual practitioners. This includes the growth of emergency cooperatives where two or more practices in a geographic area work together to share after-hours care, as well as more emergency-only practices and the use of tele-triage services to address client concerns after normal business hours.

As equine veterinarians reevaluate what after-hours care looks like for their practices, the support of their clients is critical to creating a balance that works for both parties. If your horse doctor talks with you about changes in how after-hours care is delivered, we hope you’ll welcome the adjustments. This evolution of emergency care must take place in order for equine veterinarians to avoid burnout and continue to be at their best to treat all of your equine friends.

01/23/2025

Enrichment time!
Our clinic cat Nugget can get ‘emotional’ when there are other cats in the clinic. We try to keep him busy with treats hidden in an enrichment box!

01/21/2025

Edited to show answer in the comments!

Talbot Tuesday Trivia!

This handsome (and aptly named) boy, Red, came in to visit us yesterday. Bearded dragons are fascinating creatures who can live many years IF they are provided appropriate husbandry and care. So, how old do you think the oldest ever bearded dragon was? (No cheating!)

01/18/2025

Savvy Saturday!

Just a reminder that with the cold front coming time spent with your horse may have to look a little different! Our doctors recommend avoiding riding or strenuous exercise if the temperatures are below -18 (or when you can see your breath in an indoor arena!). Working your horse at these temperatures can cause damage to their lungs and cause chills if they get sweaty. Alternative activities include leisurely hand walks to keep them (and their guts!) moving or working on ground manners!
Stay safe! 🥶 ❄️

01/14/2025

It's Talbot Tuesday!

Axis here would like to take a moment to talk about PVPs. And no, that's a not a sort of pipe!

PVPs, or pre-visit pharmaceuticals, are oral medications prescribed by your veterinarian to be given prior to a stressful event such as a nail trim, surgery, or appointment. These are safe, effective medications that cause mild to moderate sedation, decreasing feelings of stress, fear, and anxiety in your pets.

PVPs can make a difficult experience much more pleasant, safe, and comfortable for everyone involved. They allow our staff to provide the necessary care that may otherwise be difficult or extremely stressful for the patient.

Importantly, PVPs contribute to better veterinary care in the long run, because they prevent the patient from making a traumatic correlation between the vet clinic and negative experiences. TRVS strives for patients and clients alike to consider their time with us a positive experience.

If you have any questions about PVPs or would like to discuss options for your pet, please reach out to our veterinary team! Axis promises, you'll be glad you did!