Fergus Veterinary Hospital

06/04/2026

“KENNEL COUGH” ISN’T JUST A KENNEL PROBLEM! 🐾

Kennel Cough, also known as Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex (CIRDC) spreads easily anywhere dogs socialize, including dog parks, daycare, grooming facilities, training classes, and boarding kennels.

💉 The Bordetella-Parainfluenza vaccine helps protect your fur baby against two of the most common components of CIRDC, reducing the risk and severity of illness.

Common signs of CIRDC include:
• Dry, hacking cough
• Gagging or retching
• Sneezing or nasal discharge
• Reduced energy and appetite

While many dogs recover without intervention, or with supportive care, some can develop more serious respiratory infections, leading to pneumonia, particularly puppies, senior dogs, and those with underlying health concerns.

Vaccination is one of the best ways to help protect your dog and reduce the spread of respiratory illness within our canine community.

📞 Contact us to ensure your dog is up to date on their Bordetella-Parainfluenza vaccination and ready for their next adventure!

06/02/2026

AFFORDABLE, COMPREHENSIVE WELLNESS TESTING FOR YOUR FUR BABY: LOVED FOR LIFE! 🐾 💜

We’re so excited to offer the Loved for Life Wellness Profile for dogs and cats — a proactive way to monitor your fur baby’s health and detect concerns early.

This comprehensive wellness screening includes:
• Comprehensive Chemistry Panel
• Complete Blood Count (CBC)
• Canine Accuplex test (Heartworm and tick-borne illness including Lyme)
• Urinalysis
• KeyScreen Advanced F***l Testing

Canine Panel: $224
Feline Panel: $184

INSANE DEAL, RIGHT?! 😃

Why choose Loved for Life?
• Detects early changes before symptoms appear
• Screens for kidney, liver, metabolic, and urinary concerns
• Helps identify infection, inflammation, anemia, and parasites
• Establishes important baseline values for lifelong monitoring
• Supports early intervention for better long-term outcomes

Our pets can’t tell us when something feels “off,” and often hide signs of illness until disease is advanced. Routine wellness screening helps us catch subtle changes sooner — allowing for earlier treatment and better quality of life.

Because they’re LOVED FOR LIFE they deserve care that protects their health every step of the way! 🐾

Ask our team about the Loved for Life Wellness Profile at your pet’s next visit!

05/29/2026

FERGUS! SHOW SOME LOVE FOR TWO OF OUR VERY OWN AT MEADOWS MUSIC FESTIVAL THIS WEEKEND!

This weekend, two of our beloved clients, Madison Galloway and Chris Clark, are taking the stage at the Meadows Music Festival in Fergus! 🌾🎤

We’re so proud to support these incredible local artists as they share their talent with our community. If you’re heading to the festival, be sure to stop by, sing along, and dance your heart out for these two amazing performers.

Let’s come together and show and some hometown love! 🐾

05/28/2026

DON’T OVERLOOK THIS VACCINE! Protect Your Fur Baby from Leptospirosis 🐾

Leptospirosis is a serious bacterial infection that can affect both dogs and people. It’s spread through contact with contaminated water, soil, or wildlife urine - meaning even dogs that don’t swim or hike can still be exposed through puddles, backyards, parks, and urban environments.

Why vaccinate?
• Helps protect against a potentially life-threatening disease that can cause kidney and liver failure
• Helps decrease the risk of transmission to people (it’s a zoonotic disease!)
• Safe and effective prevention as part of your dog’s routine wellness care

Leptospirosis is no longer considered just a “rural” disease - cases are seen in both urban and rural dogs, especially in Ontario where wildlife exposure is common.

Vaccination is one of the best ways to keep your pup protected while they enjoy all their favourite adventures! 🐕

📞 Ask us if the Leptospirosis vaccine is recommended for your fur baby.

05/28/2026

🦟 Heartworm Prevention: Why Protection Matters in Centre Wellington

Many pet owners are surprised to learn that heartworm is a real concern in Ontario. While heartworm remains far more prevalent in many parts of the United States, cases do occur here and the risk is evolving.

Why?

🌎 Climate change is extending mosquito activity and allowing heartworm transmission to move further north.

🐾 Importation of dogs from heartworm-endemic regions can increase our local reservoir when infected dogs arrive undiagnosed, increasing exposure risk for Ontario dogs.

The Canadian Heartworm Society recommends:

• Seasonal prevention for our Ontario dogs, from June through November, with administration extending one month before and one month after mosquito season to ensure protection during the full transmission window.
• Annual heartworm testing
• Veterinary-guided prevention plans based on travel and lifestyle

The good news? Heartworm disease is preventable!

Monthly prevention is simple, safe, and far easier than treating heartworm infection - which can be lengthy, costly, and hard on your fur baby’s body.

At Fergus Veterinary Hospital, we can help determine the best heartworm prevention schedule for your pet.

📞 Contact us to ensure your dog is protected this mosquito season.

05/11/2026

MAY LONG WEEKEND HOURS! 🐾 📅

Please note that Fergus Veterinary Hospital will be CLOSED for the May long weekend: Saturday May 16, Sunday May 17 & Monday May 18.

⏰ Please make sure to pick up all food and medications before we close on Friday at 6:00 PM to ensure your fur babies are covered through the weekend. 🐾

We will reopen Tuesday at 8:00 AM.

If your pet requires emergency care while we are closed, please contact our friends at Campus Estates Animal Hospital at 519-537-1212. 📞

Wishing everyone a safe and relaxing long weekend! ☀️🐶🐱

05/04/2026

05/04/2026

🐾❤️ LOCAL DOGS SAVING LIVES ❤️🐾

We are so proud to celebrate the success of our very first blood donor clinic at Fergus Veterinary Hospital in partnership with the Canadian Animal Blood Bank.

Being part of such a meaningful initiative in our community is truly an honour. These donations will go on to save countless lives - and that’s something worth celebrating.

A heartfelt thank you to the Canadian Animal Blood Bank for inviting us to be part of this incredible program, and to Micheal, who so calmly and compassionately guided both pets and their parents through the donation process.

We are also so grateful to our amazing volunteers - Emily, Brooklyn, and Camryn - for dedicating their Saturday to make this event a success.

And of course, the BIGGEST thank you goes to our brave donors:🐶 Buffy, Opal, Leni, Dotty, Reacher, Porter, Finn, Ixtlilton, Maes, Ruby, Edith, Wrigley, Klaus & Oliver - and their wonderful pet parents. You are true heroes. 🩸✨

If you’re interested in your dog becoming a donor and they meet the criteria, please DM us or call the clinic to learn more.

📅 Our next donor clinic will be held on Saturday, August 8th - and we can’t wait to do it all again!

04/28/2026

Tapeworms in Dogs & Cats: What Pet Owners in Centre Wellington Need to Know 🪱

🐾 The “flea tapeworm” - Dipylidium caninum
The most common tapeworm in dogs and cats.

• Spread through ingestion of infected fleas during grooming
• Seen as rice-like segments near the tail or in stool
• Low medical risk - but signals inadequate flea control

Solution: Flea & Tapeworm Prevention

⸻

🦊 The “fox tapeworm” — Echinococcus multilocularis
A much more serious concern, especially in southwestern Ontario, where it is now established in wildlife.

• Nearly a quarter of our wild canid population (foxes and coyotes) are infected

Dogs become infected by:
• Eating infected rodents
• Ingesting contaminated f***s from wildlife

Cause severe liver disease (alveolar echinococcosis)

As urban sprawl expands into wildlife habitats, wild canids move into our community, increasing environmental contamination, making backyards, parks, and sidewalks as sources of exposure

⚠️ Zoonotic risk (can spread to humans):
Humans can become infected through accidental ingestion of parasite eggs, often from:
• Contaminated soil or environments
• Contact with infected f***s
• Handling pets that may have been exposed

Solution: Tapeworm prevention

Choosing the right parasite prevention matters:

✅ Interceptor Plus
• Covers tapeworms, intestinal parasites, and heartworm

❌ Products that DO NOT include tapeworm coverage:
• NexGard Spectra
• Simparica Trio

📞 Contact our clinic to learn about the best parasite prevention plan for your fur baby

04/28/2026

Go behind the scenes of a surgery day with us ✨

Your fur baby deserves nothing less than gold standard care. From routine procedures to advanced surgeries and dental treatments, our team is committed to the highest level of medicine - where safety, precision, and compassion come first.

With an experienced Registered Veterinary Technician, like Emily, carefully anesthetizing and monitoring every patient, and a skilled surgeon, like Dr. Victor, performing procedures with expertise and attention to detail, your pet is in trusted hands every step of the way. 🐾