Bridge West Animal Hospital

06/20/2024

If you need to be convinced to leave your pet at home when it is this hot outside, watch this: https://youtu.be/WIzjoWYer-M?si=TexB2YJ0ZZy03LX1

05/30/2024

May 10, 2024
Over the past few months, the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food
(MAPAQ) and public health authorities in Quebec and Canada have been
investigating an outbreak of ultra-resistant salmonella. In Quebec, the outbreak has
affected more than 20 people to date and resulted in the death of two puppies.
Approximately half of the human cases involve children aged five or under.
Exposure to raw meat pet food or dogs fed raw meat has been identified as the
source of several cases.
The MAPAQ shares the concerns of public health authorities about the current
outbreak and the need to better inform consumers. The quality of raw pet diets has
major repercussions on human and animal health. This type of food always carries
an element of risk, both for the pets fed with it and for the humans around them, as
bacteria such as salmonella, normally eliminated by cooking, can cause illness.

Be sure to consider all the risks before choosing raw food for your pet or adopting a pet that eats raw food.

Businesses sell raw meat in various formats, like frozen meat patties or cubes, freeze-dried chicken treats and dried pig ears. The methods used to process these products do not destroy all infectious microorganisms.

This type of food is not recommended, especially for animals in households where there is a person at higher risk of serious illness (young children, pregnant women, the elderly or people with weakened immune systems).

04/26/2024

03/28/2024

We are closed on Good Friday. Call SmartVet at 647-695-5411 if you have an emergency and you will be triaged and directed accordingly. Happy Easter !

03/27/2024

Internet still down, so phones are still down as well. Hope to be back up soon!

03/26/2024

Our internet is down, so our telephone line is also down. Help is on the way. Sorry for the inconvenience!

02/12/2024

For our clients using myVETstore :

02/02/2024

We're wired for sound again :) Thanks for your patience!

02/02/2024

Our internet and phones are down. If you have an emergency, text 613-929-2635 please.
We have been advised things may be back up by 1pm ~ outage in the area. Thank you, Dr. J

01/31/2024

No hard objects for your dog to chew on--slab fractures are common!

🧀 Cheese doesn’t really sound like an object that can break teeth until we heard about the new trendy ‘yak cheese’ chews at the pet store. Recently we have seen multiple dogs for treatment of fractured teeth caused by chewing on these yak cheese chews.

🦷 Xena, a 1.5-year-old Sheltie, was one of them. She had a complicated crown-root fracture of tooth 108 and an uncomplicated crown fracture of tooth 208. Her owner believes the culprit was the yak cheese chew she was chewing on. Unfortunately, due to the extent of the fracture, her 108 required extraction.

🦴 Out of curiosity, one of our RVTs went to a local pet store to meet these ‘yak cheese chews’ in person. Although they are ‘cheese’, these things are almost as hard as bones and antlers! You cannot bend it, you cannot dent it with a fingernail, and it will definitely hurt if you get hit in the kneecap with it. No matter whether they call it cheese or tofu or marshmallow, when picking a chew toy for your dog, make sure you always follow The Kneecap Rule -http://www.toothvet.ca/PDFfiles/The_Knee_Cap_Rule.pdf

01/22/2024

Best buddies ❤️

01/12/2024

Rumours claiming Purina products are harming pets have been circulating online. These rumours are FALSE. There are NO known health or safety issues with any Purina products and the people behind this rumour have admitted in several places online they do not have evidence that such an issue exists.

01/10/2024

All clear has been issued.

01/10/2024

Our door is locked but we are here. Roads are blocked all around us.

01/09/2024

We are closing early to navigate the bad roads. SmartVet Triage is available at 1-647-695-5411 if you need assistance. A Registered Veterinary Technician will triage your pet and arrange an online veterinary consultation or a visit to the Emergency Clinic should one be needed. Have a safe evening!

12/29/2023

We will reopen on Tuesday, Jan 2/24 by appointment.
SmartVet Triage is available at 1-647-695-5411 if you need assistance. A Registered Veterinary Technician will triage your pet and arrange an online veterinary consultation or a visit to the Emergency Clinic should one be needed.
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR !!!

12/24/2023

We wish everyone all the very best in 2024 as well!

12/20/2023

Effective immediately, we have an additional after hours service to help our clients. It is called SmartVet. If you have a concern after hours, call 1-647-695-5411. Your call will be triaged by a Registered Veterinary Technician. If it is determined that you need an appointment with a veterinarian, a telemedicine appt will be set up for you and the veterinarian will return your call. If it is determined that you need to have your pet seen at an emergency facility, THIS WILL BE ARRANGED FOR YOU. SmartVet will call the emergency clinics in the area and arrange for your visit. This ensures that 24/7 care is always available for you, even if the emergency clinics are busy. You will no longer need to call around or travel to different emergency facilities in a time of stress--the arrangements will be made for you. Happy Holidays! ****1-647-695-5411****

12/12/2023

ARE HOLIDAY SCENTS HURTING YOUR PET?
Many people love to make the house smell like pumpkin and sugar cookies this time of the year. But have you ever thought about how that impacts your pets and their health?

Dr. Karyn Bischoff, a veterinary toxicologist with Cornell University, has had a sad experience of her own with candles. Her hermit crab died from a citrus candle being used in her home. She says to avoid candles and diffusers if you have exotic pets.
Bischoff says you should only use plug-in diffusers in rooms where pets won’t be.
If you use reed diffusers, make sure they are in a place where pets can’t knock them over. If they do, those chemicals can get onto their paws and in between the pads and they can get chemical burns. Wash immediately with Dawn soap or another dish soap. If it gets on their fur, tongue burns are possible as they clean themselves.
For any ingestion, call your vet right away. Bischoff says in terms of breathing in any scents, she has advice on what to avoid.
"Oddly enough, [you should avoid] wintergreen, which might be coming up for the holidays, and tea tree oil," Bischoff said. "I've actually seen animals lethally poisoned with that. Pennyroyal oil is another one that people are leery of. Citrus oils can be really toxic to dogs and cats as well, and they can cause, any of these can cause allergies."
As for candles, the biggest thing with those is the fire hazard. If not properly placed, they can be knocked over.
Dr. Bischoff says she’s seen other items of concern in terms of oils as well. She’s seen pets lethally poisoned by people putting oils on them to keep fleas and ticks away. Make sure anything you put on your pet is made for pets.
There are also pet-safe diffusers as well, lavender is the most commonly used to help calm pets.

The essential oils that are toxic to dogs are:

Cinnamon oil
Eucalyptus oil
Pennyroyal oil
Pine oils
Sweet birch
Tea tree oil
Wintergreen

The top 10 most toxic essential oils for cats:

Wintergreen oil
Peppermint oil
Pine oil
Eucalyptus
Clove oil
Tea tree/Melaleuca oil
Citrus oil or those containing d-limonene
Ylang Ylang

Symptoms to watch out for in your pets include:

Unsteadiness on the feet
Depression
Low body temperature

If your animal ingests any essential oils, you may see vomiting and diarrhea as well.
Please call your veterinarian if you suspect your pet is having a reaction to this type of product.

12/05/2023

We trust Vetrex products for joint health!

11/14/2023

IF YOU FEED RAW DIET, PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:
From Gobal News:
An ongoing outbreak of “extensively drug-resistant” salmonella infections has spread across six provinces, affecting many children aged five and under, prompting a public health notice.
On Saturday, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) issued a public health notice saying it, along with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Health Canada, launched an investigation into the salmonella outbreak, revealing raw pet food and cattle contact as likely culprits.
“Many of the individuals who became sick are children five years of age or younger. Illnesses associated with this outbreak strain may be difficult to treat with commonly recommended antibiotics, if antibiotic treatment is needed,” PHAC said in a statement.
The outbreak is still ongoing, as illnesses continue to be reported to PHAC.
After investigating the outbreak, PHAC said two sources were identified.
The first source was linked to exposure to raw meat prepared for pets. PHAC said some of the individuals who became sick reported exposure to raw pet food before the illness occurred. But a single supplier of raw pet food has not been identified.
Contact with cattle, particularly calves, was linked as the second source of the outbreak.
“The outbreak is a reminder that salmonella bacteria can be found in raw pet food and in many species of animals, including dogs and cattle,” PHAC warned. “Always use safe food handling practices when preparing, cooking, or storing raw pet food to prevent illness. Practice good hand hygiene and frequent handwashing after contact with dogs fed raw pet food, cattle, and their environments.”
PHAC’s investigation also found this outbreak strain of salmonella has been found in sick dogs and cattle, and some of these animals have died. It warned that infected pets can also spread bacteria, like salmonella, to individuals they are in contact with, even if they do not show any signs of illness.

There have been 40 confirmed cases of the salmonella strain as of Nov. 11, PHAC said.
Illnesses have been reported in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Between July 2020 and September 2023, the reported individuals fell ill, resulting in 13 hospitalizations, with no reported deaths, PHAC said. The affected population spans from infants to 91-year-olds, with nearly half (43 per cent) of the cases involving children aged five or younger. Females comprise approximately half (53 per cent) of the reported cases.
The salmonella strain linked with the outbreak is “extensively drug-resistant,” PHAC said, meaning it’s resistant to all commonly recommended antibiotics.
“Illnesses resulting from this outbreak strain may be difficult to treat with commonly recommended antibiotics if antibiotic treatment is considered necessary,” it said.
Symptoms of salmonella typically start six to 72 hours after exposure to the bacteria and can last four to seven days. Symptoms include fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache and abdominal cramps, according to PHAC.

11/14/2023

If you feed RAW DIET, please read carefully.

An ongoing outbreak of 'extensively drug-resistant' salmonella infections has spread across six provinces, affecting many children aged five and under.

11/10/2023

It is a bittersweet day here today. We are saying goodbye to our wonderful RVT, Madi. Madi has bought her first home and is moving up to the north country that she loves! She started here as a 16yr old student and has evolved into a fantastic technician after graduating from Northern College 2 years ago. We will miss her very much but are also very happy for her!

11/09/2023

Christmas food alerts!

11/06/2023

Dogster is a publication where dog lovers come together to get the latest expert advice about dog behavior, health, news and entertainment.

11/06/2023

Luna the kitten has been re-united with her family :)

11/03/2023

A young, dilute torti female cat has been found in the Beverly Street area. She is safe at our clinic and I will take care of her for the weekend. She has a distinctive collar. If you are missing your cat, please email [email protected] with a photo-especially of the collar. The Humane Societies in the region were unable to help. Dr. Julie