Coverdale Vet Hospital

01/18/2025

This is Cooper! He’s enjoying his laser therapy treatment with Mallory 🕶️🐶💪

What is laser therapy? 🤔

Despite the name, it’s NOT the crazy steel cutting lasers you see on spy movies! A therapeutic laser applies light energy to the tissue, causing a reaction called “photobiomodulation”.

It stimulates cells to promote healing, decreases inflammation, increases blood circulation, and affects the conduction of nerves- all of which help decrease pain and helps tissue heal faster!

Does it hurt? 🤔

NO-not at all! Other than getting warm on the skin for longer treatments (think of a warm heating pad), you can not feel the laser at all! We know this because the same lasers are used in human medicine, and we’ve tried our laser on ourselves before too. So we can say with confidence- it is entirely painless.

What is laser therapy used for? 🤔

- Incision sites or wounds (research has found that applying laser therapy to incision sites decreases pain, so many pets tend to pick at their sutures less!)

- Various skin conditions

- Gastrointestinal issues like constipation (laser can help improve motility)

- Soft tissue injuries like strains, sprains, tears (torn cruciate ligaments)

- Aural hematomas

- and perhaps our #1 laser recommendation… arthritis!! If you have an older pet, laser therapy can be a great treatment option to slow the progression of arthritis.

Our therapeutic laser therapy is just one of the ways we use an integrative approach to treat disease!
What questions do you have about laser therapy?

01/14/2025

Post Surgery Snuggles✨

Just like in humans, waking up from surgery can be a little disorienting, so at our hospital, we have a team member sit with and comfort pets as they wake up. All patients also get treated to a luxury orthopaedic dog bed, a heating pad & plenty of blankets as they recover.

Ms Kali Potato snored the morning away & she awoke comfortably on a lap with head scratches!
(It’s times like this we wish we could be a dog…)

01/05/2025

🦜🦅🦉🐦‍⬛🦆🪿 🐓🦃🕊️🦩🦚

From our resident birds, Dory & Kiwi, we wish you all a very happy National Bird Day! 🪶🪺

There’s over 10,000 species of birds- which one is your favourite?

12/31/2024

Happy New Year! ✨🍾🥂

Check out these safety tips to help you & your pet have a fear free New Years Eve: https://www.aaha.org/resources/preparing-to-celebrate-a-pet-safe-new-years-eve/

If your pet could make a New Year’s resolution, what would goal would they set? 🤔🤭 tell us in the comments!

*Reminder we are still closed for the holiday- we’ll be back to regular hours on January 2nd*

12/24/2024

Reminder that we close TODAY AT NOON and will REMAIN CLOSED until January 2nd. Please double check your pet’s food & medication supplies to ensure you have enough to last until the new year✨

We also have Christmas dog & cat toys left if anyone is looking for last minute stocking stuffers!

12/23/2024

Great tips from our friends at the AEMV! 🐹🐰🐀

12/22/2024

Imagine a bunch of people randomly come into your house, they do not speak the same language as you, they’re loud and they keep wanting to touch your head or rub your ears… your spouse/family member let them in & wont explain who or why they’re here- you just have to roll with it. The worst part? No wine to help take the edge off!

That’s what it feels like for your dog or cat at Christmas. Trazadone & Gabapentin are ✨situational anti anxiety meds✨ they are MILD, delivered in only 1-2 doses, and at this dosage they do not sedate as much as take their edge off and help them relax… kinda like you having a glass of wine before your mother in law comes over.

So no matter your situation this holiday season- if you’re taking your pet to someone’s house or having people come to you, if you’re leaving them at home more than what they’re used to.. or even if you just have a naturally anxious pet (or a pet with destructive tendencies!), give your vet team a call to ask about a situational anti anxiety to pickup before Christmas. This could help make a stress free & fear free holiday for both your pet AND yourself!

12/21/2024

✨Foster for the Holidays✨ HOME FOUND

Francis is still looking for a home to spend Christmas!
She has been at our hospital for 2 months looking for a forever home, and now we’re looking to get her at least into at least a foster home for the holidays.

She is a VERY sweet lady. She is FELV/FIV negative, up to date on vaccines, spayed and has a clean bill of health. She enjoys snuggles and play as well as her own independence.

She’s a little queen, and wants to be the only cat in the home. However she has been introduced to quiet dogs and did very well.

If you may be able to give her a home (even if it’s just for the holidays), please send us a pm!

If you can’t take her, please consider sharing this post to help spread the word!

12/19/2024

Holiday Gift Guide: Pt 2✨🛍️

We’re back with what you should (and should NOT) get your pet this holiday season… this time for our feline friends!

NICE things to get your cat:

✅ Water fountain

✅TALL & stable cat tree (at least 30 inches)

✅ Catnip

✅ Churus!

✅ Feliway: a natural pheromone that relaxes & comforts cats! You can get this as a spray & apply it to your cat’s favourite places or as a diffuser and let it make your whole home feline friendly✨ (we love putting this in cat carriers for stressful travelling this holiday season!)

NAUGHTY & Unsafe:

❌ Yarn or anything with long strings like this are commonly ingested & require surgery to remove! (And this is your sign to remove the needles from your sewing thread!)

❌ Raw meat is dangerous even in small amounts to both your cat & you! Bacteria, parasites, nutritional imbalances- oh my!

❌ Milk is commonly shown as the #1 cat treat in cartoons and movies, but cats are actually lactose intolerant! This can cause tummy upset, and waking up to diarrhea or vomit on Christmas morning.

❌ Short or unsteady scratching posts (under 30 inches) are not recommended. Cats need to be able to reach up & arch their back to exhibit their natural clawing behaviour. Short posts don’t allow most adult cats space to do this, & they tend to be tippy if not anchored properly (if they don’t like the post you give them, they may start scratching somewhere they’re not suppose to!)

What are YOU getting your cat this holiday season? Tell us in the comments! 🐱🎁

12/10/2024

Please be sure to place all orders by December 16th to ensure delivery by Christmas.

12/09/2024

*If you’re thinking of getting a puppy or kitten OR if you have an accidental litter- PLEASE READ*

It’s the time of year where people are shopping for the best Christmas gift, and many will consider a puppy or kitten. There is now a lot of information spread this time of year about the commitment a dog/cat take, so we want to draw your attention to something that is NOT talked about enough…. those gut wrenching puppy/kitten ads on pages.

While adorable (and usually a very good price… maybe even free!), we strongly advise against getting your puppy/kitten from Facebook. Here’s why:

❗️Parvovirus in Puppies:
Where we used to have pretty good control of this, the increase in backyard breeders since Covid has brought back the risk of canine parvovirus. They may not always seem so sick coming from the “breeder”- just a little resp infection or tired out, but once home, these puppies deteriorate quickly.

❗️Panleukopenia and/or FeLV in Kittens
Reliable rescues like the SPCA will test their kittens for FeLV & vaccinate them for at least panleukopenia. FeLV can be especially devastating when gifting a kitten, because many kittens will be normal at a young age, and may go on to develop severe disease before the age of 6 months.

All of these diseases are life threatening, expensive to treat and contagious to other animals (take extra precautions if you have other dogs/cats in your home already).

Beware these red flags when puppy/kitten shopping:

🚩 Puppies/kittens have not been vaccinated

🚩 The mother has not been vaccinated

🚩 Person selling them does not let you see mother or siblings (this is especially an issue for dogs) or their home (maybe want to meet you in a parking lot with them…)

🚩 Person selling them does not inquire if you plan to vaccinate or spay/neuter them

What SHOULD you do?

✅ Get your puppy/kitten from a reliable rescue or an ethical breeder that vaccinates & treats for parasites. (Don’t let this scare you off from rescue animals! PAWS and many of the local Moncton rescues do a great job of taking care of their puppies/kittens).

✅ If you’re getting them off Facebook despite this post… ask if they’ve been vaccinated or if mom has been vaccinated, take them to a vet as soon as you get them (BEFORE you introduce to other pets), and follow through on vaccination & spay/neuter.

✅ Spay/neuter your pets to avoid accidental litters & the cost burden for proper care for them.
*PAWS & local rescues are FULL, especially for cats, please help work together to control this with spay/neuter*

✅ If you or someone you know has an accident litter, get them vet checked & vaccinated or refer to the Healthy Moms & Litters program by PAWS: https://paw-sba.ca/pages/healthy-moms-healthy-litters?srsltid=AfmBOope2wRRPDdafD5o_mZ2eFnfHk9t-mpd41oF1keIWtXdha2fFzrg
There are other resources in NB as well for these!

✅ If you find yourself in a situation that feels wrong, DO NOT intervene yourself, but do call NBSPCA (Example: you go to pick up your new puppy but the place is sketchy or you think there is unethical breeding- trust your gut).

Questions about getting a new puppy or kitten? Call us or send us a message on Facebook! We would be happy to answer your questions.

12/08/2024

Holiday Gift Guide for Pets: Pt 1 🛍️🐶

At a time where we get information overload from online sources & stores telling us what to buy, we wanted to spread some accurate science based information where it counts… for your pets! We love to spoil our pets at Christmas, but giving your pets the wrong things- even just for a day- may have deleterious effects. Here’s some things to help guide your pet gift giving- so your pets feel all the love from Santa Paws & you stay away from emergency visits this holiday!

SAFE & NICE gifts:

🎁 Puzzle Toys: perfect cognitive enrichment for food motivated pets (and great entertainment for pet parents to watch them solve it 🙂)

🎁 Kong: choose the appropriate sized one for your pet & fill it with their favourite treats. Remember if it’s their first time with a Kong, start EASY (let them solve it in less than 1 minute), then work up the difficulty. Packing it too hard too fast will cause a lot of dogs to get bored. We love kongs because you can reuse them with a variety of fillings, and they’re safe for your pet’s teeth!

🎁 Orthopedic Dog Beds: treat your big dog to a size appropriate bed that they can relax on, or maybe your senior pet needs a new comfy space to rest their joints- a nice cushy dog bed is always a good gift choice!

🎁 Chuck It Ball: this is what your energetic dog REALLY wants this year… more quality time with their favourite person! Games like this is something that pet parents can enjoy with their pet- your four legged fur baby will think it’s Christmas every day!

🎁 VOHC Approved Dog Chews: pictured here are Virbac VeggieDent Chews, but there are many options to choose from. VOHC stands for Veterinary Oral Health Council, which is a non profit organization made of veterinarians specializing in dentistry. If your treat/chew has this seal on it, there must be scientific studies to show there is benefit to the pet’s oral health.

🎁SAFE Dog Treats: the perfect stocking stuffer- but it can be hard to know what’s safe for your pet, and even a few unsafe treats can have consequences for certain pets. We recommend choosing treats that are cooked. *Reminder freeze dried doesn’t necessarily mean cooked or safe* Brands we trust include Virbac, UBAVet, C.E.T, and Greenies (pill pockets are great for breaking into small pieces for training or calorie counting!)
Still concerned about safety? Try adding dog cookies to your list of Christmas baking!
* Treats should never be more than 10% of your dog’s daily calories*

✨CHEW TIP: if you can’t make an indent in the chew with your fingernail, it’s TOO HARD and may BREAK TEETH!

DANGEROUS & NAUGHTY gifts:

❌ Marrow Bones: we have had several emergencies at our hospital where the marrow whole in the middle becomes trapped around jaws, teeth etc. These also can break teeth or splintering.

❌ Knuckles or Other Bones: bones are also prone to splintering, and knuckles especially tend to splinter in small pieces. These sharp bits can cause irritation to the esophagus, stomach and intestines, and may lead to perforation. Bones are also too hard, and risk breaking teeth, and they often have high bacterial contamination, which can also cause upset tummies in healthy dogs & much more severe damage to dogs that may be immunocompromised (puppies, seniors, diabetics, heart disease, etc).
If you are committed to giving your dog a really tough chew, we would suggest a tough Kong, or if you must pick some type of bone, opt for a yak milk chew.

❌ Pigs Ears & other fatty treats: pigs ears are very high in fat, and while we’re not worried about a one time treat causing obesity- we are worried it will cause pancreatitis. Avoid any type of fatty treats for this reason! Pancreatitis can be severe!
Pigs ears also have been found to frequently be contaminated with Salmonella- so if you needed another reason to skip them this year, diarrhea is a good one!

❌ Rawhide Dyed Treats & Toy Stockings: just don’t do it! We have so many issues with this- they can cause obstructions in the GI tract (emergency), they’re the perfect size for choking in the average sized dog, and the dyes in them + the rawhide often cause dietary indiscretion. They’re just not a safe choice!

Was this helpful?
What are you getting your dog for Christmas?
And what type of pet should our next gift guide do’s and don’ts be aimed at? 🤭✨

Remember we are here for you! If you’re struggling with what’s safe vs not safe in the stores this season, pm us on Facebook and we’ll help guide you for the safest & best option for your pet🎁

11/29/2024

If you’ve ever been to our hospital, you have likely met one of our clinic cats. Shadow came to us the first day we opened, along with his litter mates 15 years ago.

The Riverview Fire Department pulled in, Fire Truck & in full gear rushed through our front doors. After the minute of shock, my small team realized they had a litter of young kittens wrapped in a blanket. They were only a couple of weeks old & they had just rescued them from a house fire. Sadly, their mother died in the fire.

So we set the little orphans to treat them for smoke inhalation & feedings ever 2 hours around the clock. It was a memorable first day to be sure!

All kittens survived & when they were old enough they were placed in loving homes, except two. Chase, the little grey & white kitten who was the most severely affected from the fire & a long haired grey tabby, smaller than the rest - they stole our hearts & became a permanent part of our Coverdale Vet family.

They provided entertainment & mischief to our team & clients. They helped teach countless daycares, Girl Guides, Beavers, homeschool groups and clients about proper care, handling & basic procedures.

They saw our little team of 5 grow over the years to nearly 30. They were quickly on our lap in the moments of sadness vet professionals encounter daily to share their love & give comfort before we had to pull it together to see our next patient.

Last night, the difficult decision was made to give Shadow the love & support he’s given us for so many years and not let him suffer from cancer in his bladder that we could no longer manage to give him the quality of life he deserved.

Today will be the first day he’s not been at Coverdale to greet you & supervise the team in 5,525 days. My longest team member, friend, supporter- he will be greatly missed by everyone at Coverdale Vet. He has worked hard in recent years to train Benny, Kenny & Albert to carry on his duties. We love you endlessly Shadow, rest in peace♥️

11/23/2024

🐾Sweet Kitties Looking for Homes🐾

These two lovely young cats recently came into our care, and are now looking for a forever home in time for Christmas🤍

✨ Francis (~1 year old)

This sweet young lady likes being around people, but she also likes to be independent when she feels like it. Because of her independent side, she would do better as an only cat. Her favourite activity is looking out the window- she finds it fascinating (or maybe she’s dreaming of her new home).

Frances is asking Santa for a new home with a scratching post- she adores being in and around a scratching post.

✨ George (3.5 years)

The handsomest man in the room and he KNOWS IT- George loves pets & attention. He is such a sweet boy, enjoys food (he’s a chonker) and has a silly goofy personality.

George is asking Santa for a new home with lots of love (and treats)!

Both of these cats have had thorough exams- they both are fixed, vaccinated, up to date on their parasite prevention, and have been given a clean bill of health.
George came to us with some urinary trouble which has now resolved, though he will need to be on a special diet as a preventative to keep him healthy.

If you think you may be the perfect home for one of these babies, please send us a pm and tell us a bit about yourself- we’d love to chat more!

Please spread the word about George & Frances and help them find their perfect families for Christmas!

11/08/2024