Grace Veterinary Hospital

08/29/2024

Good day Folks,

Hope you are all well as we progress towards another Labour day long weekend. The acute weather change has my boys wondering where summer went! Gomer is on the comfy chair pondering the sudden change in weather and when his next meal is. Meanwhile Diggy and The Bruce are looking North and South to find where the sun went.
Hopefully any of you going camping will be rain-free on your last trip before the kids go back to school. Remember the good old days when you got brand new school supplies! You had carve your name in your pencils! Do they still use pencils? Life was simpler then……
Anyway, we are closed for Monday September 2nd and we are also closed for this Friday, due to being a little short staffed. One of our young staff members got short listed and called to go to Saskatoon for vet school! She basically had 2 weeks to scramble and get to Saskatoon. Hopefully she will survive the winters. Saskatchewan is a cold, cold place for young ones from Victoria.
We will be back on Tuesday September 3rd.
Closed August 30 - September 2.

Sorry for the inconvenience. If your pets need emergency care please call Central Victoria Vet Hospital at 250-475-2795

Hope you all have a lovely weekend.
From all of us at Grace Vet.

07/24/2024

Good morning Folks,

Are you planning on taking a trip to the US soon? Planning to take you favorite dog across? Well, things have changed again. For the better. Here is the latest from our national vet association. I hope this helps clarify and calm down some fears.

Update: Recent Changes to the Proposed CDC Dog Import Requirements as of August 1, 2024

Most of the proposed requirements for dogs being imported into the U.S. from Canada as of August 1 have been dropped in lieu of the owner completing an online form prior to crossing the border. The form will be valid for multiple entries for six months from issue date of the receipt.

In addition to the owner providing a receipt for the CDC Dog Import Form at the border, the dog must appear healthy, be at least six months of age, and have a microchip that can be read by a universal scanner.

Online form: https://cdc-786687.workflowcloud.com/forms/090dc543-7b2f-4538-b2c7-2919d12ecc73

05/16/2024

Hello again,
Another post! Two in one day is bit much for me but here goes.
If you are someone who travels to the US or through the US to Mexico as of August 1, 2024 things will have changed. The requirements are not completely clear to me but her is what our vet society sent us so far. Again this is after August 1st this year. Canada is considered a low risk for dog rabies.
Not sure how many of you this affects but here you go:

New Information For BC Veterinarians About Dogs Entering Or Returning To The United States
August 1, 2024

Starting on August 1, 2024, dogs entering or returning to the United States must meet new, specific requirements depending on where they have been in the 6 months before entering the U.S. and where they received their rabies vaccines (if required). All dogs must be at least 6 months of age, have an implanted International Organization for Standardization (ISO)-compatible microchip, and appear healthy upon arrival, in addition to other mandatory documentation. For official information, please see the CDC news release at this link. Please feel free to share this information with your clients.

Starting on August 1, 2024, dogs entering or returning to the United States must meet new, specific requirements depending on where they have been in the 6 months before entering the U.S. and where they received their rabies vaccines (if required).

05/16/2024

Good afternoon folks,
The May long weekend is a day away! Last weekend it was beautiful and bright. The sky even danced with the Northern lights. This weekend, I am afraid, may not be as glorious. I have attached a picture of Diggy, in the backyard, looking for better weather! Gomer is inside, curled up in a warm bed dreaming of what's for dinner.
We are closed on Monday for Victoria Day May 20th. We will be back in action on Tuesday, May 21st. I hope you have a wonderful, albeit a little cooler, long weekend.
From all of us at Grace Vet.

03/29/2024

Good afternoon folks,
It has been a busy couple of weeks since I returned from my brief holiday in the UK. Easter has snuck up on me and behold, Good Friday is tomorrow! I hope you all are enjoying our lovely spring weather. Soon the rain will be forgotten and we shall complain about the lack of it. My dog Gomer has to be forced to go and do his "business" outside! He does not like the rain hitting his big ears.
I have attached a picture of the boys "sharing" a bed. Gomer likes to push his way in. The other picture is of the boys looking bored, waiting for the weather to improve so they can spend time outside in the sun!
We will be closed for both Good Friday and Easter Monday. We all hope you have a lovely weekend and that your beloved pets stay happy and healthy. Wishing you a quiet and meaningful Easter.
All of us at Grace Vet.

01/04/2024

Happy New Year to you all. I hope you had a lovely Christmas break. No snow but it may be yet to come! Thank you all for the cards and kind gifts that you brought into the clinic. They are greatly appreciated. We shall slowly eat them through out 2024.
I have attached two pictures - one of Diggy and Gomer sleeping in their new fuzzy bed in cozy harmonic bliss. I hope and pray that this is what 2024 will bring for you all and your pets. The second picture is of Diggy being squashed by Gomer as he forces his big butt on and into the desired fuzzy bed! I hope that 2024 does not bring a crushing Gomer onto your back, flattening your nice fuzzy bed leaving you feeling stuck and immobile!!! Gomer is not always subtle about his desire to be in the fuzzy bed!
Happy New Year from all of us at Grace Vet!

12/25/2023

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! - https://mailchi.mp/1430762dc934/dec-jan-news-julie-drew
Christmas Poinsettias
watercolor on 140lb Arches
14" x 15"
artist Julie Drew

12/06/2023

The holiday season is here and we have decided to take a well needed break over the holidays.

We will be closed at 3pm on Friday December 22nd for a staff function and closed through the holidays, reopening on Tuesday January 2nd.

If you need special order medications please let us know by noon on Friday December 15th and special order food by Monday December 18 at noon. This should ensure we can get what you need.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

10/06/2023

And just like that autumn has arrived!
Diggy and Gomer have been enjoying the last few sunny days and keeping warm by the fire in the chilly autumn evenings.

Heading into Thanksgiving weekend, we will be closed this Monday October 9th. We hope you all have a peaceful and enjoyable weekend with family or friends. Try to keep the sharing of the feasts to a minimum with our canine and/or feline family members, as no one wants or needs a trip to the ER for GI upset on a long weekend!

If you do have an emergency, please contact Central Victoria Vet Hospital or WAVES. We will be back for regular hours on Tuesday October 10th.

09/01/2023

Good day Folks,
Hope you are all enjoying another sunny day. Seems like we are definitely heading into fall. It is strange how it all of a sudden turns and bam! it is fall. Not complaining, I love fall. As you may have already deducted or deduced, I am writing a post for the long weekend that starts in a few hours. We won't be open on Monday as we recognize Labour Day and enjoy the last few days of summer weather. We will be back in action on Tuesday the 5th. Do what you can to avoid the spear grass out there. It does seem to have plagued quite few wee dogs.
I have attached a picture of the boys - D & G. Diggy has one of his favorite toys and Gomer is enjoying his second most favorite thing in the world - scratches. Of course, you could take a wild guess at his first favorite thing......FOOD! Every day he eats his food with such gusto and enthusiasm it is impressive.
Hope you have a lovely and enjoyable weekend - from all of us at Grace vet.

08/03/2023

Ah! We blinked and its August and the BC Day long weekend is upon us!
We appreciate everyone's patience with us as we are adjusting and learning our new software program!
We have been seeing a fair amount of spear grass, and bee stings lately, so remember to check your pets over after fun in the sun! Especially our friends with fluffy feet!

We will be CLOSED Monday August 7th, for the holiday. But will be open Tuesday August 8th for regular 8am to 5:30pm hours. If you need emergency assistance over the weekend, please contact Central Victoria Vet or WAVES.
We hope you all have a fun, safe, and restful weekend!

06/29/2023

Hello again,
Another posting so close to the last one! This time it has to do with two things:
1) Our open hours are changing from 8 to 6 to 8 to 5:30. Hopefully this will not inconvenience any of you too much. It helps with staffing and allowing our receptionists to have an earlier evening.
2) I will be off next week. The clinic will be open and the staff is more than willing to help you in what ever way they can.
Thank you for all your support. I do hope your pets can stay out of trouble for a few days......until I get back then they can go wild and crazy again.
Thanks again!

06/28/2023

Good day folks,
Canada Day is coming up quickly. We will be closed this coming Monday in lieu of Saturday. We all hope you have a lovely Canada day and enjoy our amazing countryside. We are truly blessed with one of the most beautiful places to live.
If you are out hiking with your furry friends check for spear grass and check for ticks. We have seen more ticks this season than previous ones. If you have cats who saunter outside check them too. Every now and then we see cats with ticks. We do carry great products to help with ticks and flea control if need some.
My boys enjoy the sun and our back yard. Gomer (the grey one) prefers the relaxed life of comfy chairs and snacks. Diggy enjoys keeping our yard free of squirrels, birds, lizards or any other thing he might see move all of a sudden in our back yard! Imagined or real! He never catches anything - he is far too noisy. His hunting skills lack finesse.
Happy Canada Day from all of us at Grace Vet.

05/22/2023

Good morning folks,
Our Facebook hours says we are open but this is not true. In fact we are closed for Victoria Day. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. The sun was nice while it was around! Hopefully you all have had some fun enjoying it like my two boys.
Happy Victoria Day from all of us at Grace Vet.

04/09/2023

Well Happy Easter everyone! I just realized that I have not posted anything for Easter. I am sure I told some one to make a post notifying you all of our weekend plans......I think that someone was me! I tend to ignore myself.
Anyway, I hope you had a nice Good Friday and are having a happy and blessed Easter. We are not open this Monday - Easter Monday. We made the choice to be closed because in the past many people have assumed we were closed. So, we are closed this Monday. We will resume "normal" functions on Tuesday. Veterinary medicine is never exactly "normal".
Again we wish you all a lovely long weekend and a blessed Easter. Hopefully spring will steadily make its's way to us.
Happy Easter from all of us at Grace vet.

02/17/2023

Well this holiday snuck up on us... we blinked and January and half of February is gone!
We will be closed Monday February 20th in celebration of our wonderful families. We will be open again for usual hours on Tuesday.
If your furry family has an emergency, please call Central Victoria Vet at 250-475-2495 or WAVES 778-432-4322.
Have a nice weekend. :)

12/09/2022

The holiday season is upon us, whether we are ready or not!
We wanted to let you know about our Christmas hours and closures so that you can plan accordingly with ordering food and meds, or getting in to see Dr. Russell before he takes a well deserved break!

We are open until Friday December 23rd for regular hours.
We are CLOSED from December 24th through the week to January 1st.

We will reopen for regular hours on Monday January 2nd.

If you need food or meds, please have your orders in by Monday December 19th to ensure we will have it ready for you for pickup by the end of the week.

If you have a medical emergency with your pet while we are closed please contact Central Victoria Veterinary Hospital at 250-475-2495 or WAVES Urgent Care at 778-432-4322

11/07/2022

Welcome to Monday!
It sure has gotten chilly these past few days, and the forecast isn't looking warmer...
Just a reminder, we will be CLOSED this Friday November 11th in observance of Remembrance Day. We will be back to regular hours on Monday November 14th. If you have a life or limb emergency please call Central Victoria Veterinary Hospital at 250-475-2495.

09/29/2022

Good Morning Folks,
I realize this is very short notice but we are closed tomorrow, September 30th, to observe Truth and Reconciliation Day. I hope this does not throw any of you into a pickle. If you need any meds or food for the upcoming weekend please call the office this morning.
BTW (as the young people text these days) we have seen a lot of spear grass injuries and flea infestations. I did wonder if they were working together to wreak havoc and chaos out there.
I hope you can all have a quiet and meaningful day tomorrow.
All the best from us at Grace Vet.

08/29/2022

Hello everyone! Hopefully you all have had some time to enjoy the summer. We have another long weekend coming up this weekend. So far the weather looks pleasant and sunny. Our office will be closed Saturday September 3 until Tuesday September 5th. If you need food or medications before then please call the office at 778-433-9373.

If you need veterinary help please contact Central Victoria Veterinary Hospital @ 250-475-2495.

Have a wonderful weekend!

08/05/2022

Happy Friday folks!
A few notes of importance:
We will be closed next week from Wednesday August 10 through Saturday August 13th as our parking lot gets resurfaced! If you will be needing food or medications please order them by Monday at 1230pm, to be sure we will have them by Tuesday. We will NOT be open at all during the repaving.

This Saturday August 6th will be the last Saturday we will be open for the foreseeable future. Our new operating hours will be Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm only. We apologize for the inconvenience. It was not an easy decision, but with the staffing shortage and increased workload on our existing staff, this was the only way we could continue to provide you with quality service.

Finally, spear grass season has arrived hard and fast. We have seen a number of dogs, large and small, short coat and long, with spear grass in feet and ears, etc. Please be conscious of the grass you are walking your dogs through, and monitor in between their toes/paw pads and their ears for sores.
Thank you all for your continued support. Have a great weekend.

07/27/2022

Hello Everyone,
Hope you are all well and that your summer is going along nice and quietly. The long weekend is upon us and we will be closed this Saturday and Monday for it. Please let us know if there is anything you need prior to the weekend.
We will back in the office on Tuesday August 2nd.
Take care and have a lovely long weekend.
From all of us at Grace Vet

06/27/2022

Good afternoon to you all,
I hope you are enjoying the warm weather, not sure how long it will last. Hopefully it will be nice for the long weekend coming up.
Just a reminder that we will be closed on Friday and Saturday for Canada Day. If you need any sedation for your loved ones (just your furry ones I mean) to help them through the fire works just give us a call before Friday.
We wish you all a lovely Canada Day!

05/18/2022

Good Morning to you all,
Hope you are enjoying our lovely spring weather! The Victoria Day long weekend is upon us and, as per usual, it is forecast for rain! I read this this morning and nearly spat my tea out in laughter (a sad sarcastic laugh, of course): Victoria day - " It is informally considered to be the beginning of the summer season in Canada." I am still waiting for spring arrive! Saying all that, I hope you can raise a cup of tea in honour of our Queen on Monday. Happy official birthday your Majesty.
And before I forget - we are closed this Saturday 21st and Monday 23rd. Friday 20th will be shortened hours: 9am to 5pm. We will return on Tuesday with normal working ours.
All the best from all of us here at Grace Vet!

04/25/2022

Hello All,
I have decided to take a few days off to celebrate my significant other (aka my wife) turning the Big Hawaii cop show, if you know what I mean. Originally, she wanted a cruise but that is not quite in the picture yet.......maybe one day. Apparently this means I am not at work this week. The rest of the Grace Vet staff are, and have assured me that they will be busy like little Keebler elves working ever so hard! They are looking forward to helping you as much as they can. Hope you all have a wonderful week enjoying the inclement weather of April 2022 in beautiful Victoria.

04/14/2022

There is a concerning potential outbreak of Avian influenza (bird flu) that has been reported in BC. On many of the backyard and commercial poultry information sites, information is being shared on how to protect flocks, production and small scale. Our resident bird nerd Kristina, wanted to share the information with any of our clients that may keep chickens, or other poultry, so everyone is aware and can take the necessary precautions.

For more information please follow the links below:
https://inspection.canada.ca/animal-health/terrestrial-animals/diseases/reportable/avian-influenza/eng/1323990856863/1323991018946

If you think your birds are infected:
Bird owners are legally responsible to notify authorities of serious bird diseases such as bird flu. Call you veterinarian or your nearest Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) Animal Health office if you suspect your birds have bird flu. If you don’t have a veterinarian, bird owners can contact the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Animal Health Centre at 1-800-661-9903 for assistance or to report any unexplained poultry illness or mortality.

If you spot a sick or dead wild bird:
In BC, the Wild Bird Mortality Investigation Program hotline, 1-866-431-2473, enables members of the public to report sightings of dead wild birds. If the report is assessed to require further investigation a biologist may retrieve the carcass for further testing.

The following Ministry publications are available to small flock owners:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/farming-natural-resources-and-industry/agriculture-and-seafood/animal-and-crops/animal-production/small_flock_manual.pdf

04/11/2022

Good morning to you all,
Another long weekend fast approaches and I need to post something about our hours. I am not sure how many people will be going away as the weather has been particularly frightful and in some cases punishing! Hail in April! What have we done wrong.....? Saying that our hours for Easter are:

April 15, 16 and 18th Closed
April 19th Open with normal hours.

We decided to be closed Easter Monday as, in the past, so many people assumed we were. If you need any food or medications please contact us during the week. You can email, text or call.

If you end up needing veterinary help please contact Central Victoria Veterinary Hospital @ 250-475-2495 or WAVES @ 778-432-4322

We hope you have a quiet, enjoyable, meaningful and pet illness free weekend. You could always get some gardening "work" done like Gomer......He believes in visualizing (ie napping) how the garden should look and be.
Happy Easter from all of us at Grace!

02/18/2022

We have been seeing and hearing about a lot of ticks on dogs and people lately. These nasty little devils can be quite a shock to find on your furry friend! Having your dog on Simparica or Bravecto to kill ticks when they try to latch on, goes a long way in preventing Lyme disease, and not having to continuously pull these little creepy crawlies off! If you frequent wooded areas, or have a lot of brush where you walk, having your dog on flea and tick control would be a good idea. There is also Bravecto and Revolution Plus to protect your cats! Bravecto is a once every 3 month oral or topical treatment, while Simparica is once monthly. Chat with your veterinary staff for the product that is best for you and your pet!

https://www.mypetreminder.ca

02/14/2022

It was dreamy to see the sun for a few days this weekend... still pretty cold though! Update for the long weekend ahead, we will be
CLOSED: Saturday February 19th through till Monday February 21st in observance of Family Day.
We will be back to regular programming on Tuesday February 22nd. Stay safe, and enjoy some time with family, pets and people alike.
(Diggy and Gomer did not submit their photo in time for publishing, so the Kramerson crew will have to do!)

If you need assistance while we are lollygagging this weekend, please contact WAVES or Central Victoria Animal Hospital.

01/06/2022

Happy New Year to all! Big thank you to all of our wonderful clients who spoiled us with goodies and treats this holiday season! It is always very surprising and very appreciated! The sugar definitely kept us fueled in the final weeks of the year! We hope you all had a peaceful holiday season, and we wish you all a healthy, safe and prosperous 2022!