Bancroft Veterinary Clinic, LLC

12/30/2024

The clinic will be closed today, December 30th through Wednesday, January 1st. We will reopen at 8:30 on Thursday, January 2nd. Have a SAFE and HAPPY New Year!

12/24/2024

A Christmas Memory from Dr. McAllister

On Christmas Eve in 1994 one of our patients suddenly became lethargic and weak, and the owner called my associate veterinarian, who was on call that night. After an exam, lab work, and imaging, it was determined that the dog had a large tumor involving her liver. It’s uncommon to have a mass isolated to just one lobe of the liver, but it does happen, and that was the case with this dog. The tumor was bleeding into her abdomen, so we needed to either do surgery or euthanasia. The owner decided to have us do an exploratory surgery to see if the tumor was isolated and could be removed. My associate veterinarian, her husband, and I met at the clinic at 5:00 AM Christmas morning to do the surgery. I remember it very well because I was 7 ½ months pregnant and starting to have a little trouble getting up close to the surgery table. My associate did the anesthesia, her husband was the circulating nurse, and I was the surgeon. In this particular case, the tumor was malignant (cancer), but was in that one location only. I was able to remove the liver lobe with the mass, and the dog lived many more years without any recurrence of the cancer. That outcome with liver cancer is unusual, our own Christmas miracle.

12/20/2024

We will be closed for Christmas on Tuesday, December 24th through Thursday, December 26th. We will be open for normal business hours, 8:30-5:00 on Monday, December 23rd and Friday, December 27th. Have a safe and happy holiday!

12/13/2024

We will be closing at 3:00 today for our staff Christmas party. We will reopen Monday morning at 8:30 am. Stay warm and have a safe weekend!

11/28/2024

A Thanksgiving memory from Dr. McAllister

The first five years in practice, I was an associate veterinarian in Battle Creek, MI. The clinics covered their own emergencies, so we divided up being on call for holidays. My bosses were kind and always allowed me to be off on Christmas because I was single and lived 90 minutes from my family. That meant I was always on call for Thanksgiving. I didn’t admit it to my parents, but I actually enjoyed that. Different friends invited me to their homes, understanding that I might have to run out at any time. I liked experiencing different family traditions. One friend in particular always invited students from the local college where she worked to join her family for holidays. I met interesting people and listened to stories from many different countries. We have continued that tradition with my family and often have students who live too far away to get home for Thanksgiving join us for the day. It makes the day extra special.
I would often be busy the whole morning of Thanksgiving, but then in the early afternoon, I rarely got a call. Then calls would resume in the late afternoon. I even had one farmer who knew he had an urgent problem with one of his cows, but he waited until late afternoon to call so he wouldn’t interrupt the holiday celebration. There seemed to be something sacred about Thanksgiving dinner.

11/27/2024

We will be closing at 4:00 today so staff can get a jump start on their Thanksgiving celebrations. There are turkeys to thaw and pies to bake. We will reopen for normal business hours on Monday, December 2nd at 8:30 am! Have a safe and happy holiday. 🦃🥧

10/31/2024

A Halloween Memory from Dr. McAllister

Late one Halloween night, I got a call from someone I had never met, asking me to attend to a cow that had been hit by a car. At first I thought it was one of my friends playing a prank on me. That sort of thing had happened before. As I drove out to the farm, I still thought it was likely a prank. It was not. Apparently this particular cow had gotten out of the pasture fence and was standing in the middle of the road late at night. She was black, so impossible to see at night. I don’t even remember the status of the car or the driver, but I think they were okay, as there wasn’t a police car or a wrecker at the farm when I got there. Just a 1000 lb cow standing still, torn up and bleeding. She had been pushed down the road a short distance and was torn pretty badly. Because cows are ruminants, which means one of their four stomachs is a fermentation vat full of gas producing bacteria, they can’t be anesthetized without risk of bloating. Because of this I sewed her up using local anesthetic that I had to refresh every half hour or so. She was still in shock, so stood very still as I sewed her up over the next couple of hours.

10/31/2024

Happy Halloween! We will be closing around 4:00 to allow staff to enjoy the holiday festivities! But don't be frightened, we'll be back to normal business hours tomorrow, 8:30-5.

10/31/2024

Happy Halloween! Here are some tips to keep your pets happy and healthy today!

👻🎃☠️ Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat (but, don't give your pets Halloween candy)!

While it may be the scariest time of year, it doesn't have to be for your pets. Here are 7 tips to help prevent any scary situations. You can find more information at avma.org/Halloween.

10/28/2024

It's National Chocolate Day and while the clinic staff LOVES chocolate, it is toxic to our furry friends! With Halloween coming up, please keep those yummy candy bars out of reach of your pets!

10/04/2024

Phone calls to the clinic are not coming through at the moment. If you need assistance, please text us at 989-634-5402.

09/30/2024

We have had some clients tell us they are not receiving our text messages or reminders. Upon further investigation, this seems to be an issue between our carrier and T-Mobile devices. Our messaging platform is working to get this issue resolved. Thank you for your patience.

Send a message to learn more

09/23/2024

We’re back up and running! (or walking slowly, it is Monday afterall)

09/23/2024

Our phones and internet are currently down. We apologize for the inconvenience.

08/17/2024

Happy Black Cat Appreciation Day to our very own Bernie!!!
Do you have a black cat? Share some pics with us below!

06/13/2024

Throwback Thursday from Dr. McAllister

Indoor cats generally live significantly longer than outdoor cats because they’re much less likely to be injured or exposed to contagious diseases. Many years ago I had a patient with a bizarre injury for a cat that never went outside. The family lived in a remote area, and their cat loved to sun himself lying along the back of the couch set under a picture window. Apparently the homeowners kept their windows too clean. One day while the cat was sleeping on the back of the couch, a hawk flew down, broke through the window, and grabbed the cat by the back of the neck. As the hawk came through the window glass, he severed a tendon in one of his legs, but somehow still managed to sink his talons into the back of the cat’s neck. Due to his own injury, the hawk wasn’t able to fly away. The cat’s owners caught the hawk, and then brought both it and their cat to the clinic. The cat’s spinal cord was severed, permanently paralyzing him from the neck down, so sadly he was euthanized. The owners were such compassionate people, they transported the hawk to MSU‘s raptor rehabilitation center so his injury could be repaired. He was then rehabilitated and released. It was such a bizarre event. The owners were sad to lose their cat, but didn’t blame the hawk for doing what hawks do.

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06/06/2024

Throwback Thursday from Dr. McAllister

Once on an Easter Sunday afternoon, just as my family was finishing our meal, a county sheriff’s patrol car came flying up my driveway. Two deputies came to the door & asked if I lived there. They had been called to deal with a doberman who was in the median on I-69. The dog had fractures of both front legs and was unable to stand. They picked it up, put it in the back of their cruiser, and came looking for help. With those types of fractures, it’s most likely the dog jumped out of a moving vehicle and landed hard on its front legs.

One of the clinic assistants and I hurried to the clinic, treated the dog for shock, took radiographs, splinted the legs, and got the dog settled into the clinic. The two deputies were quite agitated because the back of the cruiser had a lot of blood on the seat, and they were quite sure their boss would not be pleased. Dealing with blood stains is a common occurrence in a veterinary clinic, so we knew what would get the blood out. After the dog was comfortable and settled in, we helped clean the back of the cruiser. By the time I returned home, all the dishes had been done, and my family had waited to have dessert until I got back. Best timing possible.

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