Turtle Mountain Veterinary Service

02/14/2025

What’s better than a box of chocolates? An arm full of puppies of course!!

We want to wish you a paws-itively happy Valentine’s Day!

02/10/2025

This weeks case is our LVT, Samantha’s own cat. Opal was 5 years old when we noticed some redness around her gums and knew one tooth was causing problems and needed to come out. We scheduled her for a dental assessment and were very surprised by what we found.

Upon viewing her radiographs we discovered 6 of her teeth had become resorptive and were being broken down by her own body. There is no known cause for this process however, cats are more likely to experience this. It is believed to be painful and so the correct thing to do is extract the affected teeth.

The first picture is Opal’s bottom jaw (mandible). The tooth circled in yellow appears normal, however the tooth circled in red has no clear root attachment. The one in red needs to be extracted. Opal’s canines were also resorptive and needed to come out.

The teeth circled in red have no clear root around them. This means that the body has started to break down the tooth below the gum line. These teeth appeared normal above the gum line.

Opal ended up needing all 4 of her canines as well as two premolars removed. She has since had to have one more tooth removed due to the resorptive process. There is nothing that can be done to prevent this problem. The only thing we can do is routinely check our pet’s mouths and have them assessed. Opal has continued to do very well and eats hard cat food just fine.

Opal’s case highlights the important of dental radiographs as a part of a comprehensive assessment. We are happy to provide dental radiology here at TMVS. Opal’s case also highlights the fact that dental disease can affect any age of animal.

For more info on tooth resorption:

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/tooth-resorption-in-cats

02/03/2025

🌟 WHAT IS A DENTAL ASSESSMENT?

Here at TMVS we take a look inside your pet’s mouth as a part of our annual exam. If you the owner or we have concerns we may then recommend a dental assessment.

Cats and dogs don’t open their mouths and “say ahhh” like humans do. For their and our safety we anesthetize all of our dental patients. First thing we do is perform blood work to check their liver & kidney levels as well as their hydration status.

As long as the blood work is good we then place an IV catheter for them to receive fluids throughout surgery. Your pet then has an endotracheal tube placed and goes under general anesthesia.

Dr. Jill then probes around each tooth to check for gum recession, mobility & root exposure. She then takes radiographs of all of the teeth to further see what’s going on underneath the gums.

Based on these evaluations she is able to determine which teeth are beyond saving and need to be extracted. Depending on which teeth need to come out there may be sutures placed however, if they’re single rooted teeth we leave the incision sites open to heal.

The remaining teeth are then cleaned and with an ultrasonic scaler above and below the gum line. The teeth are then polished and your pet is woken up and moved to recovery.

Each patient is monitored throughout surgery by at least one additional staff member the entire time. If they have extractions they will be given additional pain control as well as sent home with pain medication.

Recovery and healing is typically pretty quick. We usually see patients eating and drinking normally within 24 hours.

The #1 sign of dental disease is no signs. Cats and dogs will continue to eat and drink no matter how much their mouth hurts and if you’ve ever had a cavity or abscess you know that it hurts! Frequently, after we remove infected teeth our clients comment on how much happier and active their pets are. Our job is to help relieve their pain. With your help we can help our furry friends have happier, healthier lives.

Next time you’re snuggling your pet take a look in their mouth. Bad odor, broken teeth or heavy calculus should be addressed.

01/29/2025

February is National Pet Dental Health Month!

Dental health is a very important part of your pet’s overall health, and dental problems can cause, or be caused by, other health problems.

Your pet’s teeth and gums should be checked at least once a year by your veterinarian for early signs of problems and to keep your pet’s mouth healthy. Early detection and treatment are critical, because advanced periodontal disease can cause severe problems and pain for your pet. Periodontal disease doesn’t just affect your pet’s mouth. Other health problems found in association with periodontal disease include kidney, liver, and heart muscle changes.

Veterinary dentistry includes the cleaning, adjustment, filing, extraction, or repair of your pets' teeth and all other aspects of oral health care. These procedures should be performed by a veterinarian or a board-certified veterinary dentist.

Join us during the month of February as we go into a few cases and the process of performing a dental assessment and surgery.

01/24/2025

How does the saying go? Smells like money 🐄 💩

January calls for pregnancy checking and brucellosis vaccinations for Heifers. We visit to help make sure our cattle are healthy and ready for a year of production!

01/17/2025

Dr. Jill & Samantha are headed out of town for a continuing education event.

We will be closed from now until Monday. Stay safe and warm!!

01/10/2025

A small look into who we’ve gotten the pleasure to ring in the new year with. 💕

01/02/2025

We had such a fun time at our employee appreciation night! We are very thankful for this team of girls!

Thank you Janelle at ND Paint Squad for providing such a fun event! We appreciate having you in our community and may need to come a few more times to improve our painting skills. 🖼️👩‍🎨

12/27/2024

We will be closing today at 3:00 pm for a staff appreciation event.

12/26/2024

We want to wish everyone a happy new year. 🎊

We will be CLOSED January 1st, 2025 in celebration of the new year.

For any emergencies, please contact VetTiage at https://vettriage.com/tmvs/ or by calling (800) 940-1921.

As always, Red River Emergency Hospital is open 24/7 and can be reached at 701-478-9299, https://rraeh.com.

12/20/2024

We will be CLOSED December 24th & 25th to celebrate the holidays.

For any emergencies, please contact VetTiage at https://vettriage.com/tmvs/ or by calling (800) 940-1921.

As always, Red River Emergency Hospital is open 24/7 and can be reached at 701-478-9299, https://rraeh.com.

12/13/2024

The weather may be frightful but our furry friends are delightful 🐾🎄

We’ve been getting into the Christmas spirit here at TMVS. Here are a few ideas we’ve come up with to bring our pets into the mix as well. 😸🐶

1. Salt dough ornaments: https://lovemischka.com/diy-paw-print-ornaments/

2. Paw print art: https://www.whataportrait.com/blog/safe-paints-for-dogs-paw-prints/ #:~:text=Crayola%20washable%20kid's%20paint,not%20contain%20any%20toxic%20chemicals.

11/25/2024

We will be CLOSED Thursday, November 28th and Friday, November 29th in celebration of Thanksgiving. We will reopen Monday, December 2nd at 9:00 a.m.

For any emergencies, please contact vet triage at https://vettriage.com/tmvs/ or by calling (800) 940-1921.

As always Red River Emergency Hospital is open 24/7 and can be reached at 701-478-9299, https://rraeh.com.

We hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving. 🦃

11/19/2024

Exciting News for our Dog Owners! 🐾

Choosing the best food for your pup just got easier!

Turtle Mountain is now utilizing VetNexus, a cutting-edge program developed right here in North Dakota. With a database of over 11,000 dog food options, VetNexus helps us create personalized, science-backed nutrition plans for your furry family members.

Soon VetNexus will even incorporate your pet’s unique genetic profile to refine their diet recommendations! 🧬✨

Check out this article about VetNexus’s amazing work and mission in pet nutrition:
🔗 https://www.inforum.com/business/new-north-dakota-companys-software-can-sniff-out-the-perfect-dog-food-for-your-pup

Want to give it a try?
Click the link to sign up and start your pet’s journey to a healthier, longer life!
🔗 https://app.vetnexus.com/clinic/user_register_new/248/TMVS

For any questions, feel free to reach out to our team. We’re here to help!

CGP Golf

11/11/2024

Thank you for your service to all those who have served our country. We cherish and honor you.

10/29/2024

October 29th marks National Cat Day! 🐈 🐱 🐈‍⬛

29% of US households have at least one cat!

It’s no surprise that our staff at TMVS fit in that trend! Join us today in celebrating our feline friends!

10/15/2024

The third week of October kicks off National Veterinary Technician Week!

We would like to recognize and celebrate our Licensed Veterinary Technician: Samantha, as well as our Veterinary Assistants: Amber, Kaitlyn & Katie.

Veterinary technicians are educated in the care and handling of animals, the principles of normal and abnormal life processes, and in many laboratory and clinical procedures. In general, veterinary technicians obtain 4 years of post-high school education and have an associate's or bachelor's degree in veterinary technology. They must pass a credentialing examination and keep up-to-date with continuing education to be considered licensed veterinary technicians.

All veterinary technicians work under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian. A veterinary technician can do almost all tasks in a veterinary clinic besides diagnosing, prescribing medication, or perform surgery.

In a clinical practice setting veterinary technicians handle many of the same responsibilities that nurses and other professionals perform for physicians—and, like veterinarians, they are trained to work with several species of animals. They are trained to obtain and record patient case histories; collect specimens and perform laboratory procedures; provide specialized nursing care; prepare animals, instruments, and equipment for surgery; assist in diagnostic, medical, and surgical procedures; expose and develop radiographs (X-rays); advise and educate animal owners; supervise and train practice personnel; and perform dental prophylaxes.

Veterinary assistants support veterinarians and/or veterinary technicians in their daily tasks.

We are very thankful to have our support team here at Turtle Mountain Veterinary Service. We couldn’t do it without these girls!

10/10/2024

Hello everyone! We would like to make an announcement from the staff at Turtle Mountain Veterinary Service. As you may have heard or seen by now, we have gone down to one doctor at our clinic. Dr. Jill continues to be the sole owner and operator of TMVS.

As we head into fall we enter into one of our busiest seasons of the year with cattle operations. What does this mean going forward?

1. There will be multiple days where Dr. Jill is out on a farm call and not in the clinic for the entire day. We may not be able to see urgent care cases as we could in our previous capacity. We also highly advise calling ahead with questions or prescription requests and allowing yourself 24+ hrs for a response.

2. We have discontinued accepting any new clients. Anyone who has done business with our clinic previously is considered a client. We will continue to see new patients for our active clients; however, if we have never done business with someone we will be referring them to another veterinary clinic.

We understand these new changes may be frustrating, however we continue to strive to provide care and services for our current clientele. Please know that we are doing the best we can to serve our clients’ needs with the staff and resources we have. There will be days that we simply cannot provide care for every need.
As always please be patient and respectful to our staff.

For non-client emergencies or if our doctor is out of office and you have an urgent problem we recommend using vettriage.com/tmvs or contact Red River Emergency Hospital at 701-478-9299 for immediate help.

Thank you all for continuing to support our business through all of our seasons. We are proud to be a part of this community.