Best Friends Animal Health Center

05/08/2025

We've had a lot of questions about rattlesnake vaccines this spring with the article in Cowboy State Daily. We have carried this vaccine for many years, we have recently been informed that the vaccine will no longer be made. We never had lots of research to prove it worked to lessen severity of a snakebite with our snakes. We have offered it mainly to high risk dogs. It was never intended as a replacement for a veterinary visit after a bite.
A snakebite is an emergency, whether the pet has been vaccinated or not. Rattlesnake venom starts causing damage immediately, killing tissue.
Antivenin is the only treatment that stops the activity of the venom. The antivenin is very effective when given by IV injection within hours of a bite. We also need to treat pain, inflammation and infection for a speedy recovery.

04/26/2025

World veterinary day is today! The theme this year is "it takes a team". This is 100% true at Best Friends. We could not take excellent care of our patients without the help of every team member. Thank you to our team of compassionate, wonderful people that make a difference every day!

04/25/2025

Happy veterinary receptionist week! Yes, I know it's Friday and we loved them all week and every day! This is what happens when our wonderful veterinary receptionists don't organize something for us 😂
We love you, thanks for everything you do!

04/15/2025

Easter is just around the corner! These lillies are so beautiful and smell fantastic too. BUT if you own a cat, please don't bring one of these home. Lillies of all sorts are VERY toxic to cats. Just a lick or a bite can cause kidney failure.
Please call ASAP if you think your cat has been in contact with a lilly.
We have included the pet poison hotline number in the comments as they are a great resource and can help us treat poisoned pets quickly and effectively.

04/06/2025

We love them and their loud, opinionated, loving and beautiful souls!

03/31/2025

Bird flu and cats: we have many more questions than answers at this point.
-We know that cats can be infected
- We know that symptoms show up suddenly
- Symptoms vary from lethargy to respiratory and even neurologic.
There are tests, but they are not available in general practice clinics. Any samples have to be sent out and can take days for results.
We can treat like we do any other viral infection, with supportive care.
We can limit risk of exposure by keeping cats indoors, away from birds and not feeding raw meat or milk products.

03/25/2025

If a nose can get past the end of the cone, it can get to an incision!
A properly fitted cone for a week can speed healing by preventing infections or even opened incisions.
Be vigilant, don't let those sweet brown eyes fool you! If given the chance, they will lick.
(Thanks to CSU vet med for the image)

03/22/2025

Spring is here... which means the snakes will soon be out. We do have vaccines, but preventing an interaction and a bite is SO much better and safer!
We recommend training for snake avoidance as it prevents medical emergencies that can have long acting effects.
This was shared with us, we don't know anything about this class or trainer. Feel free to contact this person or other trainers to get your dogs ready before summer.

03/19/2025

The ASPCA Pet Poison control tallies the top 10 pet toxins each year. These are from calls they get through their hotline (which is a great resource!). What we see here is similar, but we're more likely to call about human medications than many of the others on the list.
A good reminder to keep all meds out of reach of pets AND keep pets out of the room when we take our medicine (just in case it gets dropped!).

03/09/2025

03/08/2025

Needless to say, Dr. Jana will be out of the office for a few months enjoying time with their new addition.

03/05/2025

Happy March...a few days late!