Dr. Ellsworth

07/17/2024

Little fur-babies Virginia and Suzie came in twinning in their matching outfits looking absolutely adorable!! Loved meeting these adorable rescued sisters!

07/10/2024

We are always honored to help out Critter Crusaders of Cedar Rapids when we have the opportunity to! Sweet Minerva will live a long healthy life now!

03/22/2024

I absolutely love Nacho from ! There are so many medical reasons that cats and dogs just like him come to us from Last Hope Animal Rescue almost every single day. Please donate toward his surgery if you can, or if you can’t, they are always looking for fosters, volunteers, and donations of food and supplies. There are always ways we can all give back to the pets in our community!

02/21/2024

We love to see bunnies! 🐰 Happy Wednesday everybody!

08/08/2023

Happy International Cat Day from my cats to yours! Feel free to post pics of your beloved feline friends below!

06/29/2023

What a difference 1 year makes! “Ser Pounce” the Maine c**n first visited us 1 year ago as a kitten at 4 pounds, and today he weighed in at almost 20 pounds! 😻 We love getting to see our patients glow ups!

PS I think Vet tech Cierra posing with him in both pics is adorable! 🥰

06/14/2023

After debating with myself for a while on whether to post this, I decided to. Sometimes the hard things aren’t easy, but they feel right. Today is World Pet Memorial Day. This is a time for pet owners to remember their pet family members that have passed away, but it is also a day to do something kind for those who have recently lost their beloved pet.
please feel free to add your own pets memorials to this post ❤️❤️❤️

06/02/2023

Happy National Doughnut Day from my derpy donut bib boy Rocco! Have a great weekend everybody! 🥰 🍩

05/18/2023

I am so proud of our awesome team! And so thankful to our wonderful clients for voting us best Vet Clinic in the Cedar Rapids area!!

Heartland Families!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! We are the PROUD winners of the 2023 Community Votes Award. Their mission is to provide each community a place where its members can recognize the outstanding businesses and services that make our lives that much better each day. We are so proud of this award and love that you get to see our passion day in and day out for your families.

05/08/2023

These are some of the best behaved cat patients that we see at Heartland Animal Hospital Fairfax! They are very well loved 😻

05/05/2023

Our sweet patient Giselle wishes you a Happy Cinco de Mayo today!

05/04/2023

Sweet kitten Blaze has an eye ulcer and has had to have an e-collar on for over a week, so her mom got her this super cute flower e-collar! We’re glad to see her ulcer is healing up slowly but surely! Here she is posing with our awesome vet tech Ashley S!

04/25/2023

⭐️Cute kitten alert!⭐️ Dale is just the sweetest boy and will be ready for a new home as soon as he heals up! 😻

🚨Cute Kitten Alert!! 🚨

Young male kitten Dale joined Last Hope recently after a good Samaritan found him with a horrific injury to his tail. Dale had most of his tail severed or removed (by what we aren't sure - the best guess would be another larger animals) and was in need of urgent medical care.

Dale was cared for by the amazing staff at Heartland Animal Hospital Fairfax, he had surgery to remove what remained of his damaged tail tissue and is now sporting a clean and shaven back end, minus a tail. Dale will remain on cage rest for awhile to allow his body time to heal, but this little guy is a sucker for people and will practically throw himself at you for pets and loving when you open his door!

We have a feeling Dale will be very popular given how affectionate he is, so be sure to check him out if you're considering adding a feline friend to your home! Dale will be available for adoption within a few weeks once he has been cleared, in the meantime he is seeking a foster home - this could also be a foster to adopt home!

Visit our website to learn more: https://adopthope.org/foster-a-pet/

04/23/2023

Today is National Lost Dog Awareness Day!

Some brief tips:
1. Make sure your dog is microchipped, that the microchip is still in place (you can always ask for your vet to scan at yearly exams), and that your microchip is registered with the most up to date contact info!
2. Make sure you have a collar that is not too loose to slip off (2-3 fingers should be able to fit underneath comfortably) with your name and phone number on the collar somewhere.
3. Always supervise dogs even in a fenced in yard. I’ve heard of dogs slipping through small holes in the fence, jumping the fence, being stolen from yards, etc. You just never know what can happen!
4. Spaying and neutering your pets helps decrease the likelihood that your pet will wander off to find a mate. Not to mention the benefit of the prevention of reproductive cancers!

Happy Sunday everybody!

04/21/2023

Happy National Bulldogs Are Beautiful Day! I love seeing bulldogs of all shapes and sizes 😍

04/07/2023

This article did a great job highlighting the impact the pandemic has had on the veterinary industry! And just happens to feature me and some of my wonderful staff!

The demand for veterinary services in Iowa — and across the country — grew during the pandemic as adoptions and the pet population increased. This demand has outpaced the number of graduating veterinarians, causing strain on a system that was already facing challenges pre-pandemic, various profe...

03/19/2023

Happy Sunday! Here’s a video on how to clean your dogs ears 😊

03/02/2023

Happy March! 😊

02/25/2023

Socializing your puppy in the first few months is SO important! Here is a great representation of all the different things that your dog should experience as a puppy!

Puppy socialisation is NOT just about playing with other dogs.

In fact, too much uncontrolled exposure to other dogs can cause so many unintended consequences.

If you have a puppy, make sure you try to work on ALL aspects of socialisation, as listed in the bottom graphic.

02/22/2023

Happy National Walking the Dog Day!

I really love walking Rocco because I feel it is a great bonding experience! We can practice his obedience training (sit, down, heel, focus, stay, etc) and it’s great mental stimulation for him to practice his commands as well as using his big sniffer to check things out. Walks are physically and mentally stimulating for dogs, so don’t forget, a walked dog is a calm dog! 😊

Please feel free to let me know your favorite thing about walking your dog and/or drop your own dog walking pics below!

02/18/2023

Here’s some info on how to prepare your kitty for vet visits! Happy Friday!

02/13/2023

Manny is a staff favorite around here. Go show him some love this weekend!

Have plans next weekend? Manny has made plans to hang in our kissing booth and we’d sure hate to break his heart and not have anyone come to give him smooches!

Join us at our adoption event on Saturday, February 18th from 11am to 3pm, we’ll be at Cedar Run Company #2 in Hiawatha. We’ll be bringing adoptable cats and dogs, and we’ll also have bake sale items available for purchase. Of course we’ll also have our kissing booth ready for you to visit and (hopefully) take some amazing pictures with our animals!

Event details can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1151639115539575/

02/11/2023

Delta is one of the sweetest ferrets! She made our day a bit brighter today. 😊 Happy Friday friends!

02/02/2023

Look at all these cuties!

01/30/2023

Quill looks so cute in his hamburger e-collar and he was totally working the puppy dog eyes for extra sympathy today! Imagine seeing him in the car next to you 😂🥰🍔 this made my day!

01/28/2023

Emergency services in Cedar Rapids are sparse this weekend. Here are some other ER vets you can call in a pinch if needed!

BLUE PEARL CEDAR RAPIDS EMERGENCY SERVICE CLOSED FRIDAY 1/27-SATURDAY 1/28-SUNDAY 1/29. THEY WILL OPEN BACK UP MONDAY 1/30 at 7am.

The crisis in emergency veterinary services continues.
PLEASE MAKE PLANS ON WHERE TO GO before your pet has an emergency. All
private practice clinics are maintaining their regular schedules with no additional coverage. TALK TO YOUR FAMILY VET ABOUT THIS CRISIS. Sadly, this is just devastating for our communities pets and not acceptable in Iowa’s second largest population center.
Clinics that might be able to assist are listed below.
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*Bright Eyes and Bushy Tails Open Monday -Friday 8
am-8pm. Closed Saturday. Open Sunday from 8am-6
pm. Call 319-351-4256. PLEASE CALL AHEAD.
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*Blue Pearl Pet Hospital Des Moines open 24/7. 515-
727-4872. PLEASE CALL AHEAD.
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*Anamosa Vet Clinic might take after hours
Emergency’s depending on the case. 319-462-4853
PLEASE CALL AHEAD.
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*IVS Des Moines 24/7 ER Open. 515-280-3100.
PLEASE CALL AHEAD.
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*Iowa State ER Service in Ames 515-294-4900. PLEASE CALL AHEAD.
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*Animal Emergency Center of the Quad Cities. 5pm-8
am Monday through Thursday. Friday 5pm-Midnight.
Saturday and Sunday open 24 hours. PLEASE CALL AHEAD.
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01/27/2023

01/23/2023

Too cool, love when the whole fam matches!❤️☺️

Can we please talk about Nebula 🐕‍🦺 and Titan 🐈‍⬛ this morning?? They are seriously giving us vibes!

01/02/2023

Lots of cute December babies! 😍

12/27/2022

Happy Tuesday!! Let’s talk about stomach tacking!

My Newfoundland/Great Pyrenees Rocco is pictured here to show you both his large size (~100 lbs) and what recovery in the “cone of shame” looked like for him after his neuter and gastropexy (AKA stomach tack).

So, what is a gastropexy? A gastropexy, or “stomach tack” is a surgical procedure done to prevent a life-threatening condition called gastric dilation and volvulus (GDV), also known as bloat. This condition is most commonly seen in large breed, deep-chested dogs, but it can happen to virtually any dog.

When a GDV occurs in a dog, the stomach becomes dilated with gas/fluid and twists on itself, and then the gas/fluid can’t escape. This makes pressure levels rise inside the stomach, which decreases blood flow to the stomach tissues, which can lead to death (necrosis) of the gastrointestinal tract. This also usually has significant effects on blood pressure, cardiac rhythm and function, and overall health status. Without emergency treatment, GDV is sadly a fatal condition. This is why preventing GDV is much easier than treating it. For this reason, I always recommend stomach tacking for large breed, deep-chested dogs! If you aren’t sure whether this procedure is recommended for your dog, feel free to ask your vet at your next wellness visit! Happy Tuesday everybody!