Animal Haven Clinic

06/19/2024

It’s getting hot! Dogs can’t sweat like humans do, so they overheat fast. Avoid being out in the heat of the day. All pets need shade. Careful walking your dogs on hot streets, sidewalks and sand- they can burn their feet!

If your pet starts showing signs of heat stroke DON’T saturate them in cold water. Use cool or tepid water and put it on their necks and chest. A drenched thick coat can actually insulate them more. Fans on damp skin can help cool faster. Don’t cool beyond 102-103 degrees or you start running the risk of hypothermia. IV fluids are often needed to help if they are more severely affected. The sicker they are the more danger they are in of dying! Heat stroke can be fatal. Take carry of your furry friends (and yourself) this summer. 😀

06/16/2024

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/heroic-new-mexico-dog-receives-global-praise-after-saving-family/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2dRS9Iliz1BjwVXOUF7gthLOup4-2TVcYBiI0SCKt1sOIIOgR8StW0UXs_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw

A dog who lives in northern New Mexico is capturing hearts around the world. His story is going viral after he risked his life to protect his family.

06/14/2024

We have light again! Hopefully it lasts.

06/14/2024

Power is still out. We can do basics but we can’t do bloodwork. We can’t admit patients. If anyone has a serious emergency please call the other clinics or Riverview in Durango.

06/14/2024

Our power is out at Animal Haven. The power company is working on it but we don’t know when we’ll have power. We may have to cancel and move appointments. We’ll keep this page updated as we see how it goes.

05/23/2024

Our internet is down for the next 4 hours on 5/23. This will affect our phones. Please leave messages or text when you call and we’ll work on getting back to you. Thank you

04/16/2024

This little Frenchie learned the hard way he should always chew anything he puts in his mouth.

The owners came home and found little Roofus with foam coming out of his mouth and nose. There were also piles everywhere! The owners called us right away that night because they suspected he was choking.

When they brought him in he was having a hard time breathing. We took a quick X-ray and found the obstruction. We outlined it in red on the x-ray. It was too big to go down but we weren’t sure how we would get it out without a scope. The owners had faith and wanted us to try.

We anesthetized Roofus and this immediately allowed him to breath better. We put him on his back with him out and getting oxygen and gas. We were able to feel the obstruction and gently push it up to his head. Frenchies have excess tissue in back of their mouths and it was swollen so it wouldn’t pop out but we were able to feel the chew either a finger and blindly grip it after several tries with hemostats and remove it all the way.
We started him on medication for possible infection and for any ulceration or irritation if the esophagus. Then he was ready to wake up.

As you can see in the picture he liked the breathing tube in so much it took a while before he even wanted it out.

A couple days later you couldn’t even tell he ever had an issue. He looked great!

03/12/2024

Two bobcats test positive for rabies in southwest New Mexico

SANTA FE – The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) Scientific Laboratory Division has confirmed that two bobcats, one in Grant County and one in Sierra County, have tested positive for rabies.

One bobcat attacked a man near his house in Grant County. The man is now receiving shots to prevent him from getting rabies. A dog in Sierra County was attacked by the second bobcat; the dog was up to date on his rabies vaccine, and his condition will be monitored for 45 days.

Animal rabies cases in New Mexico usually occur in wild animals like skunks, bats and foxes. Three rabid bobcats were identified in 2022, one in Catron County and two in Grant County.

Rabid wild animals may show no fear of people and be aggressive, or they may be quiet and appear tame. If you see a sick wild animal, or a wild animal acting abnormally, report it to your local animal control officer or your local New Mexico Department of Game and Fish game warden at https://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/download/enforcement/NMDGF-Conservation-Officer-Map-12-21-2023.pdf.

“State law requires all dogs and cats be vaccinated against rabies, a deadly viral disease that can be prevented but not cured,” said State Public Health Veterinarian Erin Phipps, DVM, MPH. “Unvaccinated pets exposed to a rabid animal must either be euthanized or put into strict isolation for four months to prevent them from exposing people to rabies.”

The NMDOH recommends the following to keep you and your family safe from rabies:

Always keep pets on a leash. Pets should be up to date on rabies vaccinations and wearing current license tags on their collar. If your cat or dog has been bitten or scratched, especially by a wild animal, call your pet’s veterinarian even if the wound is superficial.
Horses and other livestock should also be considered for rabies vaccination to protect them from rabid animals that may attack them.
Stay away from wild or unfamiliar animals. Do not attempt to feed, approach or touch wild animals (alive or dead). Teach this important message to your children and always keep a close eye on your children.
If you or someone you know is bitten by an animal, or comes into contact with an animal’s saliva, wash the exposed site immediately with soap and water. Be sure to report the bite to local animal control and seek medical care as soon as possible.
If you or your pets are bitten or otherwise exposed to the saliva of wild animals, seek medical care immediately and contact the NMDOH Helpline at (833) SWNURSE or (833) 796-8773.

For more info about rabies see the New Mexico Department of Health website at: https://nmhealth.org/about/erd/ideb/zdp/rab/.
# # #
NMDOH

01/19/2024

When is vomiting a good thing??

When your two 12 pound dogs have ingested 2.5 -70% cocoa chocolate bars between them.

Real case.

If your dog is small and ingests higher content chocolate this is a serious emergency and the sooner it’s handled the safer you dog will be. This much chocolate could cause seizures and possibly death. The caffeine absorbs within 30 min to an hour, theobromine maybe up to two hours and methylxanthines take a bit longer and stay in the system the longest ( and are the most dangerous).
You get anywhere from no symptoms depending on what’s ingested and size of dog to vomiting, diarrhea, muscle tremors and they can affect the heart. Or they can die. Getting all that out of their stomachs as soon as possible is best, otherwise you have to treat the symptoms as you try to flush them out over the next 72hours.

Lucky for everyone involved the owners called after only 30 min or so of ingestion. Once they got here and we got there vitals we fed them a meal. Sounds odd since we want them to vomit but more stuff in the stomach helps pick up everything and pull more out.
We have a new drop that we use. We put it in their eyes based on weight and they usually vomit within 20 min.

We treated our two little dogs and gave the family some potty pads and let them settle in to wait while we worked on the rest of the meds. It wasn’t long before we heard sounds coming from the exam room in stereo. It was much like the Fourth of July with all Oohs and Aahs but in their case it was more of a Ugg and Aah. Those little puppies made quite the mess and did a great job of removing almost everything possible. Exactly what we wanted. We were all so happy and exited to see pile after pile of puke in the room!

This helped eliminate a large amount of danger but the owners still had to feed or syringe activated charcoal to fully protect the little furry guys. Both the owners and the vet team agreed, vomiting was a great thing.

These little ones were rechecked and going great, no worse for their endeavor except for some charcoal on their coats.

12/23/2023

Gotta love dogs!

🤣🤣

12/22/2023

THIS JUST IN: USDA Issues Permit for Santa’s Reindeer to Enter the U.S.

(Washington, D.C., December 21, 2023) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today issued a transit permit to Mr. S. Nicholas Claus of the North Pole, a distributor with Gifts and Good Cheer, Inc. The permit will allow reindeer to enter and exit the United States between the hours of 6 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2023, and 6 a.m. on Dec. 25, 2023, local time, through or over any U.S. border port.

"USDA is delighted to grant Mr. Claus and his reindeer a special permit to enter the United States, ensuring a seamless journey for the joy they bring each holiday season," said Jenny Lester Moffitt, Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. "We extend a warm welcome to Mr. Claus and recognize the vital role of U.S. milk and cookies in fueling his festive flight."

Veterinary officials ensured the reindeer met all entry requirements before issuing the permit. Dr. Rosemary Sifford, USDA’s Chief Veterinary Officer, stated: “At a recent inspection, the reindeer were found to be healthy and able to prance and paw with each hoof.”

It was noted on the health certificate that one reindeer, Rudolph, has a minor physical anomaly. However, APHIS indicated that Rudolph’s red nose, while bright, was normal for him and not a concern.

APHIS regulates the movement of cervids, including reindeer, to protect the health of America’s livestock population. The permitting process provides assurance that only healthy animals enter the United States.

USDA has confirmed that the reindeer will arrive pulling a wooden sleigh with jingling bells attached, filled with brightly wrapped gifts. Port personnel will clean and disinfect the runners and underside of the sleigh at the time of entry. They will also conduct a short visual inspection of the reindeer. Mr. Claus has been asked to disinfect his boots and thoroughly wash his hands. These measures are intended to prevent the entry of any livestock diseases the team may encounter during deliveries to farms and houses around the world prior to entering the United States.

Mr. Claus also provided an advance list of what port personnel should expect upon their arrival. This includes a variety of food items, all of which come from approved locations and none of which pose a threat to U.S. animal or plant health.

“It’s important that Gifts and Good Cheer, Inc. take all the right steps and precautions to protect against the potential introduction of pests and diseases,” explained Mr. Claus. “I appreciate USDA’s assistance every year as we gear up for our big night.”

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Bodhi Day, Noche Buena, Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa, Diwali, or other holidays during this time of year, USDA wishes you a happy and healthy season full of time-honored traditions and celebrations.

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11/21/2023

We haven’t seen this yet but here is some information since this is being publicized.

Learn the signs of canine infectious respiratory disease complex (CIRDC), or “kennel cough,” and how to protect your pet from this highly contagious illness affecting the respiratory tract in dogs.

11/10/2023

10/20/2023

An application has has been submitted for a Cannabis retail store, RIGHT next store to our clinic.
We would like your input on this. There is a meeting on 10/26 at 3 pm at City Hall. If you have strong feelings about this please let us know and consider voicing your opinion at the meeting. There is already a Cannabis store a block away. We need some good points to make to the planning and zoning commission.

Could this affect your choice to bring your pets to our clinic?

Thanks everybody!!

09/02/2023

West Nile Update

September 1, 2023

New Mexico Health Department reports first West Nile virus death of 2023

SANTA FE – The New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) reports a Valencia County man is the first death in 2023 linked to West Nile virus in the state.
The death is one of now 36 human cases confirmed by DOH this year through the end of August.

West Nile virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the continental United States. It’s typically spread to people by the bite of an infected mosquito, and the disease can vary in severity. Most infections go unnoticed while others cause flu-like symptoms. The most severe cases cause neuroinvasive disease which affects the brain and nervous system and can result in death.

Infections have been confirmed in residents of Bernalillo, Doña Ana, Lea, Mora, Rio Arriba, San Juan, San Miguel, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Taos, Torrance, Union, and Valencia Counties. The virus has also been identified in sixteen horses and two birds from Colfax, Doña Ana, Los Alamos, McKinley, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Sierra, Torrance, Union, and Valencia Counties.

West Nile virus is transmitted primarily by mosquitoes which are most active during dawn and dusk. Mosquito populations can develop with or without rain, using stagnant water from everyday sources like plant watering and irrigation. They can breed in small containers found around homes.

Both case numbers and deaths among humans vary widely year-to-year. Over the past five years, between one and six New Mexicans residents have died each year from West Nile virus.

There are no medications to treat or vaccines to prevent West Nile virus infection in humans. People ages 50 years and older and those with other health issues are at highest risk of becoming seriously ill or dying when they become infected with the virus. If people have symptoms and suspect West Nile virus infection, they should contact their healthcare provider.

Symptoms of the milder form of illness, West Nile fever, can include headache, fever, muscle and joint aches, nausea and fatigue. People with West Nile fever typically recover on their own, although symptoms may last for weeks to months. Symptoms of West Nile neuroinvasive disease can include those of West Nile fever plus neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, and paralysis.

DOH again reminds residents to protect yourself from infection in the following ways:

· Use an approved insect repellent every time you go outside and follow the instructions on the label. Among the EPA-approved repellents are those that contain DEET, picaridin, IR3535 and oil of lemon eucalyptus/para-menthane-diol.
· Eliminate water-holding containers where mosquitoes lay their eggs, such as old tires, empty cans, and other unneeded outdoor items that can hold water.
· Drain the water in birdbaths, wading pools, and saucers under potted plants weekly.
· Make sure rain barrels are tightly screened.
· Wear long sleeves and pants at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active.
· Keep windows and doors closed if not screened. If you leave your house doors or windows open, make sure they have screens that fit tightly and have no holes.

For more information about West Nile virus, including fact sheets in English and Spanish, go to the DOH’s West Nile webpage.

08/07/2023

Mini Army Chronicles

Sid having fun.

08/06/2023

Mini Army Chronicles

Meet Sid and his mom Bellatrix. We ended up going a bit Harry Potter with some of the names. Sid started as Magi but quickly changed when someone noticed the markings on his face sort of look like Sid the sloth. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. So now he is known as Sid. His mom was pretty nervous around us, and at first we weren’t sure she was halter broke. She had some handling but scared easily. She tried to bite when we first started lifting her feet. She only wants to be caught and lead on her left. This is a common way to train horses but they don’t like being lead or handled from the right which isn’t acceptable. So we started working on her right as much as possible. At first Sid was scared of people and we had to chase mom and baby to catch them but once quarantine was up and Sid learned about treats, he became very friendly. And as you can see in his pictures, he lives to zoom around! His mom is the tallest of our Army, so Sid will probably be taller too. As of today he’s taller than most the rest of our herd. He’s a lot of fun to watch and Bella is getting much more interactive.

07/24/2023

Mini Army Chronicles

So now we have a bunch of little horses. Only two have names. So that’s one task. Name them! Next, they came from a place with lots of horses coming and going, a perfect breeding ground for sickness. And they were all stressed with a trip and have snotty noses. So we need to assess, get some basic bloodwork and treat as needed. Most importantly, we need to quarantine them from residents and patients. Some diseases can be contagious so we kept them in the same stalls and cleaned and threw away all bedding. We also used cleaning implements only for them and wore boots or cleaned our shoes after being in their stalls. Washed our hands a lot and changed clothes before interacting with other horses and animals. Even the staff had to hang back for 3 long weeks while we made sure they didn’t show any signs of strangles or other sickness. This is a wise practice whenever you get a new horse or other livestock. We only has two halter broke minis so we did a lot of catching and tying exercises. We even blocked off a small area so they could get outside a little. So names.. two had names for now. All the little stallions and the mom and baby didn’t. Time to introduce you to our Mini Army.

07/13/2023

Mini Army Chronicles

So now we have two problems. We have 7 little horses we need to get from Oklahoma to Farmington and we need to find a ride home in time for us to work on Thursday. On problem at a time. Turns out getting the mini's to Farmington is actually the easiest problem once we dip into our bank accounts again. Rescuing is not cheap! We found a horse transporter who can actually get them to Farmington Friday. We actually felt a little stupid. We could have avoid all these problems if we had just gone this route to start with. But we were so excited, that didn't seem the best or most economical option.....at the time. So now the little ones were scheduled to leave on Friday morning and get to the clinic late that night. Next problem....our ride home. There wasn't a single rental car in the city of Amarillo!!! How is that even possible. We may have to fly home, assuming we can find a flight that can get us home on time. We had one other option, and it was within walking distance of our Transmission repair shop. Uhaul. We have one in Farmington so returning it will be easy. Apparently nothing is simple in Amarillo. There was one truck left, it could even haul our trailer back but they didn't want to rent it to us since we were going out of state. I wish you could see us figuratively banging our heads against the counter. After appealing to the manager and promising to return the truck to AMARILLO on Saturday, we had a ride home. We got back in more time that it took to get to Amarillo but we got there. One lucky break, we had a fellow employee volunteer to take the Uhaul hack. One less trip, thank you for small favors!! Our little height challenged equines arrived at midnight, Friday. Poor little guys had had a heck of a long day and weren't thrilled to see us. They just didn't know how lucky there were, yet.

07/05/2023

The picture below is of Sassy, the others are another Donkey friend. We are a donkey friendly zone as you can see.

The Mini Army Chronicles

We made a quick stop at the store for provisions- nothing healthy of course. Road trips overnight don't require full meals, just lots of munchies, chocolate and jerky. Plenty of water and caffeinated beverages. With the right person at the wheel and a lead foot you can make good time. We just about got to Amarrillo when Disaster struck. Luckily we were on a frontage road and we could test out the truck (hauling a trailer) on this road rather than the freeway to see if there was any change with a few tweaks we knew. Luck was not with us on this one. So we went back to the very thing that got us in this predicament in the first place, our phones. Google maps saved the day. We were only 10 min from Amarillo and the frontage road went all the way there. We then found the closest auto shop, and the one that opened the earliest and slowly made our way there paying the whole way our truck and trailer didn't die in the middle of the road. We had more luck this time and they even had a big enough parking lot for our long load. So now it's about 3am and they don't open till 7am. Time to sleep, in the truck, in the front seats. It's not as comfortable as we'd like but oh well. Unfortuneatley adrenaline for a breakdown in the middle of the nigh was making sleep hard. Thank goodness for a phone and Hulu. We were able to watch TV till we fell asleep. Morning didn't bring good news. The problem was the transmission and the garage fixed about everything but that. We had to try and get our truck and trailer down the road to the Transmission place. We tried to be slow and steady, even so it was a miracle we made it in the drive and could even get the rig turned around. Luckily there were nice people there and we could unhook the trailer in their locked yard. More bad news, THE TRANSMISSION WAS SHOT! We weren't going to Oklahoma let alone home. Oh and they would need a couple weeks to rebuild it since there were others in front of us. What else could go wrong. NEVER ask this question because the answer is there is always something else.

07/01/2023

The Mini Army Chronicles

We were tenatively looking for a friend for Sassy- She did not like the goat and she was a long ear'd outsider to the horses. Be very careful on facebook, you can run across sites that will suck you in. That's what happened to us. We found a sight selling horses and donkey that were destined for slaughter. Not something any of us wants to contemplate. Before we knew it we were exchanging snap shots back and forth and trying to decide who to get for Sassy. Then for no reason what's so ever, the doctor decided it might be fun to learn how to drive a cart with a mini- wouldn't that be cute- so lets save another one and give it a try. At least that is our goal and our shaky reasoning and we were sticking to it. Before we knew it everyone at the clinic was excited so now they were a moral booster. These guys hadn't even got here and already they had a lot to live up to. We made the decision and sent them the money through paypal. Now to plan on how to get them. Did I mention they were in Oklahoma? Somehow we were going to get a little mini gelding named Sherman, a Paint Shetland mare and her foal and another mare and foal. The babies were really too cute to resist and how on earth could anyone even contemplate sending them to the killers. We were all excited and tired and reality was on vacation this week. We decided on Monday and made plans to leave after work on Tuesday and drive all night and sleep a little on the way so we could drive all the way back on Wednesday. We had to work Thursday. So Doctor and Technician went forth....only it turns out, one of the mare had been sold already and they didn't do refunds. So we needed to pick another horse or two. Even though they are slaughter bound they weren't giving them away. This was a horse selling business. So we Chose a mini named Cora, a 14 year old girl we were worried wouldn't find a home. Then we saw a bunch of mini stallions, all young and not gelded or halter broke but with only one more day to live. So we chose the second one from there but somehow ended up with three. A 4 year old buckskin paint mini, a 4 year old black mini and a 4 year old sorrel with a bald face mini. The math is fuzzy but our personal bank accounts can attest: it cost more to save more, but running on little sleep it made perfect sense. We were now ready to go get our suddenly much larger herd. The owners of this clinic have a history of rescuing so we felt we were just living up to our legacy here and we hadn't even met these little guys and already we loved them all. We're such suckers.

06/28/2023

We've been pretty busy lately and when your busy you get stressed and tired. With Animal lovers like us that means we want to turn to our furry friends for comfort and sometimes we make some decisions that are a little to spontaneous. In our defense we were saving animals. Horses, mini horses to be exact. We still don't regret our decision and everyone is enjoying the scenery that is a result of our choices. It was and still is an interesting, expensive but enjoyable journey that we thought all you animal loves out there could appreciate so we thought we'd share. Be advised to not do this at home you will go broke or crazy or both!

It all started with having to say good bye to a cute little mini named Bernie. He came to us as a rescue with his feet so overgrown they locked together. We came to us through the Four corners equine rescue. He had some special needs for his feet and one of our technicians decided to take on this task. Below are pictures of Bernie and his foot issues. Once he went to his new home he was surrounded by big horses and a big goat. He couldn't compete and needed extra food so our tech once again reached out to the rescue and found a mini donkey friend for him, Sassy. Sassy and Bernie were great together but ultimately Bernie had a number of problems that just couldn't be overcome. He very much enjoyed his new life up till then. Finally we had to say good bye to little Bernie but now his friend was left alone.... And that's where our Mini Army Chronicles start.

05/30/2023

Just a regular day at Animal Haven. We see your hurt lamb and give your puppies vaccines.

05/13/2023

Congratulations to Trisha!! She is graduating from the Veterinary Technician program at San Juan College. The entire clinic helped her get through it. A big thanks to all the staff for their help getting her to this day!

04/04/2023

This little baby didn’t even have a name because he was only a day old. He came in because he was colicing and things were getting worse. He wouldn’t eat and we weren’t sure he got that all important first meal. The dedicated owners helped us track down a needed test while we got fluids and meds on board. We had to milk out his mom to get him a meal since he wouldn’t nurse. It took about 12 hours to get him going well and one good bowel movement and he was rearing’ to go. It was a tense couple days making sure he was stable but he did great and he and mom could finally head home.

04/01/2023

Meet Archie. He ate some sort of cloth then he ate other things when that upset his stomach. Symptomatic treatments weren’t working so we had to go to surgery. We had to open three or four areas in his stomach and bowel to get everything out. He recovered ok but wasn’t right still. About 5 days later we went back to surgery. The material in his intestines had done more damage than we could appreciate the first time. The doctor had to cut out the damaged bowel and put the ends back together. This time when Archie woke up he kept doing better and better every day. He went home to his very excited family a happy little man.

03/08/2023

Brutus is a little senior citizen who was pulled through the fence and attacked by dogs. He nearly had all the skin on his neck ripped away. We spent the first few days stabilizing him. The owners knew this could be a long process but their entire family was rooting for him. He had a number of surgeries to clean and repair wounds. He finally went home after a few weeks and this was his last recheck! He’s doing great with only a small wound still healing!