Big Bear Veterinary Clinic

11/28/2024

Hey Guys!
Big Bear Vet will be closed tomorrow and Friday to give our staff a break to spend the holiday with their families. We will be open a regular half day on Saturday! We are so grateful to ours staff and we could not do our jobs without each and every one of them! So very thankful for them this season. ❤️

We wish all of our clients and patients a very Happy Thanksgiving!!! Remember, the cooking will be good, but please keep the food on the tables and away from your pets!

As always, we will be available to our active clients/patients for any emergency care if the need arises. Please call the emergency phone number and leave a message. Our on call veterinarian will call you back as soon as possible.

If you have any questions, please reach out!
Dr. L

11/19/2024

Hey Guys,
We are looking for ONE additional team member to fill our veterinary assistant/tech position. We are looking for a strongly motivated individual looking to learn and grow in the field. Experience is great, but we are also willing to train the right person on the job.

If you are interested in veterinary work, appreciate our motivation to not only help our clients and patients in need, but also dabble in various rescues on the side while having fun doing so, then Big Bear is the clinic for you!

Please apply on indeed, or stop by the clinic and drop off a resume and cover letter. You can also email us at [email protected].

Dr. Lawlor

11/18/2024

For my large animal folks!
Reach out to your veterinarian with any animal care questions!
Dr. L

We love a good series as much as the next person—especially one as dramatic as Yellowstone! But let’s set the record straight about one scene that made us yell “NEIGH-way!” at the screen.

In a recent episode, a horse was given an injection of Banamine (a common anti-inflammatory drug) *in the muscle*. While it might look cool and cowboy-chic on TV, here’s the deal: 🆃🅷🅸🆂 🅸🆂 🅳🅰🅽🅶🅴🆁🅾🆄🆂🅻🆈 🅸🅽🅲🅾🆁🆁🅴🅲🆃 in real life and could land your horse in serious trouble.
What’s the Problem?
Banamine (flunixin meglumine) is a fantastic drug for reducing pain and helping colics *when used correctly*. But when injected into muscle, it can cause clostridial myositis—a rare but life-threatening infection that produces gas in the muscle tissue. This can happen fast, turning what seemed like a harmless injection into a serious emergency.
The TV Drama vs. Real-Life Care
We get it. TV needs action, and waiting for a vet to explain safe medication practices isn’t exactly prime-time material. But in the real world, Banamine should be given orally or as an intravenous (IV) injection—and the IV option is best left to a trained professional (like your friendly neighborhood veterinarian 👋).
The Takeaway
Hollywood may make ranch life look glamorous, but don’t take veterinary advice from fictional cowboys. Always consult your vet before giving any medication, and remember: the health of your animals isn’t worth risking for a shortcut that’s TV-only accurate.
💡 Got questions about horse care? Drop us a message, and we’ll gallop to your rescue (without the TV drama)! 🐎✨

10/31/2024

**UPDATE!!! We are so pleased to have been graciously helped by Valley River Humane Society, who like us, could not leave ANY of the dogs behind! PLEASE DIRECT ANY DONATIONS TO VALLEY RIVER HUMANE SOCIETY!! All 15 dogs have been removed from the awful situation! Thanks to our amazing community and supporters. We will continue to work hard to help our community pets!!!

Urgent Plea for IMMEDIATE FOSTERS AND DONATIONS!

Dr. Lawlor got a call yesterday regarding 15 German Shorthair Pointers that need to be rehomed immediately. The owners got in over their heads with breeding, can’t afford their vet care and have started shooting them.

We are looking to get them off property immediately. I have taken four already but need help with the 11-12 more. Unfortunately, the reality is that the rest of them all have ringworm.

This disease is 100% treatable, but highly contagious. We are looking for people without pets that would be willing to foster and/or donations to help pay for cost.

Please call the office immediately if anyone can help out.
Dr. Lawlor 🐶

10/18/2024

Late night at Big Bear Vet tonight.
We got a call from Clay County Sherriff’s Office Animal Control Officer about an injured dog that had been abandoned (renter left her behind) by its previous owner!

Upon initial examination at the location, we thought maybe her leg was broken due to the significant swelling of her leg. We also thought she may have had Parvo given some discharge noted from her hind end!

Once back at the clinic we did more testing! She was in fact Parvovirus NEGATIVE, but she had pitting edema of her entire right hind limb, in addition to a very firm swelling near the upper limb.

Ultrasound was performed, which revealed fluid pocketing. This turned out to be a HUGE abscess of the upper limb, with at least a liter if not more, of purulent material that was drained from the leg.

Radiographs revealed no active fracture, but it looks like there may have been a fracture in the past, with an obvious bullet in her leg as well.

We are unsure what caused her abscess and whether it is related to the bullet or some other injury.

As of now, she is resting comfortably in her warm kennel with IV fluids, broad spectrum antibiotics, dewormer and flea/tick/hw prevention. She did eat a little tonight, but is still very lethargic and dehydrated.

The kicker, she has her baby with her. Her baby can’t be more than 6 months of age, covered in fleas, with an old injury to the right eye!!

As you can imagine, the care for momma in her current condition, in addition to her puppy will not be cheap! Please share this post or donate to the clinic if possible to help cover the cost of these babies!!

Momma is a fighter and we hope she will have a long and happy life ahead!

Thanks for your support.
Dr. L and Staff!

10/13/2024

We had a blast at the Clay County K9 Initiative Fundraising Event to support the Working Dog Program for the Clay County Sherriff’s Office!

These dogs play an essential role in reducing recreational drugs in our community and keeping our area safe! We were so happy to see so much support from the community and we were happy to be there in support as well!

Be on the look out for the Clay County K9 Initiative’s next event, which may take place in the spring.

Shout out to my mom for the cute pictures Julie Elizabeth!!

Dr. Lawlor

07/31/2024

WE ARE HIRING!
We are looking for ONE more hard working team member to join our practice. This position would be for a full time veterinary assistant/technician.

We are looking for someone who loves animals, works well as part of a team and enjoys working hard to help the community and our pets.

Experience would be great, but we have also trained several of our current staff members on the job and experience is not necessarily required.

Please apply on Indeed or you can email your resume and cover letter to [email protected].

Not looking for a job? That’s okay. Share this post to get the word out.

Thank you everyone!
Dr. Lawlor 🐶🐾

07/16/2024

The moment you’ve all been waiting for!!!

We are excited to announce the arrival of the newest Big Bear family member! Dr. Elrod and her husband welcomed baby Levi on June 28th, 2024. Mom and baby are doing well and resting at home as they adjust to being a family of three.

Dr. Elrod will be taking maternity leave until the early fall and then she plans to transition back to Big Bear Vet full time.

We are so grateful for our wonderful clients and all the support and congratulations you all have shared for this new addition.

Please give little Levi the best Big Bear Welcome! ❤️

Dr. Lawlor

07/11/2024

Hey Guys!
Just wanted to give you an update on both of our strays we took in over the last week. The Husky Mix was reunited with her owner and is under veterinary care already for her old foot injuries. We are always so happy to reunite an owner with their lost pet.

However, our other stray that was found injured with a broken leg at HotSpot in Hayesville has still not been claimed.

He is doing as well as to be expected, but we will be moving forward with further treatment and/or finding him a rescue in the next week if we cannot locate an owner. Please reach out if you know who this boy belongs to.

Dr. L and Staff

07/07/2024

Former employee Misty L Pelham is the gift that keeps on giving! Just kidding girl, I love your passion to help animals. ❤️❤️

WE ARE LOOKING FOR THIS DOGS OWNER!!

Another poor soul who was rescued by Misty after being spotted while coming over Franklin Mountain. She was seen struggling and stumbling across the highway and appeared to be injured on the left front limb.

Misty called me and asked for help. So into the office we went at 830pm to evaluate this sweet baby. She is so nice despite being in obvious discomfort. The even worse part is that this injury is old. This poor dog has been running around with this injury for a while now, while trying to navigate our mountain terrain.

Luckily, she is now under our care and is on pain medications and antibiotics for her injury. I will be consulting with a surgeon, but she will likely lose her leg due to this injury.

If anyone knows the owner of this dog or recognizes this dog, please call our office. She did have a collar on and seems so sweet. No microchip.

If she is not claimed, we will do what needs to be done for her care and adopt her out or look for a rescue that will adopt her out.

If you would like to donate to either her care, or our other stray dogs’ care, please feel free to call the office.

Dr. Lawlor 🐶🐾

07/03/2024

LOOKING FOR THIS BOY’S OWNER!!!
This cute fella was found hanging out by the HotSpot in Hayesville. Animal Control was called because he appeared to be injured. Animal Control called Dr. Lawlor to assess him and help load him for transport.

He was favoring is right front limb and had some swelling above is elbow. Due to Valley River Humane Society being at max capacity, Dr. Lawlor agreed to take him on temporarily until an owner can be located or we can get him into a shelter/rescue.

Today he got some radiographs to further evaluate his leg injury. This poor fella has been walking around (and bearing weight on) a completely fractured limb. The fracture is old and is already forming a callus. The fracture appears to be caused by a bullet, which means he was shot. All external wounds must have healed because there are none.

He is on pain medication and is eating well. He loves attention and is happy as a clam. If you know who this dog belongs to or if you are the owner, please reach out.

If no one comes forward, we will rehome him.

Thank you all to everyone who has donated to our Tullio Fund, as these funds not only help clients, but allow us to help strays and rescues like this guy!

-Big Bear Vet

06/02/2024

Hey there,
Unfortunately, no one has claimed this sweet baby. Therefore, we will be rehoming her as of Monday.
If anyone is interested in adopting her, please call our office next week. She is a sweetheart and would really love the right home that allows her to work off all that energy !

Dr. Lawlor

05/29/2024

Hey Guys,
We’ve got this sweet baby that was brought in by a Good Samaritan after being found near the dump and Oak Forrest Road in Hayesville. Three collars but no tags and no microchip.

Please reach out to our office if you own this dog or you know who does. Proof of ownership will be required.

Thanks
Dr. L and Staff

04/12/2024

Hey Guys,
Big Bear Vet has taken in 7 young souls in the last 9 days. Of course you guys know about the five Parvo Puppies (which are all doing better, update coming soon), but you haven’t heard about this sweet girl yet.

This is Sheena! She is a 12 week old chow chow mix that was rescued as a stray with her two other siblings and her mom by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and our clinic.

Originally, she had a home; however, that is no longer an option and therefore, she was surrendered over to Big Bear Vet.

She is available for adoption via our clinic. She will have an adoption fee of $200, which will all go towards the care of our current Parvo Puppies.

She will be getting her second set of shots tomorrow and we dewormed her yesterday due to her having a hookworm infection.

If you are interested in adopting Sheena, please call our office for more information.

Of course we could not help near as many animals as we do without the support of this community and the continued generous donors. I know our primary purpose is to serve as a veterinary clinic, but all of our staff are so passionate about the rescue work we are able to do.

We thank all of you for that.

Dr. L and Staff

04/12/2024

REMINDER: RABIES CLINIC THIS SATURDAY!

Our clinic will be held this Saturday April 13th, from 1-3pm at the Clay County Health Department. All vaccines will be available, along with microchips and heartworm testing, all at discounted rates.

If you are interested in pre-registering so that you do not have to wait as long, we welcome you to call the office and provide your information, along with your pet’s information and we will get you into our system. If you have been to one of our clinics previously, no need to re-register, as your information is likely in our system.

As always, please feel free to call our office with any questions or concerns. We look forward to seeing everyone this weekend.

828-415-1668

Dr. Lawlor and Staff

04/03/2024

Hey there,
Unfortunately it’s that time of year again. Parvo Virus is out and present in our environment.

These five sweet soles were left abandoned at a fire department in the ranger area (likely because someone knew they were sick). A Good Samaritan found them and called our office looking for help, as the local shelters were unable to take them. At least one of them had already started vomiting.

Of course, after examinations and testing, they are Parvo Virus positive. We have stepped up again to provide care for these babies and help them fight against the virus.

We are looking for donations to help offset the cost. We couldn’t stand to think about their chances if we didn’t step up. Please consider donating directly to our clinic to help support these guys.

Parvo puppies require extensive care and treatments, sometimes around the clock. Not only does it cost us for medications and supplies, but also additional hours worked by the staff to help pull them through.

It is early in the disease process; therefore, we hope with management they do not get too sick. But as we know all too well, Parvo Virus can be unpredictable.

Please consider donating to our clinic or sharing this post. We are so thankful to those who have already helped and those who have also helped in the past. We couldn’t do this without you!

You can call the office to place donations via phone or in person at the clinic (preferred), or you can use my personal Venmo Account to donate to: -Lawlor-4

Also, please keep your dogs up to date on this vaccine. This disease is preventable.

Thank you so much!
Dr. L and Staff

03/15/2024

So excited to finally have our website up and running. We will continue to add content and update it frequently!

Check it out!!!
Bigbearvet.com

Dr. L

Big Bear Veterinary Clinic offers the highest quality care through preventative, sick, and emergency services for both small and large animals. It is our mission to treat every animal as if it were our own. We are always accepting new patients!

03/08/2024

Hey Guys,
It’s that time of year again. Spring is coming and so is our annual Rabies Clinic at the Clay County Health Department.

Our clinic will be held on Saturday April 13th, from 1-3pm. All vaccines will be available, along with microchips and heartworm testing, all at discounted rates.

If you are interested in pre-registering so that you do not have to wait as long, we welcome you to call the office and provide your information, along with your pet’s information and we will get you into our system. If you have been to one of our clinics previously, no need to re-register, as your information is likely in our system.

As always, please feel free to call our office with any questions or concerns. We look forward to seeing everyone next month.

828-415-1668

Dr. Lawlor and Staff