Powder Ridge Veterinary Hospital

07/01/2025

Are you and your pet ready for the 4th of July?! Some tips to help keep your pet safe and calm during the celebrations include:

- Keeping your Pet in a secure room during parties or fireworks and playing soft music in the background
- Wearing an anxiety vest may help some pets
- Asking your veterinarian if anti-anxiety medication may be a good idea for your pet, and fill it sooner rather than later (i.e. DON'T wait for July 3rd for your refill request!)

Visit https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/general-pet-care/fourth-july-safety-tips OR https://www.avma.org/resources/pet-owners/petcare/july-4-safety for more Safety Tips so both you and your furry family member can enjoy the holiday!

A gentle reminder that our doctors require 24-48 hours notice to authorize medications, so if you need your pet's anti-anxiety medication, please call our office as soon as possible. Our office will be closed on Friday, July 4th, but will be open our regular hours the rest of the week. We wish you all a safe and happy Independence Day!

Have you made a plan to keep your pet safe on the Fourth of July? Don’t worry, our experts at the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center have you covered with tips to keep your pet feeling safe, happy and healthy this holiday!

06/30/2025

Here is Sophia with her adopted sister Daisy. They are both 10 year old rescues! Sophia was in last week for a visit with Dr. Carey. Thank you for sharing this adorable photo of your beautiful girls, Pam!

06/24/2025

Today is Cat World Domination Day. Is it any surprise that our feline friends have a day to celebrate their World Domination? 😺 Our Fur-midable kitties and their paw-er seeking cattitudes are truly paw-some, and that's no pun!

06/24/2025

Our office will be closed today from 12:00-1:30pm for our monthly staff meeting. Thank you!

06/20/2025

Happy Summer Solstice! The summer solstice is the day with the longest period of daylight and shortest night of the year, when the sun is at its highest position in the sky, so we hope you get out there and enjoy this nice long day!

06/17/2025

Powder Ridge Post, June 2025

The Week of June 16th is Take Your Pet to Work Week!
Here at Powder Ridge Vet, we are lucky to be able to bring our pets to work with us! Having your pet at work can reduce stress, improve morale, and increase productivity. Pets can act as a source of comfort and companionship, which can lead to happier and more engaged employees. They also encourage social interaction and help create a more positive and welcoming work environment. We know this isn’t an option for a lot of offices, so we are truly fortunate!

If your pet is allowed to join you at work, here are some tips to help get them acclimated. Start slowly! Short visits at first can get them used to their new surroundings. Ensure that they have a safe space, like a crate, with a bed or blanket, toys, and fresh water nearby. Introduce them slowly to the sights and sounds of your workplace, including slow introductions to your co-workers. Offer positive reinforcement for good behavior and set clear rules and boundaries for their behavior. Share these rules and boundaries with your co-workers to help them understand how to interact with your pet safely. Make sure you remember to give your pet breaks and ensure they are getting enough exercise and mental stimulation before and during the workday. This can help prevent destructive behavior.

National Pet Choking Prevention Day is June 22nd
According to CNYSPCA, over 200,000 pet choking incidents occur annually in the United States. The good news is that pet choking is often preventable. According to Bow Wow Labs, the top choking hazards for dogs and cats include balls, sticks, chew toys, bully sticks, food packaging, string, window blind cords, fishing pole type toys, plastic, and rubber bands/hair ties.

To help safeguard your pet from the dangers of choking, here are some tips. First, size matters. Toys and treats that are smaller than your pet’s windpipe or large enough to block the airway can create a choking hazard. It’s important to select a proper sized toy for your pet. For instance, the diameter of a ball should always be wider than the width of your pet’s jaw. Toys should not be able to fit completely inside your pet’s mouth. Beware of chews and toys that break apart but don’t break down as these can all be hazardous. Secondly, know your pet. Each pet has different tendencies, and if yours is one that likes to swallow things whole, keep that in mind. And if you have a puppy or kitten, anticipate the worst and err on the side of caution when it comes to their toys and treats. Thirdly, never leave your pet unattended with treats and chews. If they aren’t finished with it when you need to leave, take it away from them and store it in a safe place until you return. Lastly, take care with multi-species households. The perfect toy for your cat could be a choking hazard for your dog and vice versa. Also, if you have a baby or toddler at home, watch for small toys that are left behind as those can easily pose a choking hazard for your dog or cat.

06/15/2025

Happy Father's Day to all the two and four legged Dad's out there! We hope you and the kids have a great day!

06/13/2025

Calling all puppy LOVERS! Please help us welcome "Lexi" to the Powder Ridge family! Lexi had her first puppy visit with us today! In typical Golden Retriever fashion, she did anything for a treat! We can not wait to see her grow with us! Thank you for being a good girl, Lexi!

06/12/2025

The Connecticut Veterinary Medical Foundation (CVMF) supports education, scholarship and service programs that improve animal health and public health in Connecticut. We want to thank the CVMF for a tremendously fun night of bowling last Thursday! Margo, Dr. Albin, Zach, and Jenny T were throwing strikes left and right!

05/26/2025

To those that sacrificed everything for our country and our freedom, thank you. 🇺🇸 You live on in our hearts and memories and will never be forgotten. We wish everyone a safe and happy Memorial Day. Our office will be closed in honor of the holiday today.

05/24/2025

Powder Ridge Post, May 2024

May is Chip Your Pet Month
Around one in five lost pets go missing due to being scared by loud noises like fireworks. Microchips serve as a permanent form of identification for your pet. There are a few different microchip services available. At Powder Ridge Veterinary Hospital, we use PetLink. PetLink is an international 24/7/365 pet reunification service with no annual renewal fees, dedicated to helping pet parents and animal professionals. Their goal is to help return animals to their forever homes by making pet registration and reunification as efficient as possible.
The benefits of Microchipping:
· A microchip provides pets with a silent but effective voice
· Your pet's microchip contains a unique 15-digit code
· Found pets with a microchip and current information are up to 20 times more likely to be reunited with their families

Fortunately, most rescues and adoption agencies microchip pets before they are adopted out. However, it’s important that once the pet becomes yours, you update the contact information connected to the microchip to your own. This way pets are returned directly to you!

Pet Arthritis Awareness Month
According to Veterinary Partner, approximately 25% of dogs are diagnosed with arthritis in their lifetime, and as many as 60% of dogs have radiographic evidence of it. Degenerative joint disorders are probably as common in cast as in dogs but are less likely to be associated with obvious clinical signs, such as lameness. In one study, 90% of cats over 12 years of age had radiographic signs of osteoarthritis.

Arthritis, also known as osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease, is a degenerative, progressive, and irreversible condition of the joints. It is characterized by the progressive loss of joint cartilage, bony spurs/growths, and the thickening and scarring of connective tissue around the joint, usually as a result of injury.

While it is not possible to cure arthritis, there are ways to alleviate your pet’s discomfort and to minimize further changes to the joint and to restore the joint’s functionality. Managing your pet’s weight is important, as excess weight increases the stress on the joints and muscles. There are also joint supplements that can be prescribed by your doctor to help slow the breakdown of cartilage. NSAIDS can also help with pain management, but chronic use of these medications must be closely monitored by your veterinarian to ensure your pet’s body can safely process them.

Here at Powder Ridge, we also offer Acupuncture. Acupuncture is a Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine practice helpful for systemic inflammation and pain. It has no side effects and can be used safely in patients with multiple diseases, including arthritis, heart disease, kidney disease, or neurologic disorders. Acupuncture has been practiced on animals for thousands of years, and the acupuncture points documented on dogs, cats, and horses are an accumulation of that knowledge. More recently, scientists have found that acupuncture increases blood flow to affected areas, decreases inflammatory mediators, and increases the body’s supply of endogenous opioids that respond to pain.

At Powder Ridge Veterinary Hospital, we offer pet acupuncture services.