Animal House Veterinary Clinic

09/19/2024

We will stop taking walk ins today at 4pm due to a very busy schedule we have ahead of us. If you need to have your pet seen today please call ahead to get checked in.

09/16/2024

Have you been feeling like there is little purpose in your day to day life? Is your heart open to really be of service when you are needed? Are you aware we are in the middle of a crisis that is effecting people’s lives daily. If so, you understand people are forced to surrender their pets because they can no longer afford to care for them. The prices of Veterinary care has went up 10 fold over the last few years. People are not earning more money and housing is so expensive some people have no other options than to find someone to take their beloved pets and care for them. The unfortunate truth is there is no one taking responsibility for the pets people are having to surrender. I’m not very knowledgeable about government but I’m pretty sure we pay taxes so the local government can take care of unwanted pets. It’s a horrible job but at the end of the day, if you can not go back home with your pet because the landlord found out about it and you can’t afford the pet deposit and you can’t afford to move then it is the local governments job to take responsibility for the pet. I am not prepared to argue this point because I have as much compassion for people as I do pets. I can not imagine being faced with having to abandon an animal because they can’t find anyone to help. I am well aware of the consequences of having an open shelter forum. I understand many animals will have to be euthanized to make space for the ones arriving that day. It’s a hard reality that I choose to embrace because I can not stand the thought of these animals being released into the community with no one taking responsibility for them. We are seeing it all over the city. So, our local government has to step up to the plate because animals do not deserve to starve, suffer, and die on our streets. Sorry for the soap box but I will not sit back quietly and watch how our society is being forced to treat animals inhumanly. Right now, our rescue partner, Paws Angels is in urgent need of 20 new, great foster families. We need families that can truly afford to set an extra plate at the table each night. We need committed families willing to take in an animal knowing they are this little ones only saving grace. All we can do in times of great distress, is to come together as a village and make a difference in one at a time.

Need: 20 pet parents willing to help other pet lovers make a difference, one at a time.
AND we need them in the next 24 hours.. no big deal, right God?

09/10/2024

UPDATE!!!

Momma and 5 babies are in recovery.. I am so thankful for all the support we were able to pull together for the sweet mamma and her family. I also would appreciate you all to attack, attack lol the haters that are chiming in on my post. I have given my all to this day and didn’t even get my scheduled surgeries done.. we saw the following today

A tiny kitten with head trauma that is still hanging on

A little dog that got attacked by a big dog- alive and well

20 itchy dogs

A puppy with a broken leg

A one year old puppy actively seizing - recovering

A dog with its eye popped out - removed and doing well

And so much more..
I have nothing left to defend myself but it’s been a good day. We saved several animals lives today.. and if you donated to our cause.. you did too..

and a special thanks to my special friends at WildThings Veterinary Hospital for donating to help our momma dog. If you are near Pleasant View, Tn - you won’t find a better Veterinary team to help you with your furry and scaled friends.

09/10/2024

Today has been extremely busy caring for our patients. We will not be taking in any more walk ins today. We will resume taking patients at noon tomorrow

09/10/2024

I thought you might want to know that we have a very sweet French bulldog in our lobby that needs an immediate C-Section. The client only has $300 and I can not cut a c-section for $300 but I don’t want to euthanize her either. If you can donate to her cause please call the clinic, A.S.A.P. We need $1,200 to take this sweet baby to surgery. She will be spayed with her c-section.

Cali is headed into surgery. Thank you for all the kind comments and to the not so kind comments atleast your comments helped get the post shared. We greatly appreciate all of the donations for this babies care. If anyone wants to continue to donate we do have some great rescue groups with balances owed that would greatly appreciate donations.

09/10/2024

I’m writing a letter to all mad clients. I’m so tired of having to fight with clients over anything.. I have found these people to be extremely draining to the point I want to quit the profession. I am so blessed to be the sole owner of Animal House and I don’t have to see anyone’s pets.. I have said the same prayer for over a year now… God, please show me how to survive and thrive in Veterinary medicine. Today, as I was writing the letter to the client that was so angry she had to bring her dog back in.. I felt a God wink.. an atta girl.. I do not deserve to be treated poorly ever and neither does my team. At this point, I do not care if I’m left with 500 kind, nice clients or 5,000 but I am firing my mean clients. I know it’s a dream to have kind, appreciative clients but Animal House was just a dream 15 years ago. A girls gotta start somewhere.

Letter to dissatisfied client..

First, I would like to say, I’m really sorry you are not happy with the service my veterinary practice has provided for you and your furry companion. It is important to me that our team exceeds your expectations in customer care. We strive to meet our clients where they are financially and provide the very best care within your budget. This is no easy task but we keep trying. We routinely provide better care than our competitors, for a fraction of the cost. Our mission is simply to help people, help their pets.
We are a privately owned practice and we focus on relationships that are mutually beneficial. We care about our clients and they care about us. It was brought to my attention that you were extremely unhappy that I would not simply refill the antibiotics I prescribed your dog six months ago. My personal assistant, Judy, tried her best to make you happy and still you hung up mad. We will no longer serve people that do not appreciate our service. Your chart is attached and we truly hope you find a Veterinarian that meets your expectations.

Dr. Catrina Herd
Animal House Veterinary Clinic, Nashville

09/01/2024

What an amazing honor. If you consider yourself a loyal client of Animal House.. please post a picture of your fur baby. I have recently finalized my non profit called, “Out of the Herd” and would love to donate $10 per posted picture to get us started. The non profits mission is to help minimize economic euthanasia, in young treatable animals with a good prognosis. The money will be available and granted directly to privately owned veterinary hospitals in Middle Tn that have a client in need of a little extra support. My board is made up of Veterinarians that still have compassion for people and pets. All proceds raised will go directly to reasonable care of local pets and their parents. Grants will be given on a need basis. I have yet to determine how and who will fund the non profit but I have no doubt it will be funded. As always, I appreciate your support in helping make Animal House, a top 3 choice for pet care in Nashville.

08/27/2024

08/24/2024

Fun Funds for our rescues furry friends..

We have 60 new drones for sale..

The proceeds go to our rescue partner, Paws Angels.. so they can afford to continue rescuing dogs..

I have no idea if these things really fly. I decided to buy a palate of something we could sell to raise money for our friends and fur babies in need.

$25 each
OR 2 for $50 lol
Cash only and no refunds..

Please contact, Bill Thomas and stop by the clinic to purchase..

Get outside and have some fun..

08/23/2024

How can you not fall in love with this little guy.. he wants to love everything he touches. Click on video so we can get paid.. His name is officially, “Pate”

08/13/2024

We all act like donkeys sometimes but these people really take the cake. A young couple with a child brought their 5 month old cat in because it was twitching and had vomiting and diarrhea. Anytime we have clients with kids in the lobby, we fast track the case because we are all moms and know kiddie minutes are even more valuable than kitty minutes. I go into the lobby, let them know my initial thoughts.. the cat got into pot a.k.a w**d, thc.. the cat was high. Now, I know this because the cat and the carrier smelled like a skunk. The couple agreed to a $208 estimate and we got to work.. when they are asked to checkout they didn’t have $208. This doesn’t happen often because we tell you upfront and we keep your animal until you bring back the money. Period.. We simply cannot afford to not collect the money for the services we provide. I’m told they have $99 on their credit card and that’s all they have. I didn’t want to end up with this 5 month old, high kitten so I said, fine.. take their $99 and we will call it even. I honestly just wanted them to take their cat and leave. It was just one of those situations. Hilary took their payment on a Venmo credit card idk we don’t even accept Venmo lol but As soon as the couple walked out the door they reversed their payment. Seriously- Yes.
I have no idea how and the money is not even my issue.. it’s the fact that I really believe people are innately good. What kind of example are they setting for their 2 year old child, by stealing from the veterinarian that helped their kitty? This is the second time, in six months, a client has stolen from me.. the first time was the young man that stole my phone out of the exam room. I am still optimistic that I am serving exactly where God wants me..
I am hopeful the money was used to buy dinner for their son.

08/07/2024

Update!!!
Our tiny kitten did great during his surgery. I was so worried about him getting cold under anesthesia and in a 1.6 pound kitten- cold = bad outcome. Talk about tiny.. think about it.. 1.6 pounds.. Fortunately, Ana is a ROCK STAR. She has been assisting me in surgery for over 15 years. Ana was the very first employee I hired when I bought Animal House in 2011. When I closed the clinic and simply could not keep going.. Ana showed up everyday. She kept giving even when I had nothing to give. I knew Ana would get an Iv catheter in that tiny kitten so we could administer warm fluids throughout the surgery. If you watch my surgery videos, you will realize, she’s not just a surgery assistant.. she’s the one behind the scenes making sure our patients are warm, comfortable and safe after she scrubs in with me and we fix it.

The tiny kitten is out of recovery and resting comfortably. I don’t know what Ana thinks but I think the surgery went well considering the obvious obstacles. I’ve never done orthopedic surgery on a 5-6 week old kitten. I was surprised at how big the marrow cavity was and how thin the cortex of the bone was.. aka the actual bone.. it was paper thin. I wish we could have glued the fragments together.

Thank you for the kind donations toward his surgery. It literally takes a village to make a difference, in just one little one.

08/06/2024

You can not imagine how difficult it is to be a Veterinarian. I read yesterday, Veterinarians are 5x more likely to commit su***de than the general public. You probably think, why? Today, a client called my practice for results of an ultrasound he said I performed on his pet. My team pulls up his pets record and he mentioned an ultrasound in his check in and said another vet said his dog had a tumor in its liver and needed an ultrasound. I do not do diagnostic ultrasounds. Yes, I have an ultrasound machine, and I use it often to give me more information but I do not charge for this information. I’m sure I looked at the dogs liver and told the client, I did not see any obvious tumors in the liver. I always say, but I’m not a radiologist and I don’t do diagnostic ultrasounds. He will have to go to a specialty clinic for a diagnostic ultrasound. I did not charge him for the information but was just trying to be kind. He paid $155 for me to see two pets and send home meds for one. He calls today and wants the ultrasound report. He’s at a specialist and is adamant he paid for an ultrasound and he wants the results. He doesn’t get what he wants so now he is reporting me to the board. Next, one star review. I examined a little dog with luxating patella’s and the dog had needed surgery his whole life. Now, he’s having trouble with his back legs. The lady doesn’t have a lot of money so I told her I would fix his little legs for $1200 per knee. She left my practice and drove to another veterinarian and had him euthanized. I literally cried when I heard this. I had no idea the client wanted to euthanize him because if I did, I would have offered to take him. I will not become a statistic of this profession but I definitely understand the suffering it causes to Veterinarians that still actually care about their clients and patients. I am no longer accepting mean people as new clients.

We are about to fix the baby kittens leg. I matter to him.

08/03/2024

Do you wish you could help more homeless animals? Here’s your opportunity. My girls tried to rescue a litter of kittens and the momma cat moved them before they got to them. Unfortunately, one of the kittens showed up and wasn’t using one of its back legs. The kitten is only 1.6 pounds. I think I can place an I.m pin in both the femur and Tibia and the kitten will heal fine. The total cost of the surgery is $900. If you have a little extra and want to support this tiny kitten from a trailer park in Nashville - you can Venmo the clinic. Fluff Rescue has agreed to take her once we get her all fixed up.

08/02/2024

Happily ever after happens often at Animal House.. we love helping the rescues save animals lives. This is the pup we featured as a live surgery.. the gun shot wound puppy.. thanks to Big Fluffy Rescue, this pup has moved on up in this world.. I love a good rags to riches story.

08/02/2024

This is my gun shot puppy.. well team, we helped that one.

So, kids, here's your Friday happily ever after. You may remember Annie, the 6-week-old puppy left in the ditch to die with her siblings after someone shot her in the head. She was the only survivor because the bullet managed to pass through her head and out her neck without hitting anything major. As you can see, she's thoroughly scruffilicious now. She's also adopted and heading home thanks to many of you who helped us with her medical care. Happy new life Annie.

07/29/2024

It's been a very busy Monday today! We will not be able to take in any more walk ins for the day. We will resume walk ins tomorrow from noon until 5pm

07/27/2024

A Good Samaritan found a tiny kitten with her intestines hanging out. She did not want the kitten to suffer and the cost of fixing an injury like this is unattainable by many. The kitten was dropped off for euthanasia and had been waiting all morning for me to administer the drugs that would end the kittens life. My main medical Assistant informed me of the kitten waiting for euthanasia in my morning rounds. The morning kept getting busier and busier and I couldn’t even catch my breath. It was 12:30 and I still had a kennel full of patients to examine and come up with a plan. Finally, I was caught up and the only patient left was the tiny kitten. My girls know me and they always amaze me. Ana, my surgery goddess, announces I have one more thing to take care of.. it’s a tiny kitten tied down to my surgery table. While busting their butts during the morning rush they had secured a spot for the tiny, run over kitten, in the best feline rescue in Middle Tn, “Fluff”. The surgery took me 15 minutes and I spayed her at the same time. I rinsed the dirt off the intestines, pushed her innards that were coming outwards.. back inside her and closed the hole. No, this is not standard of care but it worked. It is truly amazing to watch how people come together to help, the tiniest kitten.

07/25/2024

We have had an extremely busy day today caring for our patients! We will not be able to take in any more walk ins for the remainder of the day. Stay tuned!!!! We will be going live soon for our little rescue Opies PDA surgery. Please send our team, Opie and his Rescue/Crystal lots of prayers and good vibes for a successful surgery.

07/10/2024

Graphic footage of the smaller mass being surgically removed.

07/09/2024

NEW HOURS ALERT 📣 📣 📣 📣 Please bare with us as we structure our schedule to best fit our patients needs. We will only be seeing walk ins from noon until 5pm. patients will need to be checked in by 4:30. Current clients can Drop off between 9 and 11 to ensure being seen same day. Our surgery schedule will start at 9 am until 12pm. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause but do greatly appreciate patience as we strive to offer your pets the best care possible.

07/02/2024

Check out today's superstar!

07/02/2024

Our rabbit made it through surgery so we are hopeful for a full recovery. Our puppy is doing great. We were really busy today but I am thankful that our clients patiently waited to be seen.