North Star Veterinary Services

11/24/2025

For anyone with questions about the current EHV-1 outbreak in horses, the AAEP is hosting a webinar for owners tomorrow night. Great source of information for you all! Long story short EHV-1 is a viral infection that can cause life threatening signs in some horses. There is currently an outbreak of this disease related to several large horse shows in Oklahoma and Texas. Currently, this outbreak has not included horses in NY state. However, we recommend practicing good biosecurity when traveling and making sure your horse is up to date on their vaccinations to help decrease your risk.

In light of the current EHV-1 outbreak, the AAEP and the Equine Disease Communication Center (EDCC) have organized a horse owner education webinar to bring you the most up to date information on this issue.

Next Tuesday, join specialists Lewis R. “Bud” Dinges (Texas Animal Health Commission Executive Director and Texas State Veterinarian), Dr. Krista Estell (AAEP/EDCC) and Dr. Katie Flynn (USEF) for an informative discussion about what EHV-1 is, how to recognize it, and most importantly, how to prevent its spread.

This webinar is FREE, but registration is required. Register here: https://events.zoom.us/ev/AnIoJrASj0vuX7Q_K87mKEjg5bxeMAkqp7fpSoOgVtVm_Zgo1g5m~AiiV7ZQ3bbmlEW2iSkeRTSAfMCYf2QhFMoprr7WRbM_MsiJRcBGT1oLj0Q

*PLEASE NOTE: the attendee limit for this session is capped at 1,000. However, all who register will be emailed a link to an on-demand recording that will become available 24 hours after the live session ends.

11/16/2025

Holiday closure alert: We wanted to update you that our office will be closed Thursday November 27 and Friday November 28 for the holiday. Additionally, we will be short staffed that week so routine appointments will be booking out a few weeks. We recommend all drop ship medication orders be placed by Monday November 24 at noon at the latest to have medications before Thanksgiving. As always, a vet will be available for emergencies. Thank you and happy holidays!

10/31/2025

Our vets and staff members got into the Halloween spirit this month and decorated some pumpkins to sit on our front porch. Let us know which is your favorite!

10/13/2025

What better way to celebrate national veterinary technician week by OFFICIALLY introducing our LVT Olivia Stevenson. LVT stands for licensed veterinary technician and is an educated veterinary professional who assists a veterinarian with nursing care, diagnostics, surgery and anesthesia, animal restraint, administering medications, and much more. LVTs are educated at 2-4 year college programs and must pass a national licensing exam.

Olivia grew up in the North Country and graduated from SUNY Canton's vet tech program in 2025. She grew up around animals training and showing dogs. She always loved horses and has worked with many equines from small to large. Additionally, she has experience working on dairy farms with cattle. In her spare time she can be found riding her horses, Fred and Boulder.

Olivia has already helped make all of us more effective on farm, and we are so lucky to have her!

10/10/2025

Our office will be closed Monday October 13 in observance of Indigenous Peoples Day. Drop ship orders from Monday will ship out Tuesday and all routine calls will be returned on Tuesday.

10/05/2025

We took a little time this past week to get together for a wet-lab to practice some equine jmaging skills (radiographs and ultrasound). Thanks Dr. Tracy for running the lab and teaching us some tips from her recent continuing education from the American Association of Equine practitioners. Thanks to our LVT Olivia for letting us practice with her very well behaved boy Boulder! These skills take a lot of practice, but help us provide more advanced diagnostics to help the horses of our practice area.

10/02/2025

Thank you Rachael Henderson for taking some fun pictures of the whole team!

09/11/2025

A fox in the town of Bombay was confirmed positive for Rabies virus. Rabies is a 100% fatal disease that is spread by saliva or neurologic tissue of infected animals, typically through bite wounds.

All mammals including horses and ruminants (cows, sheep, goats) can get Rabies. Farm animals with rabies do not always show the classic signs such as aggression. They can show more subtle neurologic signs such as ataxia (incoordination), difficulty swallowing, paralysis or rapid death. If you have any livestock exhibiting any of these signs, please contact your veterinarian.

The rabies vaccines are VERY effective, safe, and affordable for dogs, cats, horses, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and camelids. Franklin County sponsors free rabies vaccination clinics for dogs and cats. The next one is in Malone on October 6 with our very own Dr. Tracy and vet tech Olivia! If you are interested in vaccinating your livestock animal, feel free to call us to schedule an appointment.

08/29/2025

Our office will be closed Monday, September 1st. Drop ship orders will be placed and routine calls will be returned Tuesday September 2nd. There will be a vet on call for emergencies. Thanks! (Picture of Dr. Jen and our LVT Olivia (bio to come soon!!) after performing an enucleation on a kid)

07/08/2025

Next up on our staff introductions is Cindy Dufore! Born and raised in the North country Cindy comes to us with a lot of prior experience keeping and office functional and organized. She is our office administrator and is in charge of placing drop ship orders, scheduling appointments, and keeping the office running behind the scenes. She is a very kind and organized asset in our office and is a huge animal lover! In her free time she enjoys gardening and spending time with her family! Thanks for being part of the team Cindy :)

07/01/2025

Our office will be closed this Friday July 4th. We will have a vet available for emergencies. Any routine medicine orders or scheduling calls will be returned Monday July 7th. Happy July 4th!

05/25/2025

We would like to finally get around to giving a warm “Facebook welcome” to our new office staff!

First up is Jenna Wrye! Jenna comes to us all the way from Texas, where she had a variety of job experiences. She and her fiancé spent the last year or so exploring the country in their renovated bus, and decided to settle down here in the North Country… and we are certainly glad they did! Jenna is in charge of many important behind the scenes tasks that help us run smoothly. She manages inventory, preps and cleans equipment, keeps our office organized, and helps out in the field with procedures. Jenna is super kind, organized, and passionate about what she does. In her spare time, she enjoys kitten rescue missions, cross-stitch, and spending time with her fiance and pack of dogs 🙂 We are very lucky to have her as part of the team!