Pekin Animal Hospital

01/24/2025

Today is Peanut Butter Day! Peanut butter has always been an easy, convenient and tasty treat for dogs. They are often used to fill Kong toys for enrichment and also great for hiding medications.

We thought today was a good day to remind everyone that while it's still an excellent treat, there ARE some new dangers we need to watch for. Some containing Xylitol(also called Birch sugar) and though it's perfectly safe for humans, it is VERY dangerous to dogs. Dogs appear to be unable to metabolize xylitol, so it is quickly absorbed by the pancreas and causes critical drops in insulin in the body as quickly as minutes after it's ingested. It's very important to keep anything containing xylitol away from dogs. The most common culprits are sugar free gum and candy, and peanut butter. Please check all labels and, if possible, don't even keep them in your home, if you can replace them with non toxic options.

To learn more about xylitol toxicity and to see a list of the best peanut butters that DON'T contain it, check the links below.

https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/paws-xylitol-its-dangerous-dogs

https://www.restonyc.com/which-peanut-butter-has-no-xylitol/

This sugar substitute, found in some human foods and dental products, can be poisonous to your dog.

01/24/2025

Today is National Change a Pet's Life Day

Now, most of us reading this can say we've changed a life whether it's been by adopting, treating an illness, or even baby sitting your grand pets. It's just who we are.

However, we thought this was the perfect opportunity to spotlight a couple who stand out as beyond amazing among our amazing clients. Some of our techs say when they die they want to come back as one of their cats. Others say they want to be just like them when they grow up.

These two people have dedicated their lives to improving the lives of animals. Their examples are way to numerous to list, but we will throw out a few. They've adopted more animals than probably all of our current employees, combined(and we've adopted a lot of animals!), they've made dozens of trips to the University of Illinois for specialty treatments and diagnostics. They have animals who've had laser treatments for pain, diabetic treatments, thyroid treatments and so so much more. They regularly get their pets groomed and have fed multiple "special diets" and given so many medications, leading to careful and mindful meal times.

There is just so much we can say about these special people, but we will leave it at this and include some photos of just a fraction of the fortunate pets who have been in their lives.

Some of you may already know them, but help us show our gratitude that people like this still exist in the world. We, here at the clinic, respect and admire them both and are proud to call them friends, as well as clients.

Shari and Ursala. The world is a better place because you are in it.

Thank you to them, and every other client we have. Every visit you make to the clinic is because you love them and that IS making a difference in their lives. Give them extra hugs and treats from us, today!

01/24/2025

Our water is back on and we will be open normal hours tomorrow, Friday, January 24th. Hooray!
We thank you all for your patience and understanding! We've missed you!

01/23/2025

Yesterday was Answer Your Cat's Question Day. This is really just a fun way to remind us all how important it is to pay attention to how our pets communicate with us.

As owners, we need to watch their behaviors for changes that could mean they are in pain, experiencing litter box issues, or maybe even tummy issues.

As a veterinary clinic, it's our job to not only pay attention to the signs from the pets, but also listen to the owners. We always say you know your pets better than we do. So don't ever hesitate to mention behavior changes to the vet staff.

https://www.amcny.org/2025-pet-holidays-and-veterinary-awareness-days/national-answer-your-cats-question-day-2025/

01/22/2025

Our office will be open on Thursday, January 23rd from 11:00am-1:00pm and 3:30pm-5:30pm for food/medication orders and pickups. We will not be seeing any patients during this time, as we are still experiencing water issues. However, we want our patients to receive their food and medications as soon as possible.
We truly apologize for the inconvenience surrounding this situation. We are trying our best with something that is completely out of our control. We greatly appreciate your kindness and understanding.

01/22/2025

Today is National Yorkshire Terries Day!

These adorable, smiley critters rarely fail to put a smile on OUR faces!

Can we see your Yorkie smiles, below?

01/22/2025

We are very sorry to say that we will be closed again tomorrow, Wednesday, January 22nd. We are still without water and we cannot run our clinic without it.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and greatly appreciate you kindness and understanding.

If you have a pet emergency, please visit one of the following clinics:
Tri-County Animal Emergency Clinic in Peoria - https://www.tricountyanimalemergencyclinic.com/
Animal Emergency Clinic of McLean County in Bloomington - https://animalemergencybloomington.com/
University of Illinois in Urbana - https://vetmed.illinois.edu/hospital/veterinary-teaching-hospital/veterinary-specialties/emergency-24-7/

01/21/2025

Attention Pekin Animal Hospital Clients:
We will be closing at 10:00am today, Tuesday, January 21st. A pipe burst, coming off of the water main, leading to our building, leaving us without water during the repair.
We are contacting all clients with appointments today to reschedule. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
We hope to be back up and running tomorrow, but we will keep everyone posted. We greatly appreciate your kindness and understanding.

01/17/2025

It's National Boxer Day! We are quite fond of this breed around here. Their lovable, goofy personalities always bring a smile.

We've had some great boxers in the PAH family. Can we see your handsome/adorable boxers?

01/14/2025

National Dress Up Your Pet Day

Dress up is not JUST for Halloween. Some absolutely love the attention they get from being all decked out in coats, costumes or maybe even just a nice tie.

Not all animals like to dress up, though, so if yours is one that doesn't mind, let's see them, here.

01/13/2025

This is a friendly reminder that it's time for our monthly staff meeting and we will be closing at 4:30PM today - Monday, January 13, 2025. We will re-open at 8AM tomorrow.
We greatly appreciate your kindness and understanding!

01/13/2025

Today is National French Bulldog Day. Considering this breed has wormed it's way to the top of the line as the most popular dog breed, we are SURE this post should explode with photos.

Here are some to get us started. This Badger. He's part of the PAH family, as he's loved and appreciated by Dr. Nikki's sister and family.

https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/french-bulldog/

01/11/2025

January is Walk Your Dog Month. Maybe not the best month for this here, in the Midwest, but, here we are. If you get out with your dog this month, drop us a photo!

01/09/2025

Today is National Australian Shepherd Day!

This is an energetic, comical, smart breed and we are fortunate to have many great Aussie patients. Below are three of those patients, owned by a client and friend of PAH.

Aussie owners, you know you have fun pics of your babies. Drop them below!

https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/australian-shepherd/

01/08/2025

FDA Issues Avian Flu Prevention Guidance for Pet Owners
*Cats especially, but dogs too.*

The FDA is providing pet owners and animal caretakers with information about ways to reduce the risk to their animals of contracting HPAI (H5N1).

01/08/2025

Today is National Labrador Day. Labs have been a popular breed for many years, for good reason. Loving, kind, enthusiastic and fun. These are all adjectives that can describe this great breed.

Lab owners.... you know the drill! Let's see those photos.

https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/labrador-retriever/

01/07/2025

We will be closing today from 11:30am-12:30pm for a staff lunch meeting. We will re-open again at 12:30. Thank you for your patience and understanding!

01/07/2025

Today is National Alaskan Malamute Day. This gorgeous and hard working breed isn't among our most common, but they always make an entrance when they do come into the clinic!

Do we have an Malamute owners out there? If so... you know we want to see them!

https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/alaskan-malamute/