Blue Cross Veterinary Clinic

06/11/2024

June is almost half way over….the year is flying by! As June ends, we go right into celebrating the 4th of July! Although it’s a fabulous holiday to celebrate, with lots of activities around town for you to enjoy, it’s not always the easiest time of year on our pets. If your pet has a hard time with the fireworks and festivities, give us a call and we can help! There are medications that you can give your dog that can help! Today is the day to call…..not July 3rd!

02/29/2024

Warmer days are sure to come….hopefully sooner rather than later! With warmer days will come all the bugs and snakes. For the months of March and April, all flea/tick prevention, heartworm prevention and rattlesnake vaccines will be 10% off. Call or stop in so you can keep your pets protected for the summer!

11/21/2023

We have received a few calls about the respiratory disease in dogs that is going around, so I thought I would address it here.

We will refer to this as atypical canine infectious reparatory disease complex (CIRDC). Many samples have been submitted to different labs for identification but as of now the causative agent has not been identified. We are suspicious of a virus but it is not any of the typical known causes of these symptoms.
Three clinical syndromes that have been reported:
1- mild to moderate tracheobronchitis cough that last 6-8 weeks with minimal antibiotic response.
2- Chronic pneumonia that does not respond well to antibiotics
3-Acute pneumonia that progresses rapidly to poor outcomes within 24-36 hours.

The way to protect your dogs :
Limit contact with other dogs. Avoid boarding, training, shows and dog parks and especially visibly sick dogs ( coughing, runny nose or eyes). If your dog is sick contact a veterinarian and keep your dog isolated from other dogs. Do not let your dog drink out of communal water dishes. Make sure your dog is vaccinated with available appropriate vaccines.

11/03/2023

If anyone happens to have one of our cat carriers, we sure would appreciate it back. We are down to having 4 available, out of about 15! Thank you

08/22/2023

06/12/2023

The 4th of July is quickly approaching. If your pet hates fireworks we can help you out! Call us for a prescription to help your pets have a safe and relaxed 4th! Don’t wait until the last minute! Your pet will need to have been seen, within a year, for the Dr. to prescribe the medication. If you need an appointment call asap!

04/07/2023

”Please read ALL directions before assembling your cat”

04/06/2023

April & May 10% off promotion information below!
**Rattlesnake vaccine for dogs. If your pet has never had the vaccine before, there will be a series of 2, given 3-4 weeks apart, and then it is just an annual vaccination after that. We recommend starting as soon as possible.
**Bravecto for cats & dogs for the prevention of fleas & ticks. This is a chewable once every 3 months dosing for dogs and a topical once every two months for cats.
**Interceptor Plus for dogs for the prevention of heart worms. A heartworm test (blood draw) is recommended to make sure your pet is negative before starting the preventative.
Call and set up your appointment now.😁

Keep reading for real talk with Dr. Riggleman!
With the upcoming flea and tick season, let’s go over a few things about what to use. There are a number of very affective and safe options. No medication is without risk. That being said the diseases that are carried by parasites are worse. I see many post about the ”poison “ of parasite control that veterinarians recommend. Also all of the “natural “ products that work. Let me be blunt ( I know very strange coming from me). Those natural anti parasitic remedies do not work and no Veterinarian is trying to poison your dog.

The caution I’m going to give about the anti parasitic recommended by veterinarians are for certain dog breeds. The reason these breeds have issues with not only anti parasitic drugs but also some anesthesia and even household medications are because the have a mutation of the MDR1 gene. Collies, Australian Shepherd, McNab as well as any herding breed have high probability of having the mutation. The Border Collie has a very low probability (< 5% ).

There is a genetic test that can be preformed to see if a dog has the mutation. It is accurate, reasonably priced and easy. Washington State University does the testing. The sample has to be blood or a cheek swab. You can look up the lab’s website for more information or contact your veterinarian.

Some of the medications that the dogs and cats have problems with are Ivermectin, Selmectin, Milbemycin, Monidectin, Loperamide ( Imodium ad), Acepromazine, Butorphanol and some chemotherapy drugs.

I have had to treat dogs that unfortunately ate horse manure from horses that had recently been dewormed with ivermectin. Any normal MDR1 dog can get a toxic dose from manure but mutant MDR1 dogs just need a fraction of a dose to be in a life threatening situation.

Signs of toxicosis are stumbling, dialated pupils, altered mentation, drooling, vomiting, tremors, blindness, seizures, coma and death. It can take several weeks to resolve the clinical signs.

My recommendations are : protect your pets from parasites using approved anti parasitic medications. Use these medications as directed by your veterinarian. Be cautious with your pets around recently dewormed large animal’s manure. Test your dog for MDR1 if it has a higher risk factor before using any of the medications listed.

03/30/2023

FDA warns consumers not to purchase or use EzriCare Artificial Tears due to potential contamination

12/09/2022

Meowy Christmas and Happy Pawlidays to our awesome community from the BCVC crew! 🎄

We want to let everyone know that for the Holidays we are offering Custom Clay Paw Prints to everyone through the end of the year! 🎉 These are great as personal mementos, gifts for family and friends or as ornaments.

You do not have to be a client to come create a paw print, cats and dogs are welcome. The clay comes in either white or terracotta color. $10.00 per print. 

Come visit us today with your furry friend to have your own paw print made!

🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

08/22/2022

Labeled as “xylitol” within the ingredients list for most products, the same plant-derived substance can also be identified as “birch sugar” or “birch sap” in others.

07/18/2022

Our kennels are full due to the fire evacuation. The Lemhi county Humane Society has room. You can contact them at 208 756-4100.

04/02/2022

With the upcoming flea and tick season, let’s go over a few things about what to use. There are a number of very affective and safe options. No medication is without risk. That being said the diseases that are carried by parasites are worse. I see many post about the ”poison “ of parasite control that veterinarians recommend. Also all of the “natural “ products that work. Let me be blunt ( I know very strange coming from me). Those natural anti parasitic remedies do not work and no Veterinarian is trying to poison your dog.

The caution I’m going to give about the anti parasitic recommended by veterinarians are for certain dog breeds. The reason these breeds have issues with not only anti parasitic drugs but also some anesthesia and even household medications are because the have a mutation of the MDR1 gene. Collies, Australian Shepherd, McNab as well as any herding breed have high probability of having the mutation. The Border Collie has a very low probability (< 5% ).

There is a genetic test that can be preformed to see if a dog has the mutation. It is accurate, reasonably priced and easy. Washington State University does the testing. The sample has to be blood or a cheek swab. You can look up the lab’s website for more information or contact your veterinarian.

Some of the medications that the dogs and cats have problems with are Ivermectin, Selmectin, Milbemycin, Monidectin, Loperamide ( Imodium ad), Acepromazine, Butorphanol and some chemotherapy drugs.

I have had to treat dogs that unfortunately ate horse manure from horses that had recently been dewormed with ivermectin. Any normal MDR1 dog can get a toxic dose from manure but mutant MDR1 dogs just need a fraction of a dose to be in a life threatening situation.

Signs of toxicosis are stumbling, dialated pupils, altered mentation, drooling, vomiting, tremors, blindness, seizures, coma and death. It can take several weeks to resolve the clinical signs.

My recommendations are : protect your pets from parasites using approved anti parasitic medications. Use these medications as directed by your veterinarian. Be cautious with your pets around recently dewormed large animal’s manure. Test your dog for MDR1 if it has a higher risk factor before using any of the medications listed.

02/18/2022

You see a beautiful and well trained Belgian Malinois and people think they come fully trained and want one. These dogs are NOT for everyone. They are highly intelligent and have an incredibly high drive. If you don’t know what high drive means, you do not need this dog. They need a lot of exercise, mental stimulation and do not suffer fools. Please do not contribute to the ruination of a great breed of dogs and most likely condemnation of so many to shelters.

There is a movie coming out on Feb 18 called "Dog". It stars Channing Tatum and a highly trained Belgian Malinois. It's a road trip/buddy movie.

People are going to see this film and many will want their own Belgian Malinois. This is not going to end well for this breed.

A highly trained Malinois is a work of art. So is Michelangelo's statue of David but I don't necessarily want it in my living room.

This breed can be amazing in the right hands but they require a lot of everything. If you are considering getting a Malinois, please, first go meet some Malinois of all ages at your local rescue.

Be honest with yourself about the amount of time that you have to dedicate to training one of these dogs. Not the person that you want to be but the person that you are right now. Sitting on your ass and reading this post.

If you are still determined to get one. You can stem the inevitable tidal wave of Malinois that will be surrendered to the shelters by sourcing your dog in one of 3 places:

Your local shelter
A local Malinois rescue
A real, ethical breeder (researching one is hard work but an ethical breeder will prove their dogs and require that you return the dog to them if you can't keep it)

DO NOT get a Malinois from the guy down the street. Don't help backyard breeders line their pockets. Pure bred doesn't equal good breeding.

If you see the popularity of these dogs sky rocket and think you can make a quick buck by breeding some. May all of your financial ventures fail one after another.

From the bottom of my heart, I love this breed. I know what's coming and so do the shelters and rescues

-copied from another page but we back this all

02/07/2022

February is dental month! Get 10% off dental procedures and get a goody bag of at home dental care products. Home care - wiping or brushing teeth - 3 times weekly will help immensely prevent tooth loss and bad breath. If your dog has bad breath, which is caused by bacteria, home care will benefit your pet. Schedule an appointment to get your pets teeth taken care of!!

01/16/2022

Due to unfortunate messaging over the years, coupled with a lack of knowledge, and compounded by the human tendency for denial/delusion, what should be obvious and commonly accepted is anything but.

A few of the messages:
-There are no bad dogs, only bad owners. Wrong.
-Any dog can be “fixed” if you’ll get your energy right. Wrong.
-Every dog should be saved. Wrong.

The knowledge gap:
-We have a chaotic house, with lots of kids running all over, and we adopted a highly nervous but “sweet” herding breed. Bad.
-My dog challenges everyone in our family, and has bitten us all, but is great with my trainer. Bad.
-We got a guarding/working breed so it can protect the family, even though we’ve never had a dog before. Bad.

A bit of denial:
-He only bites us when we kiss/dance/move too fast/leave the house/vacuum because he had a traumatic early life. Delusion.
-She’s guards her spot on the couch, her toys, and her food, and will bite us if we get too close, but it’s only because she never had things of her own before. Delusion.
-He always growls at or bites my husband, but I’m sure he was abused by a man before I adopted him. Delusion.

Can people improve? Absolutely. Can dogs improve? Almost always. Does that mean that all fits can be made healthy and happy, or are wise? Nope. People and dogs come in many flavors, and many of these flavors work wonderfully well together, some work with certain other flavors, and some (human and dog) don’t work well at all. It’s a sad reality, but a reality nonetheless. We should be choosing the dogs we share our lives with based on an honest and informed assessment of who we are, what our lives look like, and what dog—both breed and individual personality—fits that reality best.

Ignore the silly messages, do your homework, and lose the denial.

Fairytales in dog land often end up as nightmares.

12/14/2021

We have updated our system for reminders of appointments, surgeries & closures. We are asking our clients to please help us make sure we have current cell phone numbers and email addresses on file. Call or message us. Thank you!

11/22/2021

We will be closing early on Wednesday the 24th at 1:30pm. We will be closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday and will reopen at 8:30am on Friday the 26th!
🦃 Happy Thanksgiving 🦃

06/14/2021

The 4th of July is quickly approaching. If your pet hates fireworks we can help you out! Call us for a prescription to help your pets have a safe and relaxed 4th! Don’t wait until the last minute!

05/15/2021

I am sad to say the City of Salmon has lost a very important member of it’s police force. She was a great officer and a favorite patient of mine. RIP Bama. You will be missed.

05/03/2021

We are currently doing some construction in the back of the clinic. We were hoping it would be done today, but they are hoping to be done tomorrow evening! Please be patient with us as we try to continue to stay open for appointments!

04/12/2021

We have fresh eggs!!!

03/28/2021

Cat owners, DO NOT bring lilies into your home! Lilies are extremely toxic to cats & can cause kidney failure. If you believe your cat was exposed to a lily, seek immediate veterinary care. If your family veterinarian is unavailable, both our Oakdale & St. Paul facilities are open 24/7 for curbside emergency care.

Learn more about cats & lily poisonings here: https://aercmn.com/save-a-cat-this-spring/