Four Paws Veterinary Hospital Southport

11/02/2024

This week it’s a face you see right when you walk into the office! Mary Fraser “aka Mary B” is our lead front desk receptionist, inventory manager amongst other things. Mary was born and raised in Edgecombe County- NC before moving to Brunswick county in 2019 after meeting her husband Kevin. They have three children Brooks, Ariana, and Bailey along with four dogs (Trigger, Remi, Buckshot, and Benelli).

When not at the office Mary loves watching her daughter Bailey play lacrosse and spending time with her family. Football watching is also a favorite - with her favorite teams being NC State(go pack) and the San Francisco 49ers.

Before coming to Four Paws Mary was a certified pharmacy technician for 20 years. Everyday she makes sure that medications and or prescriptions stay in stock which is a monumental task with all the different medications needed by clients/patients.

Mary enjoys working at Four Paws and enjoys her coworkers , clients (especially the nice ones)and of course the patients/pets.

We are so lucky to have her she can do it all!!!

10/31/2024

Herding the cows back into the clinic - except that one rogue cow

10/31/2024

Happy Halloween from this happy herd of Alpine cows coming home for the winter!

10/23/2024

Hello Four Paws friends and family! On Friday, November 1st our wonderful Doctors will be away for continuing education. We always love to know what new knowledge they obtain! On that day our office will be closed. Please prepare to request medications if you need them this week or earlier in that week for pick up before Friday. We apologize for any inconvenience. Everyone have a Happy Hump day!

10/18/2024

Happy Vet Tech/Assistant week!

The crew got to break away long enough for a quick lunch to celebrate today!

These ladies make it all happen everyday. We thank you and appreciate all you do!!! And we appreciate the clients that trust your pet’s care with Four Paws.

10/17/2024

Mary Wilson is our featured staff spotlight this week. What a treasure she is to Four Paws. Since 2016 she has helped Four Paws Vet Hospital clients with online scripts and appointments. You may not see her all the time but she’s working hard behind the scene. She even has her own spot we named “Mary’s Nook” that was part of our expansion in 2019.

She had an amazing career before starting at Four Paws nine years ago. Her first job was at a vet office bringing her journey full circle. After that she joined the club med team and got to travel the world! She spent 25 years at the Brunswick Plant completing a great career in nuclear engineering! Mary has lived in Brunswick County for 44 years and currently has one dog “Willow” and one horse “Sassy”.

When asked what’s her favorite thing about working at Four Paws she said her co workers. She also really appreciates the friendly and patient clients.

With thousands of patients she is busy with online scripts almost all day-every day. To date we allow the clients to outsource their meds and food and find the best prices out there. We love it of course when you help support Four Paws(a local, privately owned business)and order through our online pharmacy, but we do not force you to do that.

So Mary is working for you as much as she is Four Paws!

We are devoted to improving the comfort and well-being of our patients with high quality of care and

10/06/2024

Every successful team has a great coach, a motivator, someone they can always depend on. Amanda Barnhill our Practice Manager is all that and more. She can do it all!

Born and raised on her family farm in Brunswick County she has been married to her husband Jody since 2008. They have three children, a rescue dog named Marley and her “soul” dog, a boxer named Tipper. She loves fishing with her family and being mama bear at Four Paws.

Transitioning from the human health field (as a CNA) to veterinary medicine in 2018 she has become an invaluable member of the staff. In 2020 she was certified by Oncura partners to preform abdominal ultrasounds and echocardiograms on cats and dogs for submission to a board certified radiologist. She is also currently working on a degree from San Juan college in Veterinary Hospital Management as well as a registered veterinary technician degree.

When asked - what’s something you want people to know about you - she stated, “I want all clients to know my door is always open and they can discuss anything with me at any time”.

We are beyond lucky to have her onboard and are thrilled she stepped up at the end of 2023 to become practice manager. It’s a super tough job and she exceeds expectations!

09/29/2024

In the coming weeks we will be featuring each member of the Four Paws staff so you will have some background when you see a familiar face. This first week is special because it’s not a single staff member however it’s three generations of staff/family.

Shirley Chism, Sarah Chism Lowry and Taylor Lowry have all been part of (or are currently) the four paws staff/family. Sarah and Shirley are two of the three original four paws staff that helped start the practice in 2006! It was a scary jump for everyone but it all worked out!

Shirley retired from working in October of 2020. Sarah still works part time today after being the manager for almost two decades. Taylor is currently in vet tech school to become a registered vet tech while working at practice.

It’s not often that a small private practice can have three generations as staff members for almost 20 years ! Needless to say they are all very special people and we love them all.

Thank you Shirley, Sarah, and Taylor!

We are devoted to improving the comfort and well-being of our patients with high quality of care and

09/26/2024

Hi everyone! Due to the recent flooding from the storm last week, and the unknown effect hurricane Helene may have on our area, we have decided to close tomorrow, Friday the 27th. We want to keep our staff, clients, and patients safe and off the roads. We will reopen on Monday the 30th.

09/24/2024

Case study! I’m just going to call all the dogs “Bubba” to protect the innocent. This was interesting and a cautionary tale.
This Bubba (a 12-year-old female) came in early last week for a making a strange reverse sneeze type sound (owner had video), decrease in appetite and losing weight. Bubba had never wanted us to look in her mouth, so after a general exam, we scheduled her to drop off for a sedated exam. The next day when she was sedated, I noted there was what appeared to be an emerging abscess near the 4th premolar. We see abscessing 4th premolars, but they don’t usually cause the snorting/reverse sneeze like Bubba. I was still worried there was a tumor in the mouth. I opened her mouth and found…..
a stick. A stick lodged between her 4th premolars. After prying it out, I could see the degree of erosion in the palate and a tiny fistula into the sinus. After copious flushing, she went home on antibiotics and should be back to normal shortly!

09/20/2024

Highway 211 just down from office (between generations church and St James entrance) just opened back up!!!! They just removed cones and are letting traffic thru ! Not sure if this is temporary or not but traffic is flowing now 9/20 at 2pm. Thought we would let everyone know. Have a great weekend.

09/18/2024

We are back open! Thanks to the staff for going above and beyond to get to work. That being said please if you have appointment and don’t feel safe driving -call us to reschedule. You and your pet’s safety are priority, appointments can be rescheduled! 910-457-7387.

What a wild few days but we wanted to thank the St James Fire department for helping us get two dogs that were at the clinic for surgery get safely home after the storm! Not often do we get to deliver patients back to their owners via a fire truck. Thank you again St James Fire Department for helping Four Paws and the community.

It is also not often clients get stranded at the vet office. The Carbons were in for an appointment before weather deteriorated so fast and ended up spending the day with us when they couldn’t get home! Thank you everyone for your patience and we hope you and your families are safe after the storm.

We are here if we can help!

09/17/2024

As a new day dawns, our poor county finds itself in a mess. Currently, 95% of our staff cannot make it to the clinic. In order to allow the Sheriff’s Department to do what needs to be done and in order for the roads to be assessed and hopefully some plan forward to be implemented - we will be closed today. Tomorrow is on hold. We’ll see how much staff we can assemble tomorrow and how safe it is for our clients to get to us. We are sorry for any inconvenience, but the safety of my staff, my clients, and the emergency services that are trying to get everything patched together are the priority.

09/16/2024

If you have appointments for Wednesday through Friday, please keep up with road advisories. The small bridge between Four Paws and St James has partially collapsed. I don’t know what the plan will be for 211. There are other roads/bridges that are unstable or collapsed. Be aware and we’ll try to keep you updated as we know anything.

09/16/2024

Wow the rain! Due to flooding and road closures we will be closing for the safety of our clients and staff. Please everyone stay home and off the roads.

09/11/2024

Please welcome Four Paws two newest additions!

Madison Stein is working the front desk and we are very excited to have her. She is a Wilmington native the has earned an associate degree in Fine Arts. Madison loves going on trail hikes. She has five years experience with pets and will soon be moving to a vet assistant at Four Paws. She has two dogs and loves seeing all the pets and owners coming in daily.

The four legged furry addition is “Lucy Rickman“ Dr Rickman’s dog. She is a 15 week old English Setter who spends plenty of time behind the counter at the office. Lucy aspires to be a champion couch surfer and a bird hunter.

We are excited on your next visit or if it’s your first visit to meet them both! As always we are taking new patients to add to our Four Paws family!

09/10/2024

Good Morning! We wanted to let clients with appointments this morning know that 211 will be closing down temporarily this morning around 9am (we don't know exact time or duration of this closure) to transport a large piece of equipment. We know this may cause delays in arrival to your appointments and possible departure from the office.