Bonners Ferry Veterinary Clinic

25/08/2024

You guys!!! 29 feral /stray cats were spayed and neutered today, 18 females and 11 males! This brings our total to 252 cats altered in the last 9 months 🙀
Thank you so much to our donors, volunteers, and amazing staff for making this program possible. Together we can help prevent the cat overpopulation in Boundary and Lincoln counties 🙌🏼🐾💪🏼

20/08/2024

Join us in celebrating Buster’s Sweet Sixteen 😻 Anyone who has come into the clinic has been welcomed by our “greeter” with his boisterous meow, or seen him on break lounging in his bed up front. His spunky personality adds so much to our workplace and we love him dearly ❤️ Stop in to take a photo with the birthday boy and have a cupcake 😋

26/07/2024

Thank you to all of our clients and friends who have helped recognize our veterinary staff this week!

Today we just want to commend our part-time and relief receptionists and assistants. 👏🏻
Thank you to Shawna and Kim who came in and helped run the front desk and the appointments a couple days a week during the spring.🌸
Thank you to Flossi, who assists with surgeries and cleaning part time. We love seeing her smiling face in the mornings!😊

We also want to thank our cleaning/kennel assistant girls, Kaci and Jenni.💜 They work later than the rest of the staff and yet never complain. If any of you have ever worked at a vet clinic, you KNOW the obscene messes that are made daily…😵‍💫 These girls jump in to help our surgery techs every morning and give our recovering patients lots of extra love and cuddles.🥰

25/07/2024

Happy Veterinary Receptionist/Assistant Week!

Anyone who has been to our clinic knows Chelsea, the first smiling face you see walking in the door.😁 Chelsea doubles as a receptionist and a vet assistant, particularly for large animal work.🫏 She never hesitates to jump in and get her hands dirty in any calving, colic, or choke! Chelsea is also the horse whisperer of BFVC, having the most calming presence.☺️ She is a gifted photographer, and has two horses and a firecracker of a kitten at home.💥🐈‍⬛ She has an infectious laugh and goes above and beyond to try to meet the needs of our clients. Chelsea we would be lost without you; we appreciate your hard work so much!!💜

24/07/2024

Happy Veterinary Receptionist/Assistant Week!

On our reception team for the summer is Nora, a 2024 BFHS graduate.👩🏻‍🎓 Nora jumped right in and helped us this spring/summer with reception work. We love her infectious smile and sweet personality.🩵 Nora will be leaving us at the end of this week to start her journey of becoming a dental hygienist.🦷 We couldn’t convince her to stick around and do cat teeth for us! She also raises and shows pigs in FFA, so be sure to swing by the Boundary County Fair and cheer her on!🐖

23/07/2024

Happy Veterinary Receptionist/Assistant Week!

A certified veterinary assistant is the right-hand-man for technicians and doctors. They are trained in safe handling and restraint, small animal nutrition, hospitalized patient care, laboratory testing, etc. At BFVC, our assistants are essential for the day-to-day operations including client communication, ear cleanings, bloodwork, assisting in surgical prep/recovery, and so much more!

Say hello to Heidi, who has been with BFVC for 12 years. 🎉 Many of you and your pets have interacted with Heidi during your veterinary visits, as she is one of our main room assistants. She can befriend just about any dog in the world and is probably remembered for the treats stashed in her pockets.😉 Having one of her own named Gunner, Heidi has a special place in her heart for heelers and is quite honestly the heeler whisperer! She also is fluent in Spanish and lived in Mexico for 9 years.. hence why no salsa is EVER spicy enough for her.🌶️ Despite having to deal with her coworkers’ wimpy tastebuds, Heidi still comes to work with a great attitude and dedication to all of our patients.🐶 We appreciate you Heidi!❤️

22/07/2024

Happy Veterinary Receptionist/Assistant Week!

A veterinary clinic simply cannot run without strong support staff. 💪🏻 Between checking in/out appointments, scheduling, filling prescriptions, answering hundreds of client questions per day, submitting regulatory paperwork… these girls rarely get a moment to rest.

Meet Mama LaRae.💖 LaRae has worked at BFVC for 21 years and is the queen of the medical files. She keeps the office flowing (despite the chaos we are normally encountering) and keeps the doctors under control.🤪 Her greatest joy is spending time with her 14 grandchildren, as many of you know and have seen her at all of the local school sporting events. LaRae always celebrates “on Wednesdays we wear pink” and gives the best mom hugs when one of us is having a hard time.💗 Thank you for your endless hard work and dedication, LaRae. We love you! 😘

29/06/2024

Today was a marathon, we spayed 15 females and neutered 7 males in 4.5 hours! Dr Hall was a champ, averaging 10-12 minutes per spay. Thank you so much to our volunteers, and donors.
183 stray/feral cats have been altered since our program started last fall 🙀

28/06/2024

We’d love your support, don’t forget to vote 🌟
🐾 🐱 🩺 🐶

We want to hear from you! Vote for your favorite here!

18/06/2024

⭐️ Here are photos of our 2024 Summer Interns and a little bio on these brilliant young ladies

⭐️ Jordan Cassidy is a Sandpoint native, graduate of the University of Idaho in Animal and Veterinary Science and Pre-veterinary and Dairy Science. She is planning to apply to vet school and hopes to become a Mixed Animal practitioner. She is volunteering at BFVC to gain more veterinary experience, especially in the Large Animal field. Jordan also volunteers at the Family Pet Urgent Care facility in Sandpoint.

⭐️ Riana Abeshima will be finishing her senior year at Washington State University as a Neuroscience Pre-Veterinary major. She is from Hawaii and hopes to attend veterinary school and become a Mixed Animal Veterinarian. She currently works as an Undergraduate Researcher at WSU.

⭐️ Both Jordan and Riana are gaining lots of large animal experience accompanying Dr. Roland Hall and Dr. Lauren Gentle on their farm calls, as well as receiving hands-on small animal mentorship with Dr. Beth Walker and Dr. Sierra Temple. Both interns have been a welcomed addition to our staff, and we look forward to their future success.

18/06/2024

Our next feral / stray cat spay and neuter clinic is Saturday June 29th. Please call and get on the list so we know an estimate of how many cats will be coming in. Drop off is at 8:00 in the morning (please come through the back door). All cats must be in a live trap, and will get their left ear tipped. $20 cash per cat 🐱
Together we can stop the feline overpopulation in Boundary and Lincoln counties!
Please share

25/05/2024

Montana clients ⚠️
Road construction from the Montana state line to three mile starts Tuesday! Please plan your travel time accordingly 🚘

08/05/2024

Happy National Pet Week! 🐾🐶🐴🐱

Our patient highlight today is Drake, a 7 year old lab here for his monthly Librela injection. Drake's mobility (and weight!) has improved since starting these injections, giving him and many other patients a better quality of life.❤️

Librela is the newest pain management strategy for dogs with osteoarthritis (OA). OA is a degenerative and painful condition of the joints in which the normal cartilage cushion in the joints breaks down. Eventually, the bones in the joint rub against each other, causing pain and decreased joint movement. In dogs with arthritis, there is a protein called nerve growth factor, which signals to the brain that there is pain in a diseased joint. Librela is a monoclonal antibody therapy that simply blocks this nerve growth factor, and therefore, the pain signal.🚫

Given as a once monthly injection, Librela can bring back the playful, puppy-side of your aging dog.🐶 Clients have been amazed with the remarkable results at home.

Also exciting news, there is a similar product for cats with arthritis called Solensia!🐈‍⬛

If you notice your pets are "slowing down," not jumping up on the bed, not going up/down the stairs, sleeping a lot... it doesn't just have to be "because they're getting old." Let us help them! 😊

08/05/2024

We have two openings every day Monday through Friday for spay and neuter of feral/stray cats.
Our next Saturday date is May 25th!
$20 cash per kitty, ear will be tipped for identification, call us if your planning on attending, please use the back door to drop off kitties!
Thank you all for participating, volunteering, or donating! Together we can help control the cat overpopulation in Boundary and Lincoln counties 😺

08/05/2024

It’s National Pet Week May 5th through the 11th please come and join us to see the National Pet Week posters, have a free cookie, and enter our daily drawings 🍪

07/05/2024

Happy National Pet Week! 🐾🐴🐶🐱

Throughout the week, we will share some adorable pets in our community who have come in and visited us. ❤️

Today's pet highlight is Willow. She came in for a 12-week puppy wellness visit and loved the peanut butter & banana treats we have! 😋🩷

At each puppy visit, a comprehensive exam is done to make sure your puppy is growing, happy, and healthy. Typically at these visits, dewormer and vaccinations are also given.

We suggest puppies start getting vaccinated at between 6- 8 weeks of age. Our puppy combo includes distemper, adenovirus, parvovirus and parainfluenza. This vaccine will get boosted every 3-4 weeks until they have had two vaccines after 12 weeks of age. For most puppies on a normal schedule this will be 3 total; however, some dogs may get more or less depending on when they start their series. After their first vaccines, rabies, lepto, and bordetella are commonly given at the second or third booster visits.

A typical puppy schedule will look like this
8 weeks- Da2PP (Distemper, adenovirus, parvovirus, parainfluenza)
12 weeks- Da2PP+L (Distemper, adenovirus, parvovirus, parainfluenza and leptospirosis)
16 weeks- Da2PP+L (Distemper, adenovirus, parvovirus, parainfluenza and leptospirosis), bordetella, and Rabies.

Some vaccines are boosted annually after the completion of the puppy series, or every 3 years.

For more information on canine vaccines, visit www.aaha.org/canine-vaccinations

12/04/2024

We are hosting another feral/stray cat spay and neuter clinic tomorrow! Drop off 8:00 am at the back door, $20 cash per cat. Left ears will be tipped for future identification. Kitties must be in a live trap and picked up by 12:30 pm.
We also have M-F openings for feral/stray cats! Call our office for more information!
🐈‍⬛
Together we can control the cat overpopulation of Boundary & Lincoln County!
Shout out to our lovely volunteer Vets, Techs, Assistants, and all of the people trapping cats!
😽

20/03/2024

The clinic will be closed this Saturday March 23rd. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

10/03/2024

In the midst of calving season, we thought we would give a reminder on the importance of colostrum in newborn calves. 🐄

What is it?
Colostrum is the first “milk” that contains antibodies to help fight off major pathogens (including everything you vaccinate your cows for!). It is also extremely nutrient-dense compared to regular milk.

Why do they need it?
Unfortunately, there is no transfer of antibodies from cow to calf fetus through the type of placenta they have. This means that colostrum is the calf’s only hope of receiving protective antibodies!

When do they need it?
Timing is EVERYTHING. A calf’s ability to absorb the antibodies in colostrum decreases rapidly in the first 24 hours of life. Ideally they should receive colostrum within the first 6hrs of birth.

What if the calf is not nursing?
You need to get colostrum in that calf one way or another. The best recommendation is milking out the cow and tubing that into the calf (this requires a chute where the bottom side panels can be removed to access the udder). They need 5-6% of their body weight in colostrum in the first 6hrs, then repeat 12hrs later. Frozen colostrum can also be thawed and used as a second-best option. If neither of these options are feasible, there are commercially available colostrum products as well.
**If you can get the cow caught and assist the calf with latching, that is the best way to set all of you up for success and avoid bottle feeding!

Hope this helps answer some questions I’ve been getting lately!
Here’s a cute calf we pulled this week.❤️

09/03/2024

Our feral/stray spay and neuter program altered 23 cats today! 11 females, and 12 males, making our total since October 30th, 120!
Thank you so much to our donors, volunteers, and clients for dedicating their time to trap kitties and bring them in. Together we can end the cat overpopulation problem in Boundary and Lincoln County 🐾

05/02/2024

8 more stray/feral cats are spayed and neutered! There were 5 females, and 3 males! Our program has altered 92 cats since 10/30/23 and we are so proud. Keep up the good work Boundary County, and now Lincoln County 🐾

28/01/2024

Mark your calendar! February 3rd Bonners Ferry Veterinary Clinic is spaying and neutering feral/stray cats for $20!
This program is volunteer staffed and volunteer funded from this amazing community 🤩
Dr. Hall is the surgeon of the day, Linda Hall will also be there to help keep everything organized, Vet Tech Julie will be getting cats anesthetized and in, and out of surgery safely, and a few others will be doing the very important jobs of recovering patients and sterilizing surgical packs! It takes a village! 🙌🏼
Cats can be dropped off between 8-9am and picked up by 1pm.
Traps are available for loan at BFVC 🐈‍⬛
Please help spread the word, and get Boundary County’s cat population under control ✅

30/12/2023

Today we successfully spayed 11 feral female cats, and 7 feral male cats! Thank you to our volunteers!
So far this program has altered 73 feral cats since October 30th 🤩
We have two openings per day, M-F! Let’s trap some cats 🙌🏼

27/12/2023

⭐️ Do you, or someone you know have feral/stray cats around? Is there a neighborhood mama/daddy cat that need to be altered? Monday through Friday we accept 2 feral cats in traps for spay and neuter. Drop off is between 8-9am and the cost is $20. Call the day before to see if we have openings before you set your traps! We also have traps to loan 🐱
⭐️ This coming Saturday 12/30 Dr. Gentle, Vet Tech Julie, and Vet Tech in training Gracie, will be volunteering by spaying and neutering as many feral cats that are dropped off between 8-9am for just $20 each! On a Saturday last month we altered 16 cats in 4 hours! Please spread the word!
Together we can help the feral cat population in Boundary County!

10/11/2023

Hi! I’m looking for a new home. I’m a super sweet, affectionate boy. I was a stray and I was neutered today. I would be the purrfect lap kitty for the winter 😊

31/10/2023

How spooky would it be if there were 10 Dr. Hall’s in the clinic at once? 👻

Happy Halloween from the BFVC and the many faces of Dr. Hall you have all seen over the years. 🧡🖤🎃

27/10/2023

Here’s some more information about our feral cat spay and neuter program. We have many live traps to loan out! We are all so excited to get this project started 🐾

Sometimes, a single event will take place that can change a life forever.

25/10/2023

So excited for our new program! Let’s spay and neuter some cats!! 🙌🏼 🐈 💪🏼

Sometimes, a single event will take place that can change a life forever. In June, 2014, a little kitten was dropped off at the Bonners Ferry Veterinary Clinic. To avoid it being adopted by the wrong home, it was named Sweet Buddy Blue Eyes, and immediately became Buddy Hall. But this was no ordinary cat. In his honor, the Bonners Ferry Veterinary Clinic has established the Buddy Hall Memorial Fund. Read more at https://9b.news/news/2023/10/24buddy.htm

20/10/2023

Happy National Vet Tech Week! 🐾💉

When people think of vet techs, they think of the people they see working in the small animal clinic.. but large animal techs are just as important! These techs are outside (rain, snow, or shine) handling horses, processing cattle, scrubbing into C-section surgeries, pushing in prolapses, you name it.

For the final day this week, let’s recognize Chelsea Taggart, our large animal tech. Many of you have seen Chelsea on farm calls handling horses and cattle for routine care including vaccinations, pregnancy checks, sedated teeth floats, etc. In emergency situations, she never hesitates to jump all in and help even the worst colics, cuts, or calvings. She has the gift of calming animals with her presence, making our job as vets 1000x easier (and safer!) 😁 Chelsea is kept busy outside of work with her photography business, two horses, and her kitten, Clementine. She always has a smile on her face and love for our patients in her heart. We are SO lucky to have you, Chelsea! ❤️