Westfield Veterinary Hospital

08/05/2024

Just a general reminder that the last two days we are accepting appointments for the Westfield office are August 8 and 15.

This Saturday August 10th is Caturday….. cats only please. If you or your kitty would prefer a dog free environment, this is the day to schedule for! All kitties go home with a small goodie bag as well.

Starting this month, we will routinely be closed the last Saturday of the month. Dr Johnson’s children have all gotten old and fled the nest, and she needs time to catch up with them 😀

07/31/2024

Do you have a new puppy or kitten and looking for a unique name? These are the most common names in our practice so far this year:
Max ( most common male), Bella/Belle (female)

Super common:
Baby, Lily/Lilly/Lillie, Luna, Jax/Jack, Olive/Oliver, Molly/Mollie, Sam/Sammy, Sofia/Sophie/Sophia,Toby

Honorable Mention:
California/Callie, Daisy, Isabella, Lucy, Mia, Nala, Sadie, Zeus, Zoe/Zoey

Keep in mind that if you choose a common name, like Michael, but spell it uniquely Mykkll, we are going to have a hard time looking your pet up in the computer. Same for names that can be spelled lot of different ways… Lily,Lilly,Lillie,Lillie,Lyllie etc.

But regardless of the name you choose, your pet will love you 😀

06/27/2024

We are in the process of moving our X-ray capabilities from our Westfield location to Dunkirk. Today is the last day we can provide X-rays in our Westfield office. There will be a short period of time we will need to refer out for X-rays until the new machine is ready to go. We will try and make this transition as fast as possible.
Thank you for your patience.

06/27/2024

Holiday hours..,, Weds July 3rd we will close at noon, and be closed Thursday July 4th. We will be open 8am to noon Friday July 5th and Saturday July 6th in Dunkirk as usual.

06/14/2024

It is with great regret that we announce that effective August 15th, we will be closing the Westfield location of our veterinary practice. I have been unable to find another veterinarian, and after five years of trying to single handedly serve both locations, it is time to find a better solution. It is just not possible for one doctor to carry the load of two full time hospitals indefinitely. The majority of our clients utilize the Dunkirk location, and we have decided we can better serve our patients and community by reopening that location full time and providing continuity of care. We are adding X-ray capability and upgrading some additional equipment to best serve our patients.

We sincerely hope most of you are able and willing to continue veterinary care with us in our Dunkirk location. We recognize that is not feasible for all of our clients, but we are fortunately blessed with a number of excellent veterinarians in our area. If you prefer that option, please let us know which practice you would like to transfer to and we can forward your pets medical records.

It has been a pleasure to work with your pets over the years.

Dr Sarah Johnson

06/13/2024

The spectrum outage is still preventing us from using phones and internet. Since this affects us viewing your pets medical history, we have cancelled afternoon appointments. The office is still open for patient pick ups.
Please do not yell at our staff. This is completely out of our control.
Dr J

06/13/2024

Spectrum service is down at the moment, and our phones are going to voicemail. It is supposed to be fixed shortly. Westfield office is open.

05/24/2024

We hope everyone has a happy and safe Memorial Weekend. Our offices will be closed Saturday-Monday and reopen Tuesday at 8 am. Have fun with family, but don’t forget to remember those who sacrificed for us all. 🇺🇸

05/07/2024

05/06/2024

Just an FYI…. There is a new law going into effect in New York State called Buoys Law. Basically it mandates that we print an information sheet for every new drug dispensed to your pet. In theory, this is a great thing, as being informed about your pets medication is obviously wise. We hope if you have questions you will, as always, ask.

In practice, it means when you check out you are going to get a lot of extra paper, that we are legally obligated to print and hand to you. Please be kind to the receptionist, she doesn’t legally have the choice to not print it.

We hope everyone is enjoying the spring weather. Make sure your pets are on good flea and tick control, the ticks in particular are nasty and we are seeing a lot of Lyme exposure as well as some active cases of Lyme Disease.

04/09/2024

Does it sound too good to be true??? It is.
We have had a number of clients try these tests ( there are multiple brands) that promise you allergy test results if you send in some hair/cheek swabs etc.

This is, at best, inaccurate…,., but honestly it is a complete useless waste of your money. You CANNOT diagnose allergies like this.

Please do not fall for this scam , it is just as bad as the crooks that claim a Nigerian prince is waiting just for you and your millions.

04/08/2024

FYI….. if you use Chewy.com for your pets medications or food, we have been advised that shortly they are going to stop accepting our fax prescriptions and discontinuing their online prescription approval portal. Instead they want direct access into our patient database.
This is unacceptable from a privacy and security standpoint. We are not going to participate. We are hoping they rethink this decision.
We are happy to provide a written,faxed, or online prescription as always for your pets medications. Chewy is putting up the roadblock, not us.

04/06/2024

Do you have a nervous kitty? Next Saturday, we have set aside the whole morning for kitties only! No woofers.
If you want to come in on Caturday, give us a call 716-363-6373! If it fills up, we will do one Saturday a month.

03/21/2024

Our Westfield office is having heating issues today. Instead we have opened the Dunkirk office to serve our patients. We apologize for the inconvenience

03/11/2024

Monday April 8th…. Our office will close at noon so our employees can be with their families to visualize the eclipse.

02/20/2024

Dr Johnson will be out of the office for continuing education weds-sun this week. The office will be open normal hours Weds, Thurs, Friday for med pick ups etc. Saturday the office will be closed.

01/31/2024

Does your older dog or cat suffer from arthritis pain? Are they slower to get up and move about, hesitant on steps/stairs, less likely to run and greet you?
There are new treatments for osteoarthritis available that can be a game changer for some pets. Call and schedule a consult and find out if they could be a good option for your pet!

01/16/2024

Due to weather , we are closing at noon today stay safe, the local roads are terrible

01/09/2024

We may close early today…. The power is going in and out Please call before heading down for med pick ups

11/21/2023

Handsome Koda ready to switch out for a new toy at his annual !

11/14/2023

This is Tiger. He is a 6yo male/ neutered kitty in good health. He belongs to Dr Johnson, but since his littermate died a few years ago, he will fight with any other cat he lives with. He has been living at our Westfield office, but he is lonely…… he LOVES people, and we are not here everyday. We are hoping someone out there who doesn’t already have a cat would consider fostering him. We would continue to provide all medical care as needed.
To recap:
Loves people
Hates other cats
Could care less either way about dogs , they are beneath his notice
If you are interested, either comment or call and ask for Dr Johnson or Nicole

11/11/2023

ETA: we just got yelled at for posting this and how offensive it is. If being asked to be nice offends you, please go somewhere else. Thank you.
*********
It has been zero days since a pet owner screamed at us.

This profession is hard enough. But we are losing doctors, technicians, and support staff like crazy, primarily due to unreasonable expectations and downright meanness.

90 percent of our clients are awesome. And we thank you. We love you and your pets.

But 100 clients call or come thru our doors on an average day. If only 10 percent behave badly, that means my receptionist gets screamed at ten times a day. Ten times. Every day. Makes you want her job, doesn’t it??

Why do people become unhinged and yell at us?

Most common reason? Their pet has an emergency or urgent issue, and we recommend they go to the emergency clinic.
We can only see so many patients in a day. I am * ONE* person. We don’t send you to the eclinic because we are lazy. We would rather see your pet. It’s better for continuity of care, it’s better for business , it makes you happier. But sometimes it is not the best choice for your pet. We do save time slots for urgent cases, but especially if you wait until late in the day, they are full. That means all our EXTRA SQUEEZE SOMETHING IN SLOTS are full. We are beyond capacity.

Second most common reason? Your pet is scared or anxious, and we want to do something about it. Sometimes using a muzzle for safety is best. Sometimes we ask you to take home some meds and reschedule the appointment with antianxiety meds on board. This is for the safety of your pet AND our employees.

I’m getting to the point where I don’t want to go to work anymore. I am tired of being screamed at for situations out of my control, while working six days a week trying to help those same pets. This isn’t why I went to school. This is exactly why there is such a shortage of veterinary staff.

Whether you use our hospital or another, think about your actions and word choices. Because the next time you scream at your veterinarian, Or her technician, might be the last. You might be asked to leave and not come back. Or, eventually…. There might not be anyone left except the corporate giants.

Dr Johnson

07/10/2023

Just a general reminder… for July and August we will close at 4pm on Tuesday, but have later hours available on Weds and Thursdays. Please call 716-326-3933 or 716-363-6373 as always to schedule an appointment.