Pets After Dark

16/02/2025

A very clever analysis by Dr Myers

“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” Warren Buffet

16/02/2025

This past week, our series The Cost and State of Veterinary Care was written by Dr. Nathaniel “Chip” Myers. Great perspective from an industry expert! Check it out here:

“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” Warren Buffet

13/02/2025

Meet the newest puppy in the PADPAWS family! R***r!!!

06/02/2025

Check out Part 3 of our series, The Cost and State of Veterinary Care where we talk to Stephanie Berger and Larry Gerson from Point Breeze Veterinary Clinic Inc. about the changes in veterinary medicine over two generations. Great read ! Enjoy!

https://mypetsafterdark.com/2025/02/05/the-cost-and-state-of-veterinary-care-part-3/

“…but we as veterinarians have to be everything. As far as medicine goes, we have to be a radiologist, a dermatologist, an allergist, orthopedic person. We have to be able to interpret blood work. We have to be able to deal directly with people and just deal with their emotional needs. So we hav...

31/01/2025

We have realeased Part 2 of our study The Cost and State of Veterinary Care. Hopefully those of you who are pet owners, veterinarians and others working or enjoying in the pet community will take a few minutes to read and share. Thanks!

More than 23 million American households — nearly 1 in 5 nationwide — adopted a pet during the pandemic, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

26/01/2025

Please see our first entry on a multi-part series entitled The Cost and State of Veterinary Care. Over the coming weeks we will be examining the current state of veterinary care and will be consulting with multiple industry experts to weigh in. Would love to hear your feedback!

The Cost and State of Veterinary Care
(Part 1)

By Dr. Caroline Simard-Swimmer and Howard Swimmer

Read at the full report at the link below!
https://mypetsafterdark.com/2025/01/22/the-cost-and-state-of-veterinary-care-part-1/

23/01/2025

If you haven’t already seen this video, please take a few minutes to watch and share. Thanks!!

Learn all about Pets After Dark

22/01/2025

Meet Atticus! One of our PADPAWS that recently sent us a very nice thank you note!

A Lifeline for Atticus

by Amy B.

We are incredibly grateful for Pets After Dark! Dr. Simard-Swimmer has been a blessing, always making herself available, even after hours. Thankfully, we haven’t needed them often, but each time we've reached out, we received an immediate call back that led to a reassuring Zoom consultation.

It’s clear that their priority is to diagnose and communicate effectively, providing us with comfort and easing our fears about Atticus’s health. The thoughtful follow-up check-ins show how much they truly care.

We are so fortunate in Pittsburgh that Dr. Simard-Swimmer and her husband, Howard Swimmer started this very unique care for pet owners. I wholeheartedly recommend Pets After Dark. They have been a lifeline for us, and I know they will be for you too!

Thank you, Pets After Dark!!

18/01/2025

Mabel may not be ready to take your calls this weekend, but WE ARE!!

16/01/2025

It’s hard to believe that Pets After Dark turns 1 year old today! We are amazed and excited but most of all we are grateful to everyone that has joined us on our journey during the first year. We feel like we have accomplished so much but we realize we are just getting started! We have so much left to do. In our first email that we sent out on January 16th 2024, announcing that we were “Live”, we said this: “You are no longer alone after hours.” We meant it. Our initial intention was to create a service that would provide a very accessible and comprehensive veterinary resource for you after hours once your veterinarian has gone home for the day. Guess what? We did it!! With a lot of hard work and listening to you, we continue to refine the service we offer on a regular basis so you can get the most out of Pets After Dark. And we will continue to do so moving forward. The part we have loved the most is hearing from you, the pet community. Thank you for using our service, sharing honest feedback, making great suggestions, providing meaningful survey responses, telling your friends about us and above all, being part of the PAD family. It is all very inspiring !

Every week we meet more pet owners and their beloved pets and we love it! We have had the privilege to meet so many great people along the way and look forward to meeting new subscribers, veterinarians, technicians, kennel owners, pet store owners, staff and most of all, your beloved pets! There is so much still to do. 🎈

While we are talking about ourselves (for a change😂), here are a few things we have learned over the past year: 🎈
🎈
1) We have helped countless pets find the road to recovery.
2) Every pet owner we have helped is grateful that we were there to help.
3) We have prevented many pet owners from taking unnecessary trips to the emergency room. With that, we have saved our clients a lot of stress and time. And that also means we have saved our clients a lot of money 💰 by avoiding that dreadful trip to the ER.
4) We have booked countless Guaranteed Next Day appointments for our subscribers! And they ❤️ it!
5) Veterinarians appreciate the service provided to their clients.
6) Pets appreciate not having to spend stressful time in the waiting room of an ER if they don’t need to be there. They would rather be at home in their own bed (or your bed)! Last week we told you about a thank you note we received from one of our PADPAWS, Mo!

We are just getting started!

Thank you for celebrating our birthday with us! We have made quite a few memories over the past year and we are happy to share them with you below!

13/01/2025

Help wish our Medical DIrector, Dr. Caro Simard-Swimmer a speedy recovery from her rotator cuff surgery! So far, so good!

09/01/2025

We have been getting questions recently about the avian bird flu (H5N1). In this week’s newsletter, Dr. Simard-Swimmer provided a good summary. Share with anyone that may be interested.

For the past 6 months there have been many reports on the news about a new strain of avian influenza (H5N1) or highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

The USDA, FDA and CDC have been closely monitoring a situation which so far has had an enormous impact on dairy cattle in the US. Although most affected cows do recover, this influenza virus has had a huge impact on the economics of the dairy industry.

More recently however we have seen reports of domestic cats testing positive for H5N1 ( at least 52 according to reports from the AVMA ) where illness has been reported to be much more severe with neurologic and respiratory symptoms and a high mortality rate. Two brands of raw cat food have even been recalled so far after having been found responsible for transmission of H5N1 to cats: Monarch raw pet food and Northwest Naturals. The latter caused the death of a cat in Oregon after being consumed. In the Allentown area of
Pennsylvania, 200 snow geese were found dead earlier this week and the game commission has deemed it “very likely” that bird flu was the culprit.

Practically, here are veterinarian’s recommendations for cat owners across the nation, as well as in Pennsylvania:

1) Avoid feeding raw meat (which includes freeze-dried) and raw milk products to your pets

2) Keep your cats indoors: it is suspected their hunting habits make them a lot more at risk for contracting bird flu

3)Avoid keeping a bird feeder near your house, and avoid any kind of exposure to wildlife.

4) Report any respiratory symptoms your cats may have
immediately to your veterinarian.

5) If you keep backyard chickens, make sure to avoid any possible contact with wild birds.

For the time being there has been no uptick in cases of flu in humans and the CDC “continues to consider the risk of HPAI to the general public low”.

31/12/2024

Happy New Year from Pets After Dark!

30/12/2024

Introducing our final PADPAWS of 2024- say hi to our very special friend , Ozzie! At just a little over 6 years old, how can you not smile at this sweet boy! We are so happy you are part of our family!❤️

25/12/2024

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah!