Congratulations to Curt and Dr. Jennifer Ostrom on the birth of their son "George Alan Ostrom", born Sunday, October 28, 2007, weighing in at 9 lbs.
Lynette Hemker Joins Greenville Veterinary Clinic
Hemker and her fellow graduates in the class of 2006
studied basic sciences and comparative medicine in the first two years of the
veterinary degree program and mastered surgical and medical skills in the final
two years of the program. At least
two years of undergraduate course work is required before students can apply for
admission to the program.
Dr. Hemker is now an associate with Drs. Gehrig, Bristow,
and Ostrom at Greenville Veterinary Clinic in Greenville.
She graduated from Central Community High School in Breese
in 1998. She then attended the
University of Missouri in St. Louis, graduating in 2002 with a bachelor’s of
science in biology.
Lynette and her husband Nathan are now residing at the farm
they purchased in the Woburn area.
The following are pictures from our Anniversary/Open House held on June 28th, 2003, celebrating the semi-retirement of Dr. Gehrig, and welcoming our newest associate, Dr. Jennifer Libbra of Alhambra, IL.
From left to right: Dr. Gehrig, Dr. Sherrill, Dr. Libbra, & Dr. Bristow
You can protect your pet and home from fleas and ticks, not to mention the diseases they carry, such as tapeworm and Lyme disease. We can provide you with newer medications that make over-the-counter shampoos, "spot-ons", foggers and ointments a thing of the past. Modern treatments are simple to administer, nontoxic, and best of all, more effective than older remedies.
Once fleas have infested your home, you must kill not only live adults, but also their eggs and larvae. If your pet spends much of its time outdoors or if you live in a wooded area, you may need to be especially mindful of the problem. It's easier than you may think to get rid of all the fleas and ticks on your pet and in your house without resorting to harmful poisons, We can help. Give us a call to hear the best course of action for preventing these bugs from feasting on your pets.
During warm-weather months, fleas lurk in fields and wooded areas, looking to drink your pet's blood. These tiny wingless insects jump onto your pets, feast on their blood, and lay eggs, which can often end up all over your home. One flea can lay up to 50 eggs a day. Under ideal conditions, 25 fertile females can multiply into nearly half a million offspring in a month. You may not always see fleas, but you can find traces of them. Pull back your pet's fur with a comb and examine the skin for tiny black dots. These dots are flea feces. You also may find the poppy seed-like dots in your carpeting and your pet's bed. Call us today to hear the best ways to manage this problem. New products are so effective and easy to use, there's no reason why you or your pet should suffer with fleas.
If you find a tick feeding on your dog or cat, don't panic. With a little patience and a pair of tweezers, you'll be able to remove it quickly. Barbs on the tick's mouth allow it to burrow its head into your pet's flesh, secreting a "cement" to latch on tightly. To remove the tick, grasp firmly with tweezers as close as you can to your pet's skin, but be careful no to squeeze too hard. This can push saliva and the "guts" of the tick into your pet. Pull up gently in one continuous twisting motion. The trick is to get the whole tick, head and all. For the next few days, keep an eye on the area where the tick was. If any swelling or redness develops, especially in a bull's eye pattern, bring your pet in so we can check for infection.
In a single bite, mosquitoes can transmit a dangerous parasite called heartworm to your dog or cat. Before the weather turns warm and mosquitoes start buzzing, give us a call to learn how to protect your pets.
Heartworms are blood parasites that make their home in your pet's heart and pulmonary arteries (in the lungs). Infection occurs when a mosquito picks up a microscopic heartworm from an infected animal and then bites your pet, depositing the worm in the process. The heartworm larvae then work their way through the blood stream, growing to be about 5 inches in length and resembling strands of angel hair pasta. As the worms reach maturity and reproduce in your pet's arteries, they can cause serious illness including heart failure and even death. Some signs that your pet has heartworms are a persistent cough, tiring easily during exercise, and unexpected weight loss.
Heartworms can be found all over the United States and Canada, with the highest incidence in regions with a warm season that supports a high concentration of mosquitoes. Both mosquitoes and heartworms thrive in warm, wet weather. The larger the population of mosquitoes in your area, the higher the risk of heartworm being transmitted. An outside temperature of at least 57 degrees F is needed for mosquitoes to develop into their infectious stage inside mosquitoes. Reduce the likelihood of mosquitoes biting your pets by eliminating mosquito breeding sites in your yard. Mosquitoes need water to lay their eggs. Look for any containers that might hold a puddle of water following rain and turn them over. Be sure to tip over cans, buckets, and swimming pool covers.
Preventing your pet from getting heartworm is much safer, not to mention far less expensive than treating your pet for the infection. Heartworm prevention medication is safe, effective, and now available in once-a-month doses. A simple blood test will be needed in order to determine that no adult heartworms are present in your pet before heartworm prevention can begin. In addition to heartworm, a number of prevention products protect against other parasites such as fleas, ticks, mites, roundworms, and whipworms. Pets living in a neighborhood with mosquitoes should be given heartworm prevention medicine even if they are indoor pets. Give us a call and let us help you decide which approach is best for the health of your pet.