During November 2011, three of our surgeons and our newest technician attended the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) Symposium in Chicago as part of their continuing education. Symposium lectures covered a wide variety of topics, from orthopedics to soft tissue to minimally invasive surgical techniques. Drs. Allen Johnson and Russ Patterson also attended a workshop regarding the latest in fracture repairs.  This symposium is an excellent way for our doctors to keep abreast of new developments and techniques in veterinary surgery, anesthesia and pain management. 

On August 24th, doctors from Animal Surgical Clinic of Seattle (ASCS) and Animal Medical Center of Seattle (AMCS) performed a successful intravenous pyelogram (IVP), bone marrow aspirate and core biopsy, and surgical removal of a left kidney (with an associated tumor) on Brazil, a 15-year-old male Ocelot from Woodland Park Zoo (WPZ).  It was great to see specialists from five different veterinary fields collaborating together to provide the best possible care for Brazil!

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Dr. Kari M. Johnson was only with us for six months before we sent her back to school!  We had known Dr. Kari for many years as a well-respected general and emergency veterinarian when we asked her to join us in December 2010 as our physical rehabilitation doctor.

This July, Dr. Kari had the wonderful opportunity to undergo 2 weeks of advanced training in canine physical therapy at the University of Tennessee. Next, she'll do a week-long externship at Massachusetts Veterinary Hospital in Boston this August, en route to examination and certification as a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner-- one of only about 300 veterinarians in the country!

(Update 6/7/11:  Kyle is doing great! Visit the Woodland Park Zoo blog for news and a few more photos!)

When Woodland Park Zoo’s 6-year-old, male Patas monkey, Kyle, was suffering from an uncontrollable infection in the bones around his right shoulder, zoo veterinarian Dr. Kelly Helmick worked together with Dr. Alex Aguila of Animal Surgical Clinic of Seattle to determine the best course of action. 

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Like any dog who loves his work, Port of Seattle explosives detection dog, Xxandy, would have continued to happily work on only three legs!  But when he started displaying brief episodes of rear limb lameness, cooler heads prevailed and his handler, GeorgeAnn, brought him to board-certified surgeon, Dr. Allen Johnson, for an orthopedic workup to determine the specific source of the lameness.

Congratulations to our surgeons selected as Top Vets in the March 2011 edition of Seattle Met Magazine!  Veterinarians from six local counties were asked which surgeon they would be most likely to refer a specialty case to, and also to rate the surgeons on several professional attributes.  We would like to thank our referring family vets for their vote of confidence!

Pet Emergency?  Call 206-204-3366

We know that your pet is a member of the family.  And we hope that he or she never requires veterinary emergency/critical care services.  However, if that day does come, our partners at Animal Medical Center of Seattle (AMCS) stand ready to provide exceptional and compassionate care for your pet.  AMCS is open 24 hrs, 365 days a year in our hospital and is staffed by highly-experienced critical care and emergency veterinarians at all times.

Did you know that our partners at Animal Medical Center of Seattle offer specialty medicine in Oncology with Dr. Chelsea Tripp, DACVIM (Oncology) and Internal Medicine with Dr. Jen Strasser, DACVIM, in addition to their stellar 24-hr emergency services?  AMCS is located within our hospital and we feel that the integration of all of these specialties offers a high level of service and collaborative care for our patients, their owners and our referring veterinarians.  Your family veterinarian can help arrange a consultation or procedure with Oncology or Internal Medicine by contacting them directly at 206-204-3366.

Please stop by our Facebook page -- we update regularly with a Patient of the Week, which could be a particularly interesting case, or just a pet that we really loved having here!  Or maybe both in one!

We know how tough it can be for owners to pay for unexpected veterinary surgical treatments, especially in today's rough economy.  In addition to our usual payment options, we offer various options through CareCredit and ChaseHealthAdvance as a way to pay for treatment over a period of time.

One of the most exciting areas of our new hospital is our Animal Rehabilitation Center.  The Center is equipped with hydrotherapy (underwater treadmill), land treadmill and various other treatment modalities.  Our primary goals are to help our patients with a speedy recovery, minimize pain along the way, and help to provide the best quality of life in the long term.

For more information about how rehab can benefit your pet, check out our Rehab pages! 

Curious about what's behind our doors?  Take a virtual tour of the hospital!