Community Veterinary Clinic Happy Tails

HAPPY 4TH ANNIVERSARY TO THE CVC!

Thank you for supporting the Community Veterinary Clinic!

Our Community Veterinary Clinic provides low-cost, subsidized veterinary care for low-to-no-income local pet owners. By providing access to care on a sliding scale, we can help local pet guardians provide life-saving care for their beloved pets. Your support helps keep these services available to pets in need.

In 2022, Our CVC team logged 1,945 appointments, an increase of almost 34% from the previous year! The number of surgeries performed at the CVC has increased by almost 10%. Below are just a few of the happy tail endings to our many clinic visits. Providing subsidized care allows families to keep their beloved pets in loving homes rather than be surrendered due to financial constraints… your donations help keep animals healthy and families happy! Thank you for your generosity and support!

Community Veterinary Clinic Happy Tails

“Pyo” is a uterine infection that can occur in unspayed dogs. It can be life-threatening and emergency spay surgery can cost thousands of dollars. Since Ada was an indoor dog and the only dog in the household, her family wasn’t worried about her becoming pregnant and had never gotten her spayed. The cost of this surgery was out of their reach so the emergency clinic referred them to us. Thanks to your support, we were able to provide care for Ada at a subsidized price. Her family was so grateful to have access to this vital resource.

We first saw 18 year-old Nicki and her 16-year old sister Baby at one of our outdoor outreach clinics our Community Veterinary Clinic put on in Guerneville during Covid lockdown. Regular veterinary care had not been accessible to Niki and Baby’s owner, Henry, before due to financial constraints. We set up appointments for both Nicki and Baby to come in for routine bloodwork and diagnosed them both with hyperthyroidism – a condition that is easily treatable with medications. Recently, Nicki started having seizures every few weeks as well, and Henry called us to get her an appointment at th CVC. We started her on seizure medications, and pulled bloodwork to check her thyroid levels. She has been doing well since starting the new medications, and Henry is always so grateful that we are able to help him take care of his beloved senior cats at a cost that he can afford.

Diamond, a 4 – month old labrador puppy, was hit by a car after darting through an open front door and out into the street. She suffered a shattered femur and fractured acetabulum, and unfortunately the only treatment option was amputation of her left hind leg due to the severity of the injury. Her family could not afford the cost of surgery at her regular veterinarian – they had used up their extra savings on the vet bills for Diamond’s original emergency vet visit, x-rays and pain medications after her accident. Luckily, her family veterinarian referred her to our Community Veterinary Clinic to see if we could perform the surgery at a reduced cost. We were able to get her in for surgery within a few days, were able to help her family apply for a grant to help cover the cost of surgery, and, since she was doing well under anesthesia, we were able to spay her, boost her puppy vaccines, and microchip her at the same time as her amputation surgery!

Lillith was seen in our Community Veterinary Clinic for vomiting. X-rays were taken and showed a circular foreign body. She was scheduled for surgery the following day and a dime was found in her small intestine, causing an obstruction. The owner took the dime home with him and planned to punch a hole in and hang it from Lillith’s collar.

Bindi came in for a painful front paw and generalized muscle pain. She had been on anti-inflammatory pain medication, which was really helping, but her owner was having trouble affording refills of the medication and ongoing lab work needed to continue the medication.

Bloodwork and confirmatory testing led to a diagnosis of diabetes. She was started on insulin and a recent update from her owner said she is doing well!

Buddy was recently adopted and diagnosed w/entropion, a condition where the eyelids roll inward and hair rubs against the eyes. His owner could not afford surgery and Buddy’s eyes were very painful. He could not open them and his owner was unable to apply medication. Our CVC performed surgery to repair both eyelids and he was neutered as well. The first picture is before surgery, and the second one was from a recent text update: “Buddy’s eyes are looking great! Thank you all so much!”

Squeaky was seen at our Community Veterinary Clinic for a 3-day history of vomiting and inappropriate urination. He was perky and did not seem painful or dehydrated, but a urinalysis showed that he had a urinary tract infection. He was given fluids, anti-nausea medication, antibiotics, and pain medication and was sent home with a bland diet. After a few days his vomiting had not improved so abdominal radiographs were taken, which were suspicious for a foreign body ingestion. He had surgery and unfortunately a large part of his GI tract was compromised from ingesting a very long piece of dental floss that had gotten looped around his tongue and trapped in his stomach and intestines. A significant portion of his GI tract had to be removed because there was so much damage. Fortunately, he recovered well and was eating (and pooping!) within a few days of surgery!

This 4-½ year old kitty named Ash had been showing signs of a urinary blockage and his owner was unable to find a veterinarian who would perform life-saving surgery at a price she could afford. Her father passed away a week earlier and she was distraught at the thought of losing her beloved companion. Her veterinarian contacted our CVC to see if we could do the surgery if they did the initial work-up, and we said yes. They were able to stabilize Ash while keeping costs down, then Ash was transferred to us for perineal urethrostomy surgery the following day. This is a good example of how our clinic serves as a safety net and works with other area clinics to get animals the care they need at a cost their owners can afford. Ash is a 100% good boy and his owner was extremely grateful that we were able to help.

Bear’s owner is a single mom who went into significant debt to treat Bear when he was diagnosed with diabetes last year. CVC staff set her up with the Royal Veterinary College Diabetes App to organize her home-monitoring of Bear’s glucose levels, which also allowed her to share the results with us. A typical high-octane heeler, Bear immediately jumped up on the window sill to watch his owner who was waiting outside while we did our exam.

Following his first visit Bear’s Mom sent us this email:

“Here is his first curve, done on May 22. It was my first time, and I’ve since learned some better tips (shake vetsulin, inject along back not scruff, correct food calories, increase insulin), so hopefully they’ll start looking better.

Thank you again SO much. I cannot express the amount of anxiety that left my chest when you said I could bring him in, and the hope that I feel now after having him seen. Thank you.“

Posie the cat came in for urinary issues and recent weight gain. Blood work and a urinalysis was performed, which showed a urinary tract infection. She was given antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medication for pain, and is now on a diet plan!

Bear was treated at our Community Veterinary Clinic for GI issues and an ear infection. He is 124 lbs of pure love, and he appreciates ‘Bear hugs’!

Little Momma was recently seen in our CVC for having seizures. Her owner relies on her for emotional support and was very worried about Little Momma suffering. She was started on anti-seizure medication and now she’s prancing around like a whole new dog!

Broomhilda was referred to our CVC by a local emergency clinic for a possible pyometra (infected uterus). Her owner Sherry is homeless and could not afford to have her spayed at the emergency clinic, so we were able to take care of her. Broomhilda was spayed, microchipped, and vaccinated so that her owner can apply for housing.

Anna was referred to our Community Veterinary Clinic for a pyometra, which is an infected uterus. She was very sick and needed emergency surgery, but her humans couldn’t afford surgery elsewhere. Here she is after surgery, feeling much better already!

Riley came to our CVC following three days of vomiting. X-rays were taken and showed a suspected GI foreign body. He had surgery the following day and an irregular rubber object was removed, suspected to be a chewed up dog toy. This case was the first time we partnered with Sage Compassion For Animals and received grant funding to help cover the cost of Riley’s surgery.

Georgia was seen for vomiting up a hair tie, and our team knows that where there is one hair tie there are usually many! Sure enough, x-rays were taken and revealed a large bunch of hair ties in her GI tract, but they looked like they were moving through. She was rechecked the next day and they looked like they had not moved, so she was scheduled for surgery the following day. Before surgery x-rays were taken again, which showed the hair ties had moved into the colon, and we were able to pull them out rectally!

Cinnamon was found by her owner seven years ago abandoned under a laundry bucket near her house. She never had her spayed, and brought her to our CVC for evaluation of a small lump near one of her nipples, that turned out to be a mammary mass. She was scheduled for a mass removal and spay surgery a couple weeks later, and she was also vaccinated and microchipped. She recovered well and looked great when we saw her for a recheck exam two weeks post op.

Panzer was referred to our CVC by VCA westside, where he had been hospitalized for a urethral obstruction. He was to us for a cystotomy and neuter surgery. We were able to flush the stones in his urethra back into his bladder, and then they were surgically removed from there. He recovered well and when we saw him for a recheck the following week he was urinating well. The stones were sent to an outside lab for analysis to determine what, if any, management he will need over the long term.

Bizzy’s owner is homeless, and she brought him to the clinic when she noticed he had acute facial swelling under the right eye, which turned out to be a tooth root abscess. We gave him antibiotics and pain medication to keep him comfortable until a dental could be scheduled. He ended up needing to have six teeth extracted. Thanks to a generous grant from DogsTrust, the cost of his dental was covered. We also updated his vaccines so that she could get into a homeless shelter, as they require proof of up-to-date vaccinations for pets.

Spoon is a 3-4 week old kitten who was referred to our Community Veterinary Clinic after being found alone in a field with her eyes crusted shut due to a severe Upper Respiratory Infection. One eye was found to be ruptured and needed surgical removal but her finder was unable to afford the surgery. Our CVC was able to get her in the same day and perform the surgery at a cost her caretaker could afford. She was started on antibiotics and was given her first FVRCP vaccine, deworming, a flea preventative (she was covered in fleas & flea dirt), and a microchip. She will come back to see us in a few months when she is old enough to be spayed through our low cost s/n clinic.

Groucho is an outdoor community cat at a women’s group home and is taken care of by the employees / residents who live there. Meliea brought her in for evaluation of a new erosive lesion on her nose. Cytology diagnosed it as a Squamous Cell Carcinoma, a type of malignant cancer that can be induced by exposure to sunlight. A procedure called “Curettage and Diathermy” was performed to remove this aggressive solar-induced skin cancer, which is very effective when the cancer is caught early.

This cute little guy Chewy was referred to our CVC by TruVet, after being seen for blood in his urine. He was diagnosed with a bladder stone but his owner could not afford surgery to have it removed. He was started on antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medication to keep him comfortable until we could get him in for surgery a few days later. The surgery went well and he had a single stone removed from his bladder.

A good Samaritan brought this sweet stray kitty into the shelter who had an infected, compound fracture of a back leg. Through her microchip, we were able to reunite her with her owner, and found out she had been missing for 1.5 years! Her owner could not afford to take her to an emergency clinic, so our CVC staff came in on a Saturday to do her surgery. The badly damaged leg was amputated, and Cosmo went home to be happily reunited with her best friend, a cattle dog named Dingo.

This is Izzy, a 7-year old Persian kitty who came into our Community Veterinary Clinic as an emergency referral for a pyometra (an infected uterus). The primary course of treatment for this condition is to remove the uterus, so Izzy was spayed the same day and sent home with antibiotics and pain medication. Surgery went well and Izzy and well on her way to a full recovery.