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This fall, we have an intern student working with us.   As part of her responsibilities, she will be posting articles of information and interest about twice a month, so keep watching here. This month starts with an article on Rehabilitative Laser Therapy.

Today we are having trouble with our phones lines where incoming calls are not reaching us.

Obviously this is a difficult situation as it is our major means of communication. We are working on this problem, but if you are not able to reach us by phone, you can always email us and we will get to you as soon as possible. We will also be texting our expected appointments so you can return texts to our computer system. Sorry for the inconvenience, but this is a problem from outside of our office that we are trying to get our service provider to resolve.

    With the COVID-19 Pandemic still affecting our everyday lives, some people have turned to new and dangerous ways of preventing infection – the drug Ivermectin. Ivermectin has been prescribed to people in the past to treat minor infections of head lice, scabies, and other parasitic diseases. However, it is more commonly used in livestock animals for the control of worms as an anti-parasitic, and there is little to no research on its effects on the virus causing COVID-19. Even so, there has been a large increase in the number of prescriptions of ivermectin – from 3,600 per week prior to COVID-19, to 88,000 per week in mid-August – which have been used by people to supposedly protect themselves from the virus. In addition, calls to Poison Control Centers have jumped fivefold over the baseline in July, just from people ingesting Ivermectin from livestock supply stores. This is as a result of incorrect dosing, as most ivermectin doses are calculated for 1,000- or 2,000-pound animals rather than humans which are 1/10 of the weight. The large increase in the drug use has also led to shortages from manufacturers, affecting farmers who need the drug for their livestock. Trials have been done to test Ivermectin’s effectiveness in preventing the coronavirus, but they seem to have no effect on the disease. The largest trial, The Together Trail, was stopped during the study as Ivermectin was shown to be no different than a placebo in preventing COVID infection or reducing the duration and severity of symptoms. With this said, the FDA has not approved the use of Ivermectin for treating or preventing COVID-19, and it is not recommended to take the drug without the proper prescription from a doctor.

In honor of all of those who have served and protected our country over the years, our office will be closed for Memorial Day, Monday, May 31st, 2021.    We will reopen for regular business hours on Tuesday, June 1st.    We hope that all of our clients and staff have a safe and happy holiday.   In special remembrance of this day, I’m posting a picture of my father, Amos E. Palmer DVM, for his service days in Korea in 1950-51.

This winter just seems to keep going on and on.   We are again expecting winter weather with significant snowfall beginning tonight, Feb 17th, and lasting potentially through Friday, Feb 19th.   If there is significant accumulation, the ability of our staff to travel into work will be limited, so our services may be limited.   If your pet has an appointment tomorrow, Thursday, Feb 18th, you need to call our office before coming here to be sure that  1) we are here, 2) we are open, and 3) that we are able to see your pet.   We try our best to offer the services our patients need, but the safety of our staff (and clients) is always our first concern.

Stay safe, and remember to call before coming in.

301-371-3333

Hopefully everyone is staying safe during this current winter storm.   We are currently open today, Monday, Feb 1st, but due to more expected snowfall and freezing conditions, we will be closing early at 5PM today.  We expect to be open for business tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb 2nd depending on the weather and road conditions.    There may be a reduced schedule if our doctors and staff have difficulty traveling.   Before you come to our office for an appointment or to pickup medications, please call first to be sure we are open and able to provide service.

Philip Palmer, DVM

We hope everyone is safe at home enjoying this white winter weather.    The snow is supposed to continue throughout the day tomorrow, Monday, Feb 1st.     We are unsure as to how much of our staff is going to be able to safely arrive at our office for work.   So please, be sure to call the office and talk to a LIVE staff member before coming for your appointment.   Hopefully, we will be there and be able to take care of your pets needs.   If we are not able to have staff arrive, then we will reschedule our appointments as quickly as possible.   So enjoy the snow, and stay safe!

With COVID protocols in effect, we know that most of our clients have not physically been our office lately, and therefore do not know that we lost Oscar on Dec 11, 2020. He was our resident hospital cat for 14 years and dearly loved by the staff and clients alike. Most days you could find him sacked out on the front desk waiting for one of our staff to save him from “starvation” by giving him treats. Oscar had been having some health issues for a while and we are happy that we were able to keep him happy and going for as long as we did. There was not a dry eye in the office the day we had to let him go and he will be dearly missed.

Do not worry—Oscar will not be forgotten!!! We have made a special urn to remember him by and it will be at the front desk for some time.   When you are finally able to come into our office personally, please feel free to pay Oscar a little visit.   There will also be an LED memorial to him and Buttons (Oscar’s previous “boss” who left us in 2005).