Category: Grand Valley Animal Hospital

Sit, Stay, Snap: Enter Our Holiday Pet Photo Contest

Sit, Stay, Snap: Enter Our Holiday Pet Photo Contest

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, which means it’s time for our 11th annual Hoppy Howlidays & Meowy Catmas Pet Photo Contest! Enter a festive photo of your favorite furry, feathery, or scaly friend from December 13 – 27th for a chance to win a $200 gift card to Harry’s Steak House in Grand Forks, ND.

How to Enter

1.

Snap a holiday-themed photo of your pet

2.

Upload it here before December 27th

3.

Vote for your pet (and encourage others to do the same!)

At the end of the contest, we’ll announce the pet portrait with the most votes as the winner Tuesday, December 28th on our Facebook page. The prize will be ready for the winner’s human to pick up after the announcement at Grand Valley Animal Hospital during regular business hours.

We can’t wait to see your festive pet photos! Enter today and encourage your friends to vote and increase your chance of winning by sharing the post. Good luck!

A housecat peeking out of a pile of red Christmas tinsel
Click Here to Enter Meow!
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3 Ways to Help an Animal in Need This Holiday Season

3 Ways to Help an Animal in Need This Holiday Season

’Tis the season of giving, and why not share the love with furry friends in need? We know there are endless ways to help others this holiday season and all year long, but here is a list of some that we truly believe will make a difference in the lives of those who leave paw prints on our hearts.

The Gift of Giving

If you love to shop, we have good news for you: helping an animal in need is as easy as online shopping! Some websites and stores are committed to giving a portion of your purchase price back to charities in need, including animal welfare organizations; it’s a simple and free way to give back.

More in the gift-giving mood? That’s great! Many animal welfare organizations also have wish lists, either online or in their office, where you can find an exact list of items that are needed that you can donate! Common items needed include food, treats, litter, leashes, toys, and cleaning supplies. If you have an excess of gently used pet toys, why not spruce them up and donate them to an organization in need!

Also, let’s not forget about military working dogs serving overseas; find out how you can give back to these deserving heroes here.

The Gift of Time

We understand that not everyone has the luxury of donating dollars to organizations they care about, and that’s okay; why not give some of your valuable time instead? From shelters where you can socialize and care for animals, to therapy camps that help both animals and children cope with neglect and abuse, every minute helps. You may even reap some volunteer benefits of your own, such as personal growth, skill development, and positivity for making a real difference to animals in need!

Puppy waiting to be adopted

The Gift of Love

Last, but certainly not least, is giving a home to a shelter pet. Even if you aren’t able to adopt, you can still make a huge difference in the life and well-being of a pet by fostering. Foster families can be helpful in everything from socializing a pet, to helping them recover from illness and surgery, and even saving their lives in the case of overcrowding in a shelter. If you are ready to make a longer commitment, adopting a shelter dog, cat, bird, or pocket pet is a meaningful way to gain a new ever-loyal family member.

We know you have many options when it comes to making a difference in the lives of animals and other worthy causes across the globe, but we hope you find these options helpful when narrowing down your list of ways to give. As always, we are thankful for the support and friendship of our furry, feathery, and scaly clients and their pet parents – you make our work more meaningful every day. Happy holidays from all of us at Grand Valley Animal Hospital!

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Clinic Protocols: Improving Vet Visits for Your Pet

Clinic Protocols: Improving Vet Visits for Your Pet

Everyone here at GVAH is happy to see that there is some normalcy returning to our lives and hopefully yours. Going through this pandemic has been stressful for everyone and we are proud that people have come together to help one another and allow us to have still been able to provide veterinary care for their pets during this ordeal.

Throughout this time of challenges and shifts in operation has come insightful knowledge that offers opportunities to continue improving the way in which we provide a safe and as stress-free environment as possible for our patients. Providing compassionate care that focuses on what is best for the animals in our care is always at the forefront of everything we do here at GVAH.

From these insights, we have adjusted our protocols long-term to adopt some of the procedures that have been put in place throughout the last year that have proven to be exceptionally beneficial to the pets in our care as well as improve the safety of our team.

1 Client Per Appointment

We will continue to limit only 1 person in the exam room for routine examinations or discussions.

What benefits does this protocol provide?

Through this pandemic, we have found that most of the animals who come to visit us are much more compliant and less stressed when their owners are not present for their examinations and routine care. Additionally, in emergency situations having more than one owner in the room may seem like the right thing to do for emotional support, but can oftentimes actually pose a threat to the pet by making it more difficult for the veterinary team to address the urgent medical issue.

Furthermore, limiting the small exam rooms to three people – doctor, technician, and owner – greatly improves the working conditions and health safety for our staff.

What about end-of-life or serious conditions?

We know how traumatic and emotionally stressful it can be to care for pets experiencing serious health conditions or nearing the end of their lives. For appointments of this nature, we are more than willing to make exceptions and allow two family members to be in the exam room to help slightly ease your stress during these trying times.

Limited Lobby Access

When you arrive for your appointment, we request that you remain in your car until the exam room is ready. To notify us that you’ve arrived, please use one of the following options:

  1. Text us at 701-291-4074
  2. Pop in, without your pet, to the front desk
  3. Call us at 701-757-3500

Curbside service

Our team will gladly continue to offer curbside service for any clients who wish to keep receiving their veterinary care this way. Here again, we’ve seen how less foot traffic in the lobby has greatly contributed to lowered stress impact on pets, while also providing added convenience and efficiency for pet owners. We’ve found this rings especially true for our clients with physical limitations, parents with small children, or those that would just rather sit in their comfortable vehicle rather than our small exam rooms.

Our entire staff here at GVAH is grateful for the continued support of our clients and the opportunity to keep providing your pets with the best possible care and environment. The health and happiness of the animals we care for is truly at the heart of why we do what we do every day. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of that in your pet’s life. If you have any questions about these new long-term protocols, please don’t hesitate to contact our team at 701-757-3500 or info@grandvalleyvet.com.

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Coronavirus Notice: What we're doing to keep you and our staff safe.

Coronavirus Notice: What we're doing to keep you and our staff safe.

In this time of COVID-19 (coronavirus), we hold ourselves to the highest cleaning standards and continue to take all precautions in order to keep you and our staff safe.

UPDATE: As of April 26th, 2021, the COVID protocols listed below will remain in place until further notice.

Over a year ago, Grand Valley Animal Hospital shifted from in-clinic visits to curbside service to keep our staff and clients safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. While there have been many challenges and adjustments along the way, we are grateful to have been able to remain open and continue to provide services for our patients and clients.

As we get further into the spring season, we are preparing to gradually shift back to an in-clinic setting for certain applicable procedures or appointments, while keeping curbside-only service for shorter visits and procedures. If your pet’s appointment is eligible for in-clinic service but you are uncomfortable entering the facility, we will continue to offer you curbside service.

Curbside Only Appointments

Procedures or services that are very short and do not require an owner to enter the facility will remain curbside only, including:

  • Food pick-up
  • Medication pick-up
  • Suture removal
  • Heartworm test (without exam)
  • Anal sac expression
  • Nail trims
  • Routine injectable treatments

Potential In-Clinic Appointments

Procedures that are more complex or time consuming that could qualify for in-clinic visits may include:

  • Orthopedic care
  • Reproductive services
  • Wellness exams
  • Dental exams, cleanings or extractions
  • Pre-surgery drop offs and post-surgery pick ups

 

With this shift to allowing in-clinic service for applicable appointments, we will be implementing the following protocols to maintain the safety and health of our staff and clients:

COVID PROTOCOLS

Masks Required

MASKS will be REQUIRED to gain entrance into the facility.

Limit One Client

Only ONE client will be allowed in per appointment.

Call Upon Arrival

Upon arrival, call our office and a technician will meet you at your vehicle to escort you to the appropriate exam room.

Hand Sanitizer

Hand sanitizer will be available for your use as you enter/exit the facility.

Leashes & Carriers

All dogs must be on a leash. Cats and other small animals must be in a secure carrier for their safety.

Anyone experiencing cold/flu symptoms (cough, congestion, sore throat, fever, loss of smell/taste, headaches, chills, or overall aches/fatigue) should not enter the facility. Anyone with exposure to a known case of COVID-19, anyone who is under a quarantine order, or anyone with illness in the household should not enter our facility. If your pet needs care and one of the above applies to you, please contact the front desk to make arrangements.

As it took some adjustment moving to curbside, it will also take some adjustment moving back to our in-clinic appointments and we ask that you please be patient during this transition. We will do our best to run on schedule, but emergencies and the protocols to keep everyone safe may interfere with even the best laid plans, so we ask that you be mindful of this and please do not schedule an appointment if you have another commitment in a short time frame.

Thank you all for your continued support and patience throughout this process – we are so grateful and look forward to continuing to provide quality care for your beloved animals.

Sincerely,

Dr. Meulebroeck and the entire Grand Valley Staff

If you have any questions or requests, please don't hesitate to call us at 701.757.3500!

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Certified Vet Technician/Veterinary Assistant Position Available

Certified Vet Technician/Veterinary Assistant Position Available

Dr. Darin Meulebroeck uses a stethoscope on pregnant French Bulldog

Available Position:

Certified Vet Technician/Vet Assistant

Grand Valley Animal Hospital is looking to expand our team! A hospital with rapid growth, we are located in Grand Forks, ND, and open Monday—Friday from 8AM to 5PM. We are looking to add a Full-Time Certified Vet Technician or Vet Assistant to our animal hospital.

Job duties include, but are not limited to, assisting the doctor in appointments and surgeries, cleaning, and patient care. The position will be crossed trained and will be answering phones, making appointments, and checking patients in and out of surgery. Candidate should be able to multitask, be a team player, and have a strong work ethic. All experience levels are welcome. Previous experience working with small animals in a professional setting is required.

Pay depends on experience and benefits include; occasional weekend hours, vacation pay, uniform allowance, health insurance allowance, retirement plan, and clinic discounts.

Please email your resume to  betseyp@grandvalleyvet.com or drop off your resume to apply.

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Emergency Care: Why We Refer to Red River Animal Emergency Hospital

Emergency Care: Why We Refer to Red River Animal Emergency Hospital

At Grand Valley Animal Hospital, our first priority is the health and wellness of your pet. In the event that your pet has a late-night or extensive emergency, our protocol is to refer you to our highly trusted resource, Red River Animal Emergency Hospital & Referral Center located in Fargo, ND.

Why travel to Fargo for emergency services?

While we have an excellent and fully trained staff of pet care experts and our facility has cutting edge equipment that allows us to provide exceptional care and capabilities to handle some emergency services, sometimes pet emergencies require extremely specialized care and equipment.

It is similar to if you needed to go to the emergency room where they are fully staffed and equipped to handle your emergency right there. Rather than going to your general care practitioner at that moment, you would visit the ER and then work with your regular doctor for recovery and wellness afterwards.

What is special about Red River Animal Emergency Hospital & Referral Center?

The Red River Animal Emergency Hospital is the leading pet emergency center in North Dakota and Western Minnesota. They specialize in pet emergencies and have 24/7/365 with a full staff specially trained for emergency medicine and state-of-the-art equipment geared towards emergencies. Additionally, Red River Animal Emergency Hospital also has North Dakota’s only board-certified emergency and critical care specialist on staff for complex and severely critical cases.

“The advanced emergency equipment and facility Red River Animal Emergency Hospital has is truly exceptional,” states Dr. Darin Meulebroeck, DVM and owner of Grand Valley Animal Hospital. “This includes the only multi-site CT scanner in the region available for pets, along with their very own blood bank, and an entire staff of doctors and techs who specialize in emergency care.”

Vet and assistant performing an exam on a small dog.
Person holding a small dog.

Some critical care services Red River Animal Emergency Hospital offers include:

  • Acute Kidney Injury/Failure
  • Auto-immune Blood Disorders and Hematology Cases*
  • Basic Echocardiograms (heart ultrasound)
  • Bone Marrow Biopsies*
  • Congestive Heart Failure*
  • CPR
  • Full Diagnostic Abdominal Ultrasounds
  • Hemodialysis for Kidney Failure and Toxins*
  • ICU Ventilator Therapy*
  • Sepsis
  • Severe Toxicities
  • Severe Trauma
  • Ultrasound-guided Organ Biopsies*

*Indicates services performed at RRAEH that are not available at GVAH.

What do I do if I have a pet emergency?

If you notice any of the symptoms below in your pet, you should first try to give your regular veterinarian a call to see if they can help or get you into their clinic right away. However, if your emergency happens in the middle of the night and requires a fully staffed clinic and specialized equipment, you may need to travel to the Red River Animal Emergency Hospital to seek immediate specialty care. “We do everything we can for our clients and their beloved pets, but some cases that require extensive emergency equipment and specialized critical care we know it is in their best interest to seek help from RRAEH,” says Dr. Meulebroeck. ”We fully trust their capabilities and feel very confident referring our clients to their emergency services.”

Symptoms That May Indicate an Emergency

How do I know if it's an emergency?

When your pet is not feeling well or being themselves, we understand that it can be scary and overwhelming. It is important to closely monitor your pet when you notice something is off and watch for signs of an emergency situation:

  • Active Bleeding
  • Acute Trauma
  • Bloated or Painful Abdomen
  • Bloody Vomiting/Diarrhea or Prolonged GI Symptoms
  • Collapse or Weakness
  • Difficulty Breathing
  • Inability to Urinate or Defecate
  • Lacerations or Wounds
  • Pain or Limping
  • Seizures, Staggering, or Stumbling
If you have any questions about potential emergency situations or services for your pet, please do not hesitate to give us a call at 701.757.3500 or email us so we can walk you through everything you need to know.
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