SEPTEMBER 2022
IN PERSON VISITS NOW AVAILABLE!
Thank you for your continued patience and kindness as we navigate into the fall and winter! Below please find a few updates and policy changes to keep you informed! We are happy to announce that we've opened our doors!
Please read closely for your upcoming appointments!
Going forward:
- Doors are open! Come on in!
- No restrictions to number of individuals that attend the appointment however discretion must be followed as our rooms are only so big!
- Masks are optional as per your own discretion; we ask that you wear a mask if you are not feeling well
- If you are feeling ill we recommend you either have someone else bring the pet in on your behalf, postpone your appointment or consider a telemedicine/curbside option instead
- Veterinary/Technician Appointments: If you are arriving for an appointment, please check in with our reception team inside the building
*It may be necessary to bring your pet into our treatment area for procedures such as nail trims and blood draws
- Curbside Appointments: You can continue to request curbside appointments should you prefer them!
As always you can call or text us at 519-290-9400 or email us at info@oxfordcountyvet.com for all of your pet care needs.
Prescriptions- We continue to experience backorders, shortages and shipment delays. For this reason, we kindly ask you to please try to plan ahead and order prescription medication and diets well in advance - if possible provide 2-5 days of notice for regularly stocked medications and 7-10 days for compounded products before you run out! Please have patience with us as we continue to experience back orders, delayed deliveries and discontinuation of products that are beyond our control.
Appointments - We (and all veterinary hospitals across the province!) have continued to receive an influx of patients requiring appointments be it on an urgent care basis or for regular checkups and vaccinations. We are currently booking 4-8 weeks in advance for regular care visits so please plan accordingly if you can! We will continue to provide every effort to get your sick/injured pets in as fast as we can!
Emergencies - Please see our emergency webpage for all contact information in the event of an after hours or weekend emergency
***Please note that our clients now have access to the SmartVet platform for triaging and treating cases - this is a service that allows clients to speak to an on-call Veterinary technician or Veterinarian regarding their urgent cases and a plan created via a telemedicine consultation. Should a pet require an in-person visit, they will refer you onwards to the closest emergency hospital; if the veterinarian on duty can assist the pet remotely, they will do so as they are able. Please note that SmartVet is not associated with our hospital in any way and thus it is not our veterinarians that will be answering but rather a staff of knowledgeable veterinarians from around Ontario.
Webstore - the MyVetStore online stone continues to be operational however given the cost of shipping and fuel surcharges, we have raised the limit to $100 for a minimum order to avoid shipping fees.
Rabies vaccination requirement - Going forward, ALL patients are required to have at minimum their Rabies vaccination up to date unless otherwise deemed exempt from vaccinations. This includes those pets coming in for nail trims, surgery, dentistry, sedation AND including those pets who are predominately indoor pets. This is not only because it is a legal requirement but it is also for the safety of our staff handling your pets in the case of a bite or scratch or contact with saliva.
- As a reminder:
Our staff has been working long hours with days full of non-stop action and often staying late to complete follow-up phone calls to answer your questions. We have families to attend to after hours in addition to self-care and downtime. Your pets are important to us and are part of our extended families. We remind you that abusive behaviour will not be tolerated and ask that if you have any concerns to please contact us so that we can resolve any issues you may have.
We thank you for your ongoing loyalty, support, kindness and patience through this pandemic and as we navigate our reopening strategy. We will continue to send updates as they occur!
IN PERSON VISITS NOW AVAILABLE!
Thank you for your continued patience and kindness as we navigate into the fall and winter! Below please find a few updates and policy changes to keep you informed! We are happy to announce that we've opened our doors!
Please read closely for your upcoming appointments!
Going forward:
- Doors are open! Come on in!
- No restrictions to number of individuals that attend the appointment however discretion must be followed as our rooms are only so big!
- Masks are optional as per your own discretion; we ask that you wear a mask if you are not feeling well
- If you are feeling ill we recommend you either have someone else bring the pet in on your behalf, postpone your appointment or consider a telemedicine/curbside option instead
- Veterinary/Technician Appointments: If you are arriving for an appointment, please check in with our reception team inside the building
*It may be necessary to bring your pet into our treatment area for procedures such as nail trims and blood draws
- Curbside Appointments: You can continue to request curbside appointments should you prefer them!
As always you can call or text us at 519-290-9400 or email us at info@oxfordcountyvet.com for all of your pet care needs.
Prescriptions- We continue to experience backorders, shortages and shipment delays. For this reason, we kindly ask you to please try to plan ahead and order prescription medication and diets well in advance - if possible provide 2-5 days of notice for regularly stocked medications and 7-10 days for compounded products before you run out! Please have patience with us as we continue to experience back orders, delayed deliveries and discontinuation of products that are beyond our control.
Appointments - We (and all veterinary hospitals across the province!) have continued to receive an influx of patients requiring appointments be it on an urgent care basis or for regular checkups and vaccinations. We are currently booking 4-8 weeks in advance for regular care visits so please plan accordingly if you can! We will continue to provide every effort to get your sick/injured pets in as fast as we can!
Emergencies - Please see our emergency webpage for all contact information in the event of an after hours or weekend emergency
***Please note that our clients now have access to the SmartVet platform for triaging and treating cases - this is a service that allows clients to speak to an on-call Veterinary technician or Veterinarian regarding their urgent cases and a plan created via a telemedicine consultation. Should a pet require an in-person visit, they will refer you onwards to the closest emergency hospital; if the veterinarian on duty can assist the pet remotely, they will do so as they are able. Please note that SmartVet is not associated with our hospital in any way and thus it is not our veterinarians that will be answering but rather a staff of knowledgeable veterinarians from around Ontario.
Webstore - the MyVetStore online stone continues to be operational however given the cost of shipping and fuel surcharges, we have raised the limit to $100 for a minimum order to avoid shipping fees.
Rabies vaccination requirement - Going forward, ALL patients are required to have at minimum their Rabies vaccination up to date unless otherwise deemed exempt from vaccinations. This includes those pets coming in for nail trims, surgery, dentistry, sedation AND including those pets who are predominately indoor pets. This is not only because it is a legal requirement but it is also for the safety of our staff handling your pets in the case of a bite or scratch or contact with saliva.
- As a reminder:
- Dogs require two vaccines, 1 year apart as a primary booster and following this, Rabies is administered once every 3 years;
- Cats are as above however they require yearly Rabies vaccines (due to the brand we use, deemed safe in cats); we do have a 3 year option if you are interested, please inquire.
Our staff has been working long hours with days full of non-stop action and often staying late to complete follow-up phone calls to answer your questions. We have families to attend to after hours in addition to self-care and downtime. Your pets are important to us and are part of our extended families. We remind you that abusive behaviour will not be tolerated and ask that if you have any concerns to please contact us so that we can resolve any issues you may have.
We thank you for your ongoing loyalty, support, kindness and patience through this pandemic and as we navigate our reopening strategy. We will continue to send updates as they occur!
From Dr Scott Weese, DVM, Infectious disease specialist
"COVID-19 is predominantly, if not exclusively, maintained through human-to-human transmission, the overall goal of social distancing is to reduce human-to-human contact, both by reducing the incidence of contacts and reducing the closeness and duration of any required contacts. It is recognized that complete social distancing is not possible in veterinary medicine; therefore, measures must be in place to reduce the risk of exposure when distancing is not possible. The role of animals in transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is unclear. Zoonotic transmission, if it occurs, is presumably very rare. However, veterinarians are at the forefront of risk groups, particularly as they may have contact with animals owned by people with active COVID-19. While the risk is low, it is impossible to say that it is zero. Therefore, measures to minimize zoonotic transmission risks are indicated
Viral transmission mainly occurs through close contact and droplet transmission. Risks are greatest in three situations, the ‘3 Cs’. - Closed spaces - Crowded situations - Close contact settings. Risks are enhanced when droplet generating procedures are common, including talking, coughing, sneezing and yelling, and with longer contact times. These situations are very common in normal veterinary clinics, highlighting the potential risk of transmission and need for preventive measures.
Measures to reduce risk include: ▪ Limiting the number of people that enter the clinic (maximizing care that does not involve the client entering the clinic) ▪ Limiting the number of people that are in the clinic at any given time ▪ Limiting contact between animal owners and clinic personnel or other owners ▪ Minimizing the duration of contact between animal owners and clinic personnel ▪ Minimizing or avoiding contact in closed spaces ▪ Maximizing the use of physical barriers (e.g. plexiglass shields) ▪ Maximizing the use of personal protective equipment (e.g. masks) ▪ Physical distancing ▪ Cleaning and disinfection ▪ General infection prevention and control ▪ Evaluating clinic personnel interactions (e.g. ‘clinic bubbles’) ▪ Maximizing ventilation
COVID 19 and Animals
Human-pet transmission may be relatively common in households. ▪ Most infected animals likely have clinically inapparent infections. ▪ Cats can develop a range of (usually mild) respiratory tract or GI manifestations. Dogs seem to be resistant to clinical disease but may have mild disease (e.g. transient anorexia and depression). ▪ Cat-cat transmission can occur, so cat-human transmission should be considered possible. ▪ Dogs are less effective hosts and infected likely pose a much lower transmission risk than cats.
Ferrets are likely quite susceptible to infection, and presumably pose some risk of zoonotic transmission. ▪ Common livestock species appear to be minimally susceptible or non-susceptible ▪ Susceptibility of horses is unclear. ▪ Mink are of particular concern because of their susceptibility, ability to transmit the virus back to people and the potential for mutation of the virus with widespread transmission on farms. ▪ Wildlife susceptibility is variable and inadequately understood. Most urban wildlife species seem to have limited susceptibility but some (e.g. deer mice, deer) can be infected and transmit the virus.
"COVID-19 is predominantly, if not exclusively, maintained through human-to-human transmission, the overall goal of social distancing is to reduce human-to-human contact, both by reducing the incidence of contacts and reducing the closeness and duration of any required contacts. It is recognized that complete social distancing is not possible in veterinary medicine; therefore, measures must be in place to reduce the risk of exposure when distancing is not possible. The role of animals in transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is unclear. Zoonotic transmission, if it occurs, is presumably very rare. However, veterinarians are at the forefront of risk groups, particularly as they may have contact with animals owned by people with active COVID-19. While the risk is low, it is impossible to say that it is zero. Therefore, measures to minimize zoonotic transmission risks are indicated
Viral transmission mainly occurs through close contact and droplet transmission. Risks are greatest in three situations, the ‘3 Cs’. - Closed spaces - Crowded situations - Close contact settings. Risks are enhanced when droplet generating procedures are common, including talking, coughing, sneezing and yelling, and with longer contact times. These situations are very common in normal veterinary clinics, highlighting the potential risk of transmission and need for preventive measures.
Measures to reduce risk include: ▪ Limiting the number of people that enter the clinic (maximizing care that does not involve the client entering the clinic) ▪ Limiting the number of people that are in the clinic at any given time ▪ Limiting contact between animal owners and clinic personnel or other owners ▪ Minimizing the duration of contact between animal owners and clinic personnel ▪ Minimizing or avoiding contact in closed spaces ▪ Maximizing the use of physical barriers (e.g. plexiglass shields) ▪ Maximizing the use of personal protective equipment (e.g. masks) ▪ Physical distancing ▪ Cleaning and disinfection ▪ General infection prevention and control ▪ Evaluating clinic personnel interactions (e.g. ‘clinic bubbles’) ▪ Maximizing ventilation
COVID 19 and Animals
Human-pet transmission may be relatively common in households. ▪ Most infected animals likely have clinically inapparent infections. ▪ Cats can develop a range of (usually mild) respiratory tract or GI manifestations. Dogs seem to be resistant to clinical disease but may have mild disease (e.g. transient anorexia and depression). ▪ Cat-cat transmission can occur, so cat-human transmission should be considered possible. ▪ Dogs are less effective hosts and infected likely pose a much lower transmission risk than cats.
Ferrets are likely quite susceptible to infection, and presumably pose some risk of zoonotic transmission. ▪ Common livestock species appear to be minimally susceptible or non-susceptible ▪ Susceptibility of horses is unclear. ▪ Mink are of particular concern because of their susceptibility, ability to transmit the virus back to people and the potential for mutation of the virus with widespread transmission on farms. ▪ Wildlife susceptibility is variable and inadequately understood. Most urban wildlife species seem to have limited susceptibility but some (e.g. deer mice, deer) can be infected and transmit the virus.