How to Prevent Fleas & Ticks this Summer

Woohoo summer is FINALLY here! Hi y’all, CJ here and I’ve got my good pal Rex with me. We hope your summer is starting off on the right foot – ours sure is! We love the warm weather and being able to spend more time outdoors. Actually, the only thing we can’t stand about summer are these itchy itsy bitsy little creatures that live on us (can’t they find a motel??) – you know them, fleas and ticks! Humans hate them, but imagine being a dog and being covered in them all of the time, plain awful!

Hey Rex, remember earlier this month you had fleas and ticks something awful? “Woof, yeah, I was so itchy I couldn’t even play - woof woof.” Oh man, Rex, I’m sorry to hear that. How are you feeling now? “I feel super – woof woof! My mom took me to see Dr. Kothmann, and he put me on a new medicine called Bravecto.” Oh wow, that’s great Rex! I’m afraid to ask though, how often does your mom give it to you. “Once every 12 weeks – woof woof – and it’s yummy! I just chew a tasty treat and the tiny little bugs check out of my fur– woof woof!” That’s great to hear, Rex! I’ve heard it kills fleas within a few hours and ticks within a day – sounds like a miracle worker to me! “Yup, it’s the bees’ knees – woof woof!”

Well, Rex usually I do most of the talking, but today YOU taught me something! I’m going to make sure all of my friends visit Dr. Kothmann for Bravecto, then we can all enjoy our summers!

Protect Your Pets from Toxic Plants

Happy Spring, Y’all! It’s your pal, CJ and as always I have my friend Rex here with me! Rex, you know what was a bummer last week? “Your mom didn’t give you an treats?” Rex, no, not everything revolves around food! One of my furry friends got sick from eating a lily. She was rushed to the vet. She is doing better now, but it was a close call. It makes me worried about our other furry friends. Ya know what I mean, Rex? “Yeah, I stay away from plants, I only eat meaty foods – mmm meat!” Alright, well I guess that’s good, but anyway, I want to make sure our friends stay safe, so I put together a list of poisonous plants I heard Bulverde’s doctors discussing recently.

• Daffodils
• Lilies
• Azaleas
• Begonias
• Tulips
• Chrysanthemum
• Rhododendron

A good rule of thumb? If you don’t know what it is don’t eat it – better safe than sorry! If your mom or dad isn’t sure about the safety of a plant just have them call Bulverde Animal Hospital, they’ll be able to give you the information you need! Right Rex? “Woof, yup, want to go eat lunch?” Oh Rex… sure, why not, just nothing plant based! ;)

The Importance of Spaying and Neutering

Hi Y’all, it’s your good pal CJ and I’ve got my friend Rex here with me! The cold season is here and we’re loving it, especially the cool nights – makes for easy sleeping, right Rex? “Sleeping, I like sleeping, and treats and chasing cats.” Rex, all you think about is food, sleeping and playing. “Woof, yup!”

Speaking of cats, over the past few weeks I’ve noticed a strange thing going on at Bulverde Animal Hospital – on a bunch of mornings the vet has come in to find kittens on the doorstep – it’s confusing. I don’t know why there are so many of them and they’re just babies with no mom, it makes me sad. Rex, what do you think about it? “Woof, kittens, woof woof? Kittens are fun to chase.” Fine Rex, never mind. Anyway, as I was saying, I didn’t know why these babies were left behind, so I did some sneaking around and eavesdropping (shh, I can be sneaky sometimes!). It turns out some humans aren’t neutering their fur babies, and their fur babies are having their own babies that they can’t take care of, so they’re left at the vet. It makes me real sad – I couldn’t imagine not having a home. They said the only way to stop it is to spay or neuter your pets. I know it might seem scary, but a few of my furry friends have been spayed and neutered lately, and although they were scared beforehand, afterward they said it was a piece of cake! Rex, we need to help these babies out. Let’s spread the word that our fellow furry friends need to be spayed and neutered – the more people know about it the more they can help out. “Woof, I’m going to take a nap.” Oh Rex, you don’t listen to anything I say do you? “Huh, did you say something CJ?”

Bulverde Animal Hospital's Updated Hours

Hi All! CJ and Rex here! We’re so excited that it’s summer time! Hey Rex, do you have any big plans for the rest of the summer? “Yup, playing, eating and sleeping - woof woof!” Rex, that’s all you ever do! “Yup, it’s my favorite thing, so why would I change it?” Alright, I suppose you have a point…sigh! So Rex, my mom is so excited - since Bulverde Animal Hospital has extended hours she can really bring me in whenever is convenient for her. Summer is a busy time – work, the kids’ sports games and practice, vacations, play dates – my mom can’t keep up! BUT the one thing she doesn’t have to worry about is finding a time to bring me to the vet, which is a big relief for her. They extended their hours to 9:00 pm Monday – Friday! That means my mom has time to get home from work, have a quick dinner, drop the kids off at practice, and bring me for my check-up at 8:00 pm. It’s great – my mom is happy, which means she plays with me more – we both win! Rex, what are you doing? “Woof, woof – sniffing the grass, I smell food!” Oh Rex, please just TRY to remember to spread the word about the new hours. It will make all of our lives MUCH easier!

CJ and Rex: Food and the Holidays!

Happy Holidays Everyone! CJ and Rex here. We’re super excited because the holidays have arrived. That means yummy food from the dinner table! My family isn’t celebrating until later on this week, but Rex’s parents had a huge party this past weekend. Say Rex, did you luck out? Did anyone pass you some yummy food off their plates?
“Woof, woof yeah, I feel something terrible.” Rex, what do you mean? “Well, woof woof, these little kids kept feeding me food off their plates. I was in heaven, then my mom started to yell at me and the kids. She said I’d get sick, woof woof – I didn’t listen, neither did those kids. I kept eating – I had turkey, pie, and ice cream. I spent all of yesterday in the back yard, doing you know what…”
Oh Rex, that’s awful! As we both know, I’m very well behaved and courteous, so I’ve never eaten too much over the holidays, just a handful of turkey and ham, here and there. I didn’t realize that human food could make us so sick. “Yup, woof woof, it’s awful, woof, woof. Next year I’m staying away from those kids and sticking to my dog food.” Good idea Rex, I’ll pass your experience along to my friends. The holidays are a time to have fun, not be in the back yard getting sick!

CJ and Rex Talk About Bulverde Animal Hospital’s New Hours!

Hi All! CJ and Rex here! We’ve been settling into fall nicely and LOVE the newest addition to the Bulverde Animal Hospital family, Dr. Bunting. Hey Rex, have you visited Dr. Bunting lately? “Yeah, woof woof, I like her. She gives me yummy treats.” Well, (CJ shakes his head) you sure do love those treats.

So Rex, I had a great experience the other day! Sometimes it can be real hard for my human to make an appointment for me to see one of the vets because she doesn’t get home from work until 7:00 pm, so usually she has to leave work early to bring me – that makes her super stressed and cranky! Well, let you tell me you, Rex – my human was in the greatest mood when she took me to Bulverde Animal Hospital the other day. It turns out they extended their hours to 9:00 pm Monday – Friday! That means my human had time to get home from work, have a quick dinner and bring me for my annual check-up at 8:00 pm. It was great – everyone was relaxed and not rushed.

Rex, are you listening to me? “Woof, woof yup – I heard something about your human having dinner. I love food!” Oh Rex, well just be sure to spread the word about the new hours. It will make all of our lives MUCH easier!

CJ and Rex Introduce the New Vet

Happy Fall everyone! CJ here, we hope your fall is off to a great start. Rex and I are super excited to announce that there’s a new vet in the office, Dr. Heather Bunting! “Wait, there’s a new vet? Who? I haven’t met her!” Yes you have, Rex! (CJ shakes his head). We met her yesterday, while you were playing with your new bone. “Oh yeah, I was kind of distracted, woof woof!” Rex, sometimes I don’t know about you, the only things you think about are food and toys! “Yup, woof woof, that’s true.”

Well, let me refresh your memory. Dr. Bunting decided she wanted to be a vet when she was only five years old! She LOVES animals and it really shows. She gave me a great little back rub yesterday. She grew up around here, but went to school far away, in a place called California. That’s where she learned how to take care of us. She came back to Texas to be close to her family, she is just so darn nice! I think my favorite thing about her is that she is really keen on making sure animals and their humans get along well. Which means she will make sure we, and all of our friends, are in the right hands. A major plus, she has a few pets that live with her! So we have new friends to add to the gang. Dr. Bunting is going to fit in just great!

“Dr. Bunting sounds great, I can’t wait to meet her, again woof woof! Think she will give me a treat?” Oh Rex, what are we going to do with you?