By Shauna Greene, Veterinary Services Coordinator and Lipsey Clinic Manager

In the veterinary world, February is Pet Dental Health Month. While it’s important to maintain your pet’s smile throughout the year, we take this month to showcase the importance of oral health.

All too often, we fail to notice issues with our pets’ teeth until dental disease is in advanced stages. Just like in humans, unattended dental disease can cause other problems in animals. We all think about the obvious bad breath, but rampant bacteria in an affected animal’s mouth can cause infection in the blood, leading to cardiac issues. Liver and kidney function can also be impaired by bacterial infections that begin in the mouth. But there are ways you can help! Regular oral care, like brushing teeth and surgical cleanings, can reduce the risk of dental disease and keep your furry friend’s smile bright.

Expect installments throughout the month featuring ways to contribute to your pet’s oral health, and photos and videos of what dental surgery looks like at a vet’s office.

The SPCA’s Lipsey Veterinary Clinic offers veterinary services for cats and dogs! To see all available services, please visit LipseyClinic.com. To make an appointment, please call 716-531-4700.

WILDLIFE WEDNESDAY: This poor little robin was covered in grease when she became trapped in a truck’s wheel! She was admitted to the SPCA’s Wildlife Department and Wildlife Hospital Supervisor Dawn explains how they cleaned her up (hint: it involved three staff members and multiple washes using Dawn Dishwashing Liquid) and how she’s doing now!

Today only, your gift is tripled! Make your gift here!

Within hours of realizing they had probably never treated a Small-eared Owl, Jimmy in the Wildlife Department had the chance to rescue one!

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

THE SPCA SERVING ERIE COUNTY RECEIVES $50,000 GRANT FROM PETSMART CHARITIES® TO HELP MORE HOMELESS PETS FIND HOMES IN ERIE COUNTY AND WESTERN NEW YORK

[WEST SENECA, NY] – [11/4/2020] – The SPCA Serving Erie County received a $50,000 grant from PetSmart Charities to help prepare more shelter pets in Erie County for adoption and ensure they are ready to find loving homes. With the help of this grant, the SPCA spayed and neutered 584 animals, including 280 dogs, 239 cats, and 58 rabbits to support its efforts to help homeless pets find homes.

“Every cat, dog, and rabbit are spayed/neutered before they are adopted and we recently began neutering male rats, too! This lifesaving practice doesn’t come at a small price and we are grateful for this very generous gift from PetSmart Charities that went directly to spay/neuter surgeries!” said Bethany Kloc, communications manager of the SPCA Serving Erie County.

“Thanks to the work of the SPCA Serving Erie County, thousands of deserving shelter pets will have the best chance of finding loving homes,” said Johnny Jenkins, associate relationship manager at PetSmart Charities. “We are proud to support its proactive approach to reduce pet homelessness throughout Erie County.”

Since 1994, through its partnership with nearly 4,000 humane societies, SPCAs and pet rescues across North America, PetSmart Charities has helped more than 9 million pets to find loving homes via its in-store adoption program in over 1,650 PetSmart® stores. The leading funder of animal welfare has also donated nearly $430 million to positively impact communities, to help preserve families, to improve access to veterinary care and to connect people and pets through initiatives like this with the SPCA Serving Erie County.

To find out more information about available adoptable animals and how to adopt animals from the SPCA Serving Erie County, please visit YourSPCA.org.

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At the SPCA Serving Erie County, our mission is to create a more humane community through education; rescuing, protecting, and enhancing the lives of animals; and nurturing the bond between animals and people.

ABOUT PETSMART CHARITIES®:
PetSmart Charities, Inc. is committed to finding lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and thought leadership that bring people and pets together. Through its in-store adoption program in all PetSmart® stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, PetSmart Charities helps to find forever homes and families for more than 500,000 shelter pets each year. PetSmart Charities also provides grant funding to nonprofits aligned with its mission. Each year, millions of generous PetSmart shoppers help pets in need by donating to PetSmart Charities using the PIN pads at checkout registers inside PetSmart stores. In turn, PetSmart Charities efficiently uses more than 90 cents of every dollar donated to fulfill its role as the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, granting nearly $430 million since its inception in 1994. Independent from PetSmart Inc., PetSmart Charities is a 501(c)(3) organization that has received the Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator, a third-party organization that reports on the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of nonprofits, for the past 17 years in a row – placing it among the top one percent of charities rated by this organization. To learn more visit www.petsmartcharities.org.

Follow PetSmart Charities on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PetSmartChariTs

Find PetSmart Charities on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/PetSmartCharities

Follow PetSmart Charities on Instagram: www.instagram.com/PetSmartCharities

See PetSmart Charities on YouTube: www.YouTube.com/PetSmartCharitiesInc

October 21, 2020

A NOTE FROM THE LIPSEY CLINIC PRACTICE MANAGER, SHAUNA GREENE:

I hope everyone is doing the best they can to get through these trying times. We have all been through a lot of change, and it’s not over yet. The Lipsey Clinic is also growing and changing, and with new management we are trying new things. We hope you are as excited as we are to grow and embrace these changes.

Starting in November, we will begin a solid schedule of appointments and surgeries. We will be open for exam appointments Monday, Tuesday and Friday of each week. Thursday will be reserved for surgery, and Wednesday for technician-led appointments only (you can call us for more details about which you may require). Depending on need, surgery may expand to another day each week. Please note that everything will still be on an appointment basis, including medication pickups.

Speaking of expanding, what we can offer has grown as well as our availability. We still cannot provide the intensive care needed for a critical illness or injury, but we can provide the diagnostics and treatment necessary for many milder and chronic ailments like arthritis, thyroid conditions, skin and ear infections, etc. We will also begin offering the Purina line of prescription diets in-house and a small selection of retail and over the counter items.

Another big change is our exam fee schedule. While we have slightly increased the cost of your pet’s full and comprehensive annual exam, we’ve lowered the cost for seeing the doctor in between those annual appointments. And you can still get a la carte services like nail trims done without an exam so long as you’ve seen us within a year.

I welcome any feedback you have about the changes we’ve made, and I’d love to hear about your experiences with us, and if there’s anything we can do better or offer that isn’t already available. Feel free to email me directly or call the clinic and ask for my extension. Also, we love to see your pet being happy and healthy at home; please send us photos and updates!

Please continue to be safe, wash your hands, and stay kind to one another.

In good health,

Shauna Greene
Practice Manager, Lipsey Clinic
shaunag@yourspca.org

The SPCA Serving Erie County’s Wildlife Department’s Recent Patients

Green Heron

On July 24th a Clarence resident called the SPCA’s Wildlife Department about an injured bird in her back yard. Turns out it was a Green Heron with a fractured tibiotarsus (a large bone in the bird’s leg). On July 27th our Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Slote did surgery and placed a pin in the bird’s leg to help stabilize the bone so it can heal. The bird is doing well and we’re hopeful for a good outcome — its release back to the wild!