Gabriella has been working as a veterinary technician at Jefferson Veterinary Hospital since 2017. She enjoys working with all of our patients and their owners. Gabriella is very caring, eager to learn more, and she always lends a hand in any way she can to help. She loves her Starbucks every day, she has to have her coffee!
Jefferson Veterinary Hospital Celebrates Veterinary Technician Week!
We are celebrating veterinary technician week here at Jefferson Veterinary Hospital! Your veterinarians are lucky to have such a wonderful, caring and supportive team behind them. Your veterinary technicians truly love your pets and care for them like their own when they are away from you!
Valerie has been with Brunswick Veterinary Office / Jefferson Veterinary Hospital since 2010. Valerie comes in to the veterinary hospital each day with the most cheerful attitude every morning. She is reliable, always eager to learn more and help anyone out. You will see Valerie doing a lot of our laser treatments on our patients.
Celebrating Veterinary Technician Week!
We are celebrating veterinary technician week here at Jefferson Veterinary Hospital! Your veterinarians are lucky to have such a wonderful, caring and supportive team behind them. Your veterinary technicians truly love your pets and care for them like their own when they are away from you!
This is Melissa, she has been with Brunswick Veterinary Office / Jefferson Veterinary Hospital since 2016. She came to us with years of experience and she is very knowledgeable, dedicated. She always cares deeply when it comes to you and your pets. We can always rely on her to keep us laughing!
Veterinarians and Staff Celebrate Veterinary Technician Week!
Desiree started working as a Veterinary Technician in May 2020. All the veterinarians and staff enjoy working with her, she comes in and gets her job done! She is great with sign language, which we are thrilled about as she can help us communicate more effectively with some of our clients during appointments!
Leo's Story
The other day the very handsome Leo came to visit veterinarian Dr. Ahalt for the first time. Unfortunately he was very scared, but Dr Ahalt took his time with him and they became close and Leo then trusted him. We showed this to his family and they were beyond thankful for the time Dr. Ahalt took to make Leo comfortable.
Veterinary Orthopedic Surgery
Dr George, a board certified surgeon who does JVHs TPLOs, came in to help teach Dr A a few new things during an orthopedic surgery. They have a relationship like father and son. JVH ❤️ both of these two while taking care of your pets and ours.
COVID-19 OPERATING PROCEDURES
Veterinary Hospitals are specified as an “essential business” under the executive order issued by Maryland governor Larry Hogan on March 23, 2020. Jefferson Veterinary Hospital will continue to operate with the safety of you, our clients, our patients and staff as a paramount consideration. We are taking the following measures to keep you, your pet, our veterinarians and staff safe during this time:
Social Distancing (Maintaining a Distance of 6 Feet Between People)
Limiting the number of people present in our lobby.
Limiting the number of people going in and out of the hospital
In cases where social distancing measures cannot be maintained, we may call and request you to wait in your vehicle and one of our staff will arrange to get your pet from you.
Taking your pet out of the examination room to conduct exams in our treatment area.
Requesting help from clients by having only one person accompany your pet to their appointment.
Requesting that cats be brought in carriers to the hospital.
Not accepting walk-in appointments for nail trims.
Sanitization
Increasing the frequency of our already stringent sanitization methods of the hospital.
Sanitizing high contact areas of the hospital (e.g. door handles) on a constant basis.
As per our regular operating protocol, exam rooms are thoroughly sanitized between clients.
As per our regular operating protocol, soap, water and sanitizer are available for client use throughout the hospital.
Social Distancing for Prescription Pick up
Please call us at least one hour in advance, or more if you can, with your refill information.
We prefer to take your payment over the phone with a debit/credit card.
When you arrive, please call us from the parking lot and we will meet you to deliver your medication and receipt.
If you are sick, we are happy to reschedule your appointment. If you are sick and your pet is sick, or needs emergency care, please have another person bring your pet to us. If this is not possible, let us know so that we can make arrangements with you to get your pet to the hospital. We do not want any animal to suffer due to the current restrictions and will do our best to work with you.
How do these measures affect me?
One of the main results from following recommended social distancing measures is that we are reducing the number of people in the hospital. What this means for you is that we will have to communicate more over the phone with you about your pet. It may also take longer than normal to get on the schedule for a well pet exam as we are limiting the number of these appointments. We continue to prioritize sick and emergency cases.
We continue to follow the requirements from the State of Maryland and the recommendations from the CDC and we will move back to our regular operating protocol as soon as these bodies deem it is safe to do so.
By taking these actions together we will get through these unprecedented times and we will continue to provide the best quality veterinary medicine to your pets in the process. Thank you for helping to keep everyone safe and healthy.
Emergency C Section for a Great Dane
Jefferson Veterinary Hospital received a call that a pregnant Great Dane in labor had delivered two puppies but had stalled and that no puppy had been delivered for five hours but the dog was still in active labor. This is known as dystocia. One of our Veterinarians, Dr. Ahalt, examined the patient and it was determined that a c-section was necessary to save the life of the remaining puppies and the mother. Dr. Ahalt performed an emergency c-section surgery on the patient and retrieved the remainder of the puppies.
Halloween tips to keep your pets safe!
Heartworm Disease | Veterinarian Knoxville MD
When an infected mosquito bites a dog, microfilaria (heartworm larvae) are deposited on the skin and enter the bite wound, making their way into the dog’s bloodstream. The larvae then migrate to the heart and develop into adult worms, which takes about 6 to 7 months. Once the larvae develop into adult worms they begin reproducing.
Sometimes the dog will not show any clinical signs if they have just been infected by a mosquito. Dogs that have been infected for a long time will develop a cough, have a reduced appetite, fatigue, and even weight loss.
Jefferson Veterinary Hospital recommends that you give your dog a chewable heartworm preventative (Sentinel Spectrum) once a month. If your pet is not currently on a heartworm preventative, we highly recommend that you bring your dog in to get a quick and easy heartworm test to be sure your dog is negative before starting your monthly heartworm prevention.
Caution: Silicone Cupcake Wrappers Causing Intestinal Blockage in Dog | Surgery to Remove Foreign Body in Dog Frederick MD Veterinarian
Happy Mother’s Day to everyone! Dr. Ahalt and his family are at the hospital today to discharge Maggie so she can go home and be with her mum and family! Maggie counter surfed and ate a cupcake, complete with reusable silicone cupcake wrapper that caused a blockage and required surgery to remove - if you own a dog that likes to cruise for food, you might want to keep a close eye on your cupcakes before they go rogue or go back to paper wrappers, which are less likely to caused a blockage if eaten. Happy Mother’s Day!
Prescription Refills at Jefferson Veterinary Hospital
Spend more time with the ones you love. Jefferson Veterinary Hospital is pleased to offer a time saving and convenient way to refill your prescriptions without having to call the veterinary hospital! Simply fill out this form for prescription medication refills, or this form for prescription food refills, at any time and your veterinarian will review your refill request and either approve it, or contact you for more information.
Please allow us 24 hours, excluding weekends, to process your request. If you are out of medication, or have any questions about your prescription, please call the hospital at 301-473-4111.
Please note: if we have not seen your pet within the last 12 months, or this is a medication that your pet has not been previously prescribed, we will be unable to refill or prescribe the medication without first seeing your pet for an exam. Please schedule an appointment by calling us at 301-473-4111, or you can also schedule online by clicking here.
Growing Vegetables Safely with Pets in Maryland | Veterinarian Point of Rocks MD
Growing Vegetables Safely with Pets in Maryland
The weather is now perfect to start a vegetable garden, but when you have pets there are some plants to avoid that can make your pets sick. We have listed some safe and dangerous fruits and vegetables for our pets. Just some things to think about while getting your gardens ready:
Safe vegetables around pets:
Asparagus; blueberries; broccoli; cauliflower; cantaloupe; carrots; celery; cucumber; green beans; peas; watermelon; and pumpkin
Dangerous vegetables for pets:
Avocado; eggplant; grapes; mushrooms; garlic; and onion.
Garden Plants that are Toxic to your Pets | Veterinarian Point of Rocks MD
It is spring time in Maryland and we are getting our yards ready, and looking pretty. But unfortunately some of our plants can be very dangerous to our pets. In the list below, we have both safe plants and dangerous plants. We want our pets to have fun outside. It’s very rewarding to have our 4-legged family members with us.
Dangerous plants: Aloe Vera; Ivy; Elephant Ear; Philodendron; Sago Palm; Camellias; Fuchsias
Safe Plants: Begonias; Day lilies; Marigolds; Hyacinth; and Snapdragon.
Microchip Your Pets | Point of Rocks MD Veterinarian
Microchipping your cat or dog is a simple procedure with an overwhelming benefit of your pet being returned to you quickly if they get out and are found by a person who takes them to a local veterinarian or animal shelter. Your veterinarian can place the microchip at Jefferson Veterinary Hospital. The microchip, which is the size of a grain of rice, is injected under your pets’ skin between the shoulder blades. The microchip is a permanent form of identification for your pet. When the microchip is scanned, there is a unique ID code that can identify your pet’s information. Statistically 1 in 5 pets go missing every month, but there have been over 2 million microchipped pets reunited with their families. Please call us at 301-473-4111 or contact us to get your pet microchipped or for more information.
Pet Portraits at Jefferson Veterinary Hospital | Frederick MD Veterinarian
COMING SOON!
Jefferson Veterinary Hospital is pleased to partner with Clare Ahalt Photography to provide a very limited set of studio pet portrait sessions.
These sessions will take place in Jefferson Veterinary Hospital and includes a 15 minute “Chomp it” session of your dog catching treats, as pictured below, one 8 x 12 photographic print, a low resolution digital file of the same portrait for online sharing and printing up to size 8 x 10. These pet portrait sessions will occur in mid-May.
If you would like to be put on the priority list and get priority at securing a spot, please email Clare at info@clareahaltphotography.com or use the contact form here
TPLO and Stem Cell Therapy on a Dog with a cranial cruciate ligament
Veterinarian Dr. Ahalt saw a dog and diagnosed him with a torn cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) in March 2018 and recommend that the dog have surgery by a board certified veterinary surgeon coming to Jefferson Veterinary Hospital to perform a tibial-plateau-leveling osteotomy, commonly known as a TPLO, rather than the traditional cruciate surgery due to the dogs’ size. Dr. Ahalt has found that dogs over 40lbs have an easier recovery from TPLO surgery, rather than the traditional surgery, which for that size of dog is likely to result in the affected knee being re-injured. Dr. Ahalt still performs cruciate surgeries on smaller dogs, who have a lesser likelihood of causing injury to the repaired joint. After much debate and research the owner chose to have the TPLO surgery performed at Jefferson Veterinary Hospital by a board certified veterinary surgeon approximately 1 year after the initial diagnosis. The owner also elected to have the dog undergo stem cell therapy in both the affected joint and the joint in the opposite leg, which had started to develop arthritis. The surgery was a success and the owners were wonderful at keeping the dog quiet and calm during the recovery period at home and the dog made a full recovery .
Christmas Eve Fire at the Beagle Kennel in Middletown, MD
We were overwhelmed by the response to a post on our facebook page about a fire that happened on Christmas Eve to the Beagle Kennels in Middletown, MD and wanted to follow up. During the late hours of Christmas Eve, and early hours of Christmas morning a terrible fire tore through the beagle kennel, located in Middletown, MD. Passersby bravely ran towards the fire and retrieved as many dogs as they could. The original post read as follows:
This is Dr. Ahalt’s wife, and Dr. A will be upset at me for posting this but I really want people to understand the heart and soul and care that he puts into providing veterinary medicine in the Frederick MD community. Yesterday, Christmas Eve, he worked tirelessly in the animal hospital and came home, where work didn’t stop and he checked over a stray dog that had found his way to our farm and played with him for a bit (we are still looking for the owner) (Edited update, the owner was found - he was also in Frederick MD, the dog had traveled a few miles over fields. Dog and owner were reunited on the eve of Christmas Day).
Around midnight Christmas eve, after Dr. Ahalt had just gotten into bed, his phone rang. He answered and was told there had been a terrible fire at a kennel in Middletown MD that is home to around 22 hounds. It had burned to the ground, there were injured hounds and they needed help immediately. Without hesitation or pause, my husband got up, got dressed and left in the middle of the night to go to the kennel. I met him there as, with that many animals lots of hands are ... well, handy. I got to see the community come together in the early hours of Christmas morning to help the survivors of the fire. Puppies were held, hounds were treated and tears were shed.
I got to watch my husband work to treat all the surviving hounds and it was pretty amazing. I am always impressed by his work ethic and dedication, but this was something else, and I don’t quite have the right words to articulate his calmness at treating that many animals with such varying levels of trauma.
We left the kennel around 3am and got home around 3:30. The children woke up with excitement at 5am, completely unaware that their dad had worked through the wee hours of the night. Now, he is sleeping. I do not have the words to say how proud I am, and I know he will be upset that I have posted this, but it’s Christmas, and I cannot let his actions and selfless dedication go by without saying something.
We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your families, please spare a thought and prayer for the puppies that were lost last night, the ones who are recovering and the people who love them.
Dr. Ahalt provided his services that night at no charge. The surviving beagles had severe burns, and were successfully treated by a combination of veterinarian members of the beagle club and Dr. Ahalt at Jefferson Veterinary Hospital. Dr. Ahalt debrided the beagles, and provided laser treatment and we are pleased to say that all the surviving beagles from the fire were successfully treated and discharged from Jefferson Veterinary Hospital by veterinarian Dr. Ahalt after approximately 6 weeks of treatment.
We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the community after the initial facebook post, and a selection of comments are below.
Open House at Jefferson Vet: Learn About New Alternative Pain Relief Treatments
Stem Cell Therapy
Jefferson Veterinary Hospital is excited to offer two, new, state of the art treatment options to help provide faster recovery time from surgeries and wounds, and pain relief for animals. The two treatments are Stem Cell Therapy and Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) injection therapy.
Stem cell therapy uses an animal’s own stem cells, obtained through a minimally invasive surgery, to help reduce inflammation and pain in arthritic joints. It is primarily used to manage osteoarthritis, but may also have other applications that are under investigation, such as for kidney disease and allergies. Jefferson Veterinary Hospital will focus on using stem cell therapy to help manage pain and mobility problems caused by osteoarthritis and other joint issues.
Stem cell therapy has the potential to remove the need for, and cost of, long term medication, and frequent blood work that is associated with such medication. Stem cells work to reduce pain and inflammation for twelve to eighteen months after treatment.
Platelet Rich Plasma Injection Therapy
PRP injection therapy is a non surgical procedure where the animal’s own blood is taken and then platelets are extracted and injected directly into a wound or surgical site to help promote healing. It aims to reduce the time that it takes for your pet to heal after surgery, and help speed up healing and reduce pain in cases of major wounds.
Come to our open house at Jefferson Veterinary Hospital on January 30, 2019 from 6:30-8:30pm to meet our veterinarians, tour our hospital and learn more about these new therapies!
National Kids and Pets Day | Veterinarian Frederick MD
Yesterday was national pet DNA day, and today is national kids and pets day! There is no better combination than a happy dog or cat and a kid playing together. Dr. Ahalt's children love their animals, and the puppy, Chug, loves to go on trips around Frederick MD with them. In fact, our friends will know that we have a hard time keeping him out of the car.