and the winner is...

Today was the day. The day we were presenting our hospital as voted - best designed of 2013. It had a feeling like you were at the Juno's or something. We have some video for you, although we must

Dr. Ross Clark and Dr. Lechten before the presentation

warn you, the quality is not very good. Dr. Ross Clarke, a member of the Vet Economics advisory board led the introductions, the award was presented to us, then it was off to the races.

Dr. Lechten rocked the show (not literally) but well spoken to a room packed of people. There

and the floor is all hers...

were laughs and chuckles as Dr. Lechten added in some humor about the pitfalls of building a new hospital, but never the less, a very well informed presentation. There were very few questions to answer at the end of the show, as Dr. Lechten was so thorough, she covered pretty much everything you needed to know. Many people came up to us afterwards to congratulate us on the win. It truly was a proud day. Afterwards the Veterinary Economics magazine had a brief interview with us about how the team was so involved with the building of the new facility.

showcase of hospitals that were in the running this year

Brendan (Vet Economics Editor) with Dr. Lechten

Interview post presentation with Vet Economics

all in a days work

Testing one two three, we are blogging from KC, Missouri! Today was another hot one. It started early with getting up and dressed and heading over to the registration desk to sign in. Upon arriving at the registration desk we took a stroll along the Merit Winners row of all the hospitals that had entered the hospital of the year contest. In the middle was this:

 

and for all you people out there that are like me and need assistance with their vision, I took a close up as well.....

there is was beautifully displayed on an easel in the center. What a proud moment. We then carried on with the registration process, finding out where we will be presenting tomorrow, and ran into  Wayne Usiak the architect from Albuquerque who created AVH. From there it was back to the hotel where we both did quite a bit of paperwork/computer work - the work you can't get done while at the hospital. It turned out to be a productive day. Dr. Lechten then slipped out and she was involved with a group discussion about owners who are interested in building their own hospitals. Once back we decided to go down to the very well known "Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue". Which we both had a very well known dish to kansas city - burnt ends. Let me Wikipedia that for you:

Burnt ends are flavorful pieces of meat cut from the point half of a smoked brisket. A traditional part of Kansas City barbecue, burnt ends are considered a delicacy in barbecue cooking. Either the entire brisket is cooked whole, then the point end removed and cooked further, or the point and flat are separated prior to cooking. Due to the higher fat content of the brisket point, it takes longer to fully cook to tender and render out fat and collagen. This longer cooking gave rise to the name "burnt ends". Sometimes when the flat is done, the point is returned to the smoker for further cooking. Some cooks re-season the point at this time.Kansas City style burnt ends are usually served cubed with sauce either on top or on the side. A "proper" burnt end should display a modest amount of "bark" or char on at least one side. Burnt ends can be served alone (sometimes smothered in barbecue sauce) or in sandwiches, as well as in a variety of other dishes, including baked beans^[1] and gumbo.

Following the fab meal, we obviously had to walk it off home and enjoyed the sights of the downtown city area at night. Despite the very loud "screaming coming form the trees" I asked Dr. Lechten (a native to Missouri) what the heck is that it sounds like a bird stuck somewhere- she laughed and said oh those are "cicada's". They are an insect that makes that noise at night. What an awful screeching sound, and let me tell you if I could have voice recorded it for you I would have!

The adventure continues, until tomorrow folks.... signing out...Lisa and Dr. Lechten...

"Cicada" pronounced "Sih-cada"

Downtown KC at night

 

burnt ends with potato salad and cheese corn - delish

hello from the warm south....

Well not too far south, Dr. Lechten and Lisa have traveled today to Kansas City, MO. Over the next few days they will be presenting and speaking to others that are interested in building the "dream come true" hospital. They have prepared an hour presentation about their experiences of the "new" Allandale Veterinary Hospital. They will teach their peers and first time builders about possible obstacles and challenges of building a new hospital. They are very excited to speak at the CVC Hospital Design Conference, as attendees will be from all over the North America. They will be sure to post photos daily of their travels and experiences while out of the country. Here are a few from today....

Kauffman Center for the performing arts

taking off in Toronto

Mr. Mantis who was found praying on the  sidewalk of downtown KC!

 

center square outside the convention center

cool water featre

CVC (Central Veterinary Confrence) advertising all over downtown KC

Barrie Advance Readers' Choice 2013 VOTE NOW

Dr. Lechten has been nominated for Best Vet in Barrie! We are proud and honored for this nomination. Please been sure to vote! Only 1 vote per IP address is allowed. Happy voting!!


Barrie Advance Readers' Choice 2013 VOTE NOW

Happy ending really do happen - even for dogs....

One of our clients decided to share a beautiful true life story with us, and we wold like to share it with you....

 

"I had a Jack Russell Terrier whose health was failing badly but I wasn’t quite ready to let him go. I wanted a companion for him who would be patient, gentle and kind to him but where to find such a dog? While pursuing the pages of “petfinder” I saw and fell in love with a Chloe a Chihuahua mix who needed a forever home.  I filled out the application form and waited hoping for the best. My references were called and checked to see what kind of person I was and how I treated my present dog Elliot. All my friends and family told the people from Happy Tails Rescue that they would gladly come back in another life as my dog to be spoiled. I was soon called and Chloe was brought over for a 2 week trial and the rest was history…"

 

"There are some challenges to adopting a “rescue” dog as opposed to going to a breeder but you will never find a more grateful, loving, happy individual as this. Chloe never had her own bed before I got her nor anything of her own before I got her. The first belonging she ever owned was a red blanket from Giant Tiger which I have kept to this day as she still loves it. If I ever can’t find her I know exactly where to look for her she is happily sitting in her bed or on her corner of the couch."

 

 

"She is a well-adjusted loving little being who enjoys walks but is still very  cautious of strangers. She is very close to her immediate family and loves to go to the cottage and play with her friend the squirrel."

 

Happy endings really do happen even for dogs.


- Anonymous

Astounding generosity....

It truly humbles you when you give back not only to your community- to anyone in this world. Some of our AVH staff were out supporting the 12 Ladies in a Tent helping the Barrie Food Bank this weekend. It was astonishing how many people came by dropping loads of full bags of non perishable food off for the Barrie Food Bank. Generosity was oozing everyone, and everyone was so happy to be there. Cheers to Douglas -Ford as they were donating 20$ for every car or truck that you test drove! Twenty dollars per car!! Fantastic! At one point there was a line up of people waiting to test drive the vehicles!
Out team was out on Diva Day with giveaways, complimentary nail trims and more! Dr. Lechten and her 11 ladies organized pet contests, the Barrie Police K-9 Unit was also on hand with a demo, and of course it was DIVA day! Pamper it up girls! Hats off to all of the 12 Ladies for taking the reins on this needy cause, a cause that perhaps one day any one of us may need.

On another note, our staff was quite busy this weekend. Lisa (our Senior tech and treatment supervisor) was in Owen Sound, at the GBVA conference learning from the expert Dr. Robin Downing on new and up to date information on pain management in small animals. Lisa has reported back that is was very, very informative session, and if Dr. Downing was ever in the area again or at a major conference she would surely be listening to her again. "The information she teaches is very valuable for our patients!" says Lisa. Dr. Downing's accomplishments include not only owning and working from the "Downing Pain Management Center" in the USA, but the recipient of numerous awards including Outstanding Woman Veterinarian of the Year, and  Hill's Animal Welfare and Humane Ethics Award among many more.

Sunday was also popular at the Rogers Center as the Blue Jays were playing the Texas Rangers this weekend. Some of our staff headed out for some fun in the sun with the dome roof open - hence some of the one sided sunburns you may notice. Despite the loss for the Blue Jays, they said the has a great day out.

a long way from home.....

We are so pleased to have a visitor with us for the next month all the way from Guatemala City! Dr. Heidi Arguello is a veterinarian from Guatemala, who met Dr. Lechten and the crew on the "Veterinarians Without Borders" mission to Todos Santos, back in February of this year. After many emails and phone calls after the adventure ended, Dr. Lechten invited Heidi to stay with us and visit our clinic to learn more. "This has exceeded all my expectations" says Heidi.
"Where I come from we learn the techniques but do not practice all of them, we learn what the instruments do, but they are very expensive and are very hard to come by, so we do not have most of them". Back in Guatelmala Heidi is the type of veterinarian that travels to people's homes to diagnose and treat their pet. It is a difficult thing to do especially when you don't have blood machines, x-rays (the diagnostic capabilities) at your disposal. Heidi is working alongside our doctors and technicians here to advance her skills to bring home with her. Heidi was excited to see the rehabilitation area, as she has never seen that before. "I think the hydrotherapy tank is fantastic, to to see the positive therapy sessions is really neat to see" she says. Heidi is bilingual teaching us here at the hospital some Spanish, but we have to admit her English abilities are excellent!

Walking away from this experience Heidi simply hopes to " keep everything in my head that I had the opportunity of seeing and learning so I can take it all back with me to use in practice"! Heido will be with us until the beginning of June. We hope she enjoys her time with us, and comes back to visit again in the future!



Bienvenida Heidi!