Bright Eyes & Bushy Tails • Iowa City, IA • 319-351-4256 • http://www.BEBT.com

3030 Northgate DrIowa City, IA 52245

(319) 351-4256

Jennifer Brown, DVM · LeAnn Anderson, DVMDebra Conant, DVM · Wendy Miller, DVM

Veterinary Hospital Christine Adams, DVM · Linda Weatherton, DVMAllan Berger DVM, PhD · Jennifer Berger, DVM · Veronica Acebey-Busick, DVM

Dear friends and clients,

It’s spring! We welcome two new veterinarians, Drs. LeAnn Anderson and Veronica Acebey-Busick. We haveused the winter to catch up on some paperwork and we are enjoying new puppy and new kitten season.

We are sponsoring a “Rescue Fundraiser Fun Day” on Sunday June 29, 12:00 noon to 4:00PM at ourclinic. Leashed dogs and cats are welcome with their humans for food (vegetarian hot dogs, chips, soda, dogand cat treats), children’s activities, live music by The Cellar Door and facility tours. A dog and human dress-up competition will also be held (Categories include “Best Dressed”, “Funniest Costume”, “Most Original” andmore!). Public invited in addition to our clients! Rain or shine. [Note that we are co-promoting this event withthe Iowa City Area Association of Realtors’ Scrub Your Paws for a Cause Dog Wash. Wash your dog indowntown Iowa City and then stop out to see us for some food and a walk in the grass!]

Suggested donations go to Baxter’s Buddies, Friends of the Animal Center, Iowa Humane Alliance, JohnsonCounty Humane Society, Mix-N-Match, Paws & More and Safe Haven. We expect most of these organizationsto have a presence at the Rescue Fundraiser Fun Day.

Come join us for fun and games!

Gratefully yours,Everyone at Bright Eyes & Bushy Tails

New ReceptionistsNotice a different voice when you called the office recently? Tina Dinsdale and Alyse Morris have joined PaulaKelly in providing reception services. BEBT has decided to switch to a "dedicated reception" system. That is,Alyse, Tina and Paula will do reception duties only, leaving our technicians and assistants to use their skills indirect patient care tasks.

We know that clients appreciate consistency and having dedicated receptionists will assist in this. With thisnew system, it will be helpful for clients to call during our normal business hours (8:00AM to 5:00 PM) whenscheduling appointments. Thanks! And “Welcome” to Tina and Alyse!

June 2008Newsletter

Bright Eyes & Bushy Tails • Iowa City, IA • 319-351-4256 • http://www.BEBT.com

Pricesby Allan Berger, DVM

Ah, an unpopular topic…we know money is tight these days. Like every other business, we hear peopleconcerned about costs. We learned three days before I wrote this that our employee health care is going up 25%next month. Like everyone else, right now we are struggling with what to do.

If you are one of our clients who frequently purchase prescription food from us, we have been notified ofsignificant pricing increases from Hills due to their shipping and grain costs. Because of this, we willunfortunately have to pass some of this increase on to our clients.

Again, we understand that everyone is squeezed by inflation. We are leaning toward not increasing our servicecosts now, even though so many of the input costs we examine are higher…but we want everyone to understandthis. Feedback on both our prices and service is always welcome!

Deep thoughtsby Gina Harrison, RVT

Way back in the spring of 1992 when I was eagerly anticipating graduating from the Kirkwood CommunityCollege Veterinary Technician program I wondered what kind of a veterinary practice I would work in. Idreamed of working for one with 4-5 doctors and a talented staff in a beautiful, impressive facility withadvanced medical equipment like ultrasound, endoscopy and in-house blood machines. But alas, I had a 5-year-old daughter and a husband with a good job here in Iowa City, so moving really was not an option, and therewere no clinics like that in this area. I was hired right after graduation by Katrin Kolder, whose clinic at thattime was in Lone Tree. It was a small one-doctor practice that was growing rapidly. As the years continued,the practice was moved to West Branch. Dr. Sue Delaney came on board and in 2001 Dr. Kolder moved toWyoming and Dr. Jennifer Brown bought Kolder Pet Hospital. I survived all of the changes because I loved myjob and I thoroughly enjoyed all of the clients and their pets. Then in 2006 the merger of Bright Eyes & BushyTails and Kolder Pet Hospital was announced. I was excited and nervous all at the same time. I had done thesame job in the same location with the same 4-5 people for almost 14 years. You know what they say aboutteaching old dogs new tricks?! WOW!

This was going to be a 24-hour practice with 6 doctors and at least 20 assistants and technicians! There wouldbe new equipment and drugs - some of which I had never used before. Moreover, we would be the emergencyhospital for almost all of the Iowa City clinics and many in the surrounding area.

When I first walked into the almost completed clinic it went way beyond my dream of 14 years earlier. I couldonly imagine the medical cases that would come through the front doors. But even my imagination did notforesee me assisting with an abdominal exploratory surgery on a tortoise, placing skin grafts on a little terrierthat had been hit by a car or the 2 dogs rescued from a house fire that had to be placed in the oxygen cage, orthe golden retriever with hypothermia from swimming in the Iowa River in January! I have to admit that what Iwas most worried about was working with multiple doctors and the additional staff members. But that, too, hasbeen much easier than I thought. We have a new graduate doctor, one with a year under her belt, several witharound 10 years and one with 20+ years of experience. One doesn't have to go elsewhere for a second opinion

Bright Eyes & Bushy Tails • Iowa City, IA • 319-351-4256 • http://www.BEBT.com

because you can get several right here. What’s more is that the technical staff is just as diverse in experience,education, and age, and we all work well together as a team.

If someone had told me 3 years ago that I would be enjoying my career even more than I already was, I wouldnot have believed them. Experiencing the high level of care, compassion and customer service offered at BrightEyes & Busy Tails and the Emergency Veterinary Service of Iowa City is what prompted me to seek highereducation in dentistry and to work towards my certification. As with human medicine, veterinary medicine isconstantly improving in quality and that's what our goal and mission is at BEBT and EVSIC and that is why Ilove coming to work every day. And I know they installed that elevator just for me so I can work here until Iam at least 85!

Senior Wellnessby Amy Gerst, RVT

Just as human physicians begin recommending certain screening tests as people reach the “golden years,” ourpets also benefit from wellness screenings. By doing a senior wellness screening, we are able to establish a“normal or healthy” baseline for comparison as your pet ages. This will also help detect illness sooner for amore effective treatment. It is reported that over 1 out of 5 dogs or cats harbor disease only detectable with adiagnostic workup that includes blood and urine analysis.

As a general rule, dogs are considered to be senior at 7 years of age and cats at 10 years of age. Larger breedsof dogs age more quickly than smaller breeds. It is important to keep in mind that pets age 2-3 years for every 6months of time. This is why it is imperative to have regular physicals and diagnostic screenings performed. Infact, the American Animal Hospital Association recommends a physical and laboratory testing be done every 6months.

At Bright Eyes & Bushy Tails, our Senior Wellness Screening Program includes a complete physical exam andblood and urine analysis. We will also ask if you have noticed any changes in your pet's activity level, generalbehavior, eating/drinking habits, or urination pattern. This information, in combination with the laboratoryresults, will allow us to view an “inside picture” of how internal organs such as the liver, kidney and thyroid arefunctioning. If abnormal results are seen, the veterinarian may recommend additional testing, a change in diet,medications or nutritional supplements. If your pet's results are normal, they will be used as a baseline forcomparison at future wellness screenings.

We recognize the goal of most pet owners is to have their pet live a long, healthy and comfortable life. Many ofour pets are very stoic and do not readily show signs of pain or discomfort until diseases such as arthritis ordental disease is already fairly advanced. Give us a call to set up senior wellness screening today. The peace ofmind will be well worth your effort!

Cats available for adoption at the clinic!

Darth Vader Lola Mya

Pet Memories:Showroom

Isolation

Mechanical