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ASHLAND Area veterinary clinics remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic, but only for essential services, which is according to guidelines issued by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Local veterinarians continue to see some patients, but they are seeing only about half the numbers.

At Ashland Animal Clinic, Dr. Chris Pinkston said hes following the AVMA guidelines and those suggested by the Kentucky Veterinarian Association, which are very similar.

We have stopped routine procedures but are still seeing animals with ailments and illnesses, Pinkston said. An example of ailment or illness is urinary tract infection. They are usually not life threatening, but still an illness enough we can treat easily.

Diane Broughton, office manager at Bellefonte Animal Clinic in Flatwoods, said they have canceled elective surgeries like spaying and neutering and are not seeing animals for wellness visits or vaccinations on those who have had vaccinations previously. The office will see animals that have never been vaccinated, like puppies or adults that have never had shots. Also being seen are those who are sick or have other medical conditions.

Were kind of limited to as to what we can do, Broughton said. The state veterinary office gave us instruction defining what essential services are for us.

No clients are allowed in the building, but curbside service is online.

We will call and triage over the phone, she said. A staff member will go and get the animal and talk on the phone if we need to talk to the owner, and then take the animal back out to the car.

All About Animals Veterinary follows the issued guidelines as well. Jay Nance, office manager, said they are taking emergency cases only, which includes rabies.

Nance said they are seeing about half the number of animals as usual, because they arent boarding, offering day care or providing spaying or neutering, but business remains steady.

Dr. Ursula Nance said if there is a problem with an animal, the owner should first call the office.

(The office) can tell you if you can do something at home or if we need to see the animal, she said. Ive seen too many cases where, if left too long, it can make the animal worse and make treatment more expensive.

Dr. Pinkston said his clinic also has seen about half the normal business, which is about 20 patients a day.

Broughton said things are constantly changing at Bellefonte Animal Clinic.

Weve had dead periods and weve had periods where we have had several people calling, she said. Weve scaled back hours of operation and number of staff members here because we dont have the volume (of cases) we have had. Its how it is in veterinary medicine in general. Weve seen people every day. Theres always a little bit of need and people can pick up medication refills.

Meanwhile, Broughton said owners should put off a veterinary visit for 30 days if the animal is doing well. That means routine blood work as well as spaying and neutering.

We can offer suggestions over the phone for minor things, she said. We have the ability to do telemedicine. Were not set up for that now, but that could be something that could evolve into.

Dr. Pinkston agreed.

It never hurts to call, he said. We encourage our owners to call us and theres many times we can give good advice. Sometimes we can prescribe things over the phone. He said the clinic doesnt use telemedicine but it likely will branch into it.

(606) 326-2661 |

lward@dailyindependent.com

NOTE: For more information about pet care, visit the American Veterinary Medical Associations website at avma.org.

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Veterinarians 'limited on what we can do' | News - The Independent

This entry was posted on April 6, 2020 at 6:50 pm and is filed under Veterinary Medicine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |