Dear CanyonVet Clients,

 As many of you are aware, the COVID-19 situation is changing every day.  We promise to do our best to keep ourselves informed of the latest information and recommendations of our state and local governments and professional veterinary associations to keep our clients, staff, and pets safe while also providing essential healthcare to your pets.

CanyonVet Spring Branch will be closed on Wednesdays and two Saturdays per month. Both of our sister hospitals, CanyonVet Canyon Lake and CanyonVet New Braunfels WILL be open during these times in the event your pet needs medical care. You can contact CanyonVet Canyon Lake at 830-964-3551 and CanyonVet New Braunfels at 830-632-6075.

To best promote social distancing, curbside check-in will still be available if you prefer it! Otherwise, come on in! It’s up to you!  We have missed you! See y’all soon!

• Canyon Lake:  (830) 964-3551 email: canyonlake@canyonvet.com
• New Braunfels: (830) 632-6075 email: newbraunfels@canyonvet.com
• Spring Branch:  (830) 885-5443 email: info@canyonvetspringbranch.com 
• Grooming is available 4 days a week at our  Canyon Lake location.

Current options to keep in mind:

Telemedicine (email, phone) Option:  If your pet has been examined by one of our veterinarians within the last 12 months, we are allowed by law to examine the pet via pictures and videos sent electronically.  Medications can be mailed to you or picked up via curbside.  Not all illnesses and injuries can be properly diagnosed in this manner and you may be asked to bring your pet to the hospital.  Normal exam charges apply to telemedicine options and payment will be done over the phone.  Please call or email your preferred location to request this option.

 Prescription Refills by Mail:  Along with curbside pickup of refills, we are also offering to mail prescriptions for an additional $5 shipping fee.  Large items and food cannot be shipped and would need to be picked up curbside.

 Our Online Pharmacy: visit the website.

Once you select your location, select Online Pharmacy from the main menu to shop almost all of your pet’s medications.  Unlike other internet pharmacies, products purchased from our online pharmacy ship directly from the distributor to you which means you can trust the medication has not been tampered with or stored at incorrect temperatures.

We want to thank all of our clients who have been so supportive of the temporary changes we have made.  Our hope is that changes made by CanyonVet and other businesses to promote social distancing will mean better safety for everyone and a shorter time until the COVID-19 pandemic is over in our community.

Download the TVMA PDF file with more information about HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR PETS FROM COVID-19.

Sincerely,
The CanyonVet Team

by Dr. Ryan Bullock

I remember the frantic phone call well one summer when my brother’s wife was on the other end of the line telling me that their English Setter “Belle” had just been bitten several times by a rattlesnake (3 times in the neck and 5 times in the chest to be exact) while out on their land. My first thought was to get her emergency care, but my second thought was “thank goodness I had given her a rattlesnake vaccine 3 weeks prior when I had her in the clinic for a dental cleaning”. Belle spent several days in the hospital, but she eventually pulled through and is doing great now! I have no doubt that she would have died if she hadn’t been vaccinated.

In 2005, a company called Red Rock Biologics (redrockbiologics.com) developed a “rattlesnake vaccine”. The purpose of the vaccine is to lessen the severity of damage done by a rattlesnake bite and hopefully save pet’s lives. It works by producing protective antibodies in your pet’s body that will help to neutralize the venom. It is most effective with Western Diamondback bites, but is also at least partially effective against all other rattlesnakes except the Mojave. It is effective against Copperheads, but IS NOT effective against Water Moccasins (Cotton Mouths) or Coral Snakes.

The vaccine only lessens the severity of the bite, but does not entirely mitigate all of its effects, so you should still seek emergency care in every case! Factors such as size of pet, size of snake, location of bite, and amount of venom injected all contribute to the end result. Every snake bite is different and all need emergency veterinary care!

So what results have we seen? Overall, we have seen that most patients that receive the vaccine fair better than those who have not. The patients seem to recover quicker, especially if medical treatment is achieved as soon as possible. Each patient’s case is different and factors like where the patient was bit and the size of snake seem to come into play, as well. All in all, I am impressed with the results and recommend vaccination for any “at risk” dog. I know “Belle” highly recommends it to all of her dog buddies!