Please join us Saturday, June 13th from 2pm to 6pm for our first anniversary open house! Details, including a map, are below... we hope to see you there!

Wow what an exciting few weeks it's been! We have interviewed and hired 3 new staff members, including a second doctor for our staff - Dr. Krissy Bussmann. I was so excited to meet Dr. Bussmann at the annual Portland Veterinary Medical Association Holiday Party last year and when she off handedly asked if we were hiring, my answer was a sudden epiphany - we just might be! Michael and I had been thinking about expanding because there were more and more days where we couldn't accomodate all of the requests for appointments. After interviewing several doctors we finally decided that Krissy was the perfect addition to our practice. I hope you enjoy this interview with Dr. Bussmann as a chance to get to know her a little better. Next time you're in say hi and please mark your calendars for June 13th for our Open House where you can get the chance to chat with Dr. Bussmann, meet the rest of our new staff members and celebrate our one year anniversary with us! 

Dr. Kristin Sulis, Tommy Rizos-Bussmann, and Dr. Krissy Bussmann

Here's my interview with Dr. Krissy Bussmann -

Q: Tell us about how you chose a career in veterinary medicine and your path to general practice.

A: Veterinary medicine really chose me. When I was little, probably 6 or 7, I told one of my parents’ friends that I wanted to be a horse when I grew up. Everyone was thoroughly amused, but I was half (or mostly) serious! This love of horses evolved into demands for horses, and eventually my parents succumbed to my pleas. I ended up showing hunters and equitation on a national level through high school, college, and vet school. Early on, I realized that animals were not just a passing fancy. I spent hours at the barn, and followed the vet around to the point of serious annoyance. I set my eyes on my goal and never looked back.

In vet school, I realized that I love emergency medicine – I like to call it “Extreme Medicine.” I wanted to be a Critical Care specialist, which requires at least 4 years of training beyond vet school. I applied for and was accepted into an internship at a busy specialty practice. For your readers that don’t know, an internship is an extra year of intense specialty training, and is a stepping stone to a residency, which is an intense 3 year stretch leading up to a horrifying 3-day exam, and hopefully, board certification in Critical Care. After my internship, I was accepted into a residency program. However, the minute I was accepted I had a sinking feeling that ER and Critical Care wasn’t right for me. But I couldn’t place exactly why, and I figured that a residency was something to be proud of, so I followed through with my original plan and moved to Oregon to start my career. It took me 3 months to realize why I had that original sinking feeling. In the ER, I never got to form a relationship with pets and their families, and I never got to see the pet again to find out if my treatment was helpful. I found myself longing to build those relationships – and I was never going to find that as a Criticalist. After several more tearful months, I left my residency, and then, through sheer luck, or fate, found you and Mt. Tabor Vet Care.

Krissy & Jason on their first hike in Oregon

Q: We are so excited to have you on board as our second veterinarian. What made you interested in Mt. Tabor Veterinary Care?

A: One of my friends who was starting a veterinary business was making visits to every practice in Portland to introduce himself. He knew what I was going through with my residency, and when he met you, he immediately told me about her and the practice. That night, I spent hours reading this very blog, thinking, this is EXACTLY what I have been looking for. Mt. Tabor’s motto is to provide unparalled, uncompromising patient care and client communication that includes and values the client’s decisions, needs, and limits – and believe it or not, this is VERY hard to find in a veterinary practice as a whole. One of the reasons I was so reluctant to leave ER medicine is that I wasn’t sure I was going to find a place that I really meshed with and valued my ideals. But Mt. Tabor, you and your staff are completely in line with my values. It’s like a dream come true!
 
Q: All veterinarians have passions in medicine. What are yours?

A: I LOVE explaining health conditions to families. Knowledge is POWER. How can I expect a client to blindly follow instructions without knowing why I want to do a certain test or why I’ve prescribed a medication? That makes no sense! A client needs to truly understand what’s going on before they can play an active role in their pet’s care. LISTENING is equally important – what’s the point in pursuing expensive tests or extensive treatment if they don’t think that their pet be able to emotionally handle it? They are their pet’s best advocate to me, they will be able to tell me things about their pet’s personality that I would never be able to tell from an exam. Once I’ve given them all the information I can, then it’s up to them to decide which approach is best for their family and for their pet.
 

Taking in the beauty of Bryce Canyon

Q: What do you see as the most difficult thing you do in your career as a veterinarian?

A: The thing that comes to mind first is euthanasia. I used to work emergency, where there is a lot of sickness and injury, and a lot of euthanasia. I have been asked numerous times by families – “This must be so hard, how can you do this all the time?” My answer is that it IS hard to watch a pet pass and to watch a pet’s family go through the pain and loss of letting go. But the flipside is that euthanasia is peaceful, and painless. It literally means “good death.” Sometimes, when I know that a pet is truly suffering, euthanizing them almost brings tears of relief to my eyes, and I see the same tears of relief in their family’s eyes. The most heartfelt thank you cards I have ever received have been from families whose pet I euthanized – because they are truly thankful that I was there to offer a painless passing.

We have the privilege of choosing our pet’s passing. We don’t have to watch them suffer – we can DO something! By accepting a pet into our lives, we implicitly accept that we must someday decide to let them go. Death is part of the journey of life, and we can be with them for every moment, all the way through to the end. It makes every minute we have with our pets that much more valuable.
 

Krissy and Lou in the Missouri snow

Q: Tell us about your pets.

A: My husband and I have two phenomenal whippets, Tommy and Lou. Tommy is an elderly fellow, and my husband Jason got him in California long before we met. Tommy has been with us through it all – moving across the country once with Jason’s job before we met, and TWICE for my internship and residency. He’s full of experience and wisdom – we call him an “honorary human.” I’ve never heard him bark. He’ll mingle at parties and quietly lean up against your leg when you’re not paying attention. You can hold him upside down in your lap for hours and he won’t care, and he knows more English than your average toddler.

Lou is younger and much more spry. He is, I admit, a little neurotic. This is solely because I dote on him so much. He is very intelligent and seriously reads my mind, but his incessant demands can be a little annoying! He’ll jump into my arms, he’ll jump through hoops, and he rudely jumps up on me, but he loves me and my husband blindly and unconditionally, as imperfect as we may be. I didn’t choose Lou, he literally chose me. Jason and I made a special trip up to Chicago to look at several whippets in rescue, and when we saw Lou, he ran up to me, layed down on my feet, turned belly up and begged me to take him! On the trip home, he was so carsick and shaking, until I got in the back seat with him, then he let out a huge sigh and fell asleep.

Tommy similarly “chose” Jason. He was an outdoor dog (imagine a whippet outdoors in a kennel!). He was at the very end of the row, and when Jason got to his kennel, opened it and knelt down, Tommy threw his paws upon his shoulders and said “take me home please.” Now the two of them enjoy numerous soft, fluffy beds, 3 coats apiece, daily romps in the park, frequent jaunts in the woods and two humans at their every beck and call. I would leap through hoops of fire for my dogs.

For more information check out Krissy's bio on our website. 

06 May 2009 - One Year!

We were so excited to celebrate our one year anniversary on May 6! Many of you know from the blog that I really wanted to open on a holiday and finally we opened on National Crepes Suzette Day. It is also the anniversary of the day the Eiffel Tower opened to the public and George Clooney's birthday. Any of you who have been in to our clinic have seen the strong Eiffel Tower influence in our french decorated bathroom as an homage to our shared anniversary. Look for the George Clooney picture to go up soon! Thank you all so much for your support this last year, as readers, clients and fans. We really appreciate your enthusiasm and well wishes. Cheers to another great year!

   

 

"You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you." -John Bunyan 

There's nothing better than helping others but in these economic times it can be harder than ever to give. As you know, Mt. Tabor Veterinary Care supports many very giving organizations such as Feral Cat Coalition, Cat Adoption Team, Animal Aid, Pixie Project, Portland Animal Welfare Team and the Oregon Humane Society to name a few.  We have a few upcoming opportunities for cat lovers to help out some of our favorite organizaitons. Some of these opportunities have a tight deadline and others will be open ended for opportunities to support throughout the year. 

1. Feral Cat Coalition Annual Furball Raffle - Deadline 5/2

The Furball event is this weekend on Saturday, May 2nd. I love this event and it is a fun party where you can dress up to the theme (this year Cat-anooga Choo Choo), snack, drink and bid on items in the silent and live auction. We are participating this year by selling Raffle Tickets for a $500 and 2-$250 Visa Cards. Tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20. Tickets will be picked up Saturday morning so get down to the clinic quick if you'd like to enter to win and support a worthy cause.

2. CAT Food Drive - Ongoing

Cat Adoption Team is collecting food for cats in need. With people losing their jobs and budgets tightening some people are faced with the difficulty of being unable to feed their furry friends. CAT is looking for donations of unopened bags of dry food to distribute to families. We are so thankful to Salty's Dog and Cat Shop for bringing by an armload of food for our donation bin to get us started. Coming to the clinic and forgot to grab some food to donate? We have maintenance diets available for purchase.  

We also accept open bags of food to donate to Feral Cat Caregivers and leftover medication to offer to homeless pets in our community. 

3. Empty Cat Food Can Collection - Deadline 5/12

Ok this is something everyone with a cat can participate in! Portland Center Stage called and asked us to save 3 and 5.5 oz empty cans of cat food for an upcoming show. Your kitty's food cans can be famous! Please bring by your empty and cleaned cat food cans (labels on or off - whichever is easier). We will be collecting cans until the 12th. 

We are so grateful to have such generous clients that care about helping others and are happy to give you the opportunity to participate in some fun events for cats. Please feel free to contact us with any questions. 503.200.5555.

 

Other upcoming events -

Oscar Albert Paws and Sip - Tuesday 5/19: Does your dog have a green paw?

Mt. Tabor Veterinary Care Open House - Saturday 6/13 : Meet Dr. Krissy Bussmann - our second doctor!

Michael and I spent the better part of last week getting ready for the Northwest Pet and Companion Fair. Michael was outside building walls after dark. We spent hours putting together handouts and having them printed the same night. We made lists of things to bring and gathered what we needed. Ben, our nurse Katie's boyfriend was kind enough to help move the heavy walls and help set up the night before at the expo center. Unfortunately the beautiful walls that Michael built fell over in the truck and our furniture managed to punch some unsightly holes in the walls. Sigh. But not to be deterred Michael hung pictures in strategic places and our booth looked like a little piece of the clinic. 

Michael and the hole in the wall

All of our staff participated in the fair by manning the booth, petting dogs and answering quesitons. We offered free consultations and all of us did a few. We had so much fun talking to people about their dogs. Dogs came by dressed up and our favorites were the dogs in hats. We had a bowl of water out which was VERY popular and a basket full of STAM peanut butter and blueberry treats that we handed out like crazy. We were situated in the best spot and got to watch kittens play all day. I'm not sure what could be better. Except maybe moving the whole thing outside to enjoy the beautiful weather we had this weekend.

Dr. Kristin Sulis waiting at the desk	Nurse Katie enjoying the booth

We enjoyed reconnecting with friends we hadn't seen in awhile - vendors, volunteers and attendees. 

	Beagles with hats are the best!

Latest Update: to keep you up to date on what's happening with the fight against puppy mills - Washington State passed thier Anti Puppy Mill Bill this week and it's heading to the governor's desk for signing! Yay for the dogs!

Upside down pug having a great time

 

       

Come spend this weekend with us at the NW Pet and Companion Fair. It will be a fun event with demonstrations, adoptions from our favorite agencies, and lots of family fun. You are even encouraged to bring your dog too! 

We will be closed for our normal Saturday hours this weekend as we are taking most of our furniture to set up a mini version of MTVC at the Fair. Michael will be tending the real clinic during normal business hours if you need to pick up any food or prescriptions.

Stop by and pick up coupons anytime for discounted admission at the clinic. We look forward to seeing you there! 

News Flash! HB 2470, the Anti Puppy Mill Bill passed the House! Last stop - the floor of the Senate. I'll keep you posted.

Spring is such a lovely time of year. I enjoyed the nice weather we had at the beginning of the week – even if it was spent at the side of I-5 for a few hours – and I love seeing all of the flowering trees throughout the neighborhood.  The thing I don’t like about spring is the beautiful displays of Easter Lilies in all of the grocery stores. All I can see is kitty toxin! I want to pass out warning flyers that read DO NOT BUY IF YOU HAVE CATS.

Easter Lilies are toxic to cats (although the toxic principle is unknown) and  all parts of the plant are toxic. The horrible thing about Easter Lilies is that cats love when new plants come into the home, they are curious and are apt to take a taste.  Ingestion of Easter Lilies by cats can cause vomiting, inappetence,  lethargy, kidney failure and even death. Dogs and horses are not affected by these decorative plants.

Please enjoy the displays in the grocery store or at church but don’t bring these dangerous decorations into your home if you have cats. And if you don’t have cats but are thinking of purchasing one for a friend, please be sure they don’t have cats too!

 

 

 

HB2470-9 Update! The House is voting on the bill on Tuesday! If you haven't had a chance yet please take the time to contact your representative and urge them to vote YES! on HB 2470-9. To find out who your representative is please click here. I appreciate you helping the puppies and keeping puppy mills out of Oregon!

   

I went down to Salem last Monday to testify again in front of the House Committee on the Anti-Puppy Mill Bill and was headed down there again today until my car overheated and I was left stranded at the side of I-5 hanging out in the nice weather. No matter - turns out the Committee voted on the bill and in a vote of 7-3 decided to send the Bill on to the House for a vote! They recommended the dash 9 amendment which included the 50 dog cap. 

Inside the Capitol Building in Salem

Today they were deciding on which amendment to vote on ( dash 9 - with the 50 dog cap or dash 10 - without the cap). So it's a good day for puppies in Oregon. The dash 9 amendment is going to the house floor! So now it's your turn. What can you do to end puppy mills in Oregon? You can contact your state representative and let them know your thoughts on HB 2470.  To find out your Oregon state representative and their contact information click here. From what I understand, a written, signed letter is the best but calling or emailing can also help. Please be sure to put "vote yes on HB 2470" in the subject line.  

 

Stop Puppy Mills

Testifying in front of the committee has been an amazing experience. Sitting in the overflow room watching the hearing on the big screen tv in a room full of people both for and against was so interesting. You'd hear the murmurs on both sides as the person said something agreeable (or disagreeable) and I kept wondering if things were going to get out of hand. I could only relate it to a room full of school kids with no monitor or teacher present. We were all adult and friendly - no fights, no spitballs and comments were kept to the issue at hand - never personal. The other thing I realized is that politics are...well, politics and this arena is not for the faint at heart or the fair minded. There is a lot of posturing and adamant stances on both sides and for me that was difficult. I guess I'm a pragmatist - all sides are against puppy mills so why can't we get together and make a bill that makes them illegal in Oregon? Why does this become a contest of posturing and trying to place the bill in a light that will get it defeated so the opposition no longer has to deal with it?  

Anti Puppy Mill rally on the steps

I am so grateful to everyone that has commented on my previous blog about HB 2470 - including points of view in opposition. I still contend that the responsible breeders in Oregon already meet the standards outlined in the bill and with the 50 intact breeding age (2 year old) dog cap they will not be adversely affected by the bill. I long for the day when no puppies have to suffer for a profit.  

My original sticker from testifying against Puppy Mills

 

 

 

 

Check out the Nightline Video on Puppy Mills

 

 

For the past seven years Animal Aid in conjunction with Spay Day USA offers a month of spay and neuter specials. From Valentine's Day to St. Patrick's Day participating clinics offer to spay female cats for $15 and neuter male cats for $10. We decided to participate this year - our first opportunity.  

Melissa, Daniela and Katie arranged the whole project - I was just a volunteer. We decided we would offer a day of neuters for the project and pledged to neuter 20 cats. We thought a Monday would be best since we would be closed and we all came in to make it happen. I have to tell you how proud I am of our entire staff for organizing every detail of this project and making it a success all on a volunteer basis. We even had extra volunteers come in to help out including Dr. Krissy Bussmann who will soon be coming on board as our second doctor!

We ended up neutering  18 males and spaying one female. We were working so hard we forgot to take pictures - sorry about that! It was a fun day seeing all of these kitties come through and we really shined in the appreciation of the families bringing in their beloved pets. We were so happy to be able to help! The proceeds from the day are going to Cat Adoption Team and the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon to continue to help in the spaying and neutering of more cats in need. 

On Monday I headed down to Salem to testify in favor of House Bill 2470 - a piece of proposed legisltation to shut down Puppy Mills in Oregon and give some guidelines for consumers who purchase puppies that are ill.

Me and my puppy mill rescue DeeDee

I arrived early for the hearing and after finding parking and paying my meter in the pouring rain I headed to the Capitol Building. Immediately inside I met Glen Kolb, the executive director of the OVMA also there to testify. The OVMA originally was taking an opposed stance on the bill due to language but was willing to come in Neutral with the chance to work on the bill. 

The crowd waits to get into the hearing room

I saw the crowd waiting outside of the hearing room. Groups of people gathered on both sides of the issue and there was tension in the air as people were passionately discussing their sides of the argument with friends. When they finally opened the door to the hearing room only 1/2 of the people were let in. The rest of us filtered in next door to watch on the big screen. Again people were clustered in groups and in such close quarters. Everyone was pretty respectful but without being in the Committee Hearing Room, I felt a little like we were in an 8th grade classroom with no teacher present. With each passionate testimonial the growd gently edged to get out of hand - but it never did. I sat with Glenn and another veterinarian there to testify - Larry Peet. 

Scott Beckman testifies in support of HB 2470

Chair Holvey opened up the hearing by explained that he drafted this legislation and has a great interest in the bill. He also generously added that he wanted to hear all sides to make this bill a good one and looked forward to the testimony. The first to speak was Scott Beckman with the Humane Society of the United States who did an excellent job outlining why the bill was needed and put to rest some of the rumors out there that the HSUS was ultimately trying to eliminate pet ownership. The HSUS is an organization that is made up of very reasonable, proactive people working hard on animal welfare issues (that's why I am a member of the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association.) After Scott, Sharon Harmon spoke for the Oregon Humane Society and gave an empassioned speak about the horrors of puppy mills and echoed my feeling that the bill doesn't go far enough. She repeated over and over that the minimum standards set out in the bill was that the cage has to be big enough for the dog to lie down, stand up and turn around.

Sharon Harmon with OHS makes an empassioned speech

There were many other testimonies from both sides of the aisle. Most of the breeders and the National Animal Interest Alliance were concerned with the wording of the bill, the fear that good breeders would be affected by this bill, that Oregon Welfare laws already apply and that it is an unfunded mandate. Other breeders supported the bill and believed that everyone should be against the horror of puppy mills. 

Finally it was my turn. Right before I went up we were asked to keep the testimony to 1 minute instead of the 3 we originally were granted. I read the most important parts of my testimony including the difficulties I have seen when puppies from questionable sources are purchased and become deathly ill. I was so honored to be on the panel with the other 3 veterinarians including Dr. Ingrid, Dr. Larry Peet, and another doctor from Tillamook who all did such an excellent job - speaking to the Committee with their heartfelt testimony. 

The plan for the bill now is for it to enter a Working Group to revise the bill and get it to the floor for a vote. Please take the time to read the bill. Once you have read it I encourage you to contact your state senator and representative and encourage them to vote yes on HB 2470.  You can also find a form for the anti puppy mill legislation on the HSUS website along with information about the bill and issues with Puppy Mills.

 

    

Mojo in one of her fashionable t-shirts - we call it her "First Day of School" shirt.

Some of you may have noticed in the latest pictures of Mojo (especially the Snowjo pictures) that Mojo’s stump was getting swollen and red at the end. For about a month we had been draining large amounts of viscous, blood tinged fluid from it and started working her up to see what was going on in there! Infection – no. Inflammation – yes. Essentially Mojo had developed a hygroma at the end of her stump. Hygromas are swellings that normally occur at the point of the elbow where large dogs will put a lot of impact on them when lying down with a thump. A swelling develops to cushion the point and it becomes a problem. Mojo’s “hygroma” came at the tip of her humerus where her break and amputation occurred because she was using it so much – dragging herself across the floor with it, trapping DeeDee between her front legs and propping herself up from a lying down position with it. After much research and really wanting her to keep the stump (perhaps even for future prosthetics) we decided the best thing to do was amputation.

Mojo and Indy playing the day of surgery - see the swollen stump?

We scheduled Dr. Van Gundy to come into our clinic to perform the surgery. And as I was getting ready (mentally preparing myself for the procedure) we received a call from Stacie, Dr. Van Gundy’s technician that they could come early, the next day if that worked for us. Well, of course that was better for Mojo and with tears in my eyes I said sure. I am not one who likes to be surprised like that. I need to prepare to keep myself in Vet mode and hold my Mom mode down. The surprise put me directly into Mom mode and I was frankly worried about her…just like all of you are when one of your pets need surgery.

Mojo at home after her surgery - she still has on her boo boo bandage from her catheter

The big day came and Mojo did great. We arranged a play date with Indy that morning before surgery. Their last one for 2 weeks while Mojo was healing. They had a great time as always. Mojo woke up from her surgery vocally. I had forgotten from the times we had sedated her that Mojo did not do well with narcotics – she gets super whiny which is a side effect in some dogs. But she was completely pain free thanks to the infusion drain Dr. Van Gundy placed where we infused lidocaine directly into the wound. You could pat over the entire area with no reaction. Michael stayed home with her the next day and she did really well.

In order to protect the incision Michael went to Goodwill and bought a variety of t-shirts and she looked great in each one. She had some minor complications post surgical – mainly building up fluid at the incision site (she’s really good at that) and being itchy where her hair was shaved. We pulled the drain 6 days after surgery and the fluid is almost entirely absorbed. She does get some sharp pains occasionally which I’m not sure where they are arising from but my best guess is from the large nerves that were cut to remove what was left of her leg. She’s been maintained on pain medication (avoiding the narcotics) and is healing well. At the end of the week she’ll be able to have play dates again and go for longer walks and runs! Maybe even a snowshoe next weekend!

Close ups of Mojo's fun after	surgery tees

I wanted to thank all of you who sent your best wishes from Mojo’s recovery. You guys have been so great following her saga and we love her so much. Next update – physical therapy on 3 legs.