Our New Year's Resolutions

From the CCVSEH Staff

At our hospital we take our work, but not ourselves, very seriously. We are constantly striving to provide top-notch care to every single patient that walks through our door, and that's something that will not change with the coming new year. There is, however, some truth to the "All work and no play..." credo so some of the staff wanted to have some fun with our New Year's resolutions. Here they are for you to enjoy!

Ray Schmitt, Public Relations/Marketing Executive
 - I resolve to do whatever it takes to get Dr. Lemmons to stop calling me Bigfoot. Since most of the time I'm either at meetings or working on projects at my desk, a day or two can go by without Dr. Lemmons and I seeing each other. As a result he has dubbed me with the same moniker as the mythical creature that roams the woods, but is never really seen by anyone. If I can keep my resolution he'll be calling me "Shadow" by this time next year!

Rachel Kulaga, Client Services Administrator
 - I resolve to not walk as hard in my heels when I'm upstairs. People on the first floor sometimes worry that I'm going to stomp a hole in the ceiling.

Dru Arnold, Director of Human Resources and Accounting
 - Rachel and I both resolve to eat much more Japanese food in 2015! With any luck in the next year the wait staff at our favorite Japanese restaurant in town will know us both by name. And probably won't even have to give us menus to order from.

The Entire Business Office Staff
 - We resolve to keep the plants in the front lobby alive. It might be a good thing we're not the ones in charge of keeping the animals in the back alive.

Jamie Riddle, Registered Veterinary Technician
 - I resolve to invent shoes with lifts in them that are also comfortable. This way all the shorties that I work with can reach the high items in the hospital and stop asking me for help all the time. It's not easy being the tallest person in this whole hospital (except for maybe Dr. Birchard).

From all of us at Circle City Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Hospital, Happy New Year! We hope that 2015 brings you nothing but happiness and joy. And good luck with your resolutions, too.

Coping With Loss During the Holiday Season

by Ray Schmitt
Circle City Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Hospital Marketing/PR Executive

"It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you 'Be of good cheer'
It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
It's the hap - happiest season of all
With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings
When friends come to call
It's the hap - happiest season of all"

Lyrics to "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" performed by Harry Connick Jr. courtesy www.azlyrics.com

If you stop a bunch of people on the street and ask them, "What is your favorite time of the year?" a good majority of them will probably say Christmas. During the holiday season, more than any other time of the year, we as a society focus our energy on getting together with friends, family and loved ones to celebrate.

For adults we draw joy in remembering the Christmases of our childhood, in the act of gift giving, in hosting and attending parties and, likely, having some time off from work to relax. Children, of course, revel in all the new toys they receive and indulging in all the Christmas cookies they can possibly eat.

The bond between humans and our pets is incredibly strong.

But there is one inevitable part of life that can put a major damper on the holiday good cheer; the loss of a loved one. And because we are in the veterinary field all of us at Circle City Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Hospital know that our pets are loved members of our family just as much as any human. Pets are a huge part of our holiday traditions, too, and their loss can cause just as much pain as the loss of a human family member.

If you are having a hard time dealing with the loss of a beloved pet at this time of the year you might find helpful this information we came across and discussed at our December C.A.L.M. meeting. In case you were unaware, we hold C.A.L.M. meetings monthly to provide support to those who are grieving the loss of a pet. The meetings are free to attend and there is no obligation; you can come to as many or as few as you wish.

This article was written specifically about dealing with the loss of a person, but the principles can still apply to dealing with the loss of a pet. The most important idea, the first one mentioned in the article, is talking about your grief. Everyone needs a caring, supportive, non-judgmental environment to discuss their feelings of grief in dealing with a loss. That all-important first step can be taken by simply attending one of our C.A.L.M. meetings.

The next C.A.L.M. meeting will take place at Circle City Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Hospital (9650 Mayflower Park Dr. in Carmel) on Monday, January 5, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. The theme for that meeting is "New Year's Resolutions" and if you want to come prepared you can bring your on resolutions on how you want to feel in the new year. Make a list of feelings you want to let go of (anger, guilt, sadness, doubt, anxiety..) and a list of feelings/memories you want to cherish. You can even RSVP for the event on our Facebook page.

If you are dealing with the loss of a beloved pet this holiday season our entire staff offers its sincere condolences. And we hope that we can help ease the grief through our C.A.L.M. meetings.

In the Market for A New Pet Bed? Get Crafty!

by Ray Schmitt
Circle City Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Hospital Marketing/PR Rep

Up until today I had never heard of the term "Upcycling." But when I started researching a picture that Dr. Kate Fitzwater emailed me last night that all changed. Here is the picture that sparked my education:

How cool is that!? Someone, somewhere came up with the idea that they could turn a sweater into a pet bed. After I saw the picture I had to investigate and find out how these were made. This led me to a number of websites dedicated to "Upcycling" projects which essentially take old/unwanted/unused household items and turn them into something better. Hopefully the term is a fad that will fade away, but the concept can stick around for a while.

Enough about my disdain for the word "Upcycling," though, and on to the real reason I'm writing this entry. I have shopped for pet beds more than once and they are fairly expensive! So a do-it-yourself project that costs way less money and, in my opinion, looks a good bit cooler and would probably be a good conversation starter is going to grab my attention every time.

I'll admit that I'm not the most handy person around the house, but even this pet bed seems fairly doable. And the supplies are easy to come by. You need an old sweater (obviously), a pillow to fill the body of the sweater and some combination of rolled up towels and/or cotton stuffing to fill the sleeves. That gets you most of the way there but you'll also need some method of binding the sleeves together as well as closing the neck hole. Some versions I found feature zippers so you can remove the stuffing and wash the sweater while others are sealed more permanently by sewing or hot glue. I suppose it's really just a personal preference.

I have not undertaken this project myself just yet because I still wear all of the sweaters I own, my dog is too big to use one and I don't know if either of the cats would actually like it. Although, I suppose I could make one anyway and donate it to a local shelter or humane society. Maybe all of us reading this post could make one and donate them. It would certainly be in the spirit of giving that the Christmas season embodies. We could also make them all out of sweaters like the ones on the right so that the dogs and cats could enjoy ugly Christmas sweaters as much as we all do.

Since I'm no expert (yet) on how to make one of these here are some links to websites that offer full instructions:

http://empressofdirt.net/diy-sweater-pet-bed/
http://www.handimania.com/diy/sweatshirt-pet-bed.html
http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/photos/10-enviable-upcycled-pet-beds/wooly-buddy-bed
http://www.icreativeideas.com/how-to-diy-pet-bed-from-old-sweater/

If you end up making one of your own we want to see the final results! Share a photo with us on our Facebook wall or hit us up on Twitter @CircleCityVets.

Until next time, cheers and happy sweater pet bed making!