Ghost Story: The Haunted Diamondback Tavern in Ellicott City, MD

My name is Ana and I am an Internal Medicine Technician at VCA-VRA.  My husband Chris and I have an interesting hobby we like to go Ghost Hunting. As Halloween approaches, we want to tell you about a place we found in Ellicott City, Maryland called "The Diamondback Tavern".

Categories:

Patient of the Week: Bogey

Reporting from the fishbowl:

Bogey is one of our beloved pets. He is a former doctor’s only child. I don’t think I could say enough about how he touched the lives here at VCA-VRA. Believe me, everybody here has their own story so, I’ll just tell you how I saw it.

Categories:

Vet Tech Week: Lauren Pagonis

Meet Lauren! Lauren is one of our technicians in our Critical Care ward here at VCA VRA. Her caring nature and passion for animals does not go unnoticed! Here is what Lauren had to say about being a veterinary technician and what it means to her!

Categories:

Patient of The Week: Paddy Bruder

My name is “Paddy” and I am a very tiny 5 year-old Yorkshire Terrier. In 2010, I was adopted by Ana Bruder (Internal Medicine Technician) after I almost died. My past owners mated me with a Chihuahua and as I went into labor, my little body could not handle it. My owners took me to the ER at VCA VRA and the doctors said I was suffering from dystocia (difficult labor/birthing), hypoglycemia and anemia.   

One of my pups was a still-birth and another was alive initially. Despite the fact that I was still in labor with one more puppy, my owners took me home against medical advice. They thought I could wait till my regular vet opened. The doctors at VCA checked on my well-being in the morning and my owners told them they could not afford to take me to my regular vet. At this point I was not doing well, really I was dying. At that time they decided to surrender me. 

VCA did an emergency surgery and I was spayed to save my life. My recovery was long and tough, but I made it! I was blessed at the end of such ordeal by finding my Ana. She said when she saw me she knew I was made to be with her! My life is great now and for that I am grateful.

Categories:

Pudgy Pups Fit Camp

Losing weight is hard for everyone…our “fur” family members included. You cannot control many factors regarding your pet’s health but you can help them to control their weight! Overweight dogs have many health problems and even a decreased life expectancy. Here at VCA Veterinary Referral Associates we wanted to find a fun and enjoyable way to help our pets lose the extra weight. That is why Pudgy Pups Fit Camp was created.

Categories:

The Every Day Magic of Veterinary Technicians

Every day I experience an overwhelming phenomenon, one I don’t recognize adequately and one that I should pay homage to every day.

Categories:

Adopt A Shelter Dog Month

According to the ASPCA approximately 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year. To put that into perspective that number is larger then the population of Maryland and Washington DC combined! The worst part is that over the duration of one year approximately 2.7 million of those companion animals will be put down.

Categories: