Newman Vet of Deltona

I woke up this morning and noticed I received an email from my Vet, Newman of Deltona.  The message was sent at 1:50 AM.  Was I alarmed?  No!  It was Carrie telling me that Sven, one of our Frozen Puppies was developing Kennel Cough and Doctor Lim was putting him on Clavamox right away.  How many vets do that?  My vet does!

Yesterday was incredibly difficult, even though we were doing the right thing, saying goodbye to a little puppy is never easy.  Soon, we will be honoring the wonderful dogs we have lost this year, some were old, some were very young, but for now I’d like to share with you my experiences with our Vet, Newman Vet of Deltona.

If you’ve adopted from us lately, you’ve probably met us at the Vet.  Why?  I believe meeting at the vet makes the adoption easier!  If you want to purchase heartworm or flea preventative, you can!  If you want to purchase special dog food, Newman has their own line of pet food!

Two weeks ago, during Wendy’s adoption, her new owner felt a lump on her tail.  The lump had been examined by our vet during spay, but Wendy’s family wanted to talk face-to-face with a vet about it… so off they went into an examination room, and within just a few minutes, they felt comfortable to bring Wendy home with them!

The convenience, level of service and professionalism that Newman offers is unsurpassed.  But it’s more than just all of this.  Meeting your new dog at the vet is also psychologically a good transition space.  It’s neutral ground, not to mention Nacho is always there to cat-test dogs right in front of your eyes!

After being treated poorly, and spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars at local vets, Courtney, Ginger Doodle’s Mom (now Spec) refuses to go anywhere else.  Even though she drives about 60 miles out of her way, she trusts only Newman with her pup.  Courtney even tried a local groomer for Spec, and noticed that Spec had been injured… no more!  Spec trusts and loves James at Newman Deltona, and she will never go anywhere else!

Saying goodbye to your dog or cat is never an easy thing, regardless of the reason.  It’s rips your heart out.  Several months ago, one of the exam rooms at Newman’s was converted into a gorgeous and comfortable room designed specifically for saying goodbye to your best friend.  They call it the grieving room.  This is just more detail that the people of Newman take to help you, your family, your emotions, and more importantly, your pet.

I had to use that room yesterday for Anna.  Melissa showed me the x-rays.  She showed me a healthy pelvic bone, and then Anna’s.  It was horrific.  After the staff prepped Anna, I put her red bandanna on her, and presented her with her favorite bone.  The staff at Newman had already given her a toy duck that was twice her size!

Melissa asked me if I was staying for the procedure, or if I wanted to leave.  I was staying.  I always stay.  To me, it’s an honor and a privilege to be there when a dog passes over.  They come to us as unwanted and unloved strays, but once they enter into our rescue, they are no longer strays, they are special because they were chosen.

We gathered in the grieving room, and took turns holding her, and playing with her.  One by one, the employees came to give me a reassuring hug.  Many were teary-eyed.

I showered Anna with kisses, and I never left her side.  Dr. Ted Oliver never wants to euthanize an animal, he’ll do everything he can to avoid it.  But in Anna’s case, there was nothing anyone could do.  While I held her little head in my hands, Anna went peacefully to sleep while Doctor Oliver and I talked about her condition and the lack of options.

Once I opened the grieving room door, more employees greeted me with reassuring hugs, even the doctors!

So while yesterday was a really really bad day, I was surrounded by incredibly competent professionals, people who can practically finish my sentences, but more importantly, people who have an incredibly amount of compassion for the animals.

The protocols that The Dog Liberator follows for its foster dogs are the same protocols that we follow for our own dogs.  I guess what I’m trying to explain is even though she was only in our care for 2 days, the compassion and care that Newman Folks displayed was as if I had owned Anna for years.

So now it’s time for us to get back to work, and do what we’re supposed to do – find great homes for our rescued dogs.  Know that we don’t do this alone!  You absolutely can not rescue animals without having an awesome vet.