FORT SILL, Okla. (Nov. 13, 2014) -- The Fort Sill Veterinary Treatment Facility is making several new improvements to increase the quality for care provided for pet owners. These changes affect all those eligible for services including active duty, Reserve and Guard, retirees and family members.
The clinic is typically open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and now on Wednesdays, the clinic will extend its hours to 6 p.m. This gives those that work a chance to been seen during a time that is more convenient to them, said Capt. AuVian Williams, Fort Sill VTF officer in charge and general practitioner veterinarian.
"We're hoping that this will help ... we already have our first appointment with someone who usually goes off post on Saturdays," she said. "They used to come to us but they started working again, so they can start coming back to us now that we are open after 1600 (hours), when most people are just getting off work."
"The new push from Public Health Command Veterinary Central Fund, is promoting wellness. Not saying we won't see sick calls or minor injuries, but we really want to promote wellness," said Williams. "Like human practitioners do for human patients, it's the same thing. Even if your animal is not due for vaccines every year we want them to come in for an annual exam."
Bringing your pet in once a year for a wellness exam leads to early detection of illnesses and diseases, which can help clients avoid costly emergency visits and treatments later.
Another benefit to annual wellness exams is heartworm testing, which is required yearly to provide monthly preventives for dogs.
For most small animals under the age of 8, the clinic recommends seeing the pet once per year. For older animals, owners might want to consider a few times per year for wellness care.
"We offer a dog package," said Pfc. Jose Armendariz, VTF noncommissioned officer in charge and animal care specialist. "This includes rabies, distemper, a wellness exam by a veterinarian and heartworm test."
For cats the package includes the feline leukemia tests in addition to standard vaccines. A full service lab handles blood work and an on-site X-ray machine is available.
Preventive care is also provided by the clinic including heartworm, flea/tick preventives, and specialized shampoos.
"We also have joint-supplements such as omega-3 fatty acids, prescriptions for eye drops, and other medications," said Armendariz. Micro-chipping is also offered. The clinic uses a 15 digit micro-chip, which is the standard now for a lot of overseas duty stations.
For emergency visits and clients needing same-day care, Williams recommends having a good relationship with an off-post veterinarian.
"Some places off-post won't see you unless you're an established patient, so even if you get everything done here (on-post), going and having an exam with another provider makes it more likely they are able to see you and have a history with you in an emergency," said Williams. It is a way to provide your pet with an extra measure of protection and care during an emergency.
The VTF can also help with permanent change of station moves, both overseas and within the continental states.
"Even if patients aren't normally seen here, but are getting ready to PCS we always recommend they come on post," said Williams. "As military veterinarians, especially doing international travel with pets, we're used to sending our military working dogs on deployments, so we know the regulations. Depending on what country they are going to, we are actually considered USDA accredited, so the clients don't need to go to state veterinarians to get that stamp.
To assist military clients keep track of their pet records, the military developed the remote online veterinary records (ROVR) system. All Department of Defense veterinary treatment facilities use ROVR.
"People are used to these green folders that they take from station, to station, to station with you. They give us their records, we hold onto them, then to go somewhere else and they get the records," said Williams. "So it's basically like that but all online. The main thing for the clients is ease of moving from station to station, your (pet) medical record just follows you over. So even though we might not have seen your pet before, we can see everything that's been done, all the lab work, heartworm tests, all that."
Medical records from off-post providers can be added to the ROVR system, creating a seamless transition when you PCS with your pet.
In addition to caring for privately owned military pets, the VTF provides care to all the military working dogs, government horses of the Field Artillery Half Section, the fish and wildlife center, and the child development center animals.
The 2nd Battalion, 2nd Field Artillery mascots "Big Deuce" the donkey, and "Short Round" the goat, also receive their wellness and emergency care from the veterinarians.
The clinic staff also performs food safety and food inspection for all places that sell animal feed on post, as well as ensure proper care and handling of any animals that reside at the child development centers.
For those who live on post, Fort Sill requires that your animals be registered with the VTF.
"To come register your pet, set up an appointment ... the only things you need to register is a rabies (certificate) and a microchip," said Armendariz.
All registration appointments will include a wellness exam and if vaccinations are required, they can be administered at the time of the appointment.
Proof of rabies vaccination is required, if the client does not have one currently, the pet will receive the vaccine the first time they are seen.
The Fort Sill VTF works closely in partnership with the post's stray facility. They provide all the necessary vaccinations and care needed for all animals who are surrendered or found as strays. Animals at the stray facility are available for adoption by anyone 18 and older.
"When they are adopted, the adoption fee covers all vaccinations. Depending on the species they are heartworm tests or feline leukemia/FIV tested. They will be de-wormed and microchiped," Williams said. "So they are pretty much set for their first year."
Andy Anderson, Fort Sill Stray Facility animal caretaker, suggests people who are interested in getting a pet to check out the the stray facility.
"We are here for for the community," said Anderson. "Whether they have dogs, thinking about getting a dog, find a dog, or cat. We're here for them and we'd like them to come visit us."
The care and support provided by the VTF to the stray facility ensures that all the animals adopted are healthy. Hours at the stray facility are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. They gladly accept donations and primarily have a need for dog and cat foods, as well as cat litter.
To report a stray animal on Fort Sill during the hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. call Fort Sill animal control at 580-442-5723. Offered as a service through the Fort Sill Directorate of Public Works, they will come and retrieve the animal and bring it to the stray facility. The employees have specialized training in proper handling and catch techniques.
If it is outside of normal business hours, call the Fort Sill Military Police and they can assist in the matter.
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