FORT BENNING, Ga., (July 7, 2016) -- The Veterinary Treatment Center is working hard to ensure the best experience possible for residents and their pets at the Fort Benning clinic.
Capt. Michelle Rivard, clinic OIC, and Sgt. Tami Bush, clinic NCOIC, help ensure that pet owners know how to care for their animals and register pets properly.
"We want to make sure that residents are educated on pet wellness and health in order to provide the best lifestyle possible for their pet," said Rivard.
The Veterinary Treatment Clinic has a pharmacy, exam rooms, X-Ray machines, ultrasound machines and an ICU room to support its mission, Rivard said.
"Not all veterinary clinics have this machinery available to use readily within the same building," said Rivard, explaining the clinic supports Fort Benning's working dogs to help prevent and treat issues like gastropexy, a potentially fatal condition for dogs.
"Bloat is a condition when the dogs' stomach twist and turn on itself. The surgery ensures that the stomach is attached to the abdomen to prevent turning. Bloat used to be a leading cause of death in military working dogs," said Bush.
The veterinary clinic offers pet registration and preventative wellness to pets of military ID card holders of all branches, active duty and retired. The clinic also offers heartworm and flea and tick prevention to established clients of the facility.
There are some improvements being introduced at the clinic.
"We have had some comments on our phone availability for emergency calls. We have resolved the issue so that we can receive calls without any interference," Rivard said.
"We also have a new surgeon who will be coming in September in order to expand the kind of surgeries we can perform at the Veterinary Treatment Center," Bush said.
Pet owners should not confuse the Fort Benning Animal Hospital, which is located off post, for the Fort Benning Veterinary Clinic.
According to Rivard, new residents who wish to register their pet should bring proof of vaccines, the pet's last heartworm test and fecal exams. This helps streamline the process of registering their pet.
"Pet registration is generally held on Thursdays, but we are looking to open registration during open hours," said Rivard.
For more information on pet registration or treatment, call the Veterinary Treatment Center at 706-545-4444.
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