March 2016 Newsletter

• EAH has been under a world-wide spotlight recently because of Brody, a sweet and resilient little puppy. Read his story and how he came to EAH below or on our blog here.
• Congratulations to Dr. Marlowe and her partner Erik! They are expecting their first child, a little girl, April 26th! Dr. Marlowe is planning to be out on maternity leave following the birth of their daughter for eight weeks, and then she will be coming back to EAH part-time for another month before returning full time towards the end of July. Don’t worry, we will make sure all of her patients are taken care of while she is out taking care of herself and her new little bundle of joy! If your pet receives acupuncture with Dr. Marlowe, please make sure you contact her to schedule acupuncture when she is ready and able to work again.
• You will see new faces around EAH in coming months… so who are they?
  Dr. Scarlet Springate will be a relief doctor in our hospital during May and June while Dr. Marlowe is out on maternity leave with her soon-to-be new little girl. Dr. Springate is from Spartanburg, SC, and is looking forward to serving the Rock Hill community during her time at EAH (Picture and details coming soon!)

  Lauren Cline (pictured below on the left) will be joining EAH as our fourth full-time doctor in June, following her graduation from Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Lauren was born and raised in Columbia, SC and received her bachelors degree from Clemson University before going to Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. She and her husband (also pictured) have a rescued hound/pit mix named Remy, and two cats (Bella and Gizmo). Lauren enjoys photography, painting, hiking, and traveling in her free time, and professional interests include dermatology, ophthalmology, and ultrasound. She’s looking forward to moving to the area and starting her career as part of the EAH team!
  

• February was pet dental health month, and we are THRILLED with the increasing awareness behind the importance of dental health for pets! More people than ever are recognizing how vital good dental health is in keeping our patients, YOUR PETS, happy and healthy! We were able to perform more dental cleanings than ever in February, and our wonderful clients received 10% off! Thank you for your vigilance and attention. Your pets thank you for it!!!
• In an effort to better accommodate our LARGE canine patients, we are in the process of adding five large indoor runs to our hospital for boarding purposes! We will now be even better prepared to board big guys and girls (think great danes and mastiffs!) than in the past. Our patient’s comfort is our top priority!
• As a reminder, our canine campers boarding at Camp Ebenezer are now required to have the canine flu vaccine to protect against the H2N3 strain of the canine influenza. Your pup hasn’t had the vaccine but is scheduled to stay with us? Don’t worry, you can swing by any time before boarding so we can administer the vaccine (recommended), or we can do it the same day of arrival at Camp Ebenezer. 
  Don’t have plans to board but think it’s a good idea to protect your pup? We couldn’t agree more! Come by any time for the vaccine!
  

A 6 week old puppy named Brody has won over the hearts of Americans and people around the world. Brody’s journey from an abandoned, abused puppy to the home of a loving, caring family is one that helps remind us that humanity often finds a way to help those the most in need.

On Sunday, February 21^st, our receptionist Beth was up front for our normal business hours of 5 to 6 p.m. for discharge and intake of boarding patients. In an instant, several police cars filled our parking lot to Beth’s surprise. They alerted Beth that a puppy that was stabbed multiple times was on its way to the hospital. Because we are typically only open on Sundays during our hour-long window for boarding drop off and pick up, doctors and technicians are generally not present. It just so happens that on this day two of our technicians, Ben and Tiffany, were at the hospital addressing a medical emergency with their own dog Folly. The doctor on call that weekend was yours truly (Dr. Hreiz) and Beth called to alert me of the situation rapidly developing. Brody, at that time nameless, arrived at the clinic while Ben and Tiffany did an initial assessment of him. They quickly realized that the majority of wounds that Brody suffered were BB gunshot wounds, not stab wounds as originally thought (later we would determine that Brody was indeed cut with a knife in one area of his body).

I conferred with Beth, Ben, and Tiffany over the phone about Brody’s condition and also discussed the game plan going forward. I was in Charlotte at the time (a 35 minute drive from Rock Hill) and decided to come down to the clinic to assess Brody in person. Ben and Tiffany shaved all of the areas on Brody’s small frame that were clotted with blood from the bullet holes and cleaned the wounds. When I arrived, I was shocked at how calm and relaxed Brody was. For a dog shot eighteen times, he was very docile and whining due to a mixture of pain and the fact that he was a young puppy! X-rays we took showed multiple BB wounds all over Brody’s body. This included two equally spaced holes on top of his skull along with BBs very close to Brody’s spine. We felt many BBs through the skin but several were buried deeper in muscle or further down in the body. Two thoughts immediately crossed my mind – why isn’t Brody in shock or at least more unstable than he was presenting and how could a puppy survive such a horrific act and not have some degree of debilitation? In retrospect, I think it may have been the will of this impressive little guy and sheer luck when his assailants attacked him.

Ben, Tiffany, and I started stabilizing Brody. We gave him fluids therapy to re-hydrate and replace the fluids lost from bleeding. We gave him injections of pain medicine to ease his pain. Finally, we started him on oral pain control and antibiotics to prevent infection that could develop from the BBs inside of him. His physical exam was relatively normal – quiet lungs, no evidence of bleeding in the belly, and no damage to the joints or ligaments of a growing puppy. Brody was also full of intestinal parasites that we began treating.

The next morning we arrived to the hospital to find a whining, hungry, and feisty puppy. In less than 8 hours Brody was already beginning to show us that he was a fighter and not willing to let the heinous act done to him be his undoing. Around this time the rest of the local community began to learn about Brody and his incredible story. Those local individuals shared his story with friends, and those friends shared his story with their friends, and suddenly thousands upon thousands of people began to learn about the amazing story of Brody. By the end of Monday, after the local news stations came by to interview us about the little guy, many of the wounds that Brody sustained were already beginning to heal.

Over the next 72 hours, Brody became a national celebrity. The hashtag #justice4brody was created and the world knew what a remarkable story he was telling. Our hospital, which typically fields between 30-50 calls a day, was now answering up to 500 phone calls from people all across the country that wanted to reach out and help.

Brody is now well on his way to recovery. The BBs inside of him will stay there for the time being. Because of his very young age and the fact that none of the BBs are in a dangerous location, surgery should be postponed until absolutely necessary. Many of these BBs will likely not cause any long term side effects. We will re-evaluate him when he’s older and a more ideal candidate for surgery. This should be around 6 months of age.

His story will have a happy ending. One of our receptionist Carla and her family applied for and successfully had their application accepted through the local rescue group Project Safe Pet, and they will be able to give Brody his forever loving home. Carla’s daughter had just lost her long time beloved canine companion and within seconds of meeting Brody the connection was evident. We are so proud of our staff, our clients, the Rock Hill police department, and the entire country for their outpouring of love and support for sweet little Brody. His story is truly one of humanity at its worst……and at its best.

Dr. Jay Hreiz

Mount Gallant Elementary Family Health Day

We will be joining Mount Gallant Elementary School’s Family Health Day as a top level sponsor this year! This annual event strives to encourage students and their families to make healthy choices and live active lifestyles. This year they are allowing our hospital to join their event, as they recognize that pets are an important part of the family unit, and they should stay healthy too!

Students and their families will come together at the event to play group games, have relay races, health trivia, exercise activities, demonstrations, raffles, and much more!

We are excited to join Family Health Day to help keep pets healthy too!

Waggin’ Trail Dog Walk and Event!

We’ve had so much fun the last two years, we decided to sponsor this event again in 2016! Mark your calendars now to join us for the dog walk, pet parades, and other fun! All proceeds from this event will benefit the Humane Society of York County this year. A great event for an amazing cause!

We hope to see you there!

Something exciting is on the horizon… we just don’t know what it is yet! 

Stay tuned!

This month we are highlighting our technician, Tiffany! Many of you know her, as she has been a member of our team since September of 2005. Tiffany’s mother even worked at EAH in the late 80s/early 90s, so it’s no suprise that one of the things Tiffany loves about our hospital is the family atmosphere! EAH is in her blood! 🙂

Tiffany is mom to her two girls, Ava and Ali, as well as pets Folly, Jude, Murray, Vick, Loretta, and Brynn. Tiffany loves crafting (anything and everything from Pintrest!), and she and Ben, fellow team member, enjoy an active outdoor lifestyle. They love spending time kayaking on the Catawba river, running, hiking and enjoying sunshine whenever possible. Tiffany also loves going to concerts, as she enjoys music of all kinds!

Next time you are at EAH, please make sure to say hello to Tiffany! Here’s a pic of her with our adorable Brody!