Vet Care on the Road - 6/22/15

When we were in Arizona in January of this year, our beloved Australian Shepherd, Sadie, was due for her annual check up and immunizations. 

We took her to a local practice in Tucson (Ajo Veterinary Clinic) where we were very pleased with the vet (Dr. Penny Porter) who took care of her. Sadie even licked Dr. Porter's face (we have never seen her do this to any vet!) We selected this clinic after some on-line research that showed very positive reviews.

At the Ajo Clinic they scanned Sadie's microchip (we pay an annual fee to HomeAgain to maintain our contact information). She also wears a tag on her color that indicates that she has been chipped in the hopes that if she were ever, God forbid, lost, that we could be contacted to retrieve her!  If you are interested in more information about this great pet service for dogs or cats, you can do learn more about it at public.homeagain.com

Sadie received all of her immunizations in Tucson, but they do not carry Lyme's disease booster shots in Arizona, because, of course, deer ticks cannot be found in the Sonoran Desert! Having lived in Pennsylvania though, this is a really important vaccine. Many dogs in the area where we used to live (including a dog I used to own) get this disease. And we knew that we would be returning to the East Coast where Lyme's disease is a widespread problem. 

Therefore, one of the items at the top of our list when we returned to PA was to get Sadie her Lyme's booster. For convenience, we decided to take her to a nearby PetSmart where a Banfield Vet Hospital can be found. They, of course, had the vaccine on hand and took care of it with no problem. But we also learned that there are 900 Banfield Vet Hospitals located throughout the US. Sadie is now a registered patient with them and they maintain electronic records that are accessible from any one of their locations. 

This will be a huge convenience for us as full-time RVers! Instead of worrying about where we are when she needs to see a vet, we will have the option of taking her to one of the many Banfield locations. And her medical history will be available to the local vet. Perfect! 

For information about the PetSmart/Banfield alliance and the services offered at the Banfield Vet Hospitals see www.banfield.com