Letters From Clients
Poem by Client
Poem for Koko's Birthday
Koko turns three on Tuesday, March Eight.
(Oh, wait, I should check on what she just ate!)
Like a cat, that pooch was born with nine lives.
She's always real lucky when danger arrives.
Lets start with javelina: the one that she chased.
And then a mean rattler that bit her in haste.
She caught Valley Fever by digging in dirt.
It seems there's no trouble she's tempted to skirt.
This week had its drama and gave us a scare.
She chewed an inhaler, and absorbed the foul air.
We took her to Valley (the place TK built)
Alexis and her folks gave care to the hilt.
She spent Wednesday night in jail: the vets crate,
then came home to greet us, with a flair in her gait.
Her vet bills are soaring, and grooming costs more,
Her post-swim wet shaking has us blocking the door.
But, look in those eyes, and that wagging, full tail!
Just watching her play has never grown stale.
Enjoying each day an adventure, for sure.
She explores her whole world and is never demure.
A rascal you are: a Doodle clear through,
but you're ours, sweet Koko a we sure do love you.
by Max McConkey
A review by a client on Angies List
Multiple services over the years. In EVERY instance, great focus, consideration, professionalism, and superb medical care. I had two Standard Poodles for a period of about 15 years. They received veterinary care only from Valley Animal Hospital, mostly from TK Warfield, but, on occasion, from other vets there. I could not have been more pleased with the quality of service--from the begining-- the correct diagnosis of a new puppy ailment, to the end-- the most decent senior care one could ask, with personal notes and a contribution in my dog's names after their death. One wishes that one's own human physician would be as competent and caring as the vets and other personnel at Valley. I now have two other dogs: my wife and I will go nowhere else for their care.
A specific example (and there are many others): my Standard Poodle had a bad accident, breaking his lower leg. The diagnosis was not good. In most circumstances, as I have subsequently learned, his leg would have been amputated. But TK Warfield performed a 3-hour surgery, implanting a device of his own crafting, and setting the leg. Within three months, my dog was running with no pain, no limp, no indication that there had been an accident. Another: when this same animal had to be put down, after 14 years of good life, the procedure was followed by a contribution from Valley in the dog's name to a shelter, plus a hand-written, personal note from TK Warfield-- an amazing vet and person. VERY impressive.
Press Release
The dog’s name is Sunshine – but she should be called Lucky.
Through an amazing sequence of events the boxer mix female was missing for 17 days while her heart-broken owners – including a 9-year-old autistic girl – searched for her every day.
The girl’s companion dog got out of the house the night of 9/11, was hit by a car and severely injured, found and delivered to the 24-7 Valley Animal Hospital – where she was stabilized by Dr. Alexis Moreno before her dislocated left hip and right elbow were treated by Dr. T.K. Warfield, an expert in orthopedic surgery and soft tissue damage.
The injured dog had been found by Pima Animal Care Center. She had a microchip from the Foundation for Animals In Risk (FAIR), where she had been offered for adoption years ago. Because she was one of their dogs, FAIR immediately agreed to have her taken to Valley Animal Hospital, which partners with the non-profit group on a regular basis. Then FAIR tried – unsuccessfully – to reach the people who had originally adopted her.
Meanwhile Amy Dicochea and her young daughter, son and niece continued to look for Sunshine, visiting the Humane Society and Animal Care Center daily. After nearly two weeks, Dicochea made a list of every animal rescue organization in the county and sent each one an email with photos of the missing dog. Her autistic daughter Meleena was so distraught she couldn’t sleep and “just cried and cried” and drew pictures of her dog.
A volunteer at FAIR saw the e-mail and asked Dicochea if they knew if her dog had a microchip. The answer was no. The family was given the dog several years ago and had no knowledge of one.
Then the president of FAIR – Jennifer Becker – also saw the email photos and noticed that the dog had a docked tail. That seemed familiar. She called the pet hospital and asked them to check. Yes – the rescued dog had a docked tail.
Dicochea drove to Valley Animal Hospital on 22nd Street hoping that this was in fact their dog. It was. Elated, she picked Meelena up from school with the good news and they headed for a tearful reunion.
“It was amazing,” Becker said. ”This sort of thing never happens. Normally people just give up hope. Luckily this owner was proactive and did what she did.” Becker added, “We could not do this without Valley Animal Hospital being a 24-hour comprehensive facility. Having Dr. Warfield and his team is our saving grace most days.” Drs. Ashley Morgan and Kerry Gillooly also were involved in Sunshine’s on-going care.
Had Sunshine not been reunited with her family, she would have gone to a FAIR volunteer’s foster home until she was fully recovered, then put up for adoption.
To Dr. Moreno and Dr. Herrington,
Thank you so much for your expert handling of Piper's care when she was bitten by a rattlesnake! Four days later, she is once again terrorizing my Chinese Crested powder puff pup, who is about the same age! (Not that I am letting her play TOO much yet.) It is truly amazing to see her recovering so quickly. The rattlesnake bites I've seen in the past have not been treated with antivenin, and have been accompanied by several days of not eating and gross sloughing of the skin. This was so much less traumatic to my dog!
Dr. Moreno, I especially appreciate your testing of the antivenin subcutaneously on Piper's side to rule out allergic reaction, and your kindness and understanding in letting me attend her procedures.
Dr. Herrington, I especially appreciate your going the extra mile and drawing blood for the clotting tests, in light of what happened to my friends mare.
Your treatment of Piper was not only excellent for her; it gave me great peace of mind!
Best Wishes,
Jerri
(The following letter was read to all our staff during our staff meeting; it brought several of us to tears.)
Hello to everybody at Valley Animal Hospital,
I don't really know where to start. Tom and I have had a rough start to our new year. We have lost 3 of our friends in 5 weeks and they all were part of our lives for almost half of ours. Squeeky's mom gave birth to her and her siblings in our backyard. One day, over the course of a couple hours, she came and moved her brothers and sisters but then failed to come back for Squeeky. After several more hours of listening to her cry, (we wanted to give mom the benefit of the doubt) we finally brought Squeeky into our home. She was our first and she was only 3 days old. Within the same year, we brought Hippie and Peanut into our lives. Hippie was abandoned at 3 weeks old by his feral family and Peanut was about to be euthanized with her siblings. We took in her and her sister. They were 6 weeks old. They all died between 17 and 18 years old. (Not Peanut's sister, Bug is still with us despite cancer resulting in the loss of her tail and obvious depression over her sister and friends.)
Jason and Linda, I am having an extremely hard time expressing how much we appreciate your help. You've always been great to us in every situation. Linda, I personally have only met you once. We both agreed that it was nice to put a face with the name, yet I've spoken to you several times over the phone. Every single time I have been treated like a friend. Jason, I would love to put in a whole paragraph about how we couldn't have gotten by without you, but I can't help to get to the point...you're the best! Thank you both more than words can say.
I know Jody is not there to read this, but no worries; we have her address so she'll get her own letter.
Tammy, Hippie did not respond to many people in his long life like he did to you. You could see it in his stature when you came into the room. You could see his ears perk up if he heard your voice in the hallway. Sometimes he would close his eyes halfway, star purring and knead some dough. We had so many visits that it became part of his routine so you could even see some sort of disappointment if it wasn't you who walked into the room. The human race doesn't often give credit to non-humans for having emotions and the ability to form bonds. Hippie's behavior is a slap in the face to those people. You are one of the few people he actually liked and we could see it in your eyes that you truly cared. Thank you so much for treating him like the special person that he was.
Thanks Jackie, just for being you. We haven't seen you much recently, but you've always been cheerful and respectfully upbeat; even in the wee hours of the morning. Every time we see you helps us keep a positive attitude.
Thank you Blake, Ashley and Dr. Kellams for all your effort to keep Peanut in our lives. Thank you Ashley and Blake as well for your cards and kind words. We know you both did everying you could to help us. Hippie and Peanut's life-long friend...we think she just gave up. We see it in people all the time, right?
Thanks Ashley for actually calling us in the middle of the night to let us know the situation had taken a turn. I'm not sure other people would have wanted to "disturb" us. We surely don't imply that you did. On the contrary, you gave us the chance to be with Peanut when she passed. We're never sure how much our critters understand. However, we feel if they have to pass in the hospital that they might at least feel some comfort by having their people around. That's all Tom and I can hope anyway. Fate wouldn't let us have that moment and, despite our speeding, we arrived too late but you tried and we thank you. Also, your "at rainbow bridge" card really hits home. They're special words that have made me cry every time I've read them. Tom and I are having a little problem with faith right now, but we truly hope that such a place exists.
Thank you to the brains behind the idea to make paw prints in clay. Believe it or not, when Hippie died, I went out by the pond and tried to find one of his footprints. I wanted to go get some plaster and make a cast. I was disappointed that I couldn't find one, but I guess when you dont weigh that much, you don't make tracks. I was so thrilled when I saw his paw in a heart-shaped "cookie". This is seriously one of the best ideas ever! Please don't ever stop this practice...we can't possibly be the only ones who it matters to.
...We weren't sure if we were doing the right thing. When we received that card from the Humane Society notifying us of your donation in Hippie's name, all of our doubts were laid to rest: it showed you backed us so we must have been right. No lie, holding and reading that card gives us both comfort. Thank you, thank you, and thank you. I seriously can't put into words how much that one gesture puts a little sanity in our lives.
I've tried to write this letter several times. At first, just for Hippie but then Peanut got sick and I started to rewrite it to include her. Squeeky died before I finished and now Flapjack has been diagnosed with diabetes, so here we go again. I am determined to finish this letter before anything else happens. Every single time I've sat down to write this, I picture so many caring faces I can't put a name to. We're just lost right now. It doesn't mean we haven't noticed and appreciated how you all treat us like one of the family. You all deserve our praise and for helping us through this difficult time.
Please, please don't ever change! I know how you've treated us has helped more people that you can count. Once again, THANK YOU!
Tom and Stephanie