Fashion Statement

Meet Tallulah (you may remember her as Monkey, the tiny kitten Nora and Ann rescued from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina). Today, she is modeling Hot Pink Softclaws. They are striking against her black fur. Tallulah's mom brought her into have her nail tips applied because Tallulah loves to scratch at the sheer curtains. The Softclaws will allow her to exhibit her natural scratching behavior without her sharp nails causing damage to the curtains.

The Softclaws are easy to apply. The cat's front nails are trimmed and the nail tips are applied with an adhesive. As the nail grows, the colored tip falls off (usually one at a time) and the process is repeated. They come in variety of colors and are available at most pet stores or at www.softclaws.com.

Local Celebrity

Did everyone see that Isabella Szalkowski was the winner of the 2008 Wild & Wooly Pet Photo Contest in the Frederick News-Post?! Isabella was sunning on the beach when the winning photo was taken. Great job Isabella.

Thank You from Nora & Melissa

Nora and Melissa would like to give a great big THANK YOU to all of those who were generous enough to support them for their 2008 Avon Walk for breast cancer. The Washington D.C. walk raised a record 8.1 million dollars from the record 3,500 walkers! And that is partly due to you- Melissa and Nora raised over $4,500 this year! Feel free to ask them about their plans to participate in the 2009 walk.

So what are your plans???????

Calendar Girl!

Wow!!!  Brandy is a calendar girl!

It's true.  We just learned that Brandy is Miss January in the nationally distributed Toyota 2008 Dog Days Calendar.  Even though the picture is so good that it looks like it was taken in a photography studio, Brandy's dad actually took the picture himself.  Give them both a Milkbone!  That's a really good picture and Brandy looks great!

p.s.  Brandy was adopted as a puppy and never new anything about her biological family.  She always felt like she wanted to know more about her roots, so in early May, she completed some genealogy research in our hospital.  DNA testing revealed that Brandy has a lot of Chow in her family and lesser amounts of Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever and French Bulldog. Want to find out what's in your dog's recipe?  Ask us how.

"Sunkist" Lemonade Stand to benefit FCHS

Dennis McAfee is seven years old and would like to be a veterinarian when he grows up. He has decided to start early in his quest to aid animals in need. Dennis has made a commitment to raise money for the Frederick County Humane Society so the "animals can have a better life."

Dennis and his mom Zara, will be braving the heat to provide our clients some cool refreshment. He will be setting up a lemonade stand in front of our hospital on Saturday, June the 28th from 9am-?. Please stop by to enjoy a glass of ice cold, fresh squeezed lemonade and support Dennis and the FCHS.

Thank you Dennis for helping our furry friends!!!


Dennis' lemonade stand has been provided by Sunkist, with proud supporters Rubbermaid® and Domino®/C&H® Sugar. Sunkist is inviting kids 7 to 12 years old across America to Take a Stand® for their favorite charity. It's a rewarding way to squeeze some fun into summer and give back to the community. If you would like more information on setting up a lemonade stand for you charity visit http://www.sunkist.com/takeastand/ for more information.

Pet Pages

Some of our favorite patients have been sighted in The Frederick-News Post. The Post runs a pet page on Sundays and encourages pet owners to show off their furry family members. Frankie Four Paws, Vito, Clyde and Mitch, faithful companions of Sarah Murray were spotted on June 1st. Bouree and T.C.(Too Cute), furry friends of Willa Little-Gratz were spotted on June 15th.

If you would like to see your four-legged friend's picture in the Frederick News-Post e-mail your pictures to ezych@newspost.com. We hope to see you soon!

What Is In Your Mix??

Hi, My name is Lucy. Aren't I the cutest dog you ever saw? I am a rescue from the Humane Society of DC. My Mommy found me on Petfinder by typing in Chihuahua. Obviously I am not a full blooded Chi. My Mom didn't care. She wanted me anyway. She even had to beat out 35 other applicants in order to take me home. Boy am I glad she won!

Anyway, the first thing she did was take me to the nice folks at Kingsbrook. During my first exam, Mommy asked what else they thought I was mixed up with. Obviously, everyone could see the Chi in me. However, no one was sure what else was in here. Everyone did agree that it was some sort of Terrier. The guesses ran the gambit.

When my Mommy walks me, almost everyone who sees us asks "What kind of dog is that?" For the longest time, my Mommy would say Chihuahua and some sort of Terrier. That would prompt guesses and advice from everyone. Yeah, she looks Carin Terrier, or Maltese, Shitzu, Jack Russell, etc. They always gave reasons for their guesses, my eyes, my hair, my beautiful smile, etc.

One Saturday, I was at Kingsbrook getting a Lyme booster. Miss Kelly gave Mommy a brochure for the Wisdom Test. It was sure to tell us what kind of Terrier I was. So, Mommy immediately had my blood drawn for the test. We anxiously waited for about 2 weeks. Then one day Mommy came home to a message that my results were back. We could hardly wait to call back the next day to find out my ancestry.

Well, boy did Mommy find what they told her interesting...Miss Lynn told my Mommy I was of course, Chihuahua and....Miniature Poodle. Poodle, who would have thought?!! Not a drop of Terrier showed up in the analysis. Boy was everyone wrong about me. But of course, if someone would have asked me, I would have said, "Terrier, ha, fat chance!" "I'm a Chi Min Oodle!"

Walk-N-Wag 2008

Congratulations to the Frederick County Humane Society on organizing another great Walk-N-Wag at Baker Park last week.

Pictured on the left is  our veterinary technicians Sara Moore, Ranee Baker and Alison Szalkawski (holding Ethel the Cuban Rock Iguana) and Ranee's cousin, Whitney. Pictured on the right is Vinnie the Chihuahua, riding first class as usual!

Congratulations Sara & Brad and Jennifer & Sung!

Pictured are two beautiful brides from our very own Kingsbrook Animal Hospital family. 

 Technician Sara Drury-Moore married husband Brad in February in a wonderful ceremony in Williamsport, Maryland.  

Dr. Jennifer Kim, married her husband, Sung, in Philadelphia, PA in May.  Their wedding combined western and traditional Korean ceremonies.  

Please wish them the best the next time you see them!

Austin's Journey Home

"Hey there y'all." My name is Austin and I came the whole way from North Carolina to live with my new mama, Jen. She works at this really cool place where I get cheese out of a can and tons of pets and hugs. Anyway, she wants me to tell my story, so here it goes. I jumped off of the sofa one day at my old house and OUCH! my back REALLY hurt! My other mama took me to the doctor and he said I had something called a slipped disc in my spine. I'm not sure what all that means but my back hurt and then my legs quit workin'...It was really scary!

My old mama said that I needed special care, so I went to live with a really nice lady named Yolanda in Virginia, she was my foster mom (whatever that means). She gave me lots of TLC and exercises to make my legs work a little better. She also gave me the best present ever - a cart to use since my back legs don't work! I can run and play just like before and my back doesn't hurt anymore.

So now I live with Jen and we go for fun walks around the neighborhood and I get to meet new people all of the time. I like to hang out in the tall grass while she mows and chill on the patio with her and her friends. I have my own big bed with lots of toys that squeak, which are definately my favorites! Riding in the car is really fun too, it's like a really big cart with these things that blow cold air on you and music that we both sing to ( I am definately a better singer because of my southern roots!). I love mealtime too. Mom says I am a big eater for such a small guy!

So, I'm pretty much a regular 'ol Dachshund, except for my cool cart. If you're lookin' for an awesome new pal, or have some extra money to help out a sick fellow, check out my friends at http://www.drna.org/.

"Austin" is a rescue from Dachshund Rescue of North America.

Recently Spotted:

Who was that handsome guy in the Washington Post Magazine holding the corn snake?  Well of course , it was Brian Kristal, a friend of Kingsbrook Animal Hospital since before we ever opened.  And wasn't that corn snake at our hospital just last week after being bitten by a turtle?  (Don't worry, both snake and turtle are doing fine!)

Congratulations Brian. We're glad that your "Reptile Wonders" educational shows are doing well.

If you are interested in having Brian provide entertainment at your next birthday party, school or other activity, you may contact him at The Nature Center on the Go or call 410-374-0336.  We can vouch for Brian.  He's a really nice guy and he really knows his stuff about reptiles.

Chip and Dip for the Animal Welfare League of Frederick County

The Animal Welfare League of Frederick County will be holding a Chip and Dip fundraiser at Central Dawgma on Saturday, June 28th from 11am-3pm. Nora and Ranee will be on hand to implant microchips at a cost of $25.00 per pet. Volunteers will also be available next door at the Dawg Wash to bathe your dirty dogs (sorry, no cats) at a cost of $10.00 per dog. There will be a pet photographer on hand, and many vendor tables to visit. We hope to see you there!!!

Playing with a Bee....OUCH!!

Hello, my name is Marty.  I am a 1-year old HANDSOME domestic shorthaired cat who ended up with a paw that resembled a boxing glove.

A cute bee came for a visit on a sunny spring day and I was delighted to have spotted a buzzing friend.  I wanted to play with my new friend, but boy, I was SO WRONG!  I gently grasped the bee and I guess I startled the little creature;  it stung my right paw.  OUCH!  It was very, very painful and my right paw immediately became as big as a golf ball.  

Luckily, my mommy had some Benadryl available and gave me a dose to prevent any further allergic reactions to the bee sting.  I was so glad that my mommy was so knowledgeable.  Dr. Kim gave me a shot of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication for pain relief and told my mommy to continue the benadryl for a few days.

What an eventful day!  I will not be playing with any buzzing friends from now on!

Watch What You Eat!

Hi, my name is Dale E.  and I am a 7 year old Chesapeake Bay Retriever.  A few days ago, I wasn't feeling like my normal self, so my Mommy brought me to our friends at Kingsbrook Animal Hospital.  They looked me all over and gave me some injections to make my stomach feel better.  They even put an IV catheter in my leg and gave me some fluids because I was dehydrated.  After that, I still wasn't feeling better, so they had me drink a white liquid called 'barium' and then took a lot of x-rays of my belly.  They wanted to see if the barium (which shows up on x-rays) got stuck anywhere in my insides.  Sure enough, after a few hours, the barium hadn't moved much at all, and the doctors told my Mommy that I most likely ate something that became stuck in my intestines.  

The doctors and techs anesthetized me and took me to surgery to try to get whatever it was out before it made me really sick.  It didn't take long to find the culprit & remove it from my intestines.  My little snack turned out to be a fleece head band.  

Even though I just had surgery, I felt much better almost at once.  Now that it's been a few days, I'm really getting back to my normal self (but Mommy keeps looking at me, watching to make sure I don't eat anything else I'm not supposed to!)