Bells Ferry Veterinary Hospital

09/02/2026

One of our recent wildlife patients was in quite the muddy predicament, and her story has become quite the internet sensation as a result ❤️ 🦅

Thank you to the wonderful staff at Resurgens in Acworth. You guys truly went above and beyond to get this poor bird out!

Thank you to everyone that has donated to our wildlife fund. You make stories like this possible.

She was so covered in mud, she barely looked like a bird 🪶

After medical workers Nicole and Ashley spotted an osprey trapped in deep mud behind their Georgia clinic, they used pieces of plexiglass to reach her and eventually got her to Bells Ferry Veterinary Hospital for treatment. She's now recovering with Chattahoochee Nature Center Wildlife Rehabilitation, where caregivers are helping her regain her strength before she can hopefully return to the wild.

08/26/2026

Happy International Dog Day from SAM!

08/18/2026

As we continue to welcome new clients and their pets as owners discover THEIR vet hospital has been sold to corporate (or was secretly sold some time ago!), we wanted to share a great synopsis of what vet med is going through right now (note: BFVH is not political in any way; this issue transcends all politics).

What can you do right now? Continue to support small businesses, especially privately owned veterinary hospitals. Just a simple phone call to your vet, asking the simple question, "Are you privately owned?" can tell you a lot. If they are, that answer will always be a clear and concise yes! If there's lots of explanation or an "I'm not sure" we encourage all pet owners to dig deeper!

Why are veterinary bills rising so fast across America? Senator Eli...

08/11/2026

This is your sign to adopt a cat today! ❤️ 🐈‍⬛ 🐈 ❤️

08/10/2026

🎶I don’t know about you, but I’m feelin 22!🎶 Help us wish ✨BROOKE ✨a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

08/09/2026

We are on the way to a record setting wildlife year. Last week we reached 451 wildlife intakes, the same number we had all of 2025, and we’ve got 5 months to go!!

We often get asked “what will happen to it” when people release wild animals to us. While the sad reality of caring for wildlife is that a large percentage have to be euthanized, most often due to extreme trauma, we also have cases where we go well above and beyond. What we want finders to know is that we are ALWAYS making the best decision for the animal with plans for eventual release.

Two recent examples of “above and beyond” involve one unusual, and one not so “wild” animal.

This Black Swedish duck (NOT wild but we don’t discriminate) was brought to us after fishing line had essentially amputated her foot. The foot was swollen, incredibly painful and every nerve and muscle were tightly trapped. We surgically finished the job the fishing line had started and she recovered beautifully. She has now joined “One Foot Lake”, owned by wonderful friends of BFVH!! He shares the lake with our previous patients, a one footed swan (injured by another swan during breeding) and another one footed Black Swedish duck (also a victim of fishing line). We’re so thankful our friends are always willing to accept another disadvantaged waterfowl. Here they have a sandy beach for easy access to water and a twice a day broadcast feeder for easy and consistent access to food.

The next little patient is one we don’t see often. This Bronze Frog came in with a large laceration where the skin was peeled away on most of its back. We sedated it with an anesthesia cocktail applied to its skin and sutured the laceration with the smallest sutures ever. He was given pain medication and oxygenated well post surgery and he recovered remarkably well. He has been transferred to the Chattahoochee Nature Center for continued care and while his prognosis is still guarded, we did all we could to get this beneficial amphibian back into the wild.

The point of this post is to show you that even though we’ve received a record volume of wildlife patients, we will always try to do every thing we can within reason to ensure a wild animal is triaged appropriately and able to be released back to the environment whenever possible.

**thank you to everyone who has donated to our wildlife program. YOU are incredibly appreciated. We receive no funding or assistance so every dollar is very appreciated!!

08/08/2026

🐈‍⬛Happy International Cat Day!! 🐈‍⬛Here is a shout out to our one and only KEVIN!!!

08/04/2026

✏️🚌Happy Back To School Week!!

We hope all our little 2 legged brothers and sisters had a great first day!! ✂️📚

To celebrate, for the whole
Month of August we’re offering $20 off of your pet’s important tests (lab tests that is! 🧪). So, if your dog or cat comes in for their yearly exam, take $20 off their wellness bloodwork, on us!

‼️Reminder: For the time being, we are still offering a FREE heartworm test when your pet receives ProHeart12 (12 months of uninterrupted heartworm prevention in 1 injection 🦟). It’s a great time to schedule your pet’s wellness exam and vaccines!

07/30/2026

Wildlife of the Week!⭐

We here at Bells Ferry Veterinary Hospital take pride in our wildlife triage program. We’ve heard your requests for a sneak-peek into how this process works so we want to introduce our new program called Wildlife of the Week! Every week or so, we will introduce one of our wildlife cases to provide insight into the work we do here at Bells Ferry. Through these spotlights, we aim to educate the public about the wildlife rehabilitation process, explain how triage and treatment decisions are made, and foster a greater understanding of the care each animal receives on its path to recovery.

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This week, we are highlighting an Eastern Box Turtle that was admitted to the facility on July 8th. The turtle was brought to us after being found near a local neighborhood pond, where the finder noticed two large swellings on either side of its neck and was concerned about its condition.

Upon examination, our team found the turtle to be alert but mildly lethargic and slightly underweight. The swellings were diagnosed as bilateral aural abscesses - localized infections within the ear cavities that are relatively common in turtles. These large lumps prevent the turtle from retracting fully into their shell for protection and limit overall mobility, affecting the turtle’s ability to consume food (causing the weight loss seen). After administering a local anesthetic (lidocaine) and pain medication, both abscesses were carefully extracted and flushed to remove the debris fully.

Following the procedure, the turtle received continual pain medication and antibiotics, remaining under observation for around two weeks to monitor healing and recovery. Over time, the turtle steadily gained weight and inflammation around the wounds decreased significantly. Once it was fully recovered, the turtle was returned and released near its original location.

This turtle was found in a neighborhood where lawn chemicals are used often, which most likely contributed to the aural abscesses it developed. This is a fairly common problem for box turtles, especially in urban and suburban areas, where pesticides, herbicides, and other lawn treatments are widely used. There are several things you can do to help. Consider switching to more natural lawn care methods, such as organic fertilizers, hand-pulling weeds, or pesticide-free pest control.

We hope you enjoyed this weeks wildlife spotlight and stay tuned for a look at the variety of interesting and educational cases we get in each week!

07/28/2026

Help us wish our “summer intern” Averie, a very special✨ 15th✨ Birthday!!!