Dr. Jen's Veterinary House Calls

06/16/2020

June 15, 2020
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING DR. JEN’S VETERINARY HOUSE CALL PRACTICE

As we know, and hear so often on the news, we are living in unprecedented times. The global pandemic has affected all of us in some way. For me, difficulties have also been ongoing with chronic health issues. This, in turn, continues to compromise my immune system. Thus, I have not been able to see patients in a house call setting for most of this year. Unfortunately, I do not anticipate a change any time soon with regard to risks for COVID-19, especially with increased cases in past several weeks.

Regretfully, after sincere and extensive consideration, I am retiring from veterinary house call medicine, effective 6/15/2020. I do so with a humble and grateful heart, as it has been a distinct honor and privilege to meet such wonderful people and their beloved furry family members. I so wish things were different and that I could continue to serve the community in my capacity as a house call veterinarian. I am hopeful and determined to continue working as a veterinarian in the future in a different role, and I will explore this as the current public health crisis evolves.

THE EXCITING NEWS: INTRODUCING DR. GRACE LEWIS, A MOBILE VETERINARIAN!
AS OF JUNE 15, 2020: Saving Grace Animal Medical Center is Available and Highly Recommended for Existing and Potential New Clients of Dr. Jen’s Veterinary House Calls

I have met an amazing mobile house call vet, Dr. Grace Lewis! We have been in close communication these past few weeks and I cannot say enough good things about her! She is dedicated to comprehensive, compassionate, high quality medicine. She is warm and personable, and is deeply invested in the well being of every furry family member she meets. She is very thorough with a wonderful bedside manner. She operates a full service, state of the art, mobile veterinary hospital: Saving Grace Animal Medical Center. She has agreed to take over for my clients here in the Katy/Fulshear area! I highly recommend visiting the website—it is full of great information!

Again, my deepest thanks to everyone and words cannot express how much I will truly miss all of you.

Wishing you and your furry family members health and happiness,
Dr. Jen

Dr. Grace Lewis
Saving Grace Animal Medical Center
https://www.savinggracemobilevet.com
346-818-8848

Mobile, curbside veterinarian in NW Houston

04/20/2020

April 20, 2020
Update-Extension of Practice Leave due to COVID-19 through June 15, 2020

During this tremendously difficult time, my priority is to keep you and your loved ones safe, and mine as well. Unfortunately, as a veterinarian with chronic health issues, practicing house call medicine at this time would be associated with a high risk burden. As I was soon coming off medical leave, I regret that I must extend my leave due to COVID-19.

I am hoping to resume house calls in mid-June (6/15/2020). Due to the dynamics of this pandemic, I will update you with any changes or modifications. Please stay safe and healthy, and stay home when you can.

I continue to recommend Dr. Lee and staff of Cinco Animal Hospital during my absence. See below for information, including their phone number (281-395-4700) and more.

Most Sincerely,

Dr. Jen

03/28/2020

As it is after all, and I wanted to update my cover photo....Gracie and Jake could not be passed up! This was their homecoming picture and it is one of my all time favorites!

03/18/2020

The following information is definitely worth reading! It helps differentiate infected and infectious. It answers some of the often questions about COVD 19 and our pets.

COVID-19 miscellaneous FAQ

By Scott Weese on March 14, 2020
POSTED IN CATS, DOGS
It’s pretty much full time COVID-19 around here, and I’ve gotten behind on posting. I figured it might be useful to recap some of the more common questions that are going around:

Does the SARS-CoV-2 virus (virus that causes COVID-19) infect animals?

Yes. But…

…The virus likely originated in and animal of some kind, and has since been found in a relatively healthy dog, but we don’t know much more than that. From a transmission standpoint, this is a human disease. Whether it’s purely human or predominantly human is a lingering question. If it’s purely a human disease, we can ignore the animal side (except for their potential to be contaminated fomites, more on that below). If it’s predominantly a human disease with minor animal involvement, the focus still needs to be on people, but there are some animal aspects worth considering.

What about that dog in Hong Kong that tested positive for the COVID-19 virus?

The dog was owned by an infected person and had a series of positive tests. That’s pretty convincing evidence that it was infected. However, the tests were reportedly “weak positives” and no detectable antibody response was detected in the dog (at least not yet), supporting that this was a pretty low grade infection.

Infected vs infectious is the big question. An individual can be infected but not infectious, if they’re not producing much virus and therefore unlikely to pass the infection along. The hope is that dogs are not a great host for the virus and if infected, that they’re not infected enough to pose a risk to others.

What about cats?

Cats are still a bigger concern in this scenario because they were able to be infected by the SARS virus and could infect other cats with SARS, and this virus is similar enough that it’s reasonable to be concerned that it could infect cats as well. However there has been little testing (in fact none that we know of) of cats so far, though undoubtedly many cats have been exposed through their infected owners. Time will tell based on field study (hopefully) and probably experimental work.

Should I be worried about catching COVID-19 from my dog or cat?

No. As a disease that is at least predominantly if not purely transmitted by people, pets are going to get it from people, not the other way around. If your dog/cat is infected, it probably got it from you or one of your close contacts, and the infected person poses more of a risk to you than the dog/cat.

So, what should we think about with pets and COVID-19?

Common sense. If you’re infected, stay away from people and pets. If you’re infected and you’ve been with your pet, keep it away from others. If we keep pets from getting exposed and keep exposed pets away from people, then we reduce the risks – if there are in fact any – even further.

03/03/2020

02/15/2020

Welcoming new additions!!!!! These two adorable kittens were adopted by Julie and family and they could not have found a better home! I’m so very happy for everyone —-words can’t express my joy for the new family!❤️ What an exciting ! Julie may comment with final names!

01/15/2020

As promised, just posted a few pictures and short video clips of Momma Kitty and Norbie! It seems one of the new medications is helping, and both Momma and Norbie seem to be consistently more playful, with appetites improved, too. They are eating on their own now, and that is wonderful! Prayers for continued steady improvement are what we definitely need. It’s still a “one day at a time” kind of fight, and we’re as determined as ever to provide everything we can to give these sweet creatures the best chance possible. They are beyond deserving!

01/15/2020

Momma and Norbie!