With all the new features we are offering online, it's only a matter of time before we have to tell a potential customer "Sorry, we can't service you." Before that happens, we want you to know what we CAN and what we CAN'T do!

    Our new pet portal and online pharmacy make it possible for us to service a wide range of new clients. Our expansion into small animal increases that number of clients even more! We are super-excited about that! Really, we are! Our staff is just about literally bouncing around the clinic! We've been quietly preparing this for over a year and it's finally coming to pass!

     Just as with human doctors, there are some things we can and cannot do to certain patients. Federal and State laws vigorously govern our type of practice, so we have to stay within those guidelines, no exceptions. WIth specific attention to the new pet portal, what are those guidelines?

Things we CAN do for everyone:

• Upload pictures of your pets, so we can see their pretty face before we see them in the clinic!
• Order non-prescription diets for your pet and have them delivered to your home!
• Share your pet's achievements with other users in the online pet community.
• Order non-prescription drugs for your pets.
• Pet ID-Cards (like a driver's license for your pet) - Available via telephone order for $7.95 each.
• Special Deals  (not always applicable to everyone) - Because we deal directly with the world's largest distributors, they have agreed to let our portal users know when certain specials are available. These are NOT mass emails sent to everyone. Our doctor has to approve each and every one first. But deals pop up all the time and most people just don't know about them. If our doctors get a special release that applies specifically to senior dogs, we can send that on directly to owners who have dogs of a certain age only! So, you only get offers relevant to you! Sometimes it's just 25% off a special food. Other times it's a buy two get one free deal on heartworm prevention. We never know what's coming up from the manufacturers but we're staying on top of them as they become availalbe and will share the deals we think you can take advantage of!

Things we can NOT do for everyone:

Prescriptions - Because our industry is heavily regulated, there are certain things we aren't allowed to do if we haven't seen your pet. Most of these rules all conform to the 12-month standard, which basically says if our doctors haven't personally examined your animal in the last 12 months, we are prohibited from prescribing non-over-the-counter drugs or diets to your animal. To do so would be a violation of our charter and would have our license to practice veterinary medicine revoked. It's not that we don't want to, because we'd love to have every animal owner in the USA knocking down our door for service! We just have to be able to examine the animal first. 

So, if you want to sign up your pet here with Bear Creek, we'd LOVE to have you!  Just understand that we won't be able to fulfill your requests for prescription medications or prescription diets if you aren't in our practice area or can't bring your animal to us to examine.  You can still take advantage of all the other serivces listed above however, so don't feel too bad! We want you and your pet to be part of our family, so we'll do all we can to help any time we can!

Things we CAN do for Patients We Examine:

If you are a client who has horses, pigs, dogs, cats, llamas, alpacas, goats, sheep, (and more that I'm forgetting right now) and you are in our practice area, a whole new level of service is now available to you! In addition to all the things mentioned above that we can do, we can also do the following - pending we have seen your animal within the last year.

• Online access to records - You can see your animal's entire clinic visit history with the click of a mouse! Simply login to your pet portal, click your animal's name, and click "Past Appointments" to see every visit you've ever had with us!
• Online access to prescriptions - Can't remember what that prescription you had for your dog, horse, or other animal was? That's ok! It's stored in your secure pet portal, ready for you to view anytime. If it was a prescription drug, you can even order a refill and have it delivered to your home with a few clicks of your mouse!
• Request Appointments - You can click "Request an Apointment" right on your pet portal and our online form will ask you for three dates that fit in your schedule. We will get the appointment request via email, and can call you back or email you back to confirm! It takes less than 30 seconds, because we'll already have your pet's history available through your pet portal!
• Get Reminders - Remembering to order routine things like heartworm prevention can be a pain! Not anymore! We can remind you when it's due, and if you like, send the medication right to your door!
• Check Up Reminders - Many kinds of animal visits are annual routines. Coggins, rabies tests, wellness exams, and other things are always recommended to be done on a scheduled basis. If you have an appointment that is usually recurring, our system will email you one month before it's due again so you can make the appointment online or call our office. Never miss a check-up again!
• Special Deals - Because we deal directly with the world's largest distributors, they have agreed to let our portal users know when certain specials are available. These are NOT mass emails sent to everyone. Our doctor has to approve each and every one first. But deals pop up all the time and most people just don't know about them. If our doctors get a special release that applies specifically to senior dogs, we can send that on directly to owners who have dogs of a certain age only! So, you only get offers relevant to you! Sometimes it's just 25% off a special food. Other times is a buy two get one free deal on heartworm prevention. We never know what's coming up from the manufacturers but we're staying on top of them as they become availalbe and will share the deals we think you can take advantage of!

Some Examples of the New Pet Portal's Uses

We've covered some of the "important" stuff, but let's show you some of the "cool" things you can do with the new pet portal! Check this stuff out! It's awesome!

The interface to your portal is easy to use and easy to understand! Click the pet you want to work with, and choose what you want to see. Make appointments, check patient histories, request prescription refills, and more!

See that reminder screen above? That tells you that this animal is overdue for their annual influenza/rhinovirus and West Nile vaccinations! Oh no! That's ok - just click the "request appointment" button and we can schedule that right away! If you can't remember when your animal's next Coggins or rabies test is due, we tell you right here!

Are you leaving down for an extended period of time? Under the "Tools" section, you can create a care-guide for whomever will be pet-sitting for you while you're gone! You can specify each animal's needs, and then save the care guide on our portal, ready to print if you ever need it again. If the animal has an appointment with our clinic, or a prescription refill due while you're gone, we'll notify you right here so you handle the appointment before you leave! Never have to wonder if you forgot an important instruction again. Our simple and easy-to-use form asks you all the important questions we think you might need to remember for your pet-sitter during your absence! 

This is one of the best features and it's free to everyone, not just in-clinic patients! We have Care Guides for most all common types of animals. This example above shows a dog care guide. Click on any of the links for advice on how to deal with common issues related to the breed of animal you've selected.  We have HUNDREDS of pages of great information put together for you for dogs, cats, horses, and more!

As most of you know ,I am a very busy person at work and at home.  It has always been a struggle to balance taking care of everyone else (and their animals) and myself.  I've never really made time for myself.  My physical health and mental well-being are always taking the proverbial back seat.  The years have taken their toll on my body, especially my back.  Pulling calves and kneeling under horses to sew up cut legs and wrestling with goats and other critters had me nearly crippled and living on ibuprophen, caffeine and B vitamins just to keep me going; until recently that is.  Paige, a friend of mine, is an avid swimmer.  She would swim 4 days a week at the local YMCA.  When she moved to this area, she joined the Y in Albemarle.  I thought to myself "I used to belong to the Y."  I was always busy and ended up paying for a monthly membership that I rarely used.  I could never get anyone to go with me when I was free and it seemed that no matter what, I was always interrupted by an emergency or a phone call.  Consistency was just not possible.  So we cancelled it.  

One day she invited me to go with her....at 6am!   She would go before work and swim for a half hour then shower, change clothes and go to work.  Hmmm, go early?  That could work.  I mean who needs sleep right?  I would have to go to bed earlier, or at least try to anyway.  So I did it.  That was in July.  I love it and I am still doing it.  I would get my stuff ready and get up at 5:30am.  Its a short drive to the Y for me.  I was in the pool at 6am and would swim for about 30min, then get ready for work.  The first few times I went were pitiful.  After just a few laps (140 ft per lap) I was done; winded and dizzy Later that day I felt strangely energized.  It was a good feeling.  Every day I got better and I could swim for longer and longer.  Pretty soon I was maxing out my 30min at a half mile (18 laps).  That was all I could fit in that time frame.   My solution was to get there earlier.  The pool opens at 5:30am.  Now I set my alarm for 5am.  I still get my stuff ready the night before and leave my house in the dark, but I have a full hour in the pool.  If I really push it, I can fit a mile in that time (36 laps).  That is still very slow compared to some of my fellow poolmates.  Gina (a friend and client) swims 2 miles in just a little over my hour.  Paige can easily fit a mile into that time without having to really push it if she chose to.  The pool is peaceful and forgiving.  It supports you without causing pain.  I use my whole body without punishing my knees or back.  Its great.  After about 2 weeks I realized that my back wasn't hurting.  I was more relaxed in all my muscles.  I could run to the truck without getting winded.  My mind even clears somewhat under the water.  Its quiet.  Best part about it....My phone does not usually ring at time of day.  No cell phones in the pool.  I leave it my locker for 1 hr a day at a time when most people are alseep.   Its awesome!

So, the take home message from this is two fold:   First, find what works for you and allows you to be healthy.  I highly recommend swimming (especially for those with knee and back problems).  Second, if you call my office/cell phone between the times of 5:30am and 6:30am, you will get my voicemail.  It will be on vibrate, sitting in a locker at the YMCA.   Which begs the question, "If a cell phone rings in a locker and there's no one around to hear it....does it make a sound?"

What do you mean you don't see dogs and cats?  

This is a common question at Bear Creek Mobile Veterinary Services, but let me begin with some background information....

When I was in veterinary school, my dream was to be a bovine veterinarian.  That means I wanted to work on cattle.  Now most people may find that a little crazy, because really, what can you do with a cow?  The truth is, there is a lot.  It is also very important from a food safety and public safety standpoint.  But, I digress.  That may be another blog post later.  The real reason for this post is simple.  I am a large animal vet.  That means I work on farm animals:  horses, cows, goats, sheep, llamas, alpacas, and pet pigs.  We do not work on commercial poultry or swine simply because they have their specially tranined team of veterinarians that handle their unique situations.  The general public usually assumes that ALL veterinarians treat dogs and cats (aka small animal medicine).  Though a vast majority of veterinarians enter into small animal practice upon graduation, a few of us devote our careers to the road less traveled.  We precious few focus our brains, time, money, equipment and continuing education to maintaining the animals that people often forget about.  Our practices are set up differently.  We work out of trucks, carry different equipment, use different drugs and dosages.  We DO NOT have size 25ga catheters to put IV's in chihuahuas.   We do not carry the medications currently used in small animal medicine.  Let's not overlook the obvious factor here either, it has been 10yrs since I practiced small animal medicine.  So much has changed in that time.  

Now, yes, I know what you are thinking..."Dr. Jordan, didn't you just open a Spay Neuter Clinic recently?"  Yes, we did.  By in large due to the quantity of calls received each day requesting the service and obvious need for one in the county.  However, the different is this, surgery is not the same as medicine.  Spaying a pig is actually harder than spaying a cat.  Performing a C-section on a goat is way harder than on a labrador.  Surgery is surgery.  I perform surgery all the time.  My surgical skills are great.  We went through all the necessary chanels and met all the requirements by the vet board to legally open the spay neuter clinic.  We are specifically licensed as a spay neuter clinic and ONLY as a spay neuter clinic.  We limit our services to rabies vaccines and spay/neuter.  All other wellness, sick or emergency services must be handled by your regular small animal veterinarian.  We will make note of any abnormalities we see before, during and after surgery, but we do not diagnose or treat those problems.  The spay neuter clinic is also separate in licensure from the large animal clinic.  They are not technically the same practice though they operate out of the same building and are owned by the same person....Me.

Did you know that there is only one large animal veterinary practice based in Stanly County?  There are 6 small animal practices.  Try asking the small animal practices to see your sick goat.  They won't.  Its been years since they have worked on a goat and they don't have the right meds or equipment to treat those animals.  Its like asking your cardiologist to perform brain surgery or your neurologist to perform open-heart surgery.  Even though they all went to medical school, they have trained and studied to be the best they can be in a narrower field of study.  

I thought some of you might be interested in learning about the diversity in veterinary medicine and there are many more types of practice that I haven't covered.  Hopefully now, maybe, you will understand when I say, "I can't. see your dog or cat."

I am only one person.....

I wish I could do more for this county.  I would absolutely love to be able to help everyone that calls me no matter what the problem and do it for free.  Wouldn't it be grand if I could practice medicine free of charge?  I could come out and help little old ladies' pomeranians because they are unable to travel and on a fixed income that barely covers heat and their medicines.

 It breaks my heart when people call me during emergency hours because they have a serious problem and cannot get in touch with their regular veterinarians and the emergency clinic charges an arm a leg for a bandage let alone IV fluids, medication, fracture repair or, God forbid, surgery.   I always call these people back event hough I cannot help them.  I tell them how sorry I am that I cannot help and refer them to the "local" emergency clinics (which are not very local at all).  Some people even get very angry with me for not seeing their small animal emergencies.  I have literally had someone yell at me saying, "you're a vet aren't you?  If you aren't going to treat everything, then don't put your phone number in the yellow pages!"  It's tough.  It seems that very few people understand what we actually do at Bear Creek Mobile Veterinary Services.  

It is my sincere desire to see a small animal after hours emergency clinic established in this county.   I would make it available to all and adhere to a policy of affordability.  I believe emergency care should be reasonable and attainable.  It may not have all the bells and whistles, but it would make emergency care and procedures available where it was not before.

 I had a lady call me this morning (Sunday 8:30am) because her dog was having trouble delivering puppies.  She had spoken with her regular vet (which is more than most of the calls I get) but he was out of town until Monday morning.  So she called the emergency vet practice closest to her.  They told her it would be over $1500 for medicine and surgery (C-section) for one night.  She simply could not afford it.  She tried the Care Credit option but only qualified for $500.  Her dog was getting so sick that she had stopped eating and was so exhausted from pushing that the lady was afraid she would not make it to Monday.  Her call to me was in desperation.  I really wanted to help her, but I am limited by the type of practice I am licensed for and by the medications I have on hand.  I have nothing in which to treat a dog with her medical ailments.  Every time I get a call like this, I renew my drive to find a way to help, but I am only one person.  If I take on a small animal emergency clinic on top of the large animal clinic and the spay neuter clinic, I would never sleep and never see my family.   Rest assured I am not turning a blind eye to the animal needs in this county.  Mark my words, if I am allowed a lengthy time on this earth and the good Lord does not come back for me in the next 10 yrs or so, I will see a small animal after hours emergency clinic in this county.  I may not be the one seeing the patients, but so long as is it open and providing affordable, solid and sound emergency care, I will be happy.

My phone rings all the time.  Sometimes it rings because there is an emergency, or because someone thinks it is an emergency but turns out not to be, or someone wants to schedule an appointment, or it is just the wrong number.  

For anyone out there that does not know how our phone system at Bear Creek Mobile Vet works, during the day if you call the main line (704-986-0000) it rings in the office.  However, at the end of the day, when the office person leaves, they transfer the phone to the doctor's cell phone.  At that point, any call that comes in goes straight to my cell phone.  If you call the office number at 3am to leave a message to schedule an appointment- IT RINGS TO MY CELL PHONE RIGHT BESIDE MY BED.  Yes, it will wake me up.  As standard policy, I usually let all afterhours calls go to voicemail and if they leave a message, I check it.  Every time that phone rings, my stress levels spikes.  Oh no, is it an emergency?  It never fails, if I go out to dinner, or try to go to a movie, the phone rings.  Yup, its just the nature of the beast.  I know that nobody knows when I am planning to do something fun, but it seems so coincidental sometimes it just blows my mind.  

My brain is so trained to the sound of that ringtone, that I hear it in my sleep.  I even hear it when it isnt ringing.  Yeah, I know.  That's seriously messed up but its true.  If I dont have the phone with me, I panic.  I have to have that phone with me at all times.  I do occasionally leave it in the truck or in another room, but as soon as notice that it isnt on me I go scouting for it.  I am constantly checking my right side/hip area through the course of the day to make sure it is there.  When the phone doesnt ring for a long period of time I worry that something is wrong:  Is Verizon's tower down?  Did someone forget to transfer the phone?  I have even built in a "fail-safe" so that if someone does not transfer the phone at the end of the day, my cell phone number is listed on the after hours voicemail at the clinic.   I know it sounds paranoid, but its true.  

I dont want my clients to have emergencies, but when they do, I want them to be able to get hold of me.  I want them to know that I am reachable; that I am there for them.  Even vacations or continuing education conferences are difficult for me because I cannot be there to handle those emergencies.  I always have a backup doctor available to call, but its not the same.  Something always happens when I am out of town.  

So, my last take home message is this:  If you need me, call me.  If you dont need me right then, wait to call during regular buisness hours.  If you call and I dont call you back within 15min or less, call back!  You arent bugging me.  I want to be there for you.