How to Choose the Best Food for Your Dog
There has been a scary trend that we are starting to hear about with dogs and heart failure that seems to be linked to grain-free foods. There is an article by a vet nutritionist in which she found that it is not only grain-free foods but also the smaller more boutique food companies. The […]
Dr. Smith and Dr. Rohrig on Health and Wellness
When you think of a vet you think about a small office and about 5-10 employees but we have begun to outgrow that number. We now have over 20 people working at Danville Family Vet and it has gotten to the point where not everyone is in the building on a given day. This […]
The Problem with No Kill Shelters
For many years, in our community alone, there have been 3,000-5,000 unwanted animals that arrive at the shelter annually. The question is where do those animals go and what happens to them if nobody wants them? If everyone took care of their own pets by spaying or neutering them or making sure they didn’t […]
Getting a New Puppy and Potty Training
When you are going to adopt a puppy, ideally the right time to get them is at 7 weeks old. Puppies need the first 6-7 weeks with their mother and other puppies to learn how to be a dog. They then need to be introduced to people so they can bond with you, the […]
How to Solve Pet Overpopulation
The problem with pet overpopulation is simple yet so difficult to solve. In Danville alone, we have 5,000 unwanted pets which is the same amount as last year. Unwanted pets include pets at the animal shelters. Some people take their pets to the animal shelters because they do not want to take care of […]
How To Give A Cat A Pill
The trick to giving your cat their pill is to get it behind their tongue. If you look into their mouth you will see that their tongue makes a little U-shape and a hump. You want to get all the way in the back and over the hump. Once the pill is all the way […]
Does My Dog Have The Flu?
Dog flu is similar to the human flu except it is a virus that only dogs can catch. Just like the human flu virus, the dog flu virus has adapted and mutates every year to the point where we saw different strains in horses and birds that ended up mutating into this dog flu. […]
Is Surgery Dangerous for Dogs?
Deciding whether or not to put your beloved pet under anesthesia can be a difficult call to make, especially if a procedure seems elective or unnecessary. First and foremost, it is one hundred percent appropriate to ask your veterinarian about the importance of the procedure, the potential risks, and anything else that may be worrying […]
Fear Free Practice
The fear free program has been very successful at Danville Family Vet and is something we have been doing for a few years now. Some of the things that you might notice that we do differently are based on the fear free program. The point of being a fear free practice is to ensure that […]
How We Prep For Surgeries
When preparing for anesthesia, the primary cause of infection after surgery comes from the bacteria that remains on the skin. Keeping the skin clean is extremely important and we do that by clipping the hair to remove that source of bacteria and then scrub the skin clean. One of the things you can do as […]
All About Fleas
The adult flea that is crawling around on your pet is only 5% of its life cycle. Flea eggs can be all around your house and your yard because your dog is walking around and shaking them off everywhere they go. These eggs will then hatch and form larvae, which is a little worm that […]
How to Deal with Pet Allergies
A lot of times people think because it’s fall, and the leaves are changing, and there are different pollen, that the problem with their pet is automatically an allergy. It is true that dogs and cats, when they have allergies, react differently than humans do. When we have allergies, we have runny eyes and […]
How Family Vet is helping during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Our veterinary practice was mentioned in an article by greatpetcare.com who mentioned that we were giving free boarding to healthcare workers and those directly affected by the virus. We are proud to be able to serve those that are on the front lines, and it means a lot to have these news outlets recognize our […]
Dr. Smith at Family Vet is on BuzzFeed!
Our own Dr. Smith was just featured in a Buzzfeed article this past week. We are so excited about our far this story as gone! Buzzfeed took an interesting ethical spin on Dr. Smith’s famous Tik Tok orange video. Do you go with the flow of how everyone else does things, or do you question […]
Dr. Smith on Good Morning America | How To Groom Your Dog At Home
Check out Dr. Smith on Good Morning America as he talks about How To Groom Your Dog At Home as we all practice social distancing. Grooming is an essential part of your pet’s health because their hair coat is directly related to their skin and the skin is the largest organ of the body. Dogs […]
GoDanRiver Interviews Dr. Smith On Free Boarding For Those Impacted By Coronavirus
Thank you GoDanRiver for sharing our story and our heart for wanting to help those impacted by COVID-19. Our clinic is offering for a limited time, and on a space-available basis, free boarding to first responders, healthcare professionals, and those hospitalized or directly impacted by the virus and cannot currently take care of their pets. […]
Dr. Smith on ABC 13 To Discuss Free Boarding During COVID-19 Pandemic
We would like to thank WSET ABC 13 news station for promoting our offer for free boarding to first responders, health care professionals and those directly affected by the coronavirus. This is based on limited space of course, but Dr. Smith felt a calling to do this after he saw on the news how pets […]
Dr Smith Interviewed by Local 10 News WSLS About Free Boarding During COVID-19
Thank you WSLS Local 10 News in Roanoke Virginia for interviewing our very own Dr. Smith about our clinic offering free boarding for a limited time during the COVID-19 pandemic for first responders, healthcare professionals, and those directly affected by the virus who may be hospitalized and cannot take care of their animals. Each pet […]
Danville Family Vet Achieves Accreditation
Danville Family Vet opened the doors to their new practice in January 2018 after moving from the Mount Hermon area where they served the community for 25 years. The dedicated team at the veterinary practice has been excelling in their field and has received numerous certifications in their industry. Danville Family Vet was recently accredited […]
How 5 Minutes A Day Can Condition Your Pet To Love Nail Trims
Train your pet to like getting their nails trimmed Most of the time it is a struggle! We do this crazy dance around the room seeking to restrain pets with a gentle control that lets us safely trim their nails. They hate having their nails trimmed! We have to hold the foot still in order […]
Dr. Smith Interviewed by Local News Station ABC 13 About Dog Flu
Canine flu outbreak concerns local vets, pet owners Check out the full story on ABC 13!
Don’t feed your pets people food this holiday season!
Family Vet’s Dr. Jeff Smith recently did a segment on WSLS10 about what foods to avoid giving your furry friend, especially this holiday season. Check it out here:
Alphie
Alphie is a very shy, sweet personality and is precious beyond words to his owner. He is a thin dog and only middle aged – to young to be walking with such a significant limp. It seemed that one of his rear legs or something in his rear end was painful. He had visited at […]
Too Many Cats!
A Danville man was having trouble with stray cats accumulating around his house, it was hard to determine when the problem started, but it was definitely beginning to get out of hand. He had about 9 cats and springtime breeding season was approaching. He came to see us at The Family Vet and Dr. Smith […]
Iris Is About 12 Years Old
Iris is about 12 years old, her cataracts have rendered her completely blind, and her eyes have a beautiful pearlescent shine that mirrors her personality. She was found in Pittsylvanina County wandering in the middle of the road. We will never know what her life was like before she was found, but Iris’ story is […]
LEARN ABOUT RABIES
World Rabies Day is September 28, 2015, and Rabies Awareness Week is September 28 – October 3. This is a good time to remind everyone how important it is to keep your pet’s rabies vaccination up to date. Rabies is a deadly virus that attacks the nervous system of almost all mammals. It does not […]
Senior Pet Awareness
by Sophia P. Decker, LVT Is your pet a “senior citizen”? If your pet is seven years or older, he is considered a mature or senior pet. Some people are surprised by this fact. Pets do age faster than we do, and as your pet ages, there are several medical conditions that can occur. Common conditions […]
Danville VA Walking Trails For You and Your Dog
Fall is a wonderful time of year to take your dog for walks or hikes. The temperature begins to drop, and the air is cool and crisp. The green leaves of summer begin turning into fall’s beautiful colors of red, orange, and yellow. There are many places available within an hour’s drive to take your […]
Izzy Gets Spayed
What happens when your dog or cat gets spayed or neutered? I think my cat’s in heat, when can I get her spayed? What is a spay anyway? I get these questions all the time. Let’s follow along with Izzy as she comes in for her surgery and we will see what happens throughout […]
How to Clean Your Dog’s Teeth (Cats Too!)
Yes, you can clean your pets’ teeth at home. I know dental hygienists who clean their personal pet’s teeth at home and it really makes a difference! The unfortunate thing about our pet’s teeth is that they are much more prone to periodontal disease (inflammation and infection around the roots of the teeth), and cleaning […]
Killing Our Pets With Kindness
I love to eat! Actually, I love to overeat! I try to stick to a heart healthy diet but I end up in the same cycle of eating. I start out doing really well, eating a balanced diet with plenty of vegetables, but as time goes by, I start to each processed foods, sweets and […]
Dr. Jeff Showcase November 2014
By Tim Baines It’s a cool, crisp fall morning. The sun is just beginning to peek through the wispy clouds in the sky and the forecast for the day–sunny and a high of 72—means it’s a perfect day for doggy day care at Mount Hermon Animal Clinic. The clinic doors open and in strolls our […]
Pet and Human Diets
I love to eat. Actually, I love to overeat! I try to stick to a heart-healthy diet, but I end up in the same cycle of eating. I start out doing really well, eating a balanced diet with plenty of vegetables, but as time goes by, I progress to eating processed foods, sweets and other […]
Could Ebola Virus Spread To Danville?
Remember the Dustin Hoffman movie, “Outbreak” from the nineties? Will we one day have our city walled off by CDC officials lumbering around in white plastic airtight suits? I think those scenes are exciting for movies, but it’s unlikely that we will ever see them play out in reality. The Ebola scare is an important […]
