Keeping Monroe's pets healthy for over 25 years!

AAHA accredited for over 25 years!

Welcome to Kindness Animal Clinic               360-794-8813 info@kacpets.com 

19845 Hwy 2, Monroe, WA                            Call for an appointment today!

KINDNESS ANIMAL CLINIC is a full-service, AAHA accredited, veterinary medical facility located in MONROE, WA. Our professional and courteous veterinarians and technical staff at KINDNESS ANIMAL CLINIC seeks to provide you with the best possible medical care, surgical care and dental care for your highly-valued pets. We are a small family owned clinic, and your pets will be seen by Dr. Garver every visit. He is committed to promoting responsible pet ownership, preventative health care and health-related educational opportunities for our clients. KINDNESS ANIMAL CLINIC strives to offer excellence in veterinary care to MONROE, WA and surrounding areas. We are the ONLY certified Gold Level "Cat Friendly Practice" in Monroe! The American Association of Feline Practioners required our practice to meet several performance criteria and complete staff training, as well as having to make cat friendly changes to our clinic!  Please take a moment to contact our veterinarians and technical staff today to learn more about our newly expanded veterinary practice and to find out more information about how KINDNESS ANIMAL CLINIC can serve the needs of you and your cherished pet.

Dog Bite Prevention Week

Dog Bite Prevention Week is observed the second full week of April each year.

Children and Dogs

With younger children, always supervise them around dogs. Some easy tips that you can use to help kids understand the importance of respecting dogs and avoiding bites:

• Avoid unknown dogs. If you see a dog you don't know and it's wandering around loose and unsupervised, avoid the dog and consider leaving the area. Consider alerting animal control.
• When the owner is with their dog, always ask the owner for permission to pet their dog. Don't ever pet a dog without asking first—even if it's a dog you know, or a dog that's seemed friendly toward you before.
• Teach children to confidently, quietly walk away if they're confronted by an aggressive dog. Instruct them to stand still if a dog goes after them, then take a defensive position. It often helps to tell them to "be a tree:" stand quietly, with their hands low and clasped in front of them, remain still and keep their head down as if looking at their feet. If they are knocked down, teach them to cover their head and neck with their arms and curl into a ball.
• Teach children to avoid escalating the situation by yelling, running, hitting or making sudden movements toward the dog.
• Teach children that if a dog goes to bed or to his/her crate, don't bother them. Enforce the idea that the bed or crate is the dog's space to be left alone. A dog needs a comfortable, safe place where the child never goes. If you're using a crate, it should be covered with a blanket and be near a family area, such as in your living room or another area of your home where the family frequently spends time. Do not isolate your dog or his/her crate, or you may accidentally encourage bad behavior.
• Educate children at a level they can understand. Don't expect young children to be able to accurately read a dog's body language. Instead, focus on gentle behavior and that dogs have likes and dislikes and help them develop understanding of dog behavior as they grow older.
• Teach children that the dog has to want to play with them and when the dog leaves, he leaves—he'll return for more play if he feels like it. This is a simple way to allow kids to be able to tell when a dog wants to play and when he doesn't.
• Teach kids never to tease dogs by taking their toys, food or treats, or by pretending to hit or kick.
• Teach kids to never pull a dog's ears or tail, climb on or try to ride dogs.
• Keep dogs out of infants' and young childrens' rooms unless there is direct and constant supervision.
• As a parent, report stray dogs or dogs that frequently get loose in your neighborhood.
• Tell children to leave the dog alone when it's asleep or eating.
• Sometimes, especially with smaller dogs, some children might try to drag the dog around. Don't let them do this. Also discourage them from trying to dress up the dog—some dogs just don't like to be dressed up.
• Don't give kids too much responsibility for pets too early—they just may not be ready. Always supervise and check on pet care responsibilities given to children to ensure they are carried out
• Remember: if you get your kids a pet, you're getting yourself a pet, too.

Dog Bite Emergencies

If you are bitten by a dog, here is a checklist of things you should do:

• If the dog's owner is present, request proof of rabies vaccination, and get the owner's name and contact information, and the name of the dog's veterinarian.
• Clean bite wound with soap and water as soon as possible.
• Consult your doctor immediately or go to the emergency room if it's after office hours.

What do I do if my dog bites someone?

Dog bites are scary for everyone involved - the person who has been bitten, the dog owner and even the dog. If your dog happens to bite someone, remember that you are responsible to help the person who has been bitten and to remove your dog from the situation. What should you do if the unfortunate happens?

• Restrain your dog immediately.
• Separate your dog from the scene of the bite.
• Try to confine your dog in a safe place.
• Check on the bite victim's condition and make sure that the wounds are washed with soap and water.
• Encourage the bite victim to seek professional medical advice or call 911 if paramedics are needed.
• Give the bite victim—or others who are with the person at the time of the incident—your name, address and phone number, as well as information about your dog's most recent rabies vaccination.
• Obey local rules and laws regarding reporting of dog bites.
• Talk to your veterinarian for advice about dog behavior that will help prevent similar incidents in the future.

American Animal Hospital Association 

Why We Choose AAHA

(and you should too!)

Our veterinarians and staff hold themselves accountable to the highest possible standards every day.   This is reflected in our facility and quality of our patient care. Kindness Animal Clinic is the only AAHA accredited hospital in Monroe and east Snohomish County area. Click here for more information on AAHA.

Spring Hazards

Now that Spring has officially arrived, it's time for gardening!  However, many of the products we use in the garden, or even the plants we plant can be very dangerous to our pets.  Pet proof your garden to keep your pet safe! Here are the Spring flowers to be cautious with:

Tulips and Hyacinths

These plants have toxins concentrated in the bulbs rather than the leaf or flower, so make sure your dog isn't digging up and eating bulbs.  Tulip and hyacinth bulbs cause irritation to the mouth and esophagus with symptoms such as a large amount of drooling and vomiting and diarrhea.  These symptoms can be severe and may require a visit in to see us for supportive care.

Daffodils

Every part of this plant is toxic - bulb, plant and flower.  Eating daffodils causes severe vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain, and may even cause heart arrhythmias.  Seeing or suspecting your pet of eating daffodils requires veterinary care.

Lilies

Lily poisoning occurs in cats, but not in dogs or people. There are two different types of lilies out there: true lilies which are truly dangerous and include Easter, Tiger, Day, Asiatic, and Japanese Show, and the benign lilies which cause only mild mouth irritation and include Peace, Peruvian and Calla lilies. Lilies are often found in florist bouquets and it is very important to check for them before bringing them into your house. True lilies are highly toxic to cats and 2-3 petals or leaves or even a small amount of pollen can cause fatal kidney failure. The earlier the cat receives veterinary care the better. If you see your cat eating true lilies, it is a true emergency and you need to bring the cat and the plant (for identification purposes)  in immediately!

Crocus

The type of crocus that blooms in the spring is the most common type, and usually causes no more than mild gastrointestinal symptoms if eaten.  However, the autumn crocus ,which blooms in the fall is highly toxic.

Lily of the Valley

This plant contains cardiac glycosides, and if eaten causes dangerous heart problems including a dramatically lowered heart rate and severe arrhythmias.  If you suspect your pet has eaten this plant, it is a veterinary emergency!

Fertilizers

Some of the products we use in the garden can also cause severe illness if eaten.  Although  blood and bone meal are "organic" ways to fertilize, they are from animal origin and are considered delicious by many pets.  Blood meal eaten can cause vomiting and diarrhea or even severe pancreititis.  It can also cause iron toxicity. Bone meal, when eaten, can form a cement like bone ball in the stomach that can become an obstruction...and require surgery to remove it. Rose and plant fertilizers often contain disulfodon - it only takes 1 teaspoon of a 1% solution to kill a Labrador sized dog. Organophosphates are also used, and they can be fatal if eaten.  Most of pesticides/insecticides that come in spray cans cause no more than mild irritation BUT it is always important to read labels and check with us if there is exposure!

Slug Bait

This is always a danger for our pets here in the Pacific Northwest.  Even if you don't use it, be aware your neighbors may, and dogs in particular find this to be very palatable.

Metaldehyde is found in slug bait and it causes severe rapid symptoms when eaten.  Agitation, tremors,seizures and a very high body temperature are frequently seen.  This is a veterinary emergency and without treatment slug bait is deadly!

For more information visit petpoisonhotline.com

Garden safe!!

Just Say NO to Raw Meat!

Grain-free, all-meat, and raw-food diets are popular with pet owners who like the idea of feeding their cats and dogs a diet that's closer to what their ancestors ate in the wild. The problem is, there's no hard, scientific evidence that these diets are any healthier than traditional dry or canned pet foods, and overwhelming evidence they can be dangerous to not only the pets consuming the diet, but other animals and HUMANS in contact with these pets or their stool, and the public. A recently released study from Utrecht University in The Netherlands tested 35 frozen pet-food products from eight different brands, and found deadly E. coli bacteria in 80% of all the pet foods tested, and dangerous bacteria Listeria in 54% of them. And...if non frozen raw meat is fed to pets, there is also a risk you are feeding them parasites. Giving your pet a raw protein diet has become a community health concern. Because of overwhelming scientific evidence, AAHA (American Animal Hospital Association), AAFP (American Association of Feline Practitioners) and the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians does not advocate or endorse feeding pets any raw or dehydrated nonsterilized foods, including treats that are of animal origin. We agree!