I have no excuses…everyone has been busy especially this time of year. But it has been months since I changed the main page post for our website and take full responsibility! With all the internet content out there, I pretty much felt I would put my skills to other uses such as our “pet-of-the day” Instragram posts and getting better in surgery! However, I did find time to peruse my old posts and thought that the one that best describes our approach and philosophy from 2017 was worth placing front and center again. And as I get older and wiser (maybe I should change my profile photo to one with more grey hair in it!), my feelings towards creating relationships with our clientele through honest, open and friendly conversation remains a mainstay of this practice. I missed this through the Covid period and feel everyone is happier having a face to face, or face to nose, relationship. So as the piece below states, pack away your phone, tune into what’s going on with your pet hopefully we will make everyone a little bit better. It’s nice to be back…

Email! Tweets! Snapchat! Instagram! Facebook! Yikes!!!

We have so many ways to communicate with each other and yet the art of communication seems to be getting lost in the chaos.

Multitasking, usually in the form of a downward stare at a cell phone, occurs constantly in our society even if the action is right in front of our face. We try to stay one step ahead of our day, knocking out an errand while doing another, getting a jump on the next event all while staying in time with the constant deluge of emails and texts that raid our devices. Not that many of these communications are truly that urgent, but we have chosen to make them so. If one doesn’t respond in an hour the alarm bells ring. Can’t be reached? C’mon, that’s impossible these days unless you make the effort to hide.

Now I get this, sometimes our days’ dealings warrant a constant level of information and communication. Staying abreast of each others actions, the movement in the market or changes in the geopolitical scene, for example, dictate we keep in touch. Or even more familiar, a child’s constantly changing schedule of school, practices and lessons that alter last minute due to weather delays that plague a parent’s well-thought-out day. Thank goodness for the cell phone then!

So what does this have to do with your pet’s eye problems and the Animal Eye Clinic? For one, people want information so they can make educated decisions. So they look up what they think is their pet’s problem based on external symptoms and come in with lots of questions along with a touch of anxiety based on all the different diagnoses they were able to research on the web. A red eye? Oh my, the things you might find are endless! Our goal here is to decrease your worry and anxiety by narrowing that list of issues with diagnostic tests or, even better, by giving you a definitive diagnosis with specific treatment options. We give this information to you verbally and in writing in case you are overwhelmed and forget what was said. This also insures that you will be looking up the right disease if more information is what you need. What a relief!

Just as importantly, you know you will be getting our total attention as we are firmly fixed in the present to take care of you and your pet. My staff, many who have been with me for years, will look you in the eye, say hello and take your history upon arrival. I create the time and space in our comfortable and friendly office to sit down and examine your pet and then talk about all the things I see. We give you this information so you feel comfortable and don’t just give you a short handout and a prescription to fill. We try our best to run on schedule for your appointment as we know your time is important too! Our goal is to educate and communicate and that is what makes this practice special.

I could certainly be busier, double booking appointments, hustling in and out of exam rooms and leaving you and Dr. Google to sort through the details. That’s just not our style. All we ask of you is to unplug from the world and turn off your phone for the time it takes to examine your friend and impart this information. Be an active participant in your pet’s health knowing that all the craziness of the world, the emails and texts, will still be waiting when you leave the building! As an advocate for your pet, I want to insure that you also leave smarter than when you entered with less anxiety, more information and a feeling that you and your pet are in good hands.

Nice to see you again! I never thought that would take such a different meaning in our world now that Covid is not as prevalent or disastrous as it was early in the course of the pandemic. Most have shed their masks and are living un-tethered after months of limitations and tons of hesitations interacting with others we know and hadn’t met before. Hopefully we have learned something about ourselves and others to help us navigate our future.

I want to take a minute to again thank you all for trusting in us the last couple of years. We, like many, had our curbside protocols to try and keep each other safe while still providing the care that your pets needed. Doing that sight unseen, with sometimes only a phone call and a pass-off to a masked staff member, was difficult for many. We tried our best to make this comfortable for you knowing that you could not see our smile or watch us handle your dog or cat without you in the room. Well, I think we did OK, as most pets are quite comfortable in our office and my staff is fabulous at handling even the most nervous or critters….and owners! And now, months later, we are finally seeing some of you face-to-face now that we are back to business as usual. It feels odd to have potentially seen a pet multiple times and had never seen the owner! We have had lots of introductions recently which has been great. And honestly, I have missed the side conversations that make interacting in person more enjoyable and fun. Give me a smile, a handshake and a face-to-face conversation over a Zoom call any day! Thanks for patience and understanding!

In addition, I want to thank may staff (Colleen, Francine and Mariah) as well as my office manager (LisaMarie) for their hard work during this time. Like the postman of old, no bad weather would slow them down from going outside to get your pet or bringing your discharge instructions after a visit. They, as always, are the first line of communication and your first impression as to how we operate here at the AEC. Our goal to make you and your pet feel comfortable during the visit and educated at the conclusion so you can make good decisions starts with them the moment you call to make an appointment and continues until you pull away. I appreciate all they do and similarly appreciate the respect that you show them as part of the team. And their patience in times when clients temporarily forget their manners, as can happen when we are worried or nervous, is a credit to their professionalism and caring personalities. They make this place go so say “thank you” if you get the chance!

Back to work we go….SEE you later!

Once again it has been a year since I changed this main page as Covid continued to affect our lives and businesses with the introduction of new variants. The realty of this situation changing from pandemic to endemic is upon us and many have chosen to accept the risk of minor infections to regain our lives without masks and quarantines. Clearly, there is still risk for significant disease and many at-risk individuals will rightly continue to take a conservative approach to this issue.

I have taken a conservative approach up to now due to at-risk relatives, travel, friends with lingering cases,

Continue reading Covid Alterations…are we done yet?!!

I am amazed…it has been over a year since our last update on this site due to the need for our Covid-19 messaging and instructions for those bringing their pets to the AEC for treatment. First and foremost, thank you to all for tolerating all the changes in protocol here and with your referring DVM. We appreciate that many were uncomfortable with the process of curbside medicine, the shuttling back and forth, phone call conversations, lack of face time with the doctor and leaving your critters in our good hands. Truly understandable but amazingly all seemed to go just fine.

Continue reading A light at the end of the tunnel?

First and foremost, we hope you and yours are doing well. Normal life has certainly changed for all of us and the staff at the AEC wish you, your family and pets well. Hunker down, be smart and this, too, shall pass.

In the meantime, we are open. Veterinary medicine is considered an “essential business” which allows us some latitude to work and care for your friends. If your pet has an eye problem that we are following or are a new patient referred to our practice, we will be here during normal business hours to attend to the problem. Using

Continue reading The AEC and COVID-19

Surface disease is very common in veterinary ophthalmology as our critters have a tendency to scratch, poke, gouge, lacerate and abrade the cornea on a regular basis. The cornea is the clear windshield in the front of our eye and is often affected directly or indirectly by these insults. Other primary disease processes, such as degenerative or inflammatory change, can also affect the clarity and integrity of the cornea. Throw in some infectious agents like bacteria and viruses and this can create a host of problems that we as veterinarians need to address either medically and/or surgically.

A clear cornea

Continue reading The medical approach to healing corneal ulcers

The staff, spouses, friends and party crashers of the Animal Eye Clinic want to wish you and your pets a wonderful holiday season filled with joy and love! May 2020 be the best year yet!

Each year the AEC, along with many other ophthalmologists across the country, will examine animals with an active service job for free! It is part of our way of giving back to these wonderful animals that help us in so many facets of our daily lives. This occurs every May so if you missed this year, you can try again next by going to www.acvo.org and searching for the Service Animal Event.

THE CRITTERS OF THE AEC!!!

Why are we here and why do we do what we do? That’s always a good question to ask one’s self and one that has

Continue reading Service Dog Exams and AEC Critters!

Tired of the rain yet? The grass is soaked, basements are flooded, rivers are swollen. Where is the summer sun? And the humidity hasn’t been much fun either. With the non-stop rain here in Connecticut, everything seems to be dripping. That includes lots of our canine patients as they run in from the parking lot! We also see lots of “weepy” eyes where the complaint is primarily a clear, sometimes colored, discharge. Let’s take a look to see what may be behind the scenes with this presentation.

When our patients present with clear discharge, my first question is whether we are

Continue reading It is Dripping Wet!

After a long and cold winter (is it over yet?), the verdicts are back for our winter fashion award winners here at the Animal Eye Clinic. Contestants included any dog that came in wearing anything to keep them warm and chic! This spontaneously concocted event was prompted by all the different clothes we saw this year along with our endless supply of cold days. Award winners will get extra scratches at their next visit. Many owners of these fashion forward critters commented on the numerous choices they had at home, be it costume or functional in nature, that they could

Continue reading WINTER FASHION AWARDS!