St. Francis Open House- Celebrating 30 Years Of Service!
The day is nearly here! St. Francis is celebrating our 30th year of providing veterinary care to Roseville and our surrounding communities and we want you to join us! Our Open House will be held on Sunday, September 18th from 1 pm to 4 pm. Take a tour of the clinic, stop at our educational booths to learn about acupuncture, pocket pets, radiology, surgery, dentistry, pain management, and more! Visit with some adoptable cats from Cause for Paws cat rescue- maybe you will meet your next furry family member. We will have activities for kids, giveaways, and refreshments. Because of our small space, please leave your own pets at home (but we promise that you’ll go home with some goodies for them too). We can’t wait to see you there!
Training Your Dog To Be Your Running Buddy
Have you considered bringing your dog with you while you run or bike, but you aren’t sure how to safely introduce running to your pet? Dogs are built to run and can be excellent running buddies for many years as long as you take a few precautions with their exercise.
- Don’t train too early in life: Puppies will happily run alongside with you for several miles, but they can damage the cartilage of their joints if they begin intensive exercise at a young age. We recommend only allowing puppies to free run (i.e. running in the yard) until 6 months of age, and then limiting runs to no more than 2 miles until one year of age. Exercise that involves tight turns or high impact such as leaping after frisbees should be discouraged until growth plates have closed, which typically occurs between 8 months of age in smaller breed dogs and up to 16 months of age in giant breed dogs.
- Know your breed’s limitations: Some dogs are more capable of running than others. Short-nosed breeds such as pugs, bulldogs, and Boston terriers cannot oxygenate well compared to dogs with longer noses, which can limit their capacity for exercise. Large and giant breed dogs are also less tolerant of heavy exercise. Dogs specifically bred for sport such as vizslas, labrador retrievers, and huskies are usually very willing and able to run for miles!
- Don’t run your dog if they have underlying orthopedic disease: A number of developmental orthopedic diseases can occur in dogs, including hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, and osteochondritis dissecans (OCD). While running with your dog is unlikely to cause these diseases, it can certainly worsen the pain and arthritis associated with those diseases if your dog has them. Exercising while obese is also more likely to lead to joint damage. Lower-impact exercise such as walking or swimming may be a better choice for these individuals. If your dog is prone to developing a limp with regular activity, they should be thoroughly screened by their veterinarian prior to starting a running regimen.
If your dog is old enough, wants to run, and is free of orthopedic issues, you can begin a training program anytime! Remember that your dog needs to build up its conditioning just like you do. “Pooch to 5K” provides a good training schedule for slowly working your dog up to running for 30 minutes at a time. Happy trails!
Employee Spotlight: Mickayla Schulz
Mickayla is one of our Certified Veterinary Technicians. She is from the small town of Osceola, Wisconsin. After graduating with her AAS, she became a Certified Veterinary Technician from Rochester Community and Technical College. She enjoys spending her time providing the best veterinary medicine to patients here at St Francis. She was recently named our Director of Dentistry Services so she can share her passion for veterinary dentistry with staff and clients. We are excited to see how Mickayla will enhance our dentistry offerings at St. Francis! Outside of work, Mickayla spends time laughing with family and friends and trying to keep her mischievous kitty Manny out of trouble.
What is your favorite aspect of veterinary medicine?
My personal interests are dentistry and radiology.
What do you think is special about St. Francis?
The staff and doctors here at St Francis are passionate about the work we provide. We work as a team and are focused on the care of all pets.
St. Francis in the News
Our clinic has recently been getting some media attention! We were featured by the City of Roseville in an article about our clinic’s history and values, Drs. Lewis and Schommer joining Dr. Blair as co-owners of St. Francis, and the story of Dr. Allison Gedstad’s journey from visiting St. Francis with her pets as a 10-year-old to becoming our newest doctor. You can read the full article here.
We are also excited to be voted as a NextDoor neighborhood favorite for the 6th year in a row! Thank you to everyone who voted for us- we appreciate your support!
Upcoming Events
Labor Day Weekend: Clinic closed from Saturday, September 3rd through Monday, September 5th
Open House: Sunday, September 18th from 1 pm to 4 pm