Open House: 25th Anniversary Celebration
St. Francis Animal Hospital will host an Open House on Sunday, September 10th from 1-4 pm. You will have the opportunity to meet our doctors and staff and take a full tour of both facilities. Several educational stations will be set up throughout the clinics to showcase our preventative care, surgery, anesthesia, dentistry, laboratory, radiology, integrative services, and hospice/palliative care services. We will also have a special kids’ station for kids to experience what it’s like to be a veterinarian!
We’ll have information available to learn more about Chiropractic for EveryBody, Cause for Paws, Dig It Dog Grooming, Veterinary Surgical Specialists, Sarah Beth Photography, Avian Suites, Care Credit, and more!
In addition, we will have drawings for great prizes including gift certificates for services and products from St Francis; a 12 month supply of Frontline Plus; complimentary laboratory screening tests; dog, cat, and avian gift baskets; and many other special items.
We hope that you will make a donation to benefit our local rescue group, Cause for Paws. If you’ve been looking for a special individual to add to your house, Cause for Paws will have information about cats that are currently up for adoption.
You will also have the opportunity to have a book signing by our very own author, Dr. Charlie Cosimini — also known as Dr. Chuck. You may purchase his book in advance on Amazon or by clicking here; they are also available in the lobby at St Francis. Dr. Chuck will have a small quantity of books available to sell during the Open House. Please bring cash or check payments; we will be unable to accept credit cards on this day. The cost is $10.
Toby, our mascot, will be at the main St Francis location to greet everyone, but due to the small size of our clinic, he asks that you not bring pets of your own to the event. Again, due to our small size, for everyone’s safety, we ask that you do not bring pets of your own to the event. Additional parking is available on the street and in the Cub Foods parking lot.
Please join us on Sunday, September 10th from 1-4 pm. If you have questions, you may contact us at (651) 645-2808. We look forward to sharing both locations, St. Francis Animal Hospital and St Francis Integrative Services, with each and every one of you! We thank you so much for your dedication to St Francis over the past 25 years!
Massage Therapy: St Francis Integrative Services
Why Do Massage Therapy?
Massage can be a valuable component of physical therapy for your pet. While massage therapy is most often applied after an injury as a rehabilitation tool, massage may be useful for many other purposes as well.
Massage therapy can be used routinely to help maintain your active pet before an injury even occurs. Just as we exercise to maintain fitness, regular massage will help muscles stay toned and healthy. Massage, through increased circulation, lengthens muscle and connective tissue back to full stride, flexibility, and mobility; this is important for our canine athletes.
Massage therapy is beneficial for aging animals as well. The aging process can lead to circulation issues that may affect efficiency of movement. Concurrent arthritis or other painful conditions can cause muscle tension, stiffness, and discomfort. Massage therapy can be a wonderful adjunct therapy for aging pets to help manage pain and improve overall mobility.
Whether your goal is to maintain your healthy athlete, provide rehabilitation after an injury, or give your pet comfort and pain relief as he or she ages, massage is a wonderful addition to your pet’s therapeutic program.
The Massage
The body is incredible at compensating. If there is a problem in the hips, for example, the animal will adjust the weight forward to ease the strain on the rear limbs. As a result, the front end becomes over-worked. In order to treat the entire animal and provide the utmost benefit, each massage session consists of a whole body massage to restore balance in movement and comfort.
All massage therapy sessions are performed by Christine Severance, CVT, CMT, our Certified Canine Massage Therapist.
The initial session is 60 minutes and includes a thorough history of your pet’s condition, areas of pain or tension, activity or performance level, and clinical signs. We will also discuss your goals for therapy and management.
Additional sessions are approximately 30-45 minutes. At each visit, we focus on your entire pet – twenty-three muscle groups on each side of the body.
Referrals for massage therapy are no longer required by the Board of Veterinary Medicine, so you may now schedule a visit for your pet without written consent or a referral form from your veterinarian.
Benefits of Massage Therapy
Massage therapy provides many benefits to your pet including increased circulation to an area, improved range of motion of limbs, decreased muscle tension, reduction in neurological signs, alleviation of pain, decreased inflammation, and reduction of anxiety or other behavioral issues. Many pets are more active after massage therapy, facilitating weight loss and exercise. Massage can also be beneficial in aiding digestion or promoting normal urinary function.
Massage therapy is commonly used in patients with musculoskeletal injuries (i.e. cruciate disease, IVDD/back pain, other orthopedic injuries); previous surgery or trauma; neurological diseases; stress, anxiety, or other behavioral issues; arthritis (degenerative or autoimmune); digestive abnormalities; or urinary issues. Many canine athletes have massage therapy performed pre- or post- performance.
To learn more about massage therapy, please contact Christine Severance, CVT, CMT at St. Francis Animal Hospital at (651) 645-2808. All massage therapy sessions are performed in the comfortable serene setting of St Francis Integrative Services located at 1235 Larpenteur Ave W.
Ten-Year Anniversary: Liz Gunter, CVT
Congratulations to Liz Gunter for celebrating her ten-year anniversary at St. Francis Animal Hospital!
Liz is a Certified Veterinary Technician (CVT). She joined St. Francis Animal Hospital in 2007 after graduating with an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in Veterinary Technology from the Certified Veterinary Technician Program at Globe College.
In addition to her technician duties at St. Francis, she was promoted to the position of Client Service Representative in 2010. Outside of St. Francis, she has her Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Medical Laboratory Technology and is certified through the American Society for Clinical Pathology.
You’ll generally find Liz at our front desk — always with a smile on her face!
Liz lives with her son, Derek, and her cat, Oreo (also known as Cookie Monster). She also shares care of Harold, a 10 year old green cheeked conure.
Thank you, Liz, for all of your excellent work and dedication over the past ten years! We are honored to have you on our team. Congratulations on your ten-year anniversary at St. Francis Animal Hospital!
News Briefs
Roseville Review Readers’ Choice Awards
Thank you so much to everyone who voted! St. Francis Animal Hospital was voted Best Place for Pet Care in the Roseville Review Reader’s Choice Awards for 2017. We are honored by this award and are so grateful for all of your votes!
Schedule Changes
We will be closing early on Wednesday, September 27th and Friday, September 29th. We will not have any doctors on duty on Saturday, September 30th. For emergencies during these times, contact the Animal Emergency & Referral Center at (651) 293-1800 (St Paul) or (651) 501-3766 (Oakdale).
Minnesota State Fair
The Minnesota State Fair is held from August 24th to September 4th. Snelling Avenue will continue to be under construction, so expect significant traffic and delays during this time. Please allow plenty of travel time for scheduled appointments.