Richfield veterinarians don’t let pet care skip a beat

by Wendy Turrell 

COVID-19 has upended most human lives, but two Richfield veterinarians with very different practices have continued to provide loving care for pets in spite of the extra work involved in delivering services during a pandemic.

Dr. Christine Dresser built her Cuyahoga Valley Veterinary Clinic on Brecksville Road in 2003 and quickly began offering wellness, preventive, dental and laser surgery services for animals. Dr. Neal Sivula opened Dancing Paws Animal Wellness Center on Streetsboro Road 11 years ago. He serves Richfield and the wider Northeastern Ohio community with integrative care services, including acupuncture, chiropractic, herbal medicine, massage therapy and rehabilitation. 

Although there is no evidence COVID-19 sickens pets, the treatment of animals requires close contact with human owners. 

Dresser values quality relationships with her clients, but her protocol has changed for the duration of the pandemic. She meets with pet parents outside under a canopy then takes only the pet into the clinic. She said this takes a bit longer, but it allows her to personally meet with clients while minimizing COVID-19 exposure inside the clinic. Dresser and her staff frequently clean with an anti-viral product, wash hands, wear facemasks, maintain social distancing and don’t handle client credit cards. 

“The scheduling and client flow is much more challenging and time consuming,’’ Dresser said. “It is never far from my mind that keeping everyone safe, both our clients and us, is critical.”

Sivula also takes extra sanitation time between appointments. He sprays exam rooms with a hospital sanitizer after all appointments, in addition to regular cleaning. 

“We switched to using a surgical scrub technique for washing our hands and forearms between patients,’’ he said. “It hasn’t affected the number of patients we see, thankfully, because our scheduling has always allowed for longer appointment times than most clinics.”

Sivula is still seeing pets and parents inside the clinic, where staff and clients wear masks. He said it is a little more difficult to have conversations through masks, especially for clients who are hearing-impaired.

Although he noticed a slight drop-off in clients bringing pets in for treatment early in the pandemic, “We have been lucky in that our clients are very dedicated to their pet’s health. We only saw a mild drop-off in visits in early April, but we have had our normal patient load since,” Sivula said.

“The bulk of our patients are dogs with age-related conditions, like organ issues or a decline in mobility, but we also see pets for allergies, cancer care, seizures, knee or hip injuries and more,’’ he said.

Sivula has not seen any new issues with pets since the outset of COVID-19, although he has noticed that his human clients, who are under more stress, may have less patience than usual. A few have objected to the mask mandate, but he said the majority don’t mind. “We’re all working to remain and keep others healthy,” Sivula said. 

Sivula thinks there might be new problems for pets when their owners return to their pre-COVID routines. “I think we’ll see separation anxiety issues as folks go back to work or school, and those pets who are used to all of the constant companionship are left alone all of a sudden,” he said.

Dresser has not seen increased health issues with pets and even sees small advantages for clients, saying,  “With some of them being home more or working from home, they are better at picking up small problems before they become big ones.” 

Dresser regularly offers puppy socialization classes, explaining, “Puppies have a small window of time when they need to have as many new experiences and meet as many different people as possible.” Class time also provides puppies playtime with each other and the opportunity to learn appropriate dog behavior.

Instead of conducting her regular classes, during the pandemic Dresser is running “COVID Puppy” classes, a term coined by local veterinarian Elizabeth Feltes, who has a behavior specialty practice. Dresser said she takes puppies into the clinic without their humans, and with her staff gives them as many novel experiences as possible.

“We walk them around inside, have them get on the scale and the table multiple times, take treats from us and give them a chance to meet new people, see some new sights, hear new sounds, and come away with an extra positive social time, which is always our goal, COVID or not,” she said.

Dresser is an expert pet owner, as well as pet doctor. For many years her passion has been raising and showing pugs, at one time owning a patriarchal black pug trio of father, son and grandfather champions. Her newest pug is an 8-month-old fawn beauty, whose name is Cayenne.

Although most shows Dresser usually attends are canceled this year, she has high hopes for Cayenne. “It is hard to think of how things were and wonder how our new normal will evolve, both at my clinic, with my hobby and in our everyday lives,” she said.

Whatever changes the pandemic might cause in the future, Richfield is fortunate to have veterinarians who are a dedicated part of the community and committed to serving our animal companions through good and difficult times.

Feature image photo caption: Dr. Christine Dresser offers puppy socialization classes. Cayenne is her 8-month-old show pug. Photo by W. Turrell