Chenault Veterinary Hospital, Inc.

07/16/2025

Tech Tuesday #16:
🌧🐶 Rainy Days Don't Have to Mean Bored Dogs! ☔
When the weather keeps you and your pup indoors, it's still possible to keep tails wagging! Mental stimulation and creative indoor play can burn just as much energy as a walk around the block.

Here are some vet-approved, fun, and safe indoor activities to keep your dog entertained and happy on gloomy days:

🧩 1. Puzzle Toys & Frozen Treats
Use food-dispensing toys, lick mats, or frozen KONGs stuffed with peanut butter, pumpkin, or kibble. These keep your dog focused and calm while providing tasty enrichment.

🎓 2. Teach a New Trick (or Refresh an Old One!)
Use short, 5–10 minute training sessions to work on fun tricks like “roll over,” “spin,” or “high-five.” Great mental stimulation and bonding time!

🔍 3. Scent Games
Dogs LOVE to use their noses. Try hiding treats under cups (the “shell game”), scattering them in different rooms, or creating a DIY snuffle mat from old towels.

📦 4. DIY ‘Trash’ Toys
Use cardboard boxes, egg cartons, or paper towel rolls to hide treats. Let your dog shred and sniff their way through—it’s safe and satisfying for most dogs (just supervise!).

🏃‍♂️ 5. Indoor Obstacle Course
Jump over rolled-up towels, crawl under chairs, or weave between cushions. You don’t need fancy agility gear—just creativity and a safe space!

🙈 6. Hide & Seek (With You or Treats!)
Hide in another room and call your dog to find you—or tuck treats around the house and let them search. It’s exciting and encourages problem-solving.

🐕‍🦺 7. Tug, Chase, or Hallway Fetch
A good game of tug or short hallway fetch can burn energy fast. Just be sure your floors aren’t slippery, and use soft toys indoors.

💡Vet Tip: Mental exercise can be just as tiring—and healthy—as physical activity. Dogs thrive when they’re given a chance to use their noses, brains, and problem-solving skills!

🩺 Have questions about safe toys or enrichment ideas for your dog’s age or health needs? Our team here at Chenault is here to help!

🐾 Let us know your dog’s favorite indoor activity in the comments

07/11/2025

🎉 Today marks 14 years in Our Home! 🐾
14 years ago, Chenault Veterinary Hospital opened its doors in this building-and what a journey it’s been!

We’re endlessly grateful for the amazing clients who have trusted us with the care of their beloved pets. Your loyalty, support, and kind words have helped us grow into the hospital we are today. Each one of you-and every pet who walks through our doors- means the world to us.

A huge thank you also goes to our incredible staff. Their dedication is unmatched-from working long hours, skipping lunch breaks, spending weekends in the clinic, and always going the extra mile for every animal in need. Your compassion and commitment are the heart of this hospital.

Here’s to the past 14 years filled with wagging tails, healing paws, and heartfelt moments- and to many more years ahead of love, care, and community.

Cheers to all of you, and to the future!

07/08/2025

Tech Tuesday #15 by Alexis is this super helpful graphic about the importance of Microchipping-dogs AND cats!
FYI-if you purchase our Homeagain Microchip, we will take care of the Registration for you!

07/01/2025

Tech Tuesday #14 from Mandie regarding some July 4th considerations:

Nothing is better than a good celebration , you’ve got family and friends , good food , great times and fun to be had , and of course for this weekend’s celebration many of us can’t resist FIREWORKS!!!! These amazingly entertaining BOOM BOOM sticks bring us so much joy and awe. However on the side lines we sometimes forget about our poor pups who don’t really understand the loud, constant , and unpredictable sounds of the BOOMS and CRACKLES . For many of our pups ( and I’m sure some kitty friends too ) this is terrifying and it can cause some not wanted behavioral responses. These can be anywhere from destructive, self-harm ,to super clingy and hiding. If your pet needs or requires medications to help keep them calm through our chaos of celebration, please make sure to reach out to us before the 4th so that we can fill these medications in a timely fashion and hopefully have the entire family able to enjoy the celebration. We hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July and stay safe! Also please limit the “ extra goodies and food “ to our four legged party buddies ( this is a conversation for later ; )

06/26/2025

****BREAKING NEWS!!!**** The Chenault family is GROWING! We’re excited to introduce Dr. Rosen and Dr. Leverett to Chenault in July! We’re thrilled to have both of these Veterinarians as part of our team and know they’ll make a wonderful addition to the care you’ve come to trust at Chenault. We look forward to introducing you during your next visit 💙🩵

06/24/2025

Tech Tuesday #13 from Morgan came just in time before the end of the month…

June is Pet Preparedness Month!

Are you prepared? In the event of an emergency, make sure your pets are a part of the plan!

Below is a list of some of the items/plans needed to be fully prepared with you pet at all times:
• Microchip your pet (and register it!) and have ID tags attached to collars/harnesses
• Have a “Go Bag” packed and ready to go in your emergency plans
• All up to date veterinary records (vaccines, last heartworm/fecal testing, illness management plans, medications, etc.)
• Be sure you have all medications and monthly preventions filled and packed in a “go bag”
• At least 2 weeks worth of food and fresh water
• Safety needs for EACH pet that comes with you (harness/leash, kennels/crates)
• Have photos of you and your pet available incase you get separated
• When you create your emergency/disaster/evacuation plans, be sure of where the pets and their needs fall into that.
• Practice those emergency plans with your pet a head so you and your pet can be better prepared in the real situation
• Know which shelters/hotels do and do NOT allow pets when needing to evacuate

The American Red Cross offers an app for pet emergencies and what you can do as a pet owner in these events to care for your pet the right way! They also offer courses for what to do when your pet may get a broken leg, have seizures or need CPR until you can reach the closest emergency veterinarian. The app and website also provide more detailed lists of items that are necessary to pack ahead of time.

P.S. HAPPY GOTCHA DAY TO DEMI!! Got her from the local Hanover Animal Control 😉🥳

06/23/2025

*NETWORK OUTAGE* Chenault is experiencing a significant outage. We are working with the network team to get this fixed ASAP. However, it has impacted our ability to hear you when you call in. Please TEXT us at 804-567-8435 if you need to reach us. We hope to have this resolved soon. Thank you for your patience!

06/18/2025

Tech Tuesday #12 is sadly brought to you by the passing of Tolliver, the Chenault “mascot” over the last 14 years. Many of you may have seen him around the hospital- whether it was sleeping on the Front Desk, wandering into exam rooms for cuddles, or airing on the 11pm news. Tolliver was brought into the hospital 14 years ago by Animal Control who found him in a crate in the woods covered in his own f***s and urine. We were unable to determine his age due to his condition. He had no hair, he was emaciated at only 4lbs, covered in fleas/ticks, had a ruptured eye, and bloody mouth with very few teeth. It took care from the entire Chenault team over many YEARS to get him back to health and regain his beautiful coat.

My favorite work memory was when Tolliver walked up to a 8 year old boy in the lobby and laid on his feet. After about 10 minutes of petting him, this boy spoke his first word. The joy and shock in his mother’s eyes will never be forgotten. Thank you, Tolliver, for being the most compassionate dog and loving so many.

In memory of Tolliver and all of the beloved pets that have passed away, please comment a photo of your angel so we can take a minute to honor the unconditional love our pets give to us.

“Photos are the closest thing to time travel.” And man, would I love to have just one.more.day. with you. RIP Tolly 🧡

06/10/2025

Tech Tuesday #11 by Marie is a followup on our previous post about summer weather, but this time specifically about BEACH DAYZ 🌞

It's always fun to include our fur babies on beach days, here are some tips to keep them safe:
-Do not allow your dog to drink salt water. Drinking salt water can cause dehydration and GI upset. Make sure to provide plenty of fresh cool water for your pet- collapsible bowls work great at the beach!
-Training your pet to wear a life jacket can be life saving! Sometimes dogs don’t know how to turn “off” around water. Overexertion while swimming can quickly lead to exhaustion. Deep waters and varying strengths of waves can also be dangerous to dogs; life jackets serve a great purpose, especially when dealing with unpredictable waters like the ocean! You can never be too safe!
-Do not let your dog eat sand! This can cause an obstruction or GI upset
-Keep those paws covered! If you can not walk on the hot sand in bare feet, neither can your dog!
-REMEMBER, GI parasites are spread easily at the beach. Make sure your pet is current on their heartworm prevention- this will help prevent your dog from getting OTHER parasites like hookworms, that LOVE to hang out at the beach.

Whiskey is showing off his life jacket! Do you have any pictures of your furbaby enjoying the beach? Please share with us in the comments below!

06/03/2025

Tech Tuesday #10 from Alexis is sparked by the warmer weather heading our way this week:

With the summer months coming up, I want to discuss the importance of heat safety with our dogs. Pavement and sand become way hotter than the reported outdoor temperature. To know whether or not the ground is cool enough for dog walks, place the palm of your hand on the pavement for several seconds. Our rule of thumb is: If it’s too hot for you, it’s too hot for your dog. Humidity can also play an important role when determining whether or not your pet should be left outside. It’s important to keep an eye out for symptoms of your dog overheating. This includes excessive panting, bright red gums, extreme salivation and/or lethargy. If you notice any of these symptoms, please bring your pet to us immediately!

05/27/2025

Tech Tuesday #9 is made by Mandie who thinks she would choose to be a lioness. She is very protective of her “prides”. Her lion pride consists of her fellow veterinary team members, her much loved clients and their fur family, and of course her own family and friends. She is also very strong willed and holds her values close. She’s always ready for anything!

Her post goes out to her fellow gardeners’ crew:
With the long anticipated arrival of summer and the warm weather that follows, let’s get those flowers growing! If you guys are like me, I love my colorful flower beds, but I love my personal fur-babies and neighborhood fur-babies even more! Sadly, some of the flowers we may be attracted to could pose harm if ingested by our adored cats and dogs. The effects of these plants can vary; some can have mild GI upset while others can cause more severe issues that require medical intervention. Before purchasing plants this season, be sure to check out the link below for a list of toxic and non-toxic (!) plants.

Our handy list contains plants that have been reported as having systemic effects on animals and/or intense effects on the gastrointestinal tract.