Pets First Animal Hospital

10/03/2025

Heads up, everyone! Due to the construction surrounding the hospital, we have no internet today. Without internet, we also do not have a functioning phone system. We are sorry for the inconvenience. We should have phones and internet back tomorrow.

04/26/2025

Happy world Veterinary day! Shout out to all the amazing vets of the world! You are all phenomenal!

02/25/2025

PLEASE READ!

Avian Influenza in Domestic Felines in Colorado – What you need to know.

Recently, the USDA, FDA, and CDC have been investigating detections of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI) in dairy cattle. In turn, feline cases have been detected. Normally, exposure of cats to the virus has been through contact with wild birds and poultry but some states have seen the virus affect barn cats associated with infected dairy premises as well as indoor only cats.

In Colorado, there have been 10 confirmed cases in domestic cats since May 2024, 2 of which were indoor only cats with no direct exposure to the virus. The two indoor cats had exposure to raw poultry meat (chicken, turkey) through commercial or homemade diets.

Things to look out for:

-Respiratory symptoms and neurological signs including dyspnea (shortness of breath), tachypnea (abnormally rapid breathing), blindness, altered mentation (lack of coordination), seizures, tremors, ataxia (imbalanced walking and/or inability to stand), fever, and death.

-Lethargy (decreased energy), inappetance (decreased appetite), abnormal behavior

Risk Factors:

-Cats consuming raw poultry products including commercial and homemade raw meat diets (INCLUDING freeze-dried raw pet food diets)

-Cats being fed raw or discarded milk

-Cats residing on or near dairy operations

-Cats known to hunt or consume rodents or birds

-Owners associated with dairy activities

-Indoor cats that escaped for a period of time

Infection Prevention and Control Measures

-Do not feed pets unpasteurized dairy products or raw poultry or raw pet food products. Handling and feeding these products put both you and your pet at risk of exposure to the virus as well as other harmful bacteria.

-Limit contact between pets and wild birds as well as ill livestock and environments that could be contaminated with the virus

-Consider changing clothing and shoes after interacting with animals or birds with unknown health status, and before interacting with personal pets.

-Wash your hands thoroughly after touching or interacting with animals outside your household.

-Avoid contact with sick or dead wildlife.

IF AT PRESENT, YOU ARE ALLOWING YOUR KITTY OUTSIDE, PLEASE RECONSIDER. OUTDOOR ONLY OR INDOOR/OUTDOOR CATS HAVE A MUCH HIGHER RISK OF EXPOSURE. THIS IS A DEADLY VIRUS WITH NO VACCINE OR EFFECTIVE TREATMENT TO DATE. KEEP YOUR KITTY SAFE - KEEP THEM INDOORS!

Contact your veterinarian immediately if your cat has decreased energy and appetite progressing to neurological signs (lack of coordination, inability to stand, tremors, seizures). Respiratory signs (nasal discharge, coughing, sneezing) may or may not be present.



Thank you,
Pets First Animal Hospital
(719) 550-1744
[email protected]

06/05/2024

It’s been pretty hot lately! Keep these tips in mind when your pets are outside!

04/01/2024

Heartworm season is right around the corner! Dr. Walker recommends all of our dogs take heartworm prevention May thru October, since those are the months we see mosquitos in our area. Heartworm disease has become much more prevalent in Colorado. We all want our furry friends to be in the best of health, and the best treatment for Heartworm disease is prevention!
Heartworm disease is serious, and if left untreated, it results in severe lung disease, heart failure, other organ damage, and death. There is a treatment for Heartworm disease but it is very costly, and quite painful for our four-legged kiddos.
Give us a call and we will check to see if your pet needs a Heartworm test. If the Heartworm test is up to date, we will be able to fill your Heartgard for pickup. If not, we will get you on our schedule ASAP to get your dog(s) tested.
Thank you all!

01/21/2023

Happy New Year to all of our furry friends and their parents.

We are disheartened to have to send this message out, but this year we are reluctantly making some difficult adjustments. Due to an unprecedented number of clients not showing up to their scheduled appointments and surgeries, we are implementing a fee schedule for these occasions. These last two years we have had an exponential increase in missed appointments and it is crippling Dr. Walker’s practice financially. We have never even considered that we would need to enforce these types of fees, and while we hate having to do it, it has become a necessity in order for us to keep the practice open.

Our changes are as follows:

Any surgery that is scheduled will require a $100 non-refundable deposit. The $100 will be applied to the cost of the surgery. If there is a no-show for the appointment, or if the surgery is canceled less than 24 hours before the appointment, the $100 will not be refunded. If the surgery is rescheduled, the $100 fee will be implemented again.

Any appointment that is canceled less than 24 hours before the scheduled time will incur a $50 charge.

If a client with a scheduled appointment does not show up, they will be charged the office call fee of $59.50. In order to reschedule the appointment, the exam fee will need to be paid in advance as a deposit. This fee will not be refunded if the rescheduled appointment is another no-show.

If a client shows up to their appointment more than 15 minutes late, we will reschedule the appointment, and the exam fee will need to be paid as a deposit. If the next appointment is a no-show, the deposit will be forfeited.

PLEASE BE ADVISED: WHEN YOU CALL TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT, WE WILL BE ASKING YOU FOR YOUR CREDIT CARD INFORMATION.

Again, we aren’t happy about making these changes. This will mean a lot of extra work for our front desk staff who are already tap dancing as fast as they can. Apparently, the whole appointment no call/no show thing is a nationwide phenomenon. Many veterinary practices are making similar adjustments. We ask for your patience and understanding regarding this change in policy. Thanks.

12/25/2022

Happy holidays to all! We hope everyone has a beautiful day with their loved ones!

12/06/2022

We have a friend in need!
This gofundme is for Sheldon. He is a sweet King Charles Cavalier Spaniel that was born with a severe heart condition called Pulmonic Stenosis. In order for him to live a long, happy life, he needs a surgery called a Ballooning Valvuloplasty. This surgery is very complicated and will need to be done by an experienced heart surgeon. We would appreciate it so much if anyone could donate to assist this four-legged angel with his life-saving surgery.
If you can't donate, it's OK! Please just share this post.
We thank you all for taking the time to read our post. We love you Shelly and we hope you get the surgery you need!

Hi, my name is Tori. My Husband, daughter, and I have taken on … Victoria Lavanaway needs your support for Shelly needs surgery to fix his sweet little heart

11/28/2022

I’m sure many of you have seen the absence of our sign above the practice. Rest assured, we have not closed down! The sign was in need of repair and was taken down for maintenance. We are open our normal business hours and our sign will be back up very soon!

04/19/2022

Heartworm season is right around the corner! Dr. Walker recommends all of our dogs take heartworm prevention May thru October, since those are the months we see mosquitos in our area. Heartworm disease has become much more prevalent in Colorado. We all want our furry friends to be in the best of health, and the best treatment for Heartworm disease is prevention!

Heartworm disease is serious, and if left untreated, it results in severe lung disease, heart failure, other organ damage, and death. There is a treatment for Heartworm disease but it is very costly, and quite painful for our four-legged kiddos.

Give us a call and we will check to see if your pet needs a Heartworm test. If the Heartworm test is up to date, we will be able to fill your Heartgard for pickup. If not, we will get you on our schedule ASAP to get your dog(s) tested.

Thank you all!

08/26/2021

02/11/2021

It is Pet Dental Month!! All of our dentals this month are 10% off. Get your babies scheduled for their teeth cleaning!