WellHaven Pet Health Coon Rapids

08/12/2025

Controlling pain is important in our pets, especially our older pets. But please make sure to follow your veterinarian’s full recommendations including dosing instructions and follow up labwork.

08/12/2025

We are seeing more and more dogs test positive and become sick or pass away from this deadly disease. Please make sure your dog is vaccinated for this if you live in Minnesota. This vaccine is included in our care companion plans.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1C93SvKMiE/?mibextid=wwXIfrr

It's in puddles at the park. 🏞️
It's in soil after a rainstorm. 🌧️
And in a recent Boston study, nearly 1 in 5 rats carried it. 🐀

As of July 2024, AAHA’s Canine Vaccination Guidelines now list the leptospirosis vaccine as core for all dogs, everywhere.

📖 Read the research and learn why routine vaccination matters: https://hubs.li/Q03BXRWm0
🐕Explore the Complete Recommendations from the 2022 Canine Vaccination Guidelines: https://hubs.li/Q03BXQ5q0

08/08/2025

💕🐈‍⬛Happy international cat day to our purrrrfect feline friends!😻🐈

08/08/2025

Another post today from Sarah The Caring Canine Coach.
All about keeping your dog's nails at an appropriate length:
Could Long Nails Be Affecting Your Dogs Behaviour?

Trimming your dog’s nails can feel like a bit of a chore, and it's easy to put off or forget about them. But keeping nails short is more than just cosmetic, it's crucial for your dog's comfort and health.

Imagine when your toenails get too long and they press against the end of your shoes. It gets painful doesn’t it? Now, think about your dog. When their nails are too long, they press into the ground with each step, potentially causing discomfort and pain, especially on hard surfaces.

But here’s where it can get even more complex. If your dog tends to pull on the lead when they see another dog, and that pulling causes pain in their paws or limbs due to their overgrown nails, they may start to make a negative association if that pain happens when another dog appears.

Over time, your dog might begin to anticipate pain when seeing another dog and respond with barking, lunging, or avoidance behaviours in an attempt to prevent discomfort. That’s how something as simple as long nails can contribute to behaviour. Over time, long nails can also cause your dog to walk differently, potentially leading to more serious issues.

So, take a moment today to check your dog’s nails. If they’re touching the ground when your dog is standing still, it’s likely time for a trim. Just be cautious not to cut into the quick, as this can be painful and cause bleeding. If you're unsure or nervous about trimming them yourself, a vet or professional groomer can help keep them comfortable and well-maintained.

07/19/2025

Please be kind to your animal professions - trainers, groomers, veterinarians, vet techs, shelter and rescue workers etc.

Although from the outside our job may seem like a “dream career” to most, the majority of us in this profession carry an immense burden on our backs every day. It is amazing to do what you love every day, but what we love also can come with a cost. We spend our days as a counselor, a mediator, a translator, a teacher, a caregiver, a cheerleader and so much more. We wear so many hats just in one day.

To be a good animal handler and worker you have to have been blessed with extreme empathy, hyper vigilance and at times be infuriatingly compassionate. We need to feel deeply, be constantly aware of body language and signals and always helpful. We often times put others needs well above our own and can push ourselves to the point of emotional exhaustion if not careful. We truly take our work home with us a lot, sometimes literally but almost always in our hearts and minds too. We can’t just punch out at the end of the day and forget what we’ve seen, heard, tried to fix etc. Compassion fatigue, depression and anxiety are very common in this field and it’s one of the reasons i am so grateful for my group of fellow colleagues who know to check in when needed.

This doesn’t mean we don’t WANT to help. It means that there are things you can do to help your animal professionals each day.

- Update us with good news when you can. We get panicked, hysterical, tense and terrible emails and calls every day. It truly breaks it up for us when we get an update telling us things are going well.

- Respect our family and down time. Calling 3 times in a row then emailing then texting then calling again at 8pm at night can send us into a tailspin of guilt and panic. Guilt at not being able to answer OR leaving family to answer or panic at what could possibly have happened/gone wrong. We will always get back at a timely manner, but we need to take a breath too.

- support our causes. Share our events, celebrate our victories, and donate when you can to things that you can. Knowing we aren’t alone in the battles we fight makes a huge difference sometimes.

- forgive our strangeness. We are people too, and yes we have lots of animals and may make strange jokes or wear weird t-shirts but it’s all what makes us unique and special in the community. Everyone needs at least one crazy dog friend. Forgive us for being the one who always has dog hair on our clothes no matter what the occasion.

- when you see us outside of work, talk to us about something - ANYTHING - but our work, unless we ask first. We love our job but we also love to talk about things apart from the consistency of your pets last bowel movement or a new leash you found online in a sale. Ask us about our family, the weather, anything! It shows us that you value us as a person not just as a service.

- laugh and cry with us. Understand that your victories are our victories. We truly feel that attached to your animals and you. Many of my clients become like family to me and I have laughed and cried right along with them as they went on their journey together.

- remember we may get things wrong sometimes. We may not always know. We are human and still very capable of mistakes, even small ones. Life is too short to sweat the small stuff, so forgive us if we mess up sometimes.

- and of course, lastly, refer friends to us. Knowing you trust us with people and animals you love is the biggest compliment you can give us, on top of letting us help you. It also shows us you enjoyed your experience enough to send others and that is a huge accomplishment.

Thanks for reading. ❤️
- Helen St. Pierre

07/18/2025

Patient Spotlight shines on Elroy!!
Elroy is a 11 month, basset hound, who lives life in the fast lane and leaves his competition in the dust! He won 1st place at his race at Canterbury. We can’t wait to hear more about this fast pup! ❤️🐶🏁

07/17/2025

Sending one of our Rescue Partners some love: No Dogs Left Behind
Momma Eleanor came in on emergency this last Monday. She had started a long labor, giving birth to 6 puppies of her 11 puppies before her foster noticed something was wrong. Eleanor, unfortunately, had a breech puppy with more inside. Dr. Melling and the team aided in performing a c-section to deliver her remaining puppies but unfortunately due to complications, two had passed. While we keep these puppies in our thoughts, we are thankful to say that Eleanor and her puppies are in recovery ❤️‍🩹

Please help us in sending well wishes for a continued healthy recovery for Momma Eleanor and welcoming her new puppies into the world.

To learn more about our rescue partner, No Dogs Left Behind, please visit: https://ndlbrescue.org/

07/16/2025

Sending an extra large THANK YOU to our friend Draper for the refreshing and yummy treats from Dairy Queen! Thank you! 🐶💕🍦

07/06/2025

PLEASE ensure your pet is protected!🪱❤️

07/04/2025

Happy 4th of July!🇺🇸
Wellhaven will be closed from 7/4-7/5 in observance of the holiday. We will return to normal business hours on Monday.
In case of Emergency or Urgent care needs, please contact:
BluePearl Blaine: (763) 754-9434
Animal Emergency and Referral Center (AERC): (651) 293-1800
Have a safe and happy weekend!🐶❤️

07/02/2025

07/01/2025

We are so happy Olivia pulled through!

Olivia update 💕

She’s up eating, drinking, and going potty. Shes on meds to keep her feeling better and she has since started to take care of her babies again!

This is the best news we could have hoped for when the prognosis wasn’t great initially.

Thank you so much for your support and to Dr Melling and her team for taking this case on!