West Dakota Veterinary Clinic

08/26/2025

Every day is a good day to celebrate our canine companions, but today is actually International Dog Day! We would love to see pictures of your dogs ❤

08/25/2025

08/22/2025

West Dakota Vet Clinic is excited to be a part of the Dickinson Pet Expo coming Saturday September 6th! Stop by our booth, meet some of our team members and check out our educational display. You can also meet Norman! Norman is a companion dog that visits various locations as part of the outreach program through Oreo’s Animal Rescue. Sara Cox is Norman’s owner and is also vice president of Oreo’s Animal Rescue! We will have free dog toys and bling available to spoil the local pooches. We will be there from 10am-3pm. For more information on the Pet Expo, please check out their website https://www.dickinsonpetexpo.com/

08/21/2025

This is the time of year we start to see pets with embedded grass awns. Grass seed awns are designed to burrow into the dirt, but they’ll just as easily burrow into your pet’s skin, eyes, ears, nose and lungs. Always check your pets thoroughly for grass awns after a run through tall grass. If your pet is sneezing, shaking his head, squinting or limping after being out in tall grass, it is a good idea to have him seen by a veterinarian. Left untreated, grass awns can cause painful and extensive problems. Pictured are example of grass awns that have been removed from dogs.

08/19/2025

The month of August is National Immunization Awareness Month. It is very important to keep your pets up to date on their vaccinations. The greatest form of protection against the many illnesses your pet can get is keeping them current on vaccinations.

08/17/2025

🐈‍⬛ Black Cat Appreciation Day is more than a feel-good holiday — it’s also a reminder of a persistent challenge in animal welfare.

Research confirms that black cats face two significant disadvantages in shelters:
• Lower adoption rates
• Higher euthanasia rates

This “Black Cat Bias” (and broader “Dark Cat Syndrome”) has cultural roots — from centuries-old superstitions to subtle visual preferences — and it can affect how quickly cats find homes. In some cases, it even impacts the veterinary care they receive after adoption.

Our Trends article dives into Robert Carini’s study of nearly 8,000 cats in an urban Kentucky shelter and explores ways to counteract this bias, from better photography to reframing public perception.

Today’s the perfect day to challenge myths and celebrate black cats for what they truly are: loving, unique, and deserving of excellent care.

📖 Read the full article here: https://hubs.li/Q03C-sBh0
📄 Explore the AAHA/AAFP Feline Life Stage Guidelines to see how you can support every cat: https://hubs.li/Q03C-rpq0

08/14/2025

Who knew ditch-cleaning could be such a good time?
This week, a crew from West Dakota Vet traded in their scrubs and stethoscopes for gloves and garbage bags to help clean up our local roadsides. 💪✨

We found bottles, wrappers, and even a few “mystery objects” we’re still deciding if they belong in the trash or a science museum. 🤔😂

Big thanks to our amazing team for making the community a cleaner, safer, and prettier place for people and pets! 🐕🐈
Here’s to ditching the trash, one bag at a time! 🗑️❤️

**Pictured are 6 of the 13 volunteers**

08/12/2025

We have a job opening for a Licensed Veterinary Technician or Veterinary Assistant with an interest in both large and small animal medicine and surgery. We have a modern and progressive practice complete with state-of-the-art surgical facilities for both small animal and equine. We have a fully equipped inhouse lab and a multitude of diagnostic and therapeutic tools. We are looking for a career-minded, friendly, self-motivated individual who wants to be part of a team. This position will involve being a part of an on call and weekend rotation. We offer a competitive wage, health insurance, IRA, vacation days as well as paid holidays, sick days and a CE allowance (for LVTs). If you are interested in being part of a veterinary medical team, please fill out the online application on our website at https://westdakotavet.com/careers.php

08/11/2025

West Dakota Veterinary Clinic was excited to host an Equine Ultrasound Wet Lab for regional veterinarians. This continuing education seminar was presented by Samsung’s Dr. Sasha Hill. Included in this lab was the equine distal limb- soft tissue evaluation of common regions of pathology and equine ultrasound evaluation of the cervical neck and back.

08/08/2025

Just in case you need a reason to spoil your cat even more than usual, today is International Cat Day ❤

08/05/2025

Did you know that dogs have better night vision and motion visibility than humans? What they can’t see is the full color spectrum. A dog’s ability to see color is quite limited compared to ours, but they do see more than shades of gray. Dogs see a combination of two colors -blue and yellow- allowing them to perceive grayish brown, dark yellow, light yellow, grayish yellow, light blue, and dark blue. A rough comparison for a dog’s ability to perceive color would be the vision of humans with red-green colorblindness. Although a dog’s perception of color is limited, studies have found that they do make decisions between objects based on color. Juneau has an excellent ability to see and smell snacks ❤

07/31/2025

Dr. Kim and Sarah Jane had the incredible opportunity to visit the state-of-the-art Hill’s Science Diet facilities in Kansas, and it was truly an eye-opening experience. Dr. Kim and Sarah Jane were delighted to tour the entire process—from the initial creation of the food to its rigorous research before reaching our beloved pets.

This visit reinforced the dedication of Hill’s Science Diet to providing animal lovers with trustworthy, scientifically-formulated nutrition. Dr. Kim and Sarah Jane left inspired and assured that every bag of food is made with love, precision, and a deep commitment to pets’ health.

It’s stories like these that remind us why we trust Hill’s—because behind every product is a team devoted to making lives better, one bowl at a time.

***Side Note*** They couldn't pass up the opportunity to play some pin ball and feed giraffes!