Valley Veterinary Hospital & Cascade East Animal Clinic

04/04/2026

04/04/2026

Equine dentistry is an ever evolving field of medicine, with roots stretching as far back as 1150 BCE with evidence of riders on the Mongolian Steppe removing the wolf teeth from the mouths of the horses they rode into battle. These days, equine dentistry looks very different, and what was commonplace in the field even 10-15 years ago has changed. Gone are the days where the Doctor slips his hand into your horses mouth and tries to *feel* if they need a dental float, because we here at Valley Veterinary Hospital believe that if there is a better way to do something, that's what we should do!

If you have brought a horse in recently to take advantage of our equine dental package (A great value that includes the cost of the float, a f***l float, and one core vaccine which is a savings of $30) then you may have noticed our updated scope that is used during routine floats. This is a device that gives us a birds eye view into your horses mouth so you can observe pocketing, diastema (gaps between teeth), hooks and the damage they cause to the surrounding soft tissue, and caries (cavities.)

Not only do we keep up with new equipment, we are always on the look out for conferences and continued education learning opportunities for both our Veterinarians and technicians so they can carry this knowledge into appointments. The health of a horses mouth effects more than we know, from bacteria causing disease, to the ability to chew their food correctly, and how they hold a bit in their mouth. Have you had your horses teeth floated yet this year? If not, call us today at (509) 925-6146!

04/01/2026

As any of our clients know, we do a lot of equine work in the Valley Vet office, but did you know we can do a lot in our Cle Elum office too? Traveling with horses can be stressful, and a lot of our clients are surprised to learn we can do teeth floating, minor laceration repair, and vaccine appointments at our Cascade East location. Many of these services also exist as farm calls from our Cle Elum office. Our satelite clinic may be small but they are mighty, and if you live in the Cle Elum area you should take advantage of the amazing team there! (Thank you to Tammy for posing with this handsome horse)

03/26/2026

A common question we get is 'when does tick season start?' Unfortunately, we no longer have a 'tick season' here in the valley, but rather a year round problem. Every year, thousands of dogs will become infected with tick borne diseases and the severity of these diseases can range anywhere from a fever and lethargy, all the way to serious complications and death. Prevention is the cheapest medicine you can buy, and we aim to make this even more affordable for our clients. While supplies last, when you buy 6 doses of Simparica, you get an extra dose free! That is 7 months of flea/tick prevention, 7 months of peace of mind, and 7 months of you not having to worry that your companion is bringing 'extra friends' inside. If your dog is current on their wellness exam, give us a call at (509) 925-6146 (Valley Vet in Ellensburg) or (509) 674-4367 (Cascade East in Cle Elum) today to get your free dose when you order a box.

02/25/2026

Did you know that February is National Pet Dental Health Month? We might be a little late to mention it, but similar to brushing your dogs teeth, there is no better time to start than today. Dentistry has come a long way in the animal world, and the tools we have at our disposal today make it easier than ever to ensure your companion has a clean, and healthy mouth for many years to come. Dental chews, cat/dog safe tooth paste, and dental wipes are a great way to reduce the infection causing bacteria in an animals mouth. However, sometimes at home brushing isn't enough to reduce the years of plaque build up in an animals mouth, that's where your Veterinarian comes in. In order to preform a dental cleaning on your pet, they will need to be anesthetized, and then the dental cleaning can start. Similar to what humans get done at their yearly dentist appointment, we will start with full mouth X-rays, periodontal probing, then we will scale, clean, and polish your cat/dog's teeth. If any teeth need to be removed (which is often the case for severe plaque) we are able to preform oral surgery while your animal is under, and the whole procedure can range between 1- 1 1/2 hours depending on the complexity of the dental. Remember, health starts in the mouth! Poor oral health can contribute to more than just a tooth ache, an abundance of bad bacteria in the mouth has a direct connection to your pets blood stream, and can cause issues with multiple organs. Want to learn more? Here is a video where we talk more extensively about everything dentals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqCs0_S5jDE
Curious if the products you are currently using get the Veterinary oral health council seal of approval? Look at their website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqCs0_S5jDE

02/04/2026

Valley vet is hiring! If you are a licensed veterinary technician in search of an amazing work environment, we are looking for you!! Resumes can be emailed to us at [email protected] or dropped off in person at 2090 vantage HWY. Do you know someone looking to join their forever practice? Share this video! Curious about the role? Check it out here— https://www.valleyvetandcascadeeast.com/career-opportunities.pml med

01/14/2026

Valley Veterinary Hospital recently had Robert , an expert in cardiac ultrasound scanning (Echocardiograms) travel here from California to give Dr. Walzer some additional training tips for these specialized scans.
Echocardiography is normally only offered by board certified veterinary cardiologists. With a special interest in cardiology and with the special equipment that Valley Veterinary hospital has purchased, Dr. Walzer will be able to perform these scans HERE and send them electronically to a board certified cardiologist, who can interpret them and help our doctors make therapeutic recommendations for dogs and cats with heart disease.
Echos give us the most accurate info about heart function, and they are totally non-invasive!

For those of you who have a pet with a heart murmur or other heart concerns, ask our doctors if a further workup including echo might be recommended. This will be a game changer for patients who cannot safely travel for these procedures, thank you so much to everyone who brought their pets in for Dr. Walzer to learn with.

01/12/2026

Simba has a great attitude and a cute face, but because of his veracious appetite, he is nominated as naughty cat of the week. Simba we love to see you, but we would prefer it be once a year for your wellness visits! (Zoom in to see the mac & cheese crumbs on his chin!)

01/08/2026

As any pet owner knows, the time when you are asking yourself ‘is this an emergency, or can this wait until the morning?’ often pops up at the worst time. You may lack reliable transportation, funds may be an issue for you, or you may be physically unable to lift your big dog into your car by yourself to even get them to the hospital. We have sought to provide a solution for clients who may not need to come in for an after hours appointment, and relief for the hard working DVM’s and technicians that work well into the night after seeing appointments all day.

Introducing VetTriage! A compassionate, timely, and very knowledgeable telehealth service. (https://vettriage.com/)

Due the ever changing needs of the valley we service, we are very excited to announce we will now be partnering with VetTriage. As many of you may be aware, there has been a dramatic shift in supply and demand in the veterinary field. The shortages of DVMs and staff are even worse in small towns and in large animal care. The closest emergency clinic is over two hours away from Ellensburg, and making the trip to either Pasco or Seattle in winter conditions can be dangerous. Couple the lack of emergency services available with the fact that people own more pets now than they did 20-30 years ago, and you can start to see the issue our Veterinarians face. This reality has led to a large increase to the number of calls we receive after hours, for both genuine emergencies and non emergent issues.

Because we value the mental and physical health of our veterinarians and staff members alike, we have decided to team up with VetTriage, a convenient and affordable after-hours veterinary video telehealth platform. For a flat rate fee of $50, the VetTriage veterinarians assess your pet on video (or over the phone if video call is not an option) to determine whether or not what you are seeing is truly an emergency before contacting the on call doctor. If an emergency visit is not warranted, they will give you home care instructions and send our hospital an email summary of your case so we can keep your pets record up to date. If they recommend immediate care, they will contact the on call doctor on your behalf.

There are some obvious situations like severe colic, large lacerations, etc, where the consult and fee is bypassed and our on call doctor is immediately contacted by VetTriage, but for the vast majority of calls that come in after hours it will be more than enough to get you the care and answers you need. Are you unsure if that candy your dog just ate is going to cause any problems later? Do you have some left over pain medication from a different animal and want to know if you can safely give it to another pet? VetTriage has you covered.

Another new development in after hours animal care in our county is that Dr. Val Hedrick of Mount Stuart Animal Hospital and Dr. Kaylin Wells of Bless this Pet Clinic will join us & Ellensburg Animal Hospital to provide after hours care. Their doctors will see after hours emergencies at their locations when it is their turn to be on call. This new community coalition addresses the shortage of vets taking on call, which has been a bigger issue the last couple of years.
Note: our 4 doctor rotation has not changed, and Valley Vet hospital will be responsible for 50% of the on call time, as it has been in the past. Thank you so much for your support during these challenging times, and we look forward to serving you at Valley Vet & Cascade East!

12/31/2025

Thank you to Valley Veterinary Hospital and Cascade East Animal Clinic for their generous $1,500 end-of-year donation to FISH Food Bank.

We’re grateful for local veterinary partners who care deeply about the well-being of our community — both two-legged and four-legged. Your support helps ensure neighbors across Kittitas County have access to food and essential services when they need it most.

Thank you for giving back and helping strengthen our community.

12/15/2025

Holiday hour announcement: We will be open from 8:00AM-12:00PM on 12/24, and closed the entire day of 12/25 for Christmas. The following week we will be open from 8:00AM - 12:00PM on 12/31 and closed the entire day of 1/1 to celebrate the new year. Hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday!