Animalia Health & Wellness

04/25/2025

📢 Have you heard the good news?! Animalia is the official sponsor of PetZone at the 41st Annual Main Street Festival in downtown Franklin this weekend, April 26th & 27th, 10am-6pm. Stop by and see your Animalia family on the corner of 2nd Ave & Main St!

We’ll have a splash zone for pups, carnival games and prizes for the kids, swag giveaways and raffles, a build your own “Pup-Tini Bar” with safe human foods, poison prevention and Pumpkin Pet resources, photo op for the entire family, meet & greet, a pop-up boutique with treat samplings and all your favorite , treats and candles. We’ve invited our friends from with their adoptable cuties to join in the fun, so be prepared for an exciting weekend with your favorite Animalia crew!

We are accepting new clients & patients and look forward to a fun-filled weekend of making new friends and reconnecting with familiar faces ❤️

➡️ Anyone who would love to join us and volunteer their time for a few hours to help with our community pup splash zone and children’s games, please feel free to reach out for details. The more the merrier!

https://williamsonheritage.org/events/main-street-festival/

04/25/2025

It’s been a week of gratitude as we celebrate our All-Star client service family! These hardworking ladies have a tough job, but they always show up and show out for our clients and patients to ensure the best possible experience at each visit.

Thank you to Anne Claire, Sara, Stacey, Julie, Jessica, JJ and Kacy for the many hats you wear! From front desk, to patient care coordinator, veterinary assistant to rehab coordinator…these ladies do it all with grace, kindness and compassionate care. We’re blessed to have such a tight knit crew who love their career, patients, and each other. A big shout out to our friends at for treating us to Taco Tuesday and fueling our day! Happy CSR Appreciation Week 💕

04/20/2025

George joins us in wishing our Animalia family a blessed Easter weekend, filled with egg hunts, sunshine, and spring vibes!

To make sure this holiday remains safe for our furry friends, remember to keep the following items away from pets as you celebrate:

🍫 Chocolate: As a rule of thumb, the darker the chocolate, the more dangerous it is for pets. Other ingredients to keep out of your pet’s reach include raisins, macadamia nuts, xylitol and alcohol.

🐣 Plastic Easter Grass: It can become lodged in the gastrointestinal tract and wreak havoc if consumed by pets. Signs for concern include vomiting, diarrhea, decrease in appetite, lethargy and stomach pain.

🪴 Plants: Many plants can cause issues for pets, but during this time of year, we see an increase in calls about Lilies and bulbs that bloom in spring. Lilies can cause serious concerns for our feline friends. Exposure to any part of the plant can result in kidney injury and gastrointestinal upset!

👩‍🌾 Fertilizers and Herbicides: Many people begin gardening this weekend, including the use of fertilizers and herbicides. Make sure these products are stored where pets can’t chew or puncture the package, and keep pets indoors while applying the products. Always follow label instructions and wait to let your pet out again until the ground is dry.

If you suspect your pet may have ingested a potentially poisonous substance, call the ASPCA Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 and follow up with your trusted veterinarian. Let’s work together to have a happy and relaxing Easter for all!

04/18/2025

Winston is prepping for the Easter weekend with a visit to his favorite neighborhood doodle dad, Dr. Miguel Cruz! This handsome boy stopped by for his annual wellness examination, plenty of love from our crew, and a refill of Simparica Trio for monthly parasite protection.

In honor of Heartworm Awareness Month, receive a $20 instant discount when you purchase 6 doses of Simparica Trio for your pup (through September 30th), on top of current discounts from our trusted online pharmacy. Zoetis PetCare Rewards members can receive an additional $12 reward card! Protect your dog from heartworm disease, ticks, fleas, and intestinal parasites with one monthly Trio chew!

As a reminder, the Animalia Urgent Care team is available every Saturday, 8am-6pm. Urgent Care is scheduled on a call-ahead appointment basis, so we ask that you contact our client service team at 615-595-7100 to ensure our medical team can best serve you and your pet on arrival. Appointments can also be scheduled online from our website at www.animaliawellness.com.

Our goal is to provide extended hours and exceptional care for sick patients outside of our normal weekday schedule, with onsite diagnostic equipment to perform bloodwork, x-rays, and an in-house pharmacy allowing timely results and treatment. We welcome those new to Animalia and will work with your primary care veterinarian to ensure all medical notes and treatment plans are thoroughly communicated, encouraging follow up with your pet’s physician. Please give our team a call this Saturday, 8am-6pm, for your Urgent Care needs!

04/12/2025

You may have noticed a few familiar and beloved faces return to the Animalia family this year! Please give a big official welcome back to Tina and Meredith, as they care for your babies and make our heart and team complete. If absence makes the heart grow fonder, we are purely smitten by their return and it’s safe to say that our patients feel the same!

As a reminder, the Animalia Urgent Care team is available every Saturday, 8am-6pm. Urgent Care is scheduled on a call-ahead appointment basis, so we ask that you contact our client service team at 615-595-7100 to ensure our medical team can best serve you and your pet on arrival. Appointments can also be scheduled online from our website at www.animaliawellness.com.

Our goal is to provide extended hours and exceptional care for sick patients outside of our normal weekday schedule, with onsite diagnostic equipment to perform bloodwork, x-rays, and an in-house pharmacy allowing timely results and treatment. We welcome those new to Animalia and will work with your primary care veterinarian to ensure all medical notes and treatment plans are thoroughly communicated, encouraging follow up with your pet’s physician. Please give our team a call this Saturday, 8am-6pm, for your Urgent Care needs!

04/10/2025

The long-awaited Easter , selfie station and new hand painted cards by Jenny have arrived! If you’ve had the pleasure of sending or receiving one of these beautiful cards, you understand the labor of love that goes into creating each individual piece of art.

Jenny is a local artist and friend who donates her time, talents and supplies to raise money for our friends at dog rescue. A donation in any amount will do, with 100% of each sale going directly to the rescue medical fund! Thank you to the many unsung heroes who share their heart and energy in making this world a better place ❤️

04/07/2025

We’re proud to sponsor Pet Zone at the 41st Annual Main Street Festival on April 26th and 27th (10am-6pm) in downtown Franklin! Be sure to stop by and see us on the corner of 2nd Ave & Main Street!

We’re 20 days away from ! While we’re counting down, here’s a list of some fun activations and activities you have to look forward to!

- Performances on Main Stage (presented by Nissan)
- Kid Zone (presented by Hope UC Nashville)
- Acoustic Stage (presented by Price Printing)
- Whiskey Lounge (presented by Leiper's Fork Distillery)
- Pet Zone (presented by Animalia Health & Wellness)
- Beer Garden (presented by Bavarian Bierhaus)
- Caterpillar Crawl (presented by the Downtown Franklin Association)
…and so much more!

Join us in the heart of historic downtown Franklin, April 26th and 27th (10 AM - 6 PM) for two days of eclectic arts & crafts vendors, great food & drink, and fun for the entire family at the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County’s 41st Annual Main Street Festival, presented by First Horizon Bank. 🎨

04/04/2025

April is Heartworm Awareness Month, so let’s play a game of “true or false” to clear up a few common misconceptions around heartworm disease!

Heartworms are actual worms that live in the heart and lungs of infected pets: True! 🫀 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵-𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘧 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥.

Heartworms present no initial symptoms: True!⚕️𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴.

There’s no need to test my pet annually for heartworms because they are taking monthly heartworm prevention: False!🩸 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰 100% 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴.

Cats can get heartworm disease too: True!
🐈 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳-𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘶𝘱𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘴!

➡️ Now through September 30th, receive a $20 instant discount when you purchase 6 doses of Simparica Trio, the monthly all-in-one chew to protect your pup. Zoetis PetCare Rewards members can receive an additional $12 reward card on top of ongoing specials through our online pharmacy!

04/01/2025

As we close out Poison Prevention Month and spring forward into April, we’re reminded of a few important statistics and educational topics around common pet toxins in and around the home. Taking a few moments to read this post could save a life and keep your pet safe and sound!

Each year, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center analyzes nationwide data on toxic exposures in pets. In 2024, the APCC received over 365,000 calls related to toxic substances, highlighting the most common risks encountered by dogs and cats. These infographics provide essential education on prevention of toxic exposures and steps on prompt, effective treatment when necessary.

If your pet has been exposed to anything on this list; whether it was ingested, inhaled, rubbed onto the skin or into the eyes, you should contact the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center by calling 888-426-4435 (service fee applies) and follow up with your trusted veterinarian.

Our pets are family and we understand how frightening a potential emergency situation can be! Remember to stay calm, act quickly, provide as much information about your pet and the toxin they’ve come into contact with, and have the numbers of Poison Control, your nearest emergency or urgent care clinic, and your trusted primary veterinarian saved in your phone. Together we can spread awareness and keep our pets safe!

03/28/2025

Our hearts are full tonight! Thank you for voting Animalia as a 2025 Sizzle Award winner for one of the best veterinary practices in Williamson County!

We were in great company at the Sizzle Awards, surrounded by our fellow industry friends and local business owners and representatives. Shout out to for providing such a gorgeous venue and for their good works in our community.

Thank you to all of our supporters and friends who voted for us again this year. It was an incredible night of recognition and love! ❤️

03/24/2025

Some days we need a little extra help around the hospital, and today that responsible adult was Miss Harper! This adorable senior gal received the royal treatment during her stay, learning the ropes with Carol and keeping a close eye on every patient. Quality control in her purest form! Thanks for the help, sweet girl! ❤️

03/21/2025

We love sharing the hearts of our inspiring veterinarians! Paying it forward is a core mission at Animalia, especially when it comes to the next generation of veterinary professionals. It’s a physically and emotionally demanding field and we all remember what it was like to begin the journey in an often overwhelming industry. The joys are worth the effort, but we certainly cannot walk the path alone!

Dr. Haley Fitzsimmons traveled to St. Kitts and Nevis Island for two days of teaching students from Ross Veterinary School how to spay and neuter cats and dogs. Hands on training took place at Nevis Animal Speak, a small animal veterinary clinic offering cost-conscious medical care with a targeted focus on population control through spaying, neutering and the continuing education of pet owners to help maintain best practices on the island and in animal care.

Dr. Fitzsimmons assisted students as they received guided experience on each step required to perform a surgical procedure, from physical examination, to medication planning, surgical prep, catheter placement, anesthesia, and recovery. We’re proud of Dr. Fitz for volunteering her time and energy, pouring back into much needed students of veterinary medicine!

03/21/2025

It was a beautiful evening at Animalia when Erin’s new foster cat, Meredith, went into labor just after closing our doors for the day! We witnessed the joy of a new mama and the beaming pride of our teammate as she gently guided her foster through birthing four precious kittens.

Erin fosters queens (pregnant cats) and their litters at her very own kitty corral and maternity ward. Once the kittens are born, she keeps them warm and cozy in a dark and quiet area, with a safe kitty cave for the queen and her babies. After one week, mama and babies are moved into the main room with space for exploring while mom keeps a close eye on the little ones. We asked Erin to describe her passion of fostering and wanted to share her own words below:

“As a foster, I get to love and care for them like they are my own. Spend time playing, teaching, training, caring, and protecting them. Nursing them when they are sick and watching them grow from helpless newborns, to confident, playful and independent kittens.

And then, the hardest part. Handing them over to their new family. But it’s the family that I’ve been sending updates and photos to of their sweet kitten as they grow. The family who has been patiently preparing for the arrival of their new family member. Then it’s my turn to receive photos of them growing into beautiful cats, playing with their new housemates. It’s my turn to get teary eyed when I read how they are becoming a part of the family, how “He fits right in,” “She’s perfect,” She’s the Queen of the house,” “We are so in love with him.”

The ache I feel in my heart when I hand them over to their forever family is worth knowing I had the joy of joining them together and being a part of their life for as long, or short, as I did. Then the ache fades and I to do it all again.”

We appreciate all of our animal advocates, protectors, and fosters! Thank you for the love you pour into every animal and the important part you play in creating a new life for these precious beings and the families that love them ❤️ For more information on adoptable kittens, be sure to visit A Freedom Journey!

03/17/2025

St. Patrick’s Day is double the fun when we have two birthday girls in the house! Milo and Minnie Pearl are helping us celebrate Dr. Mary Hall and Winnie Lou on their shared special day. Happy birthday wishes and shamrock cupcakes by Jessica for all! ☘️

03/17/2025

Scott-Ellis School of Irish Dance performing an Irish step for the St. Paddy’s Day celebration ❤️