For those of you who have not already met them, BHSAH would like to introduce two doctors that will be working with us quite a bit over the next few months: Dr Margarita Abalos and Dr Gary Laubach. They will be filling in while Dr Favinsky is on maternity leave. Both doctors have worked as relief vets for us in the past and starting in March will be here on a regular basis.
Dr Abalos and Dexter
Dr Margarita Abalos has been working regularly as a relief vet at BHSAH for over 7 years. To see Dr Abalos work is to see a person who is truly doing what they love for a living. She has a great passion for her work and her patients. She has built a wonderful rapport with the staff of BHSAH, and everyone seems to work even harder when she is around. She graduated form Washington State University (the same as Drs Winters and Suehiro!) and has worked in the Los Angeles area for the past 8 years. She also has practiced in Arizona, Texas, and Washington. She is residency trained in Emergency and Critical Care Medicine and has a special interest in surgery. Dr Abalos treats exotic patients, as well as dogs and cats. On her time off, she enjoys spending time with her dog, Dexter, as well as surfing and golfing. She is a big sports fan and a die hard LA Clippers fan.
Dr Laubach in the Maldives.
Dr Gary Laubach is a California native, born in Monrovia. He moved to Washington in grade school, where he remained all the way through vet school, attending Washington State University. He and Dr Suehiro actually attended vet school together and are old friends. Dr Laubach moved back to California right after Vet School, and worked in Victorville for 12 years at a practice that he eventually became part owner of. In 2001, Dr Laubach moved to San Clemente, where he splits his time between working vet relief and surfing. He makes the journey up to Los Angeles to cover for our doctors quite often and we love having him. Dr Laubach brings a very relaxed, but professional, vibe with him. Being a very versatile and seasoned veterinarian, Dr Laubach sees walk-in patients and performs in surgery. The staff always looks forward to when Dr Laubach does relief work here, and we are confident that our clients will be very happy with his no-nonsense, yet compassionate approach to veterinary medicine. In his spare time, he enjoys going on surfing travel adventures and spending time with his wife and kids.
Dr Suehiro recently attended a seminar on diagnostic cytology and advancements in veterinary oncology. The talk was lead by nationally recognized pathologist, Dr Bjorneby, as well as Animal Specialty Group’s highly respected oncologist, Dr Blake. It is worth mentioning that Dr Bjorneby is in great demand across the country for his excellent cytology reading and interpretation skills, and we are fortunate enough to have him as the pathologist who reads all of the cytologies that are sent from Beverly Hills Small Animal Hospital.
When patients come in to our hospital with abnormal lesions or lumps, we like to perform fine needle aspirates to help us make a definitive diagnosis. A fine needle aspirate is a minimally invasive procedure, whereby a needle is inserted into the growth, and then the sample is placed onto glass slides. These slides are then stained and read microscopically by a pathologist. The diagnosis informs us how to treat the growth. Sometimes, they can be treated topically, or with oral medication. Other times they are benign, needing no further attention, unless it grows larger and affects the patient’s quality of life. And, of course, sometimes, they are a concern and need to be surgically removed, whereby they are further tested. Part of Dr Bjorneby’s lecture emphasized how to obtain good quality samples, as well as the extreme importance of an accurate and comprehensive description of the growth.
Even though we do not practice oncology at Beverly Hills Small Animal Hospital, as general practitioners, we have to be up-to-date on new diagnostic technology and treatment for our patients that have cancer or neoplasia. This allows us to help our clients to make the best decisions for their pets. Dr Blake gave a very informative synopsis of the recent advances in veterinary oncology.
The current general trend in the treatment of neoplasia is getting away from non-specific chemotherapy to treatments that are much more targeted. This extends to radiation therapy, with a move towards concentrating the dose of radiation specifically in the tumor, thereby preventing damage to the normal healthy tissue surrounding it. What’s most heartening and exciting is that it seems that the goal of veterinary oncology is changing from its previous goal of remission, and moving towards the ultimate goal of cure.
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Thank you so much for a great 2010. We have loved taking care of your wonderful pets and are grateful to have you as clients, and as friends. Here are some photos from the past year. See you in 2011!
The Doctors and Staff of Beverly Hills Small Animal Hospital
We just purchased a new state-of-the-art anesthetic monitor to replace some of our older models. It is an amazing piece of technology. It measure blood pressure, electrocardiogram, oxygen saturation, temperature, pulse, respiratory rate, and blood CO2 content. Every three minutes this machine automatically records these parameters simultaneously and displays the results on a colored screen. Alarms alert the surgeon and anesthesia technician when any values are abnormal. This allows us to intervene quickly, whether it is to decrease the anesthetic, increase oxygen, adjust the intravenous fluid rate, or give drugs necessary to correct the situation. The machine produces an anesthetic chart for each patient that is then transferred to their records electronically.
We will continue to have an anesthesia technician monitoring each patient while under general anesthesia. Our patients have always had a technician assigned to them during surgical procedures to closely track each patient’s vital signs, such as heart rate, respiratory rate, capillary refill time, mucus membrane color, temperature, and depth of anesthesia. All of this is done in an effort for our doctors and staff to provide the best care possible for our patients undergoing any anesthetic procedure. 
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Bald Eagle
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Juvenile California Mountain Lion
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Recovery for a Pillar of the Local Eco System
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Dr Suehiro recently brought some much needed veterinary supplies and animal carriers to the veterinary clinic at the California Living Museum in Bakersfield, CA. The California Living Museum is a beautifully landscaped zoo featuring native animals and plants. The veterinary clinic is available for the treatment and rehabilitation of injured wildlife that people bring in. Once they are healthy, the animals are released back into the wild. If they cannot be release due any physical disabilities then these animals are housed at the zoo.
This facility includes an education center, which houses exhibits of biology, geology, and natural history of the area, a petting zoo, an extensive herpetology center, an outdoor auditorium, and numerous animal exhibits. The zoo plays an important role in educating the local school children about wildlife, ecosystems, and conservation. There are also educational presentations during the weekends.
There are extensive plans to expand and develop additional exhibits. The center is partly funded by the school district, but donations are always needed. Check out their website: www.calmzoo.org.
Just an hour and a half drive from Los Angeles, we urge you to plan a visit to this wonderful zoo… and tell ‘em Dr Suehiro sent ya!
Jaron, Robert, Lilly, Mel, Alec, & Jinny
Braving the rapids.
This past July, many of the BHSAH employees journeyed up to the beautiful Kern River Vally to test the waters… and some awesome rapids. We had a blast. It was the first time for many of us, but the seasoned pros, like Dr Suehiro, and our amazing river guides made sure we all had a great time. We did it as a way to have some summer fun together outside of the hospital, as well as do some important team building. We know that the better we work together as a team, the better care your pets will receive while they are with us. Here are some photos from that day, and more can be seen on our flickr.com photostream.
Dr Suehiro staying hydrated.
Living in the Beverly Hills and Los Angeles area, most of us have either had a run-in with a rattlesnake or know someone who has. With the weather changing and the summer days drawing near, now is the time to get your dog protected against rattlesnakes. We offer the rattlesnake vaccine here at BHSAH, and highly recommend vaccinated your dog, especially if you will be traking your pup on hiking adventures this summer. If you would like to learn more about this vaccine and find out if it is right for your dog, give us a call or visit Red Rock Biologics (the makers of the rattlesnake vaccine).
FRIDAY MAY 21, 2010
There will be no doctor services available from 1pm to 4pm.
The office will still be open for limited tech services, as well as regular office services (Rx/Food pick up, boarding drop offs, etc).
We apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you for your understanding.
"Wanna go for a car ride?"
On April 28, 2010 Dr Suehiro and many of our technicians attended a seminar about vomiting in cats and dogs given by Dr Todd R Tams, DVM, Dipl AVCIM. They received a lot of great new information on how to treat our pets.
A few years ago, Pfizer Animal Health introduced a drug called Cerenia, the first FDA approved medicine to prevent motion sickness in dogs. We have personally found it to be extremely effective. This was further solidified by Dr Tams vote of confidence in the drug as the superior form of treatment for vomiting. It can be used for acute vomiting spells, or given as a preventative in pets that have a tendency to get car sick.
With the summer travel season quickly approaching, it was a great opportunity for our staff to get the latest medical updates on treating the ailments that affect our pets during this time.
Our eco-friendly courtyard.
Master Gardener and Los Angeles-based artist, Lucila Caro, has designed some new landscaping for the animal hospital. We hope it will make yours and your pets’ time here more relaxing and enjoyable. Lucila will be introducing a number of California native plants to our grounds, as well as some beautiful raised bed gardens in our courtyard. We are very excited for these changes and would love to hear what you think.
Some lovely natives for the hospital's front.
Saturday, February 4th at 8:57 
Wednesday, January 25th at 9:46 
Wednesday, November 2nd at 11:55 
Monday, March 22nd at 8:08 
