Paws for Success

Paws for Success now offers Puppy pre-school (socialization) as well as Kindergarten classes.

Pre-school classes are for puppies 8 to 16 weeks of age and teaches basic handling and care, discusses common puppy behavior, introduces sit, down, come, off, eye contact and walking without pulling. The instructor also discusses crate training.

Kindergarten classes are for those puppies that have completed pre-school and those pets that were too old to attend. Instructor approval is necessary for pets that haven’t attended pre-school. Your pet needs to have a knowledge of basic commands in order to ensure they will benefit fully from this class. This is a chance to continue your basic training and learn how to improve the skills learned. You will learn new commands and exercises but the main goal will be to give better and longer control through the same positive methods used in our pre-school.

Your instructor will be Pat Rattray. Pat is certified by Purdue University in Dog Behavior Modification. She has been teaching obedience training classes for 15 years.

Classes meet on Friday nights. If you would like more information please contact our office at 630-554-3400 or Pat Rattray at 630-554-6028

Classes now forming.

Announcement

River Heights Veterinary Clinic is pleased to announce the Board Certification of Dr. Stephen Juriga in veterinary dentistry. Dr. Juriga provides advanced dental care to hospital and referral patients. You can visit him at www.veterinarydentalcenter.com.

Doctor Receives Award

Dr. Stephen Juriga, River Heights Veterinary Clinic, is the 2007 recipient of the American Veterinary Dental College Outstanding Candidate Award. This national award is presented to a veterinarian who has recently achieved board certification in veterinary dentistry and has shown excellence in research, seminars, publications and contributions in the field of veterinary dentistry. Dr. Juriga donated the monetary portion of the award to the University of Illinois, College of Veterinary Medicine Dental and Oral Surgery Department. It will support clinical research projects and resident training.

Dr. Juriga received this award at the 21st Annual Veterinary Dental Forum in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At the meeting he was appointed to a 3-year term on the Dental College’s Credentials Committee and to the Veterinary Educators Committee. Dr. Juriga and his dental technicians, Verena Niederberger and Kelly Frazier, attended organizational meetings of the Veterinary Dental Foundation. This foundation will provide advanced dental services to underfunded and/or understaffed US and overseas captive animal facilities.

Dr. Juriga’s splits his practice time between his dental specialty practice, Veterinary Dental Center and the general medicine/surgery caseload at River Heights Veterinary Clinic. He remains active at the University Of Illinois as well as providing advanced dental services to animals at Brookfield Zoo. The Veterinary Dental Center also provides veterinary dental lecture and laboratory seminars for regional veterinarians and technicians.

Pet Portals Is Here

When you visit our website you can sign up to get your pets own personal account. You will be able to view when their vaccines are due, see what prescriptions they are on, request a refill, see what food you normally buy, request boarding reservations, request appointments, change your address or contact information, see if you have any upcoming appointments scheduled, you can even ask us to send you an email each month when your pets heartworm pill is due.

Continuing Education at River Heights

The staff of River Heights Veterinary Clinic is always looking to increase their knowledge so that they can better serve our clients and their furry friends. Seminars and conventions offer excellent opportunities for continuing education.

The following staff members recently attended the 2008 Chicagoland Continuing Education Event: Dr. Elizabeth Pocius, Verena Niederberger, Ashley Gates, Kathy Minor, and Jennifer Renwick. Dr. Julie Bunn attended the Midwest Veterinary Conference as well as an Ultrasound Seminar at Ohio State University. Dr. and Mrs. Stephen Juriga attended a Practice Management Seminar hosted by the Pfizer Company.

Dr. Stephen Juriga and Verena Niederberger, his dental technician published a step by step article in the December 2007 issue of the Journal of Veterinary Dentistry.

Into the Lion's Mouth

Recently, Dr. Stephen Juriga joined Dr. Sandra Manfra of the University of Illinois at the Brookfield Zoo to treat a fractured tooth. This tooth belonged to Makonen a 7 year old African lion weighing about 500 lbs. A root canal procedure was preformed on Makonen. Dr. Juriga has worked on some pretty large animals, but none to compare to this 500 lb. lion.

Clinic Adds Digital X-ray

River Heights Veterinary Clinic now offers digital x-ray technology to its patients. The new system provides a more detailed image than traditional film based systems. The digital format allows for image magnification and enhancement which leads to a more accurate determination of a pet’s current medical condition. In fact, digital radiography has become the standard in human medicine.

“The doctors and staff of River Heights continually strive to increase the level of care we provide”, said Dr. Stephen Juriga. “Digital radiography fulfills this goal. We now feel we have the best diagnostic images available and can share these with clients and specialists on a CD.”

Doctor Provides Training

Dr. Stephen Juriga and his dental technician have teamed with Pfizer Animal Health to provide seminars in Veterinary Dental Radiology. These training opportunities assist veterinarians in expanding their dental services.

Seminars are an extension of the training that the Veterinary Dental Center provides. Dr. Juriga founded the Veterinary Dental Center in 2002 to address the ever growing need of advanced dentistry for our pets.

You may visit the Veterinary Dental Center’s informative website at www.veterinarydentalcenter.com

Schedule Appointment | Home Page | Locations and Hours