Our Pet of the Month is chosen by random drawing from those clients that have
completed a Client Survey. In addition to being featured here on our website,
the winner receives a $25 credit on their account at our hospital.

	December 2011 Patches owned by Mary B. Meow! My name is Patches – and you can see me drinking out of my special cup of water in the living room! From about July – November 1989 I was living at the Otter Lake Animal Shelter, hoping for someone to adopt me. One day in November, Mary and her son Dan came in to look at all of us cats as their 16-year old cat Cuddles had died, and Mary really missed her. They liked me and took me to Mary’s home! I was very frightened, yowled all the way home in the car, and did not come out of the basement for a few days because I was scared and sick. But then I decided that my home would be a friendly one and started to join the family. When I was taken to White Bear Animal Hospital to be spayed, the doctor found a lead pellet embedded in my shoulder and rubbing on the bone, so he removed it and my owners then understood why I was limping and why am so frightened of men with loud voices and baseball caps – especially if they are carrying lawn tools or sticks! Because of my fear of going out and maybe meeting a scary man, Mary bought me a harness and a long leash, and we have been going together for walks outside that way for years – that way I feel safe. I even wear my harness to the vets’ office to feel safe. I have a very happy life – I have a cup of water on the table in the living room so I can enjoy drinking in there with the rest of the family when they are watching TV, and lots of dry and wet food in the kitchen for me to eat whenever I want. I love to snuggle in blankets on someone’s lap and to get petted a lot. I am very talkative – and follow my owner around the house whenever she gets home, meowing all the time. About three years ago I started to get sick – I had spasms and was in a lot of pain. Fortunately, first Dr. Scanlan and now Dr. Dalton have diagnosed me to have hyperthyroidism and have been able to prescribe some medicine that is rubbed into my ear every day to balance my thyroid – so I have to get transdermal medicine which arrives monthly in the mail in a box addressed to me as CAT PATCHES! (I won’t swallow pills – I save them under my tongue and spit them out whenever no one is watching!) I have to be careful what I eat, also. I go for checkups on my blood and other levels regularly at White Bear Animal Hospital – but Dr. Dalton and the nurses and technicians are so gentle with me there that I am not too frightened to visit. Now I am about 12 years old, they think – and feeling pretty healthy! Mary says I am very soft, and we think we make a great pair as friends! Thanks to White Bear and Otter Lake Animal Hospital staffs for caring for us stray cats, and making us available to be adopted by loving owners! Mary says to thank all of you too for many years of outstanding veterinary care for all our family cats! And thanks to Dr. Dalton and the staff for making me Pet of the Month!
	November 2011 Sophie and Mimi owned by Shelley P.
	October 2011 Reggie owned by Tina A.
	September 2011 Simone owned by Mark P.
	August 2011 Sam owned by Barb Y.
	July 2011 Karl, Oscar, Kristina and Gustav owned by Sharon K.
	June 2011 Left to Right: Bruno, Zoey and Taylor owned by Jan P. Bruno is a four year old Weimaraner. We got him in 2009. He is a cuddly boy and a big baby. He loves to sleep under the covers and go for walks. He thinks he is a little lap dog. Zoey is a three year old Catahoula leopard dog redbone coonhound mix? We're not entirely sure what she is. We adopted her from the Woodbury Humane Society in December of 2008 when she was nine months old. She is a very sweet girl. She is shy but she definitely loves her family. She loves cats, playing with her dog buddies, going for walks and learning new tricks. She's a very smart girl. Taylor is our oldest boy. He is an American Foxhound and he was born on November 2, 1997 which makes him almost 14! We got him in 2000 from Second Chance Animal Rescue. He has come a long way from the scared, aggressive, emaciated dog he was when we got him. He is a very gentle old man and spends his days napping, getting treats and going for short walks around the block. His favorite thing to do is cuddle. He also loves being brushed and going to Chuck and Don's to meet new doggy friends and get treats from the staff.
	May 2011 Oscar and Kirby owned by Lynn A and Brodie H.
	April 2011 Rocky and Lucy owned by Jane M.
	March 2011 Kelley and Amos owned by Christine C.
	February 2011 Mocha owned by Patricia M. Mocha is a Yorkshire terrier and is 4 years old. He is a happy, energetic little dog who thinks he is a big dog. He smiles often showing us his pearly whites (thanks to a recent teeth cleaning). Mocha gets the paper for me every morning, which has been especially convenient this cold, snowy winter. He is very found of picking up large sticks on our walks and carefully balancing them until we reach home (sometimes this takes several efforts). He has many dog and people friends in the neighborhood and would love to meet you, as he assumes all humans want to be his friend!
	January 2011 Bailey owned by Nick L.
	December 2010 Toni owned by Rick, Denise, Toni & Sammie M. We adopted Toni from All Dog Rescue http://www.alldogmn.org/ in January 2009, as a result of a search on Petfinder.com. Toni's Petfinder bio told us that she was a year-old Rat Terrier-Chihuahua mix that got along with cats. Perfect for us, since our kitten was 6-months old at that time. We went to see Toni that Saturday at the adoption open house and knew right away she was the dog for us! Toni came home with us that day. Toni is full of fun, energy, and lots of love! She and her feline sister, Sammie, race each other around inside the house, investigate every little noise, have daily wrestling matches, and curl up together to nap. They have even tag-teamed to catch a mouse! Toni loves peanut butter, furry squeaky toys, and sleeping in bed under the covers. Thank you White Bear Animal Hospital!
	November 2010 Hines owned by Shari and Mike S.
	October 2010 Lois Lane and Mewler owned by Jenna A.
	September 2010 Lucy owned by Carla M.
	August 2010 Addy owned by Scott and Cindy J.
	July 2010 Larry owned by Gloria K. Larry is quite a funny guy. He has pretty blue crossed eyes and is tall and lanky. He is almost 15 years old. When my grandson Michael was a toddler, he came to live with us from Chicago and Larry was part of the package. Larry screamed in my husbands ear all 400 miles on the trip here. We started calling him Chicago Larry because he didn't fit his original name of Puddy Cat. Larry was sick with Giardia when he first came to live with us. We treated him for quite awhile and he finally got over it. He is very mellow except for car rides. Larry gets along well with our other cats and dogs. Larry rubs his paws on the wood of the doors to get them a little sweaty and then puts them around the door knob and opens them that way. He used to love laying on the large fish tank and would take a drink once in awhile during the fish feedings. One day the huge Ariawana fish bit his tongue, so he never tried to drink out of the tank again. Chicago Larry is also a great mouser. The few times a mouse wondered in, it was Larry to the rescue. His best friend is Bill Bentley (Bill has a bent tail), who is another one of our senior cats. Larry and Bill love to nap together and hang out. Recently Larry has been diagnosed with thyroid disease, so he is on medication every day. Chicago Larry has been a great pet and has really added to our family.
	June 2010 Buddy owned by Barb O.
	May 2010 Maggie owned by Marcia and Larry M.
	April 2010 Shadow (left) and Riley (right) owned by Lisa W. Once upon a time, there was a family who had to say goodbye to a very old, beloved family pet. They had many talks about what dog might be the next family member. The Mom wanted a cuddly "purse puppy," but all the boys wanted a BIG dog who would play Frisbee. Whatever dog they got needed to be as non-shedding as possible due to family allergies. Golden doodles seemed to be the "favorite," but hoping to influence the others with cute little cuddle puppies, a trip to pet stores was arranged. At one store, there were newly arrived Goldendoodles and Riley (a girl) came to live at our house in July of 2007. A summer of learning to pee outside and bonding with her sweet, loving personality ensued. The next Christmas, the Mom of this family went to visit her Mom in Florida. It had become clear that Grandma was not able to take care of her little poodle, Shadow, who had been born in March of 2007 (just two months before Riley). Shadow came home on the airplane, changed into a Santa suit and was instantly greeted and loved, especially by Riley. They played in the snow, growled over toys and delighted us all with their complementary temperaments. They could even be found snuggled together sleeping soundly. Riley and Shadow who are our "girls" are wonderful additions to our family. P.S. Riley has learned to play Frisbee.