Once again it has been a year since I changed this main page as Covid continued to affect our lives and businesses with the introduction of new variants. The realty of this situation changing from pandemic to endemic is upon us and many have chosen to accept the risk of minor infections to regain our lives without masks and quarantines. Clearly, there is still risk for significant disease and many at-risk individuals will rightly continue to take a conservative approach to this issue.

I have taken a conservative approach up to now due to at-risk relatives, travel, friends with lingering cases, and the significant impact to our team if anyone is infected. However, I believe it is time to open our doors once again as we continue to provide excellent and personal care for your pets and their ocular issues. I truly appreciate the patience and respect those who have come our way have shown me and my staff during this time. I truly understand that taking your pet away from you, into an unfamiliar space with a doctor they, and you, have not met has been trying for many. Alas, I think our communications have tempered those fears and most have had a good experience. And truth be told, many of your pets are better behaved and calmer for the exam without you around!

So starting today, we will go back to business as normal (mostly!) allowing an individual to come in for the exam without a mask if willing. Feel free to wear a mask or ask me and the staff to if you are uncomfortable. And we can certainly bring your pet in while you relax in the car if you prefer. Clearly, stay in your car if you have any symptoms or risk so as to not infect the staff. Simply call from the parking lot once you arrive as prior. We will try to limit our time in the rooms which are small and have suboptimal air circulation to prevent viral infection.

Covid is not over, but we are adjusting to the changes as time moves forward. Hopefully, like the last time I wrote a similar note, we won’t regress back to a stricter protocol. Be well and see you soon!

I am amazed…it has been over a year since our last update on this site due to the need for our Covid-19 messaging and instructions for those bringing their pets to the AEC for treatment. First and foremost, thank you to all for tolerating all the changes in protocol here and with your referring DVM. We appreciate that many were uncomfortable with the process of curbside medicine, the shuttling back and forth, phone call conversations, lack of face time with the doctor and leaving your critters in our good hands. Truly understandable but amazingly all seemed to go just fine. It may surprise many that your pets are sometimes better behaved without you in the room! I am so very appreciative of those who came to us and trusted in us despite the lack of personal interaction and am humbled by the support of all.

As infection rates are dropping and those getting vaccinated are going up, we too will start to “open up” and resume our normal modes of practice. Our place is small, however, with suboptimal air flow in exam rooms that are kept dark to allow our examinations. Thus, as we begin our transition, we will likely start having clients of new patients that we have not met enter the clinic with their pet to be seen in our one exam room that has a window to allow fresh air circulation. We will still take your history over the phone before the visit and finalize the check out process outside after to decrease our time together inside. This may at least give some familiarity for new clients as we continue to take care of recheck patients on a curbside basis. If and when the viral concerns continue to diminish, we may allow recheck patients and owners in the building as well. Alas, the jury in not completely back yet on Covid so it makes sense to me to take a cautious, step-wise approach.

If you are allowed to come in with your pet and are vaccinated, you do not have to where a mask. Please wear one if you are not vaccinated. And, at any time, we may change these rules depending on the day, patient traffic or health status of myself and the staff. Bear with us!

Last, but certainly not least, if you have come here or do come in, say a special thanks to my staff. They have been working very hard over the year trying to manage any and all concerns which has been a bit of a challenge. Questions and worries, anger and sadness, tears and doubt have all been present with many owners over this period and my staff’s patience and professionalism has been outstanding. Happily, we have had more than our share of happy patients and clients as well! As always, we appreciate everyone’s understanding of these challenges we have faced and look forward to some normalcy this year.

ADDENDUM: It seems like Covid-19 has a different plan than us and the Delta variant is creating concerns. We will cautiously approach this problem and may decide to resume curbside protocol as positivity rates increase in our region. If you are allowed to come in, a mask will be required for all at this time. Be well and be safe…

First and foremost, we hope you and yours are doing well. Normal life has certainly changed for all of us and the staff at the AEC wish you, your family and pets well. Hunker down, be smart and this, too, shall pass.

In the meantime, we are open. Veterinary medicine is considered an “essential business” which allows us some latitude to work and care for your friends. If your pet has an eye problem that we are following or are a new patient referred to our practice, we will be here during normal business hours to attend to the problem. Using

Continue reading The AEC and COVID-19

Surface disease is very common in veterinary ophthalmology as our critters have a tendency to scratch, poke, gouge, lacerate and abrade the cornea on a regular basis. The cornea is the clear windshield in the front of our eye and is often affected directly or indirectly by these insults. Other primary disease processes, such as degenerative or inflammatory change, can also affect the clarity and integrity of the cornea. Throw in some infectious agents like bacteria and viruses and this can create a host of problems that we as veterinarians need to address either medically and/or surgically.

A clear cornea

Continue reading The medical approach to healing corneal ulcers

The staff, spouses, friends and party crashers of the Animal Eye Clinic want to wish you and your pets a wonderful holiday season filled with joy and love! May 2020 be the best year yet!

Each year the AEC, along with many other ophthalmologists across the country, will examine animals with an active service job for free! It is part of our way of giving back to these wonderful animals that help us in so many facets of our daily lives. This occurs every May so if you missed this year, you can try again next by going to www.acvo.org and searching for the Service Animal Event.

THE CRITTERS OF THE AEC!!!

Why are we here and why do we do what we do? That’s always a good question to ask one’s self and one that has

Continue reading Service Dog Exams and AEC Critters!

Tired of the rain yet? The grass is soaked, basements are flooded, rivers are swollen. Where is the summer sun? And the humidity hasn’t been much fun either. With the non-stop rain here in Connecticut, everything seems to be dripping. That includes lots of our canine patients as they run in from the parking lot! We also see lots of “weepy” eyes where the complaint is primarily a clear, sometimes colored, discharge. Let’s take a look to see what may be behind the scenes with this presentation.

When our patients present with clear discharge, my first question is whether we are

Continue reading It is Dripping Wet!

After a long and cold winter (is it over yet?), the verdicts are back for our winter fashion award winners here at the Animal Eye Clinic. Contestants included any dog that came in wearing anything to keep them warm and chic! This spontaneously concocted event was prompted by all the different clothes we saw this year along with our endless supply of cold days. Award winners will get extra scratches at their next visit. Many owners of these fashion forward critters commented on the numerous choices they had at home, be it costume or functional in nature, that they could

Continue reading WINTER FASHION AWARDS!

Glaucoma is a painful, blinding disease that by definition is an increase in the pressure inside the eye. It is a bummer of a disease, probably the worst one we see. Why? Because no matter what approach is taken to attack this disease, our goal is usually to delay, not prevent, vision loss. This doesn’t paint a real rosy picture. But as long as this is understood, then together we can make educated decisions on how we want to manage the problem. Let’s talk a little about this entity and see if I can make it a little easier to

Continue reading The Pressure is Rising

Email! Tweets! Snapchat! Instagram! Facebook! Yikes!!!

We have so many ways to communicate with each other and yet the art of communication seems to be getting lost in the chaos.

Multitasking, usually in the form of a downward stare at a cell phone, occurs constantly in our society even if the action is right in front of our face. We try to stay one step ahead of our day, knocking out an errand while doing another, getting a jump on the next event all while staying in time with the constant deluge of emails and texts that raid our devices. Not

Continue reading New technology, old fashioned service