SPACE

August 30, 2005...SUN LAKES ANIMAL CLINIC SUPPORTS THE PETCO FOUNDATION TO HELP PROVIDE AID THE PETS WHO ARE VICTIMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA...

Hurricane Katrina Emergency "Round Up" Fundraiser Sun Lakes Animal Clinic proudly supports our friends at PETCO in their efforts to provide aid for pets who are victims of the Hurricane Katrina disaster in Louisiana and Mississippi. The PETCO Foundation assists with Disaster Response teams from the Humane Society of the United States and the American Humane Association to address the critical animal needs created by the recent weather events.

All proceeds go to the PETCO Foundation to support animal welfare disaster relief needs within the Gulf Coast region. To make an online donation to the PETCO Foundation, click this link and you will be taken to their website. The Round Up fundraiser may be extended depending on the need and the amount raised. The PETCO Foundation has already provided more than $100,000 worth of assistance to animal welfare agencies in the wake of last year's hurricanes. Together we will make a difference.

August 19, 2005...LITTLE BABY YAZMIN CHERIE COMES INTO THE WORLD!...

It's A Girl! On the afternoon of Friday, August 19th our very own Dr. Kathryn C. Linden gave birth to a happy, healthy, bouncing baby girl! Little baby Yazmin Cherie weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces at birth. Please join our staff in congratulating the new mom! Dr. Linden is expecting to be back from maternity leave during the first part of October. Click here to sign Yazmin's baby book!

June 21, 2005...SUN LAKES ANIMAL CLINIC DONATES FIVE AVID MICROCHIP ID SCANNERS TO THE SUN LAKES BRANCH OF THE SHERIFF'S POSSE...

We're proud to report that we've been contacted by Officer Owen Keefe who's in charge of the Arizona Police K-9 Memorial fund and he reports that we're nearing our goal of making the Police K-9 Memorial a reality! Click here to read the nice letter Owen sent us. Thanks to all our clients who've contributed to help make this dream a reality. Sun Lakes Animal Clinic will continue to match all donations to the Memorial Fund made at our reception desk (up to $100.00 bucks a week). Click here to see more about the project we've been helping with...

November 27, 2004...SUN LAKES ANIMAL CLINIC GAINS ADMISSION INTO THE ASPCA ANIMAL POISON CONTROL CENTER VETERINARY LIFELINE PARTNER PROGRAM...

Sun Lakes Animal Clinic salutes the hard working folks of the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center and we're proud to have recently been admitted into membership into their Veterinary Lifeline Partnership Program. Click here to see the certificate the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center sent us. This partnership will benefit our patients in several ways:

First, we have access to AntTox which is the ASPCA's comprehensive case management and surveillance software tool that includes an instantly accessable database of over 600,000 cases of animal poisonings, an extensive treatment library and an online medical record module. Additionally it incorporates an account management system to speed critical response times by maintaining our clinic information on file at Poison Control (skips a lot of telephone red tape). Through this state of the art electronic system we simultaneously add the individual patient's case record and treatment recommendations to the patient's medical record for future reference and at the same time we add to an immediate database of cases across North America to identify trends in disease and toxin exposure and thereby modify our treatment protocols to achieve more success in treating emergency cases. Through the Veterinary Lifeline Partner Program we're now wired into a huge database of fellow health care professionals "in the trenches" and in this way Poison Control can immediately notify us if an incident warrants our attention. This could be as simple as an alert on a newly identified animal problem or as serious as a report of alleged bio- or agro-terrorism. Lastly, the information we provide during a case, and especially when we call back with follow-up details, will benefit other animals across North American and the world by enabling ASPCA Poison Control to identify trends and validate treatment protocols.

November 21, 2004...DR. WALKER & DR. LINDEN WRITE 1,728 INTERNATIONAL HEALTH CERTIFICATES FOR SANTA’S REINDEER!...

In preparation for his upcoming Christmas travels, St. Nicholas stopped by Sun Lakes Animal Clinic on the afternoon of Sunday, November 21, 2004 for his annual reindeer checkup. Dr. Walker and Dr. Linden and the Sun Lakes Animal Clinic elves gave our old friends Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixon, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blixon, and Rudolph their annual physical exams and their vaccinations along with writing out 1,728 International Health Certificates (one International Health Certificate for each of the 192 countries in the world for each of the nine reindeer! That’s 1,728 Health Certificates total! Boy! Do we have writer’s cramps!). Hoof trimming along with antler polishing was performed for each reindeer along with shinning Rudolph’s red nose. All nine reindeer were found to be in perfect health and ready and eager to go when they get the signal on Christmas eve. During the office visit Santa was heard to say that his next stop was the NORAD Santa Tracking Station where he planned to go over this year’s plans for tracking his upcoming reindeer journey. As his sleigh and reindeer flew up into the sky this jolly soul was hear to boom over his shoulder “HO! HO! HO! Merry Christmas to all citizens of the Sun Lakes/Chandler area! We’ll be back in a little while!”. The sleigh and nine tiny reindeer were last seen as a little dot in the sky heading due North. Click here to track Santa’s travels with the NORAD Santa tracking station…

November 18th, 2004...HARMONY STAPLEY CVT SERVES AS AN HONORARY "JAILBIRD" FOR THE MARCH OF DIMES!...

Check out the mug shot of our very own Harmony Stapley CVT who represented our clinic as an honorary jailbird as part of the March of Dimes Jail & Bail event! Harmony helped the March of Dimes raise money to help in their mission to improve the health of Arizona's babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. Many, many thanks to all of our clients who donated toward Harmony's bail to help in this good effort! Click here to check out Harmony's mugshot!

October 30th, 2004...SUN LAKES ANIMAL CLINIC SALUTES THE GRAND OPENING OF THE LOCAL ED ROBSON BRANCH OF THE MARICOPA LIBRARY SYSTEM...

Sun Lakes Animal Clinic salutes the grand opening of the local Ed Robson Library which is our own local Sun Lakes branch of the Maricopa County Library system! This beautiful new library facility is just down the road from us and is already a great asset to our community. The staff of Sun Lakes Animal Clinic is glad to have had the opportunity to participate in the Grand Opening by donating 45 volumes of veterinary and pet care related books which our clients and other members of our community can check out FOR FREE and read over and over again. These books were specially selected by us and include the beloved complete set of the classic James Herriot veterinary series of novels; the highly respected dog and cat references The UC Davis Veterinary Book of Dogs and The Cornell Book of Cats; several volumes on behavioral training in dogs and cats; books on dealing with the loss of a pet; some terrific books about the greatest dog and cat stories; along with several humorous books about our best friends and many, many more volumes too numerous to mention here so you’ll just have to go down and check them out at the new Ed Robson Library! Click here to see a partial collection of the books we donated to the new library!...

October 24th, 2004...SUN LAKES ANIMAL CLINIC JOINS THE EFFORT TO HELP CONSTRUCT THE POLICE CANINE MEMORIAL AT THE ARIZONA STATE CAPITOL...

The staff of Sun Lakes Animal Clinic is proud to support the creation of the Police Service Dog Monument to be displayed alongside the other monuments to Arizona's Heroes at the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza in Phoenix. The Arizona Law Enforcement K-9 Memorial is dedicated to the memory of Police service dogs lost in the line of Duty. These four-footed heroes put their lives on the line everyday to protect not just their human partners, but all other Police Officers and the public as well. These fallen Canine Officers deserve the recognition that this memorial will bring them. No public money can be used for this memorial so, we must raise the money ourselves, via donations. To learn more about the Arizona Law Enforcement K-9 Memorial or to donate click here...

October 9th, 2004...SUN LAKES ANIMAL CLINIC WELCOMES THE ARIZONA HUMANE SOCIETY'S EMERGENCY ANIMAL RESCUE TEAM ABOARD OUR WEBSITE...

Please join the Sun Lakes Animal Clinic crew in welcoming aboard the Arizona Humane Society's Emergency Animal Rescue Team. Its a great honor to include this group of dedicated folks on our site. The Emergency Animal Rescue Team is a specially trained squad of Emergency Animal Medical Technicians who investigate suspected cases of animal cruelty and provide emergency rescue services. To report animal cruelty or an animal in distress, call (602) 997-7585, Ext. 2073. We have more about the Emergency Animal Rescue Team in our Emergency Numbers department...

October 3rd, 2004...DR. LINDEN GETS MARRIED!...

Please join the staff of Sun Lakes Animal Clinic in celebrating the marriage of our very own Dr. Kathryn Cherie Linden and Christopher Glynn Cox! Dr. Kat and Chris took their wedding vows under the Wedding Tree in Redrock State Park in Sedona on October 3rd, 2004. Congratulations to the happy couple! Click here to check out Dr. Linden's wedding!...

September 18th, 2004...LINDSEY GETS MARRIED!...

It is with great delight that we announce the marriage of our very own Lindsey Kathleen Kirby CVT and Tvedt Bro Olson who were married on Saturday, September 18, 2004 in Las Vegas, Nevada! Just click this link to check out Lindsey's wedding! Everyone is cordially invited to attend. (NOTE: If you don't already have Windows Media Player you'll need to download it here.)

August 6th, 2004…HARMONY STAPLEY AND KATHRYN HODZIEWICH EARN THEIR OFFICIAL CERTIFIED VETERINARY TECHNICIAN DEGREES FROM THE STATE OF ARIZONA! CONGRATULATIONS, HARMONY AND KATHRYN!...

Please join the staff of Sun Lakes Animal Clinic in congratulating our very own Harmony Stapley and Kathryn Hodziewich on successfully completing their CVT boards and having each achieved the degree of Certified Veterinary Technician!. To gain the official CVT certification from the state of Arizona, Harmony and Kathryn had to complete over two years of in-depth, on-the-job training and experience and complete an extremely large volume of intensive study into all aspects of veterinary technology from laboratory work to surgical assistance to veterinary medical record keeping to animal behavior to pharmaceutical knowledge to, well, just about everything! Then Harmony and Kathryn had to pass the extremely grueling all-day state and national CVT board examination to emerge victorious as Certified Veterinary Technicians! The CVT is the highest paraprofessional degree that can be achieved in veterinary medicine; to go higher than this you need to have an actual veterinary degree. So again please join us in congratulating our very own Harmony Stapley and Kathryn Hodziewich on each having achieved the degree of Certified Veterinary Technician! Let me tell you more about Harmony Stapley CVT and let me tell you more about Kathryn Hodziewich CVT…

July 23rd, 2004...SUN LAKES ANIMAL CLINIC RECEIVES A GROUP PORTRAIT OF 4 SUPER HEROS!!!...

We're thrilled to have received a group portrait from several distinguished graduates of Guide Dogs for the Blind. We humbly salute these heros. Its a great honor for our facility to be associated with them.

July 1st, 2004...SUN LAKES ANIMAL CLINIC SPONSORS KIND NEWS FOR JACOBSON ELEMENTARY...

Sun Lakes Animal Clinic is proud to sponsor a one year subscription to KIND News for every student at Jacobson Elementary School, grades K-6. KIND News is an award winning weekly newspaper published by a division of the Humane Society of the United States. It features articles, puzzles and celebrity interviews that teach children the value of showing kindness and respect to animals, the environment and one another. Its emphasis on humane values, such as fairness, compassion and responsibility seeks to encourage good character in children. Awards received by KIND News include the Association Trends Excellence in Association Publications Award and numerous APEX awards for publication excellence. Click here to learn more about KIND News...

Click here to take a tour of the Jacobson Elementary School campus...

Sun Lakes Animal Clinic is a proud friend of the Arizona Humane Society and we’re honored and humbled to have been recognized by this noble organization with admission into their Platinum Paw Society in recognition of our support. Let me show you more about the Arizona Humane Society…

Although we’ve been on the web for several years with a couple of meager pages, we’ve recently seriously expanded and improved our website. We invite you to check back often to see our progress. Many thanks to Chris Cox of AZHelpDesk.com for his work on this upgraded site. Chris also has the distinction of being Dr. Linden’s husband so we’re keeping it all in the family! Let me show you more about AZHelpDesk.com…

March 4th, 2004…SUN LAKES ANIMAL CLINIC ADDS STATE-OF-THE-ART RADIOGRAPH SCANNER TO THE RADIOLOGY DEPARTMENT…

In addition to our ultramodern High Frequency 20 KHz Innovet Select Radiology Unit from Summit Technologies (one of the first high frequency machines in any veterinary practice in Arizona), we’re proud to announce the addition of our new top-of-the-line CobraScan 2000 SL Large Format 16 Bit X-ray Digitizer. This Cobrascan unit is actually a state-of-the-art human medicine machine usually only found in the large human hospitals. With the CobraScan plus our 500 Gigabyte Pentium IV Radiology Department Supercomputer (she’s a honey!) we’re able to digitize any radiograph we take (or that may come to us by referral) and we can send the images through the internet to any veterinary clinic or any radiologist in the world. Plus we can even burn a series of radiographs onto a CD-ROM so that we can send them to a specialist or general practitioner complete with a special viewer that enhances the images so that in some cases they are of better diagnostic value than the original films! This greatly enhances our diagnostic capabilities and patient care. Let me show you more about my latest techno-toy, the CobraScan 2000 SL…


February 10th, 2004…LINDSEY OLSON EARNS HER OFFICIAL CERTIFIED VETERINARY TECHNICIAN DEGREE FROM THE STATE OF ARIZONA! CONGRATULATIONS, LINDSEY!...

Please join the staff of Sun Lakes Animal Clinic in congratulating our very own Lindsey Olson on successfully completing her CVT boards and having achieved the degree of Certified Veterinary Technician!. To gain the official CVT certification from the state of Arizona, Lindsey had to complete over two years of in-depth, on-the-job training and experience and complete an extremely large volume of intensive study into all aspects of veterinary technology from laboratory work to surgical assistance to veterinary medical record keeping to animal behavior to pharmaceutical knowledge to, well, just about everything! Then Lindsey had to pass the extremely grueling all-day state and national CVT board examination to emerge victorious as a Certified Veterinary Technician! The CVT is the highest paraprofessional degree that can be achieved in veterinary medicine; to go higher than this you need to have an actual veterinary degree. So again please join us in congratulating our very own Lindsey Olson on having achieved the degree of Certified Veterinary Technician! Let me tell you more about Lindsey Olson CVT…

Sun Lakes Animal Clinic is proud to announce the addition of our newest family member, little Ethan Grant Stapley who was born at 9:41 p.m. on Saturday, March 15th! Ethan’s Mom, Harmony Stapley, is a vital member of our Technical Services department and little Ethan is her pride and joy, having weighed in at 10 pounds 9 ounces and 22 ½ inches long at birth. So far Ethan’s only words have been “Gaaww-Gaaww” and “Ya-Ya” but before you know it he’ll be spouting that good ole’ veterinary jargon just like the rest of us. Before long Ethan will be taking veterinary appointments and doing good deeds for doggies and kitties – at least when its not nap time. Please join us in congratulating Harmony on her new baby boy, little Ethan Grant Stapley! Let me tell you more about Harmony Stapley…

Please join the staff of Sun Lakes Animal Clinic in congratulating our very own Dr. Kathryn C. Linden on her recent admission into the Arizona Academy of Veterinary Practice. Veterinary academy membership is extended to those Arizona veterinarians who have not only fulfilled their state licensing requirements but have also completed an additional series of educational experiences to give them a more comprehensive understanding of contemporary veterinary medical issues. Fewer than seven percent of Arizona veterinarians are accepted each year as Academy members so our very own Dr. Linden’s admission into the Arizona Academy of Veterinary Practice is something our little veterinary family is very proud of. Congratulations, Dr. L! Let me tell you more about my friend and colleague, Dr. Kathryn C. Linden…

Please join us in welcoming VetCentric.com, the premier online veterinary compounding pharmacy, to our website and our clinic family. VetCentric.com is much more widely accepted and respected by the veterinary community than those discount warehouse “pharmacies” and through our association with VetCentric.com, Sun Lakes Animal Clinic is able to provide our clients with their pets meds wherever they may travel in the country. Although even in this internet age, we still find that only a very tiny fraction of our clients chose to purchase their pet's veterinary supplies online, for those few who do, we are pleased to offer our on-line flea & tick preventives (Frontline is my favorite), Heartgard (heartworm preventive) and Rimadyl (pain management medication) at prices usually either matching those of the national discount warehouse "pharmacies" or, in most cases, 5% lower than these discount "pharmacies". Let me show you more about VetCentric.com…

Have you heard the big news? Our Sun Lakes Animal Clinic family has moved from our old location into the new building at 9670 E. Riggs Road. Here we have almost three times the space of our old facility including a larger reception area, 50% more exam room space, a greatly expanded treatment area and a state-of-the-art X-ray department. We also have a tremendous increase in storage space so we’ll have more items such as prescription diets in stock more often. Add to that our greatly expanded surgery and kennel areas and you’ve got the new and improved Sun Lakes Animal Clinic! Be sure to visit us in our new location when you get a chance and many thanks to all our clients who have made our success possible here in Sun Lakes over the last 17 years! Let me tell you more about our facility…

Sun Lakes Animal Clinic has from its very inception in 1985 always been dedicated to a high standard in quality pet care, having originally been conceived and built by Dr. Kenneth Jeffery and Dr. Jack Adkins, two very distinguished local veterinarians. Dr. Adkins was then and continues to be a very successful general practitioner in nearby Mesa, AZ and is a long-time Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners and is active in state and national veterinary associations. Dr. Kenneth Jeffery was at the time President of the Arizona Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, was voted Arizona Veterinarian of the Year in 1985 and was director of the prestigious Mesa Veterinary Hospital also in Mesa, AZ until his recent retirement.

After four years of practice experience in Arizona, Dr. Randy Walker came aboard the Mesa Veterinary Hospital in the winter of 1989 and became managing veterinarian at Sun Lakes Animal Clinic during the summer of 1990. Jan Newman CVT actually came aboard about 3 months before Dr. Walker so she’s the staff member who has been with our facility the longest.

Sun Lakes Animal Clinic enjoyed steady growth during the 1990’s and was purchased by Dr. Walker on August 1st, 1999. We moved across the parking lot to our present location on 6-1-02.

On November 1st, 2002 we were privileged to have Dr. Kathryn C. Linden join our staff.

We at Sun Lakes Animal Clinic continue to “do our thing” here alongside Riggs Road. Let me tell you more about our facility...

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