Wow, wow, wow, what a year it has been! Can you believe we are only 3 days away from a New Year? Where has the time gone? That’s an easy answer for me: I have spent the last 8,349 hours sleeping, the remaining 363 hours I have been eating. Surprisingly, time really does fly when you are having fun. I figured this week we could recap 2020 and talk about some New Year’s Resolutions for 2021. I have heard over and over again from my minions what a crazy year 2020 has been for everyone. I sincerely hope for the sake of my sanity that 2021 is a little quieter so I can get my full 23.5 hours of sleep in each day!

2020 started off mild, just some buzzing around about the Royal Family when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle elected to quit the Royal Family. Why anyone would quit being royal, I do not know. Being a cat automatically makes me royalty, and personally, I wouldn’t give it up for the world. But alas, to each their own. I haven’t heard much more about Harry and Meghan the rest of the year, and can do nothing but wish them well.

One day, probably around mid-March, I was basking on the roof of one of my doc’s trucks when I saw a client pull in.  Nothing new, nothing surprising. Clients come to see me all the time. This time it was different though. This time before the client got out of her car, she put on a muzzle.  I have heard of dogs and cats being muzzled because they don’t like the vet, but I have never seen a human in a muzzle.  This person piqued my interest, so I followed them inside. 

My mind was racing. How do I protect my minions from this vicious person? What if they come after me, can people get rabies, and can they give rabies to cats or other people if they bite? Needless to say, I was very anxious about allowing this person into my clinic. I kept my distance while planning my attack but close enough to follow them into the clinic. Much to my surprise, I was greeted by my staff who are also all muzzled. No one seemed ill though. No foaming at the mouth, no growling, no obvious signs of any problems among the staff or the clinic. So why would they all be muzzled? I had to delve further into this situation. I confided with Teenie, who lives inside at all times. She told me everything has been status quo around the clinic, and since she can’t see, she really could tell if someone was acting a little off.

In order to obtain more insight into the situation I pretended to sleep quietly in my usual chair. This is when I heard my staff and the client talk about Corona and how they have to help stop the spread of Corona.  Well, I was even more confused now.  Why prevent people from drinking beer? Is there something wrong with a particular batch of Corona beer, and how would a muzzle prevent the spread? Hoping to find out more about this odd behavior I continued my stealthy plan of “sleeping”. This is when I found out that they were not talking about Corona the beer but Corona Virus, or Covid-19. I listened further and learned that they were not in fact wearing muzzles but that the masks they were wearing were to prevent the spread of the virus.  Now it all made sense. 

Things changed pretty significantly around the clinic. Everyone was wearing masks, there was hand sanitizer on every surface, and clients were asked to remain outside the building. My minions have certainly done their part on preventing the spread, and so have all of you. I am bursting with pride at how well all of you have embraced the changes we made at the clinic and during appointments. You all have been remarkably understanding and welcoming of the changes which has allowed my docs and staff to continue to treat your horses with the best care possible. For this I thank you. We have not let the Corona virus prevent us from treating your horses and we will continue to do whatever is necessary to keep everyone safe while providing top veterinary care to your equine companions.

I am pretty sure we have heard enough about the Corona virus. But what about those Murder Hornets? What a short-lived fright to give us all just a brief distraction from the pandemic mayhem.  I guess avoiding hornets is significantly easier than avoiding microscopic virus particles. Nevertheless, Murder Hornets cannot be forgotten and I remind you all to stay diligent and avoid wasps and any kind of stinging insects. 

Speaking of stinging insects, there were plenty of outbreaks of Equine Encephalitis and West Nile Virus that affected horses all over the country this year. Those pesky mosquitos really took advantage of the warm humid weather. Reports of EEE and West Nile were made in our own back yard in Alachua County. Even though we have had freezing cold temperatures the last few days, mosquitos are still all around and can still spread these viruses. Here is your reminder to get your horses vaccinated twice a year to help prevent them contracting one of these deadly viruses.

The rest of 2020 has not been all fun and games either. From the presidential election to numerous protests, there has not been a lack of news out there. We have seen wildfires out west and deaths of many famous people including Kobe Bryant, Eddie Van Halen, and Alex Trebek.  Now we are witnessing the release of the first Covid-19 vaccines. 2020 is sure to go out with a bang leaving everyone hoping that 2021 brings a bright future with health and happiness for all. 

I am sure you all have your ideas of New Year’s Resolutions heading into 2021. I have one more that I want you to add to your list.  Sign your horses up on the 2021 Wellness Plan. This is the best way to keep your horses happy and healthy. Help me, help you, to help my docs, help your horse.  My Wellness Plans will keep your horses up to date on vaccines and routine dental examinations and flotations. In my opinion, the biggest perk of the Wellness Plan is that any horse who is enrolled on a Wellness Plan will not be charged an emergency fee should the need to call my docs after hours arise. 

Needless to say, 2020 has been an interesting year. You and your horses have all been amazing as usual.  I speak not only for myself but for everyone here at Springhill Equine: we are looking forward to a bright New Year in 2021 with you all!

Until next week/year,

~Tony