Trackside Veterinary Clinic

08/29/2026

Sury is a sweet girl! Healthy and happy for sure! 😆

Since Sury has almost been in the shelter a year, she had to make a trip to get her rabies vaccination updated. She was a great patient and loved the ride there!
Thank you Trackside Veterinary Clinic for keeping our residents happy and healthy!
Sury is once again officially ready for adoption, so contact us for more info about her!

* Sury is around 3 yr old, SUPER TREAT MOTIVATED, we prefer to see her in a home with kids over 12 because of her strength, and she should be an only fur child because she wants to be the center of attention. HCHS has the right to choose the best fit for her, and is not a first come first serve basis. Thanks for the shares! *

08/22/2026

We are excited and proud to announce, that Dr. Sarah Foster, a recent graduate of Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, has officially joined our team! Our plan is to have Dr. Sarah help us begin to see patients at the Missouri Valley location in the near future, as well as helping in Woodbine.

Sarah is originally from Texas, but relocated to western Nebraska—following her undergraduate studies—where she met her husband, Herschel. Sarah attended her first two years of veterinary school at University of Nebraska-Lincoln after working for a couple of years as support staff in a rural mixed animal practice. She and Herschel have recently moved to western Iowa and she tells us every day how excited she is to enter her career and be a part of our team! We think our clients will love her thorough, thoughtful and professional approach to patient care and client communication. Please come meet her!

08/15/2026

Woodbine is such a cute little town. If it weren't such a hike to get there, I would seriously consider moving there.

08/14/2026

You will be seeing a new smiling face on our crew! 🤗 Briana started with us about three weeks ago, and she is the first of the future Missouri Valley staff. We have known Briana for 15 years, and have worked with her in the past, so she is familiar with our client and patient-centric practice philosophy. She is training with us in Woodbine to learn the new system and prepare for the reopening of the Missouri Valley location. Stay tuned for more exciting announcements regarding that transition!

08/07/2026

Hey, Everyone! Even veterinarians who are completely in love and obsessed with their jobs occasionally need a little time away. Russ and I will be out of town until Wednesday, but we have support staff on site answering phones and keeping the lobby open if anyone needs anything. They can continue to schedule appointments for when we get home.

08/06/2026

“Wish we took before and after pictures!“ seems to be a phrase our staff has been repeating a lot.…and this time we did! 🙌

We’ve happily transformed our friend Clark from a miserable, flaky, itchy allergy dog into a smooth-coated, itch-free, comfortable pooch. Below are pictures from his initial visit on July 7th, compared to our 4 week follow up on August 4th. Such a difference! Kudos to his owners for doing everything we asked.

Do you have an itchy pet? We’d like to meet him/her!

07/31/2026

We are currently hosting a veterinary student, Mary, from University of Missouri College of Vet Med for her two week preceptorship. Yesterday, she floated horse teeth for the first time, and today, thanks to our partnership with the Harrison County Humane Society feral cat program, she got to perform seven spay/neuter surgeries (pictured here with her first cat neuter as he recovers from anesthesia)…the first, we hope, of a long and successful upcoming career as a veterinarian.

For those who are wondering, horses’ teeth continuously grow through their entire lives, and the top jaw is wider than the bottom. The overlap this creates results in sharp points in the horse’s mouth that make it painful to chew. They often drop their food when their teeth get sharp. We “float,” or file, the sharp parts of the teeth smooth using a light sedation and a mouth speculum to keep their jaw propped open during the procedure.

07/30/2026

One year ago

July 26, 2025…vs…July 26, 2026 😯

07/27/2026

Our last case Friday evening was a successful caesarean section- four healthy babies! It was fun to watch some of our team do their first c-section assist and rock it! Last picture is momma with her four babies, and a couple foster puppies. She has so much milk, she can handle them all!

07/22/2026

Meet Duke, a 109 # male Akita who came into the clinic with a life threatening emergency. Luckily, his owners were home when they noticed that Duke was acting strangely and painful, and that his abdomen was hard and starting to swell. Their decision to act quickly and get Duke medical care immediately saved his life.

“Bloat,” or Gastric Dilitation and Volvulus (GDV), is a life- threatening emergency in dogs that requires immediate surgery. Twenty percent of dogs that weigh over 100 pounds will experience bloat in their lifetime. GDV occurs when the stomach fills with gas and then twists, blocking the stomach’s entrance and exit. The stomach then rapidly starts to fill with gas and distends, leading to shock, suffocation, and death, sometimes in a matter of minutes.

GDV is most common in middle aged to older large breed male dogs with deep chested conformation (think Great Dane, German Shepherd, Pointer), but can happen in dogs of any breed at any age, size, or gender. Exercising after drinking a lot of water or having a meal is suspected to increase the risk of GDV.

Risk factors:

-Being fed only one meal a day
-Having a family history of bloat
-Rapid eating
-Being thin or underweight
-Having a fearful, anxious, or nervous temperament
-Being middle-aged to older (highest risk group)
-Being physically active directly following a meal

Clinical signs (symptoms):

-Retching as if to vomit, with nothing coming out, is the hallmark sign of GDV
-Hard or swollen abdomen, or bloated belly
-Hypersalivation (drooling)
-Collapse
-Pale gums
-Intense pain, stress, or restlessness
-Difficulty breathing

What to do if you suspect a GDV:

Call a veterinarian immediately and seek emergency care. GDV is treatable with immediate, emergency surgery. Sometimes the veterinary team will attempt to pass a tube through the dog’s mouth to the stomach to temporarily relieve pressure, but depending on the severity of the twist, this isn’t always possible.

Preventing GDV:

There is a procedure, called gastropexy, which can be performed in normal healthy dogs to prevent GDV. This involves tacking the stomach down to the body wall to create a permanent scar tissue bond. We most often recommend this procedure at spay or neuter time.

In Duke’s case, we were able to intervene and save him. His owners agreed to allow us to share his story, in hopes to raise awareness about GDV. If you have any questions about GDV or a gastropexy, please call Trackside and talk to our staff.