First off, I hope 2023 brings joy and good fortune to all of you!

As you may know, we have stopped accepting new clients at this time due to overwhelming demand. It is so very flattering that we have such a high demand. I am working on finding an additional veterinarian to help out so we can resume accepting new clients. Please keep in mind, we are accepting new patients with existing human clients as we want to maintain our relationships and care for all of your critters, we are just not adding new humans to our books at this time.

Inflation has hit us hard and, I’m sure you can imagine, the Denver Metro housing market continues to be a burden on our staff. Some of our distributors raised prices twice last year and I did not increase exam or service fees in response. Critter Care cannot keep eating these increased costs so prices will be adjusted accordingly. I’ll put in my plug for pet insurance here – prices are increasing like crazy, not just here but especially at ERs and specialty clinics – pet insurance may allow you to say “yes” to lifesaving treatment for your critter that may otherwise be prohibitively expensive.

Mask policy! Yes, I’m still requiring masks in the clinic. I had one staff member out with COVID the other week while two were on vacation so the rest of us were struggling to keep up. With flu and RSV and all the other fun respiratory viruses going around, sharing is not caring. Please do continue wearing your mask in the clinic. If you prefer to not wear a mask, we will be happy to provide curbside service. Also, please do not come into the clinic if you are sick!

Thank you all and best wishes in the new year!

Liza Pfaff, DVM, PhD