Welcome to our Web Site
Our Mission Statement:
Our mission is to provide excellence in every aspect of pet care and client service with friendliness, efficiency, dependability and compassion. Our goal is to provide our patients with a high quality of life. Our team will work with our clients to explore the best treatment options for their pet and to help them to choose the approach with which they are most comfortable. We pledge to maintain a state of the art facility, to employ highly trained health team members, to educate the client about the benefits and responsibilities of pet ownership, and to expand our knowledge and capabilities in veterinary medicine and practice.
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Modern veterinary medicine is changing. Studies are being done in large veterinary teaching hospitals all over the world. The end result is that information is being obtained that has had and will continue to have a profound effect on the health of our four-legged friends. Not all of this information is pertinent to all of our patients, but some of it affects every single one of them.
Many people think that the most important reason to take their pet to the veterinarian is to get him/her their "shots". Well, that is no longer the case. In this age of modern medicine I have many, many more important things to offer you and your pet than "shots" that may not even be necessary. Recent evidence tells us that we have been vaccinating too much for way too long. As it turns out, most young to middle-aged pets can get along very well with most (but not all) vaccinations every three years, and it appears that pets that get vaccinations every three years are just as unlikely to get distemper, parvo or rabies as are those that get yearly boosters. The take-home message is that your pet is unique, and has unique medical needs. It is my job to determine how those needs alter the medical care for each patient on an individual basis. The value in your pet's yearly visit is not the "shots", but the knowledge, experience and technical expertise of the primary caretakers, me and my staff. Most of the disease that is seen in veterinary hospitals these days has nothing to do with vaccinations or the diseases they protect against. Most of the diseases I see are skin/ear infections, dental disease, kidney disease, liver disease, disorders of the digestive tract, tumors and other non-infectious disease. Many of these are totally invisible to even the well-trained eye - although when I know what questions to ask and what to look for we can often work together to assure your pet's health. As I learned years ago in school, "for every mistake made for not knowing 100 are made for not looking". Together we can look for disease in your pet before it becomes serious enough to impact your pet's health. The earlier we find a disease - preferably just when it is starting - the more effective we can be in treating it and providing your pet with a long, quality life.
We offer a complete range of medical and surgical services with a special interest in dentistry, internal medicine, geriatric medicine, preventive medicine, and pediatrics. To do so we are equipped with x-ray equipment, both standard and dental, a complete in-house diagnostic laboratory and a complete surgical suite.
Our staff is also committed to client education. This is one of our top priorities. If you, the pet owner, are well educated in the care and health of your pet, then the three components of our relationship - you, your pet, and us - will have a longer, more enjoyable relationship.
Again, thank you very much for choosing Delray Beach Veterinary Hospital as your pet’s health care provider. If we can be of any assistance to your family or pets, please feel free to give us a call. I'm sure the voice on the other end will be friendly and helpful!
Sidney D. Lehr, DVM
Delray Beach Veterinary Hospital
1900 S Federal Hwy
Delray Beach, FL 33483
561-276-0333
Vice President and Grievance Committee Chairman
Palm Beach Veterinary Society
Clinical Assistant Professor
Department of Biomedical Sciences
Florida Atlantic University