Hard to believe that I have been blogging about pet issues for 9 years. My first blog was July 2016. We had just gotten a new website version for Winterset Veterinary Center. I was told doing a blog would help our status with google having new material each month. I decided to start sharing information about pets and their health concerns. I have touched on numerous topics over the years. I have shared personal events and experiences on occasion. I have referenced many articles, documents, and topics about a variety of animals. I have even had guest bloggers over the years who have shared their knowledge about a particular subject. I have learned from these blogs right alongside my audience. The wealth of information available at our fingertips is sometimes overwhelming. I have attempted to write blogs for ease of understanding and comprehension. Nothing makes me more excited when people tell me that they appreciate the way in which I explain things to make it easier for them to understand.
I attempted to find some statistics about what blogs have been most popular, but it appears our most recent server update is only giving me information from the last 6 months. It is difficult to make comparisons from 9 years ago with only 6 months of data. Having said that, I decided to just share a few interesting stories that have happened related to our social media presence. Apparently, there is a Winterset Veterinary Hospital in Pennsylvania. More than once in the last 9 years we have had calls from people in Pennsylvania believing they are calling their local veterinarian. The most interesting story was a Friday evening call I got explaining that his dog got hit by a porcupine and needed to come in on Saturday to have them removed. I explained that I would not have time to do that procedure on Saturday. We could do it now as an emergency visit. He would not agree to that and therefore I explained he would need to go to the emergency facility to have them removed. I had worked in Northern Minnesota and removed porcupine quills before so was familiar with the process. The next day this man never showed up with his dog. I started to think through this scenario realizing that there are no porcupines in central Iowa. I googled Winterset Veterinary facilities and discovered the one in Pennsylvania. I still had his phone number and decided to call him. I explained why I was calling him back and we had a good laugh. He was an over the road trucker and was trying to reach his veterinarian in Pennsylvania at Winterset Veterinary Hospital. He told me if he ever got to Winterset, IA he was going to stop in since I was the only veterinarian he could reach that night. He has never been here, but it was that first call that has prompted me to ask where people are calling from when we cannot find them in our system. It has happened more times than I can count. Guess what? I just had a fax for a prescription and the client was from Johnstown, PA. Crazy!
The blogs that I submit monthly for our website allow us to have a higher rating with social media sites and therefore we pop up often before other practices in this area as well as in other parts of the country with a similar names. I decided to google my name to see what pops up. I have been given an author status for writing these blogs. That was surprising. Affiliation with Winterset Veterinary Center is the first thing that comes up, but it was interesting to see what other things pop up. Times my name was in the newspaper. Times my husband’s name has been printed, and I was mentioned. A college scholarship that I received prior to my 3rd year of veterinary school. I had not expected to see that. It has also been interesting to see the direct search results for myself and the Winterset Vet. People spell my name in so many ways both first and last name. It is amazing that they still can connect with us through our social media presence. Do not ever attempt use Truthfinder for information….it will cost you something in the end after you have gone through the entire process. Waste of time if you are googling yourself. I already know where I have lived and whom I married.
I have taken a step back on my hours at Winterset Veterinary Center so I can spend more time with my granddaughters. I am taking the 4 year old to Vacation Bible School in July. I took both of them to Joujou in Des Moines last week so their mom could have some free time. I am also playing pickle ball on my days off. I enjoy helping others and am looking for opportunities to give back. I will be working Tuesday – Thursday consistently going forward. Dr Jim is still available during regular business hours during the week and after hours. If I am gone when you call in to speak with me, leave a message and I will get back to you when I return. I am not retiring but just making opportunities to do more things in my life that bring me joy.
Having said all this today, if you have been reading my blogs for 9 years, thank you. I want to give a huge shout out to Julie Feirer from Winterset Websites for posting these each month. She also finds most of the eye-catching photos to attach to my blogs. She probably has corrected many grammar errors through the year as well. She has been my source of information when it comes to Winterset Veterinary Center’s website.
