Quality veterinary care is extremely important and essential to the health and wellbeing of companion animals. Not only does this benefit pets, but it also aids in caregivers’ mental wellbeing knowing that their pet is receiving quality care that will insure a long and lasting relationship with their companion. Alpine Animal Hospital strives to provide exceptional quality veterinary care to the animals of the Roaring Fork Valley by keeping our facility and equipment updated and our team educated. We aim to treat all animals as if they are our own pets while we provide modern medical care that also considers the emotional wellbeing of both the pet and the person.
Similar to human medicine, the field of veterinary medicine is ever changing and improving. Providing quality care requires cutting edge knowledge and equipment. We are proud of our facility and the equipment that enables us to provide prompt quality care and diagnostics. Our equipment includes a complete laboratory with blood and urine analyzers, x-ray for both body and dental, endoscopy, ultrasound and our intensive care unit. Our monitoring equipment enable us to provide the safest level of monitoring and anesthesia possible for your pet. When we have a pet under anesthesia, there is a dedicated anesthetic nurse constantly monitoring the pets heart rate, respiratory rate, ECG, oxygen level and saturation, body temperature and blood pressure. The safety, comfort and well being of the animals under our care is our top priority.

Along with keeping our equipment up to date, our entire team, both veterinarian and support, are regularly attending continuing education events to stay current with advances in the field of veterinary medicine. Continuing education for all staff allows us to provide modern veterinary care as well grow professionally and personally as a team. Some practices don’t prioritize high levels of education for all staff for many different reasons. I have worked at practices through the years that staff members did things “because that is what they were told to do”. They didn’t have the knowledge of WHY things are done in certain ways or they weren’t in an environment to encourage the question WHY. Alpine Animal Hospital encourages our staff to continually learn, grow, expand and share our knowledge as a team. Our team is our most important asset!

As a team, Alpine Animal Hospital is also Fear Free Certified. This means that we consider the emotional health of animals and incorporate it into the care and handling of patients. The Fear Free movement has been a very big shift away from the “old school” attitude of vet medicine and we feel it is an amazing way to provide veterinary care. We are very proud of the Fear Free environment that has been created within our hospital. I remember times through the years at various other practices where the nursing staff was expected to perform procedures while not being concerned over the pet’s emotional wellbeing; just get the nail trim done as the dog is crying, struggling and being pushed to snap! We had a rigid time schedule in which we were expected to finish the task without concern for whether the pet was scared or traumatized from the experience or not. They were just animals. That is not the way at Alpine. Having awareness and taking the time to ensure a pet is not being traumatized during care allows our team to provide better care to our patients. Prescribing medications that make pets less anxious, having pet parents be present during visits to comfort their pet, using sedation for painful procedures or during times of extreme stress are techniques that help us to provide care for pets while building trust and trying to ensure the next visit will be as pleasant as possible. Fear Free helps us to spend time with our patients and clients and develop a bond that can run very deep.

Providing quality veterinary care for your pet is extremely important to us at Alpine Animal Hospital. I am proud to work for a hospital that puts such importance on the quality of care that is provided for our pets and our clients as well as ensuring that the employees have the skills and knowledge to make your experience the best that it can be.

Amy Burmaster is a Certified Veterinary Technician with a specialty in Dentistry. Amy has worked at various hospitals throughout her 20+ year career. She has been part of the Alpine Animal Hospital team since 2011 and her knowledge and experience has contributed greatly to the quality medicine we strive to provide.