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Dr. Hummel Returns to TVRH Durham

Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospital of Durham (TVRH) is excited to announce the expansion of our Internal Medicine Service! Alongside Dr. Melissa Chrzanowski, we will now have an additional internist available to help clients. We hope you'll join us in welcoming back Dr. James (Jim) Hummel. Dr. Hummel isn't a stranger to TVRH. You might recall, he worked at the Durham hospital before transferring to Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospital of Holly Springs.

Dr. James Hummel grew up in Virginia and attended Mary Washington College where he earned a degree in psychology. Following graduation, he moved to North Carolina and attended UNC Wilmington where he earned a master’s degree in psychology. During graduate school, he developed a desire to pursue veterinary medicine and completed pre-vet requirements while finishing his master's degree. He graduated veterinary school from NCSU in 2005.

Dr. Hummel finished a small-animal rotating internship at Veterinary Referral Associates in Gaithersburg, MD only to return to NCSU for a three-year internal medicine residency. He has been board certified in small animal internal medicine since 2010. On top of his passion for internal medicine, Dr. Hummel loves spending time with his children and running with his dogs. Dr. Hummel is currently seeing patients at the Durham location.

TVRH Tech to Speak at NCAVT 2024 Fall Conference

The Triangle, N.C., October 10, 2024- One of the technicians at Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospital of Durham (TVRH) is getting ready to share her extensive knowledge of neurology. Coming up, Saturday, October 19, 2024, Rebekah Major, VTS, RVT, will enlighten other support staff members attending the fall conference of the North Carolina Association of Veterinary Technicians (NCAVT). Major is a part of an exclusive neurology group across the globe known as Veterinary Technician Specialists (VTS). In the field of neurology, there are only 35 veterinary technician specialists in the world. TVRH is thrilled to have Rebekah and her superior level of expertise in the Durham hospital.  

At the upcoming NCAVT conference, Rebekah will deliver a profound lecture on nursing care for neurologic patients. The presentation will focus on creating nursing care plans for patients experiencing IVDD, seizures, and neuromuscular diseases. Rebekah joined the neurology service at TVRH Durham in the fall of 2020. Originally, she is from Michigan. Outside of the hospital, Major enjoys reading, kayaking, and hiking as well as serving with DEGA, a local 501(c)(3) charity, dedicated to providing free veterinary care to low-income or no income families in North Carolina. Additionally, Rebekah is the current Director-at-Large for Neurology of the Academy of Internal Medicine for Veterinary Medicine.

To learn more about Rebekah’s lecture as well as the NCAVT visit www.ncavt.org. Registration is still open for the 2024 Fall Conference. Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity for continuing your education! Also, the fall conference is a wonderful way to make new connections in the industry.

Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospital of Durham offers 24-hour emergency care, in addition to a variety of specialty services. To learn more about how TVRH can serve your veterinary medicine needs visit our website, www.Trianglevrh.com. Also, if you have any other questions about continuing education offered through TVRH, call Heather Vaughan, our marketing director at (336) 749-3480 or connect with her via email at Events@trianglevrh.com

TVRH Warns Triangle About Mysterious Virus in Dogs

The Triangle, N.C., November 28, 2023- According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) there is a mysterious virus infecting dogs across the United States. While the cause of the sickness is unknown the AVMA has identified three similar trends in pets battling the illness: (a) chronic mild to moderate tracheobronchitis, (b) chronic pneumonia that is unaffected by antibiotics, and (c) acute pneumonia that quickly worsens within 24-36 hours.  

Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals (TVRH) are advising pet owners to watch their dogs for unusual behavior or symptoms such as coughing, ocular or nasal discharge, sneezing, loss of appetite, labored breathing, and lethargy. Also, it is a good idea to minimize public outings with your pet currently. Plus, TVRH recommends all canines be up to date on their vaccines. While the current vaccines may not target this unknown illness specifically, they could boost the immune systems of dogs in the Triangle and ward off sickness.

In addition to our internal medicine service, Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals offer 24-hour emergency care, with locations in Durham and Holly Springs. To learn more about how TVRH can serve your veterinary medicine needs visit our website, www.Trianglevrh.com. Also, if you have any other questions about TVRH whether media related or regarding marketing, please call Heather Vaughan, our Communication and Marketing Specialist at (336) 749-3480.

Local K-9 Officer Shot

This article, written by Keely Arthur and Aaron Thomas (WRAL reporters) and images were taken from WRAL’s website. You can see the article as well as other information and images by clicking here.

Durham police closed Morehead Avenue between Anderson and Kent streets Tuesday afternoon as they searched for a person who shot a K9 during a chase.

Just before 5 p.m., they announced that they had captured the man, and they told WRAL News the dog was "doing well" after surgery.

Capt. Brian Reitz of the Durham Police Department said that officers had encountered a man wanted for a series of downtown larcenies in the 1900 block of Morehead Avenue, but that he got away and ran into a nearby wooded area.

As human and K9 officers tracked the man, he fired a gun and hit the K9 dog, named Daro.

That K9 was taken to Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospital where he underwent surgery as the search continued. An officer posted outside the hospital told WRAL News that the dog was doing well.

Sgt. Brad Kirby, Retired Durham County Sheriff's Office K-9 handler, says seeing the dog injured is just like seeing it happen to a colleague.

"It's gut-wrenching, it really is. It's just like another officer getting hurt," Kirby said.

Kirby knows the emotional bonding between a handler and a dog on the force. He spent more than eight years working with Dreyfus, a dog specializing in detecting explosives and human remains.

"It's such a tight bond, people don't really understand how tight of a bond it is," Kirby said. "We try to protect them as much as they try to protect us."

Officers searched the area, which includes a shopping center along Chapel Hill Road, west of downtown Durham, for about 90 minutes. People were asked to avoid the area, in particular Morehead Avenue between Anderson and Kent streets. Homes along Morehead were evacuated.

TVRH Radiology Expansion

Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals (TVRH) are excited to welcome Dr. Emily Burke, DVM, MS, DACVR, to our Radiology Service. The addition of Dr. Burke allows TVRH to expand our Outpatient Ultrasound Service (OPUS) to better support our veterinary partners. While currently exclusively at our Durham location, Dr. Burke will provide services at both TVRH locations starting in the spring. This includes OPUS services once weekly at the Holly Springs hospital. Additional details will be announced in the coming weeks.

Dr. Burke obtained her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Georgia (UGA) in 2014. After completing a veterinary internship, she returned to UGA to obtain a Master’s degree in diagnostic imaging comparing the utility and efficacy of MRI, ultrasound, and radiography for monitoring of bone healing in dogs. Dr. Burke completed her residency at University of Pennsylvania in 2020. Within the radiology realm, Dr. Burke’s passion lies with ultrasound and MRI.

TVRH appreciates the opportunity to support our veterinary community and hope you will join us in welcoming Dr. Burke to the area. Please call our Durham location at (919) 489-0615 with any questions!

TVRH Specialists Highlighted

Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals (TVRH) are celebrating two members of our staff, Dr. Joshua Warren and Dr. Zachary Kern.

Dr. Joshua Warren, the neurologist at our Durham location, was featured recently in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) for his contribution to Pathology in Practice. Check out the article for yourself, by clicking here.

Dr. Zachary Kern, a member of our internal medicine team, gained national attention for his work in conjunction with a special ultrasound machine (Verathon BladderScan), which is used in people to measure the size of their urinary bladder. Learn how Dr. Kern and his colleagues used it in canines by clicking here.

Continuing Education Event Canceled

The upcoming continuing education event, led by Dr. Zachary Kern has been canceled. They Were All Yellow: Diagnosis and Management of Liver Disease, will be rescheduled at a later date. Please keep an eye on your inbox and the events section of our website, Trianglevrh.com, for more information on this opportunity as well as our 2021 Continuing Education Schedule. Again, we're sorry for the inconvenience, and do hope you'll join us online next year!

The Charlotte Observer Reveals More On Pup In Need

This article, written by Theoden Janes, and images were taken from the Charlotte Observer. You can see the article as well as other images by clicking here.

Sinclair Larson doesn’t remember arriving home after finishing a shift at her part-time job late in the day on Nov. 8.

She doesn’t remember eating dinner; she doesn’t remember heading out to take her beloved Australian Shepherd for their nightly 2-mile walk; and she doesn’t remember pressing the button to activate the flashing yellow lights at the crosswalk at Franklin near Carolina Avenue, which is barely a block away from the little house in Chapel Hill that she shares with three other students at the University of North Carolina.

It might actually all be for the best, however, because it also means she doesn’t have to remember this: At just after 7 p.m. that Sunday, Chapel Hill police say, Larson and her dog Jasper were struck by a vehicle, whose driver failed to yield to their right of way.

Just imagining the accident sends a shiver up her back.

Yet, when she thinks about what happened next, the heroic act of the three kind-hearted strangers who rushed Jasper to the animal hospital — something she was unable to do herself as she lay on the ground moaning, her hair drenched with blood — she smiles.

“They saved his life,” says her father, Jim, as he stands next to his daughter on the front porch of the Larsons’ home in south Charlotte, just five days after the accident.

“Yeah,” Sinclair says, looking content, even with a big piece of gauze taped to her forehead and a purple bruise framing her right eye.

“She would not be doing this well if that had not happened,” her dad says.

“I keep thinking in my head, like, ‘What would this be like right now like if he hadn’t made it like through it?’” says Sinclair, who in spring 2019 established herself as a rising star on the University of Tennessee’s swim team, who in fall 2019 left the sport after a battle with depression, and who this past March adopted Jasper on her way to reclaiming inner peace.

“I don’t know how I would have made it through that time at the hospital. It would have been a real struggle for me. ... I’m just very thankful that I didn’t have to know what it would feel like for him to have not made it.”

And Jasper indeed came very close to not making it.

HER LIFE BEFORE JASPER

Before Sinclair Larson had Jasper, she had swimming.

It was in her veins: Her mother, Karen Larson, swam for South Mecklenburg High School’s state championship team in 1985, and Sinclair followed her into the pool at a young age, joining her first swim team at age 6 and eventually becoming a South Meck star herself.

In January 2018, as a senior and team captain for the Sabres, she led her squad to the SoMeck7 conference championship, winning both the 100 backstroke and 200 individual medley titles in meet record times, then adding a 4A state title the next month, also in the 100 back.

Sinclair (who also swam for club team SwimMAC Carolina) continued her success at Tennessee, making the Southeastern Conference’s all-freshman team and earning All-America honors as an honorable mention.

The trouble began last fall, after she suffered a torn labrum in her hip, an injury she says happened in the weight room and sidelined her for almost the entire fall.

“That set off a cycle of depression for me,” Larson says. “When I was unable to compete in swimming, I just got into a really unhealthy head space. I’m someone who always wants to be the best. I’m a perfectionist. And I think those qualities just led me into a downward spiral.”

Eventually, she says, she was barely eating or sleeping.

She started to see a therapist at Tennessee to try to work through it, and her parents were aware that she was struggling with depression. When she came home for the holidays last year, Jim Larson recalls, “We questioned whether it was right for her to go back. But she’s very, very driven. Wants to do things the right way. She says, ‘I started school there, I need to finish school there.’ So she went back.

“And it was about, what, 10 days later?”

“They sent me back home like 10 days later after that,” Sinclair says.

“I think I just put a lot of my identity into succeeding in swimming, and didn’t really like see any value in myself outside of that. So when the swimming did start to be taken away because of the injury, I didn’t know what else I had left, and I just felt like there’s not even any point in like living anymore if I can’t swim. So I just went into a very dark place.”

Upon returning to Charlotte, she spent more than a month at HopeWay, a residential mental health treatment facility on Sharon Road.

For the sake of her well-being, she had determined, competitive swimming would be a thing of the past.

Instead, in March, she found herself competing for a dog.

‘I HAD TO GET THAT DOG’

Sinclair met Jasper through an old college friend of her mom’s, who was fostering the then-10-month old pup for an Australian Shepherd rescue organization.

There was chemistry from the start.

“We just had a bond right away,” Sinclair recalls. “He was just hugging me and laying at my feet.” (“And when we say he hugs,” her dad Jim adds, “we’re not kidding. He gets up on two feet and he takes his other two and he puts them around you, and he puts his head in you.”)

On the spot, she was struck by the idea that he could be her emotional support dog, since one thing she would really need as she navigated her recovery was emotional support. His warm, positive energy, she thought, could help heal her.

She learned there were other people eager to adopt him, but Sinclair was determined: “I just knew,” she says, “I had to get that dog.”

After making her case and proving her dedication to dog ownership, she was crowned the winner in the competition to formally rescue Jasper. And then Jasper began to rescue her right back.

Every hug — and she says her dog has an endless amount of hugs in him — would bring a smile. The bond would deepen, though, too. Over time, Sinclair and her father say, Jasper developed the ability to detect whenever she’s feeling sad or anxious, and when he senses it, he immediately runs to her and jumps up on her lap.

They became inseparable, both while she was at home with her family in Charlotte for five months and then after she moved to Chapel Hill in August to get a fresh start at UNC.

“(Throughout) quarantine, it was just me and him all the time,” Sinclair says. “He sleeps in my bed with me every night.”

Or he did, at least, until the night of Nov. 8.

STRANGERS TO THE RESCUE

Jill and Scott Reid were eating dinner in their backyard with their daughter Erin, Erin’s new husband, and Erin’s new in-laws when they were startled by what Jill calls a loud thud followed by the yelp of a dog.

They went out front and looked up the street, she says, to see people gathered around someone laying on the ground. As they moved closer, they saw it was a young woman, that she was covered in blood, and that two people were tending to her. When Jill asked a bystander whether 911 had been called, the man replied affirmatively, before adding that the two tending to the young woman had identified themselves as paramedics.

The yelp, she learned, belonged to the young woman’s dog; and the dog, the people gathered around the young woman said, had been killed.

Jill and Scott hustled back down the street to find the dog on its side in the street. He was at least a hundred feet away from his owner, which meant the impact had been immensely powerful. But Jill says that although the dog was otherwise motionless, his eyes were open, and he was blinking them.

He wasn’t dead.

“If this dog’s gonna make it,” Scott said, “we’ve got to get it to an emergency room.”

They moved as fast but as gently as they could, loading the dog into the back of Scott’s old Land Rover Defender while Erin used her phone to figure out where the nearest animal hospital was. Finding one open after 7 p.m. on a Sunday was tricky, but she landed on a Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals location next to Duke University in Durham, about nine miles away.

It all happened so fast that — as Scott, Jill and Erin Reid made their way up Franklin Street, with Erin holding the dog in her lap, rubbing his nose and giving him little kisses — they passed the ambulance as it headed in the opposite direction toward the accident scene.

Upon arriving at Triangle Veterinary, there was a little bit of business to quickly sort out, since the Reids weren’t the dog’s owner and they didn’t know who the dog’s owner was. But the bottom line is that there might have been some red tape involved unless Scott and Jill agreed to assume financial responsibility for the dog, so Scott and Jill did so, without hesitation.

And they did it for Kabuki.

“The irony,” Jill says, “is our dog Kabuki had died the weekend before. We were up in Blowing Rock, and my daughter called us at 3 in the morning. We were on the phone with her while she was on the way to the emergency vet, and Kabuki died in the car, which was really traumatic for Erin.

“But so last Sunday night, we just totally flew into action and knew where to go and knew what to do. ... We did it in remembrance of Kabuki. Yeah, so it was perfect that we were the ones to get ahold of Jasper — ’cause apparently, he was really close to dying.”

How close?

Very.

‘THEY SAVED HIS LIFE’

On the outside, Triangle Veterinary emergency doctor Bethany Cashman says, Jasper looked almost completely fine when she first saw him that Sunday night, save for a few little scrapes. Internally, however, he was barely hanging on.

Basically, Cashman says, either when he was hit by the car or when he was slamming against the asphalt, “there was some initial injury, which essentially kind of popped the lung.” She says this caused air to leak out of his lung and into his chest cavity.

“He wasn’t able to fully breathe,” she says. “He wasn’t able to expand his lungs. He couldn’t get his oxygen where it needed to go. And the amount of effort that it was taking him to pull his lungs out enough to try to get enough oxygen, it’s extremely tiring. He would not have been able to keep up with that or his oxygen demand for very much longer.

“So the fact that they were able to get him to the hospital so quickly, and that we were able to just treat him right away, that made a huge difference for him. Any longer and he would have really been in deep trouble, and he absolutely would have died if we hadn’t treated.”

“They saved his life,” Cashman says of the Reids’ efforts. “There is no question.”

Before long, Jim Larson was able to connect with the animal hospital and talk directly to Cashman.

According to the GoFundMe page set up the next day by Jim’s daughter Olivia — Sinclair’s older sister — “Jim told the vet to do whatever it takes to save Jasper and he meant it — I can’t imagine Sinclair without Jasper at her side.”

Neither could Sinclair.

Though it’s among the many things she doesn’t remember from that night, she’s been told that she freaked out when she overheard her mom talking with a nurse about Jasper.

“My mom said that I reached up and grabbed the nurse and was like, ‘Tell me he’s OK! He’s my best friend!’” Sinclair says. “That’s the first thing I said in the hospital room in front of my parents. So, yeah, I was definitely more worried about him than probably myself.”

As she lay in her hospital bed with multiple fractures on her face and skull, multiple lacerations requiring stitches, a broken rib, a subdural hematoma, bleeding around her brain, a massive concussion and road rash all over her body, perhaps what most needed mending was her heart.

And then, quite unexpectedly, the swim community helped it to begin to heal.

A BIG WAVE OF SUPPORT

Cindy Eward, a surgeon at Triangle Veterinary, had seen Jasper in the hospital and heard the story of what happened from co-workers, but it didn’t all click together for her until Monday afternoon.

“I was just going through the North Carolina swimming website, because my kids are swimmers as well,” says Eward, whose two teenagers swim for the TAC Titans swim club in Cary, “and I happened to see on there a GoFundMe that they were promoting for this dog and his owner who were hit by a car. I saw the dog’s name and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, that is the dog at our hospital right now.’”

She also immediately recognized the name Sinclair Larson, because Sinclair had competed in many of the meets her oldest had been at before she headed off to college — and had stood out to them because of her talents.

So Eward sent an email to Triangle Veterinary’s hospital administrator, Christy Brown, to say she knew Jasper’s owner through her kids, that she’d learned through the GoFundMe that Jasper’s owner was going through as tough a time as Jasper, and that she was wondering whether there was anything the hospital could do to help.

“And she immediately wrote back and told me that they were going to pretty much make the bill go away,” Eward says. “I mean, she didn’t hesitate. I think as soon as she read it she responded to me. So my part in it was very peripheral. I just saw her name and I recognized her and recognized the dog, and contacted Christy.”

News spread through the swimming and the University of Tennessee communities quickly, with at least one Knoxville TV station and high-profile national swimming websites like SwimSwam and Swimming World Magazine sharing the story along with links to the GoFundMe.

Jim says among those who have reached out to show support include Kathleen Baker, a two-time Olympic medalist from Winston-Salem who now swims for UC Berkeley; Duke star Alyssa Marsh, the daughter of David Marsh, who is head coach of the Team Elite program in San Diego (formerly of Charlotte); and Matt Kredich, director of swimming and diving at Tennessee.

Among the top donors to the GoFundMe for Sinclair and Jasper was the Goldfish Swim Club of Chapel Hill, which kicked in $250. As of Wednesday morning, the amount raised for their medical care stands at $33,804.

It’ll be used for Sinclair’s medical expenses, since Jasper has been taken care of. Last Wednesday, when he was discharged — and when Sinclair wept upon being reunited with him for the first time since the accident — Triangle Veterinary refunded the $1,124 deposit that Jim Larson put down when he called in on the night of the accident.

The remaining balance of $4,677 was forgiven by the hospital.

TVRH Helps Local Pup In Need

Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals (TVRH) come to the aid of a local pup in need. Earlier this week, a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and her dog were seriously injured, after being hit by a car. The pair were trying to cross East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, Sunday evening around 7:30 PM.

The student, Sinclair Larson and her canine, Jasper were rushed to emergency facilities for treatment. Sinclair received healing at UNC Medical Center, while Jasper came to Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospital’s, Durham location. Immediately, our Emergency Service Team administered the next level of veterinary care. Jasper suffered injuries to his lung and abdomen areas. The Chief of Emergency Services at our Durham hospital, Dr. Jeffrey Nunez, weighed in on the situation.

"He came to the right place. We have dedicated doctors on staff at night that could take care of him. WE had a lot of support staff for him as well, so we are in a really good position to give him the critical care that he needed to make it, to survive,"

Both Jasper and Sinclair have been released from their treatment facilities and are on the way home to Charlotte. TVRH plans to cover the cost of Jasper’s treatment.

Oncology Service Transition

Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals (TVRH) are excited to announce the temporary addition of Dr. Kim Johnson to our Oncology Service. Dr. Johnson will oversee patients and treatment programs, in conjunction with Dr. James (Jim) Hummel, from December 2020 through January 2021 at our Durham location. Dr. Johnson joined the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine as a Diplomate in 2007. She is accustomed to providing the next level of accessible and compassionate veterinary care. In addition, to providing face to face instruction, Dr. Johnson will also offer telemedicine support.

Dr. James Hummel joined the Internal Medicine team at TVRH in 2019. He graduated veterinary school from NCSU in 2005. Later, he finished a small-animal rotating internship at Veterinary Referral Associates in Gaithersburg, MD only to return to NCSU for a three-year internal medicine residency. He has been board certified in small animal internal medicine since 2010.

The transition stems from Dr. Jen Arthur's decision to start a new chapter in life, by moving to the great state of Colorado. Her last day with us will be Friday, December 4, 2020.

TVRH Welcomes Neurology

Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals (TVRH) are excited to announce the addition of Neurology to our list of specialties! Please join us in welcoming Dr. Josh Warren. Dr. Warren plans to grow this new service through diligence and dedication to patients, clients, and referring veterinarians, while providing the next level of accessible and compassionate care.

Dr. Warren is originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana. He received his BA from Ohio Wesleyan University and his DVM from Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2011. He practiced emergency medicine in Iowa for three years before pursuing a one-year internship followed by another year of emergency medicine at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in New Jersey. Finally, he completed a specialty internship followed by a residency in neurology and neurosurgery at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital. 

He currently resides in Durham with his wife and elderly pets (two dogs, a cat, and a horse). Outside of the hospital, he enjoys running, cycling, playing sports, reading, going to the movies, and traveling.

Dr. Warren is currently seeing patients at the Durham hospital Monday through Thursday.

Durham Welcomes Rehabilitation & Pain Management

Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals are excited to welcome Rehabilitation (Rehab) and Pain Management to our hospitals. We see this service as a necessity to offer, since its known to help pets suffering with orthopedic and neurologic conditions, as well as arthritis and chronic pain. Our Durham location will house this addition plus provide a wide range of rehabilitation, conditioning and pain management for the furry members of your family.

In order to ensure each pet's success, all animals will undergo a full rehab evaluation before starting treatment. Once a thorough exam is complete, members of our team will devise a comprehensive treatment plan tailored to each animal’s needs, with the overall goal being to improve quality of life for all patients. Below you’ll find a list of the services we offer:

Conditioning

Cryotherapy & Heat Therapy

Evaluation/ Fitting Orthotics, Prosthetics, Cart

Gait Training

Joint Mobilization

Massage Therapy

(NMES/TENS) Electrical Stimulation

Pain Management

Photobiomodulation (Laser) Therapy

Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy

Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) Therapy

Range of Motion/ Stretching

Stem Cell Therapy

Therapeutic Ultrasound

Therapeutic Exercise

Rehabilitation was designed to improve comfort and stimulate mobility as well as provide peace of mind for the pet and owner. Our services promote weight loss, steer towards drug free options, and encourage a faster more complete recovery time. Call our Durham location to schedule a consultation at (919) 489-0615 or email rehab@trianglevrh.com.

Dermatology Is Now Remote

The Dermatology Service is now offering remote healthcare services through TeleVet! With the TeleVet mobile app you can easily send virtual consultation requests to us whenever your pet is sick or injured.

To get started, download the TeleVet app on the iTunes or Google Play store and create your personal profile and your pet’s (pictures encouraged!). When you need us, create a consultation request detailing your pet’s issue. Upload any pictures or videos, instant message, and talk with us face to face through a video conference call to help get your pet feeling better again. We look forward to talking with you soon.

*Only available for current Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals clients and patients.

TVRH Featured On Local News

In this season of giving, Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals (TVRH) are making a difference in the lives of dogs and cats around Raleigh-Durham. Just like with people, pets sometimes need blood transfusions, but due to the recent national blood shortage, accessing those resources is getting harder and harder. In order to help animals around our area, Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals (TVRH) created a new in-house donation program which Spectrum News NC recently featured on their morning show. Check out the segment above.

TVRH Expands Internal Medicine Service

Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals (TVRH) are excited to announce the expansion of our Internal Medicine Service! Alongside Dr. Melissa Chrzanowski, we will now have two more internists available to help your clients. We hope you'll join us in welcoming Dr. Zachary Kern and Dr. James (Jim) Hummel. With the addition of these board certified internists, TVRH hopes to increase appointment availability, as well as providing the next level of veterinary care.

Dr. Zachary Kern is originally from outside Chicago (Skokie, IL). He completed his undergraduate degree in the biological basis of behavior at the University of Pennsylvania, where he later completed his veterinary degree as well. Shortly after, he finished a rotating internship at BluePearl Veterinary Partners in New York City; an internal medicine internship at the Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Services in Rochester, NY; plus a residency in small animal internal medicine at NC State University (NCSU). He became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in small animal internal medicine in 2019.

Dr. James Hummel grew up in Virginia and attended Mary Washington College where he earned a degree in psychology. Following graduation, he moved to North Carolina and attended UNC Wilmington where he earned a Master’s degree in psychology. During graduate school, he developed a desire to pursue veterinary medicine and completed pre-vet requirements while finishing his Master's degree. He graduated veterinary school from NCSU in 2005. Shortly after, Dr. Hummel finished a small-animal rotating internship at Veterinary Referral Associates in Gaithersburg, MD only to return to NCSU for a three-year internal medicine residency. He has been board certified in small animal internal medicine since 2010.

On top of their passion for internal medicine, both internists love collaborating with other specialists and like being a part of a team. Dr. Kern is currently seeing patients at the Durham hospital while Dr. Hummel is working with clients at our Holly Springs location.

TVRH Creates Blood Donor Program

Just like with people, pets sometimes need blood transfusions too, but due to the recent national blood shortage, accessing those resources is getting harder and harder. In order to help dogs and cats around the Raleigh-Durham area, Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals (TVRH) are working with employee pets to make a difference through a new in-house donation program.

The TVRH Blood Donation Service is currently made up of furry donors who call our employees, mom or dad. These animals undergo an extensive screening process to ensure that the donation trial is safe for them and the blood recipients. Here’s how the screening process works:

1.)    Anxiety Evaluation- First, all potential donors are watched closely by TVRH team members to determine whether the donation process will be too stressful for them.

2.)    Health Screening- Second, they are given a thorough wellness exam and blood work evaluation to detect any underlying disease.

3.)    Cardio Test- Third, our cardiologist evaluates all donor hearts to make sure each animal’s heart is healthy enough to handle the lengthy donation process.

4.)    Blood Typing-Finally, if the potential donor reaches this stage, tests are conducted to find out their blood type. Once an animal completes all these requirements, they are entered in the program.

 Although the program has only been operational for six months, our Durham location has already witnessed a successful donation, thanks to donor, Stormy Blue. Stormy is a young feline, native to the Triangle.  He started life as a feral kitty in Durham, but thankfully found a family shortly after, forever ending his dumpster diving days. Stormy Blue’s family is happy he is in the blood donor program and recognize him as a pet superhero. Since he was given a second chance in life, his owners believe he enjoys giving life to others in need.

 In addition to our blood donor program, Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals offer24-hour emergency care, with locations in Durham and Holly Springs. To learn more about how TVRH can serve your veterinary medicine needs visit our website, www.Trianglevrh.com. Also, if you have any other questions about the donor program above, please call our Communication and Marketing Specialist at (336) 749-3480.

TVRH, Duke University Battle Cancer Together

Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals (TVRH) are excited to announce that we’re working closely with Duke University as part of the Duke Comparative Oncology Group, in an effort to stop cancer. We are currently accepting dogs with Osteosarcoma into clinical trials of two new therapies. If your pup is a candidate, please contact Dr. Will Eward, Dr. Jennifer Arthur or Dr. Cindy Eward at our Durham location. You may either call (919) 489-0615 or send them an email to Oncology@Trianglevrh.com or Surgery@Trianglevrh.com.

TVRH Mascot Hits A Home Run With Fans

Stitch, Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals amazing mascot, nailed his inaugural base run of the 2018 Coastal Plain Summer League season! He faced off against Sal, the Salamander and a younger, fiercer opponent during the middle of the third inning on opening day at home, in Holly Springs. Although Stitch hit a home run with the fans, the Salamanders baseball team, didn't fare as well on the field. In front of a sold out crowd, of nearly 1,770 the Salamanders fell to the Marlins 7-4 in extra innings. Check out the Salamanders and Stitch for yourself at the next home game. Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals is a proud sponsor of the Holly Springs Salamanders. Click on the link below to see their next game!

Holly Springs Salamanders 2018 Schedule

Local Television Station Consults Dr. Jeff Nunez On Snakebites

Local news affiliate, ABC11 in Raleigh, NC featured Dr. Jeff Nunez, recently, in a story regarding the dangers of snakebites. Nunez, is one of our practice owners and Chief of Emergency Services at our Durham location. Take a look at the awareness piece below:

Protect your dog from snakes this summer

Hampton Crumpler, ABC 11

Friday, May 18, 2018 05:28PM

As summer temperatures continue to rise, North Carolina is beginning to see more snakes creep out of their holes. For people who own dogs, it can be even more frightening.

Dr. Jeff Nunez, chief of emergency services at Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospital in Durham, said the summer months always bring in more cases of snake bites, particularly in dogs.

"This is the time of year we start to see more snake bites," he said. "It's warm and the snakes are all moving around."

Nunez said the central part of the state experiences the most venomous bites.

"In general, Wake and Orange County are considered the state's top counties for venomous snake bites due to a large number of copperheads in the area," he said.

If you let your dog play outside this summer and it gets bit, here's how to handle it:

• Don't kill the snake. Many people tend to get bit when they try to kill the snake. Instead, try to take a picture of it or keep a mental image of it so the veterinarian can properly identify it and determine if the bite was venomous.

• Take your dog to a veterinarian as soon as possible.

• In the future, keep a close eye on your dog, especially when it's around bushes or wood piles.

During the hot summer months, Nunez says he gets 3-5 dog snake bite cases each day.

At the vet, dogs who have suffered a snake bite are either hospitalized and monitored for 12 hours, or they are given some immediate treatment, including antibiotics, and sent home.

After a dog is sent home, it's advisable to keep a close eye on it to make sure it's eating, drinking and not acting out of the ordinary

TVRH Welcomes Dermatology

Dr. Anne Doherty Hinn, a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Dermatology, is now providing the next level of veterinary care to pets around the Triangle. Dr. Hinn earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Health and Nutrition from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and attended North Carolina State University (NCSU) for veterinary school. She completed two years of small animal private practice and then returned to NCSU to complete a residency in veterinary dermatology. Dr. Doherty Hinn is a Carolina native who proudly calls Raleigh home.

Dr. Hinn has a special interest in topical therapy including medical bathing. As part of the TVRH Dermatology Service, medical baths will be offered and performed by our dedicated and trained dermatology support staff. By pairing medical bathing with other advances in dermatologic medicine, the TVRH Dermatology Service will be able to offer both short term/immediate relief to a variety of symptoms as well as formulate a long-term plan for each pet’s specific condition.

If your pet suffers from skin disease, call our Holly Springs Hospital today at (919) 973-5620 to make an appointment with Dr. Hinn. No referral is necessary

Career Day at Spring Valley Elementary

Dr. Mike Grafinger proudly represented Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals (TVRH) at Spring Valley Elementary's annual Career Day. The yearly event, held in Durham, gives young students the chance to learn about various professions. Dr. Grafinger, one of TVRH's practice owners, shared about the road of a veterinary surgeon, which is rather lengthy. It took Dr. Grafinger 13 additional years of education, post high school. 

In addition to his account of being a veterinary surgeon, Dr. Grafinger also brought in live animals, several fossils and surgical tools to educate the students about his career path. 

Three Cheers for Animals

Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals (TVRH) are proud to announce Dr. Grafinger recently helped Troop 951 of Durham earn their Three Cheers for Animals badge. The budding Daisy scouts asked tons of questions about veterinary medicine and took an extensive tour of the Durham hospital.

TVRH loves helping the community and values others. If we can help your organization learn more about veterinary medicine, please click here.

Dog Day In The Park

Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals (TVRH) along with the town of Holly Springs hosted another successful Dog Day in the Park, a pet friendly event geared towards animals and their owners. The celebration featured trick dogs, canine first aid, food, music and plenty of contests for our furry friends such as Cutest, Ugliest, Best Talent, Best Costume as well as Dog and Owner Lookalike.  In addition to these options, participants learned more about local businesses centered on pets and met dogs up for adoption! This was Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospital’s third year sponsoring the public event. 

Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts

Thanks to people in and around the Raleigh/ Durham area, Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals (TVRH) were able to greatly help the animal and human evacuees of Houston. 

Due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey, many animals were injured or displaced providing a huge strain on veterinary care in Southeast Texas. Since TVRH, prides itself in providing the next level of care, our staff members did everything they could to provide it from afar by gathering the following supplies:

• Cat Litter- clumping preferred

• Martingale Collars-size medium

• Tarps

• Dog Treats

• Paper or Styrofoam Bowls

• Kitten and Puppy Formula

• Flea and Tick Preventative

• Canned Wet Food

• Litter Boxes

• Large Metal Dog Bowls

• Large Trash Bags

• Cleaning Supplies- bleach, paper towels, sponges, dish soap, latex gloves, general purpose cleaner

Thanks to the overwhelming amount of donations at both locations (608 Morreene Road, Durham, NC;  2120 Werrington Drive, Holly Springs, NC), Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitalswere able to fill a giant truck and transport it to Texas, courtesy of God's Pit Crew. In addition to the animal supplies, TVRH also raised money for the people! Triangle sent a major monetary donation to the Houston Food Bank. 

If you have any other questions about our Harvey Relief Efforts, contact our Communication and Marketing Specialist at (336) 749-3480.

TVRH Warns Triangle About Mysterious Virus in Dogs

The Triangle, N.C., November 28, 2023- According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) there is a mysterious virus infecting dogs across the United States. While the cause of the sickness is unknown the AVMA has identified three similar trends in pets battling the illness: (a) chronic mild to moderate tracheobronchitis, (b) chronic pneumonia that is unaffected by antibiotics, and (c) acute pneumonia that quickly worsens within 24-36 hours.  

Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals (TVRH) are advising pet owners to watch their dogs for unusual behavior or symptoms such as coughing, ocular or nasal discharge, sneezing, loss of appetite, labored breathing, and lethargy. Also, it is a good idea to minimize public outings with your pet currently. Plus, TVRH recommends all canines be up to date on their vaccines. While the current vaccines may not target this unknown illness specifically they could boost the immune systems of dogs in the Triangle and ward off sickness.

In addition to our internal medicine service, Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals offer 24-hour emergency care, with locations in Durham and Holly Springs. To learn more about how TVRH can serve your veterinary medicine needs visit our website, www.Trianglevrh.com. Also, if you have any other questions about TVRH whether media related or regarding marketing, please call Heather Vaughan, our Communication and Marketing Specialist at (336) 749-3480.