Have you ever walked into that veterinary hospital, and despite all the love, compassion, and medicine, you were sure something was dying according to the smell?  Like that 6-week old crime scene odor? As a 20-year veterinarian with 1000 species under my belt, I’ve smelled some $@*t. 

 

I am a wildlife and exotic veterinarian and recently found that an intelligent designer wanted me to make a wildlife and exotic hospital during the pandemic. Like Noah, but only building a few walls and stuff. When constructing these walls, labs, radiology, surgery, and exam rooms, I have to be able to guarantee that the smell isn’t my creation. 

 

Luckily, I’m a biology nerd and love to connect the dots among us on this complicated planet. So with this passion and knowledge, I must design a place that is cleanable, sterile, and doesn’t smell like I’m covering up a crime scene. It also needs to be safe enough for fish and amphibians. To date, I’ve never seen this hospital, but the pandemic inspired me to make one. Enlightened by just the inevitability that every pathogenic organism is eventually going to walk through that door. Despite this fact, maybe I can give those organisms remaining in our presence a harsher environment and shorter lifespan. 

 

Even after I’ve built the details with copper sinks, copper-coated table legs, copper room trim, shelving, etc., I still need to clean that metal with something that won’t be toxic and oxidize the finishes. That oxidation and biofilm might be the death of a gopher frog or another sensitive creature. So I stick my head into the problem and realize that a more natural solution should be the way to go. For example, using a caustic cleaner might bind to the metals and make the subsequent residues even more toxic than the organisms I’m trying to control and kill. I need a cleaning solution that’s FDA approved, non-toxic, reduces biofilm, and prevents the next biologically infectious incident. 

 

Well, the miracle of miracles, it turns out that there is such a product line.  Z BIOVET, developed by Z Biosciences. Here’s a link to check out – https://youtu.be/OHUg5SDnmWM. 

 

I’ve been experimenting with this product line for a while now, and I’m impressed. 

 

Things to quickly note here is there is no dwell time for usage. Meaning, when my technician wipes down that table between patients, it will be cleaner within seconds. And, with continued use, the biofilm diminishes, and the chances for the next pathogenic organism to take hold are almost nonexistent. Also, this product will competitively inhibit every pathogenic organism studied so far with an FDA approved probiotic. 

 

I plan to cover these topics in more detail, but because I know you’re busy, I’ll keep this short for now.  This new paradigm and technology in cleaning are making this hospital build easier, cleaner, cheaper, and safer for both my staff and my patients. 

 

Bye for now, 

James “CritterDr” Askew 

James Askew

James CritterDr Askew DVM has been practicing veterinary medicine for more than 20 years with patients all over the country but calls the Mississippi Gulf Coast his home. His staff and clients know that laughter is the best medicine and something all species respond to. There is no creature too great or too small that can’t benefit from his love of life.