Bells Ferry Veterinary Hospital

Wildlife of the Week!⭐

We here at Bells Ferry Veterinary Hospital take pride in our wildlife triage program. We’ve heard your requests for a sneak-peek into how this process works so we want to introduce our new program called Wildlife of the Week! Every week or so, we will introduce one of our wildlife cases to provide insight into the work we do here at Bells Ferry. Through these spotlights, we aim to educate the public about the wildlife rehabilitation process, explain how triage and treatment decisions are made, and foster a greater understanding of the care each animal receives on its path to recovery.

~

This week, we are highlighting an Eastern Box Turtle that was admitted to the facility on July 8th. The turtle was brought to us after being found near a local neighborhood pond, where the finder noticed two large swellings on either side of its neck and was concerned about its condition.

Upon examination, our team found the turtle to be alert but mildly lethargic and slightly underweight. The swellings were diagnosed as bilateral aural abscesses - localized infections within the ear cavities that are relatively common in turtles. These large lumps prevent the turtle from retracting fully into their shell for protection and limit overall mobility, affecting the turtle’s ability to consume food (causing the weight loss seen). After administering a local anesthetic (lidocaine) and pain medication, both abscesses were carefully extracted and flushed to remove the debris fully.

Following the procedure, the turtle received continual pain medication and antibiotics, remaining under observation for around two weeks to monitor healing and recovery. Over time, the turtle steadily gained weight and inflammation around the wounds decreased significantly. Once it was fully recovered, the turtle was returned and released near its original location.

This turtle was found in a neighborhood where lawn chemicals are used often, which most likely contributed to the aural abscesses it developed. This is a fairly common problem for box turtles, especially in urban and suburban areas, where pesticides, herbicides, and other lawn treatments are widely used. There are several things you can do to help. Consider switching to more natural lawn care methods, such as organic fertilizers, hand-pulling weeds, or pesticide-free pest control.

We hope you enjoyed this weeks wildlife spotlight and stay tuned for a look at the variety of interesting and educational cases we get in each week!

Help us wish our “summer intern” Averie, a very special✨ 15th✨ Birthday!!!

Have you ever had to give your cat or dog a bath and thought, wow, this is hard! Well, trying giving an owl a bath!!

This very young Great Horned Owl was discovered trapped inside a large barrel that had contained a petroleum-based product. Thankfully, a Good Samaritan tipped the barrel over so it could escape, but a day later when it didn’t fly away, they knew it needed help.

Enter… Dawn dish soap. 💙

That’s right—Dawn isn’t just for ducks! It can also be a lifesaver for raptors whose feathers have become contaminated with oil. Healthy feathers are incredibly important. Every feather has to lock together like tiny pieces of Velcro to provide waterproofing, insulation, silent flight, and lift. Oil destroys that structure, leaving birds unable to fly, stay warm, or even protect themselves from the weather.

After FIVE baths (yes… five!) this spicy lady was finally starting to look—and smell—like an owl again. 😅 The last photo shows the payoff!

And speaking of spicy…

Great Horned Owls are often called the “Tigers of the Sky,” and we couldn’t agree more. These magnificent predators are among the most powerful, fearless, and challenging raptors we treat. They hunt everything from rabbits and skunks to snakes, hawks, and even other owls! Females are larger than males and, in our experience… they are often the ones making all the rules. 😬 They earn every ounce of respect we give them!

One of the coolest things you’ll notice in these photos is just how enormous its eyes appear when it’s wet. That’s because Great Horned Owl eyes are not actually eyeballs like ours—they’re elongated, tube-shaped eyes that take up a tremendous amount of space inside the skull. In fact, their eyes are so large they can’t move them at all! Instead, they compensate by rotating their heads up to 270 degrees, giving them that famous owl stare.

A huge thank you to Georgia Wildlife Network for transporting this beautiful owl to us, and to Chattahoochee Nature Center, where it has now been transferred for continued rehabilitation. With a little more time, patience, and expert care, we’re hopeful it’ll soon return to where she belongs… ruling the night skies once again. 🦉💛

(And yes… those giant yellow eyes were judging us through every single bath 😂)

🇺🇸 Wishing you a happy 4th of July from all of us at Bells Ferry Veterinary Hospital! ❤️🤍💙

Today we honor our nation’s freedom and the spirit that brings us together as we celebrate America’s 250th Independence Day. We hope your day is filled with family, friends, great food, and unforgettable moments. As you celebrate, please remember to keep your pets safe from fireworks, loud noises, and holiday treats.

Wishing you a joyful, safe, and truly patriotic Independence Day! 🐾🇺🇸

Please help us welcome the newest member of the Bells Ferry Veterinary Hospital family... Dr. Wesley Bold! 🎉🐾

This is an exciting time for us, and if we're being honest...it's also one we've spent a long time preparing for.

At Bells Ferry Veterinary Hospital, we don't hire veterinarians often. In fact, bringing on a new full-time doctor is one of the biggest decisions we make. It's not something we rush, and it's certainly not something we do simply because someone has a veterinary degree.

When you've spent over 40 years building a family-owned practice centered around trust, relationships, and exceptional patient care, choosing the next veterinarian to join that family matters.

We've spent many months getting to know Dr. Bold—asking hard questions, discussing his goals, and making sure he was the right fit not only for our hospital, but for our clients, our patients, and our team - and helping him make sure WE were the right for HIM. We truly believe it's a fit all the way around!

Dr. Bold is a Marietta native and a proud fourth-generation Georgian. He earned both his Biology degree (2022) and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree (2026) from the University of Georgia, graduating magna cm laude. GO DAWGS!

While he's excited to care for your dogs and cats, one thing that immediately caught our attention was his passion for wildlife, exotic pets, and small mammals—an interest that fits perfectly with the work we do here every day.

When he's not in the hospital, you'll probably find him tending his beehives (soooo cool!), hiking, exploring new cities, or spending time with Sasha, the Pit Bull he adopted during his first year of veterinary school. ❤️

We also know what some of you might be thinking...

"He looks young."

You're right. 😊

Every experienced veterinarian was once a new graduate walking through the doors on their very first day. THE FUTURE OF PRIVATELY OWNED VETERINARY MEDICINE DEPENDS ON EXPERIENCED DOCTORS MENTORING THE NEXT GENERATION, AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE COMMITTED TO DOING.

Dr. Bold won't be practicing alone. He'll be working alongside our experienced doctors and incredible support staff, learning from decades of combined knowledge while bringing fresh ideas, enthusiasm, and the latest veterinary education to our practice.

We're incredibly proud to introduce him to you.

As always, we know we have some of the very best clients anywhere. We hope you'll give Dr. Bold the same kindness, patience, and warm welcome you've shown every member of our team over the years. We have a feeling it won't take long before he feels right at home here—and we think you will too.

Welcome to the BFVH family, Dr. Bold! 🐶🐱🐰🐭🦇🦆🐢🐝

Leave a comment below to help us give him a warm Bells Ferry welcome! ❤️

For us, the 4th of July means barbecues and celebrations. For our dogs, it can feel like a war zone.

Independence Day is actually the #1 day of the year for lost pets in the US, mostly because dogs panic-bolt when the fireworks start.
If your dog trembles, paces, hides in the bathtub, or cries during the noise, please know that they aren't just "bothered"—they are experiencing acute panic. And you don't have to just "let them ride it out."

Modern veterinary medicine has incredible, fast-acting situational options (like Trazodone, Gabapentin, or the newly approved dual-action options) that can safely regulate their fight-or-flight response without leaving them completely drugged or heavily sedated.

The golden rule: Don’t wait until July 3rd!

We get completely flooded right before the holiday. Plus, we always recommend doing a "trial dose" a week before the fireworks start so we can make sure the dosage is exactly right for your pup in a calm environment.

Let’s give our furry best friends a peaceful holiday. Call or text us today at 770-926-5311 or tap the link below to schedule a quick consultation and get ahead of the noise.

bfvh.com

Today we’re sharing a review that perfectly illustrates one of the biggest challenges we face in wildlife rehabilitation.

The reviewer was upset because we would not provide updates on a turtle they brought to us for free care. What the review doesn’t mention is that every wildlife finder signs paperwork acknowledging that updates cannot be provided.

Why?

Because Bells Ferry Veterinary Hospital is a veterinary hospital first and a wildlife intake center second. Please let that sink in.

For nearly 40 years, we’ve served this community as a family-owned veterinary hospital. Nearly every day, our doctors, technicians, and staff care for beloved pets whose families have entrusted us with their health and well-being. At the same time, we also care for wildlife. We receive injured song birds, turtles, rabbits, squirrels, opossums, geese, hawks, owls, snakes and countless others. We do this as a service to our community and to wildlife, and we are the only facility that takes any and all species of wild animals and rarely if ever close to intakes. We do not receive government funding. We do not charge the public. We rely primarily on donations and a tremendous amount of volunteer effort from our staff.

Wildlife rehabilitation is essentially a full-time job layered on top of our full-time jobs. So far in 2026 alone, we have taken in more than 400 wild animals! Now imagine if every person who brought us an animal requested updates.

To provide a single update, it becomes hours and hours of staff time.
And those hours have to come from somewhere.
They come from answering client questions.
They come from helping sick pets.
They come from assisting families.
They come from treating injured wildlife.

So we made a choice years ago:
We choose patient care over updates. The very thing this reviewer is criticizing is one of the reasons we are able to provide the level of care that we do.
We are willing to disappoint some people who want updates because we refuse to take time away from the animals and clients who need us.

Frankly, if given the choice between spending 20 minutes tracking down the history of a turtle and spending 20 minutes helping a sick patient, we will choose the patient every single time.
And yes, sometimes that means receiving a one-star review.
The reality is that no matter how many evenings we stay late, no matter how many weekends we spend transporting wildlife, no matter how many animals we take in for free, and no matter how clearly we explain our policies, there will still be people who are unhappy when they don’t get the answer they want.

That’s okay.

We aren’t doing wildlife rehabilitation for reviews. We’re doing it for the more than 400 wild animals we’ve helped this year.
We’re doing it for the pets whose families trust us every day.
And we’re doing it because caring for animals has always been more important to us than collecting five-star reviews.

Thank you to our clients, supporters, wildlife rehabilitators, donors, and community members who understand the difference.
We appreciate you more than you know. ❤️

How can you help?
If you’ve had a wonderful experience with your pets or utilizing our wild life service, please leave us a Google and/or Yelp review.

If you’d like to donate to our care of wildlife, you may do so in person, over the phone (770-926-5311), by mail (6410 Hwy 92, Acworth, GA 30102) or via PayPal ([email protected]).