Melissa Toney is the lead exam nurse at Town N Country. She’s been with us for ten years this coming March, and is a big part of why our nursing staff is run so efficiently. She not only evaluates pets and communicates with clients, but she also schedules staff for both campuses. And – because she’s Melissa – she also answers phones, holds fur babies during procedures, checks patients in and out, and even works in the kennel. And yes, she has been known to be knocked over by a pet. But that’s about the only thing that can knock her down!
Exam nurses like Melissa gather basic information from the client to present to the doctor a consise and informative history about the patient. During a routine visit, she asks questions about things like health changes, medications, and the patient’s living environment. If a client brings in a pet because of a concern, they ask the client more questions. What have they noticed? What have they seen, felt, heard, and smelled? Even if the client doesn’t think it’s an issue, no detail is too small. Melissa will make sure that the doctor has a good idea of what is going on even before they see the patient, so that everyone can work together to make a good game plan.
Melissa also educates clients on what the pet needs – vaccines, preventatives, more activity, or less weight. She even asks about anxiety levels. And she trains our other nurses to do the same.
Melissa says that her favorite thing is seeing a client leave the hospital feeling confident about their visit. Her goal is for clients to know that their pet’s health is safe with us. “I’m thankful that they come to see us, and want them to be comfortable that we are taking care of their baby. Even on sad visits, when clients need to cry on our shoulders, I like to be that for them.”
If you want to hear some fun stories about the animals we see, ask Melissa. Like the dogs who come in and immediately roll over for belly rubs. Or the huge dogs that come in and jump up on the counters. And the pets whose personalities are the same as their owners! And yes, the time she got knocked over.
Like almost all of our staff, Melissa’s love of animals started very early in life. She had big dogs (Great Dane), a lot of little dogs (Pomeranians), medium dogs (sheep dogs), and cats, too. Even with all her animal experience growing up, she said Town N Country opened up a whole new world. That world eventually led to Briella, a twelve week old puppy who needed to be rehomed. Briella has been with Melissa for seven years, now, and Melissa is her world!
It doesn’t seem like it could possibly be 10 years from our first meeting Melissa (She was so nervous during our first staff meeting training/game that she almost fainted!) to today where literally everyone in the practice relies on her to some extent! She has grown in confidence, knowledge, skill and wisdom. And as much as we rely on her, we are here to support her so she can be exactly what our clients need her to be…..a friendly smiling face to say hello and a shoulder to cry on when you have to say goodbye.
