By Jessica Coleman -- Daily Staff Writer

FRONT ROYAL — The veterinary clinic at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Canine Training Center has earned accreditation through the American Animal Hospital Association for the fourth year in a row.

Excellence exhibited by a veterinary practice is what ensures its accreditation, said veterinary technician Debbie Wingate.

"You're pretty much assured that everything is done properly," she said. "It was a lot of work to get it. I can attest to that."

The clinic, which has been in operation at the center for about 15 years, provides medical care for the approximately 140 dogs there. Currently one veterinarian and two licensed veterinary technicians make up the staff, but another vet will be joining the team soon, said Sue Hunsaker, chief of canine resources. The veterinarian works about one to two days a week at the center.

The clinic is regularly evaluated by AAHA to ensure that it is operating at the best possible standards, Wingate said. Accurate and detailed record keeping, along with excellent facilities and state-of-the-art care are necessary to earn accreditation. The clinic has received accreditation since 2004, with only about 15 percent of all small animal veterinary practices in the country earning the distinction, according to a press release from AAHA.

"We're very proud of the accreditation," Director Lee Titus said. "It shows that the staff work very hard to provide excellent care for our dogs."

Record keeping must be detailed so that it is highly accurate and someone "could come in off the street, read it and know what we did," Wingate said.

"There are a lot of criteria we have to follow," she added.

Staying abreast of the latest technology and advancements in veterinary medicine is also essential to the accreditation, Wingate said. The staff go to conferences and seminars frequently to stay on top of trends. Pain management for the dogs is a top concern, she added.

Dogs are given a full physical when they come in and before they leave. Most of the medicine done at the clinic is preventative, such as giving vaccinations, Wingate said. All the dogs are spayed or neutered, she said.

But there are also certain medical issues unique to the dogs at the center, Wingate said, because they are so high-energy. Giardia, a parasite that can create havoc in a dog's digestive tract, is prevalent at the center, she said, because it grows in the surrounding wildlife. Many of the dogs also suffer from sore feet because of their high-drive constitutions, she said, while others are what Wingate calls "tail beaters", dogs that beat their tails against the confines of the kennels in which they live, causing some pain.

This requires some specialized knowledge of working dogs, she said, because the German shepherds, Belgian Malinois and Labrador retrievers that are trained at the center are unlike most pets.

"You're not going to have dogs in a home that are that high-drive," Wingate said. "They're a little different to work with."

* Contact Jessica Coleman at jcoleman@nvdaily.com