Don’t Drink, And Dog Paddle?June 19, 2012 We’ve all done it, I bet even you…we have all dressed up a pet at least once in our lives. Whether it was a costume celebrating Halloween (don’t you just love the HotDog costume for dachshunds?), a raincoat for drizzly afternoon walks, or little warm boots for walking in the snow, we’ve all done it. Of course, if you’re really brave, you’ve dressed up a cat; well, attempted to dress up a cat. It’s humorous to see cats when they’ve been dressed; they literally flop down on the floor and won’t move. (This is also how they react to a belly wrap in the hospital!) How about “dressing up” a non-typical pet for a walk, like a collar and leash on a cat, or a harness for a ferret or guinea pig. I don’t mean to burst any bubbles, but when it comes to these animals, you are likely letting yourself be walked by your critter, if they’ll walk at all. Some of these garments and such are purchased with a purpose in mind, such as the weather wear. Yet there is no real “excuse” for buying an elf costume for the cat at Christmas, or a …
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When ‘Euthanasia’ Is Just KillingMay 25, 2012 It happened to me for the first time when I was only a month into my first job as a newly minted veterinarian. There I was, flying solo on an overnight shift, unblocking the variously obstructed and ministering to the mysteriously urticarial. I was finally getting comfortable living the satisfyingly routine life of an ER doc when one fine night a cat owner claimed to offer me a “simple” problem: “I just need you to put him to sleep.” This woman was the first in what proved to be a long line of similarly minded, morally challenged individuals seeking my services as executioner. I’m sure most of you are familiar with this crass breed: They’re the would-be pet owners who want little more than to tax our hard-won skills only as far as our way with a syringe-full of pink juice is concerned. Interestingly, I’ve found suburban versions of this individual to be surprisingly uniform in a couple of ways: 1) They inevitably supply one or more reasons for taking such drastic action. In this case, for example, the predominant complaint was that the cat urinated on everything and—sin of all sins—refused to live outdoors …
Regenerative Medicine Gives Back To Hero DogsMay 24, 2012 Two 9/11 search and rescue dogs suffering from severe degenerative joint disease are able to live out their days in greater comfort after receiving stem cell regenerative therapy. MediVet America donated the service because it wanted to reward the animals that responded with their owners after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, said Katherine Wilkie, director of the company laboratory in Nicholasville, Ky. “We just want to make them comfortable and happy in their retirement,” Wilkie said. Wilkie was present at the Companion Animal Hospital in Goodlettsville, Tenn., where Bailey received her stem cell therapy last Veterans Day. Bailey had served at the Pentagon and had worked in search and rescue for several years before retiring. “It was pretty obvious early on that there was not going to be any live work” the day of the attacks, said Keith Lindley, Bailey’s owner. “Bailey was not a cadaver dog, so she became a therapy dog for the rescuers.” Bailey’s was the first stem cell procedure performed by Mary Ergan, DVM. Bailey presented with severe osteoarthritis of the elbows. “She’s about a 50-pound Labrador retriever, so a small-framed dog that was otherwise in good condition,” Dr. Ergan …
Education Dispels Myths Around Nutrition’s Role In GI DiseaseMay 23, 2012 Owners have a lot of choices when it comes to feeding their dogs, but they do not always make nutritionally sound judgments when selecting a pet food. This may be one reason why gastrointestinal problems are among the top 10 reasons that owners take their dogs to the veterinarian, according to the Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. “Often owners want recommendations for food,” said Davinne Glenn, DVM, co-owner of Veterinary Center of Liberty in Missouri. “Large retail stores have rows and rows of different foods, and owners can find many opinions about what makes a quality food from people who might not have any veterinary nutritional training. It can be overwhelming.” Owners sometimes fail to recognize the role a bad pet food can play in causing GI problems, nor do they realize that a good pet food can prevent some of these problems or keep a dog from suffering exacerbations of a chronic condition. Conditions “Gastrointestinal problems are the most common reasons owners bring their dogs to a veterinary hospital,” says Kara Burns, MS, MEd, LVT, a veterinary technician specialist at Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc. in Topeka, Kan. “Owners fail to recognize that many GI disorders …
Practical Applications Of ProbioticsMay 21, 2012 Thanks to Dannon Co. and its advertising spokeswoman Jamie Lee Curtis, TV watchers are paying closer attention to probiotics for getting an irregular GI tract back to normal. The trend extends to the veterinary clinic, too. Veterinarians are fielding more client questions about probiotics and about using the beneficial organisms to improve or maintain animal health. The first thing a veterinarian may want to clarify is any confusion between the terms “prebiotic” and “probiotic.” “A prebiotic is a type of soluble dietary fiber that stimulates the growth or activity of beneficial bacteria in the intestines and may improve the host’s health,” says Amy Dicke, DVM, technical services veterinarian for P&G Pet Care. “Probiotics are live bacterial preparations containing beneficial microorganisms similar to those found naturally in people and pets and which provide health benefits,” Dr. Dicke says. “There’s been an expansion of nutrition interest between clinic walls because we’re discovering more ways to use nutrition to improve health. Right now, veterinarians likely mention nutrition when moving a pet to a therapeutic diet, but not before.” Specialists have debunked the idea that bacteria had to come from the same species getting the probiotic. “The …
Enlist Clients In Battle Against DiabetesMay 3, 2012 With November being National Pet Diabetes Month, veterinarians have an excellent opportunity to educate their clients about this growing epidemic. Pet owners should be familiar with the signs and symptoms of the disease, have an understanding of the disease process, and know about treatment options. By keeping pet owners actively involved in the care of their pets, veterinarians gain an ally in the battle against diabetes. The classic symptoms of diabetes are increased thirst, increased appetite and increased urination. In addition to the textbook symptoms of polydipsia, polyphagia, and polyuria, pets with diabetes may become lethargic, lose weight, have a dull coat, and in dogs, develop cataracts. Pet owners should be familiar with the signs and symptoms of diabetes so they can promptly seek veterinary care if these develop. Diabetes mellitus develops when the body is unable to regulate the amount of sugar in the bloodstream. In Type 1 diabetes (insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or IDDM), the body is unable to produce the hormone insulin. Insulin is released into the bloodstream when sugar levels are high and directs cells to remove sugar from the bloodstream and into cells to be stored or used for energy. …
The Changing World Of Veterinary Anesthesia Guidelines And MonitoringMay 2, 2012 UPDATE: AAHA released its anesthesia guidelines in early November. The American Animal Hospital Association is poised to release the first-of-its-kind small animal anesthesia guidelines. A task force comprising six board-certified veterinary anesthesiologists and a certified technician specializing in anesthesia created the approximately 10-page document in an 11-month timeframe. The AAHA guidelines is an all-inclusive, easily digestible document created for use by the entire veterinary team. With expanding anesthesia capabilities for the profession, Jason Merrihew, associate public relations manager at AAHA, says the association recognized the need to develop guidelines for veterinary professionals. He attributes the multitude of factors to consider when sedating or anesthetizing a healthy dog or cat, as well as the pet with one or more medical conditions a leading incentive. “AAHA’s guidelines include information on pre-anesthesia bloodwork, examination, equipment, staffing recommendations, monitoring from induction through recovery, pain management, drug choices, drug combinations, what drugs to use according to patients’ age, body type and temperament,” says Richard Bednarski, DVM, Dipl. ACVA, associate professor (anesthesia) at The Ohio State University in Columbus and chair for AAHA anesthesia guidelines. “These guidelines differ from the American College of Veterinary Anesthesiologists’ (ACVA) anesthesia monitoring guidelines because their …
Keeping Hospice In Veterinary HandsMay 2, 2012 Our focus with this article is on people who compulsively collect old or sick animals and proclaim themselves operators of pet hospice homes or sanctuaries. Unfortunately, most of these self-proclaimed hospice workers use little to no veterinary medical supervision. Their collected animals suffer to death without proper pain management, comfort care or the human-animal bond. They might have started out as good Samaritans, working alone or with a group, rescuing animals and keeping a few, then a few more. Over time, they develop a strong urge to “save” more old and sick animals that were “abandoned.” That urge develops into a compulsive disorder. They collect more and more old, sick and special-needs animals. When their animals die, they exhibit tearful distress, blind denial or experience a pathological enlightenment. Their compulsiveness to collect more animals winds up harming their animals, themselves, their neighbors and their communities. A certain percentage of compulsive collectors of sick and old animals can maintain their operations for a time. But eventually many find themselves overworked, in debt, depressed and overwhelmed. The tipping point is when they acquire more animals than they can properly care for and house. Another tipping point into …
The Problematic Deciduous Canine ToothMay 1, 2012 I received a call from a referring veterinarian. He saw on his appointment book that a puppy was scheduled to have its four firmly rooted persistent deciduous canine teeth extracted. His 30-plus years of experience led him to conclude that firmly rooted deciduous canine teeth were among the most challenging extractions to perform. I agreed wholeheartedly. Looking for Answers What causes persistent deciduous teeth? To answer, we need to know what causes deciduous teeth to be normally shed. Resorption of permanent teeth is a pathological condition, but resorption of the deciduous tooth root is considered to be a physiologic process in which osteoclasts, osteoblasts and tooth-resorbing cells called odontoclasts work in concert to allow for resorption of the deciduous tooth root as the permanent tooth root moves into the area the deciduous root once occupied. As a result, the deciduous crown is shed. In cases where no permanent tooth is present, or if the permanent tooth is not in the correct location, the physiologic resorption of the deciduous tooth root does not occur at its regular time, and it may take years for the deciduous tooth root to resorb. Note that I used …
The Benefit Of Low Fat Pet Food In Dogs With GI DiseaseApril 27, 2012 Lipids are water-insoluble molecules that have many crucial functions in dogs. There are a variety of different lipids, but the only lipids that are routinely quantified in dogs are triglycerides and cholesterol. Hyperlipidemia refers to a state of abnormally increased blood concentrations of triglycerides, cholesterol or both. One indication for low-fat dietary intake in dogs with gastrointestinal disease is the management of dogs with hypertriglyceridemia with GI disease presumed to be due to or related to hypertriglyceridemia. The second indication is a group of dogs that have a normal serum triglyceride concentration, but have GI disorders resulting in difficulty to digest and/or absorb normal amounts of fat in pet food or dogs with lymphatic abnormalities. Hypertriglyceridemia is very common in dogs.1 In one recent study, 611 routine chemistry profiles in dogs performed at a private veterinary laboratory in Italy were evaluated and 33 dogs (5.4 percent) showed hypertriglyceridemia.1 Certain breeds have been identified as being much more commonly affected by hypertriglyceridemia. In a recent study of 192 healthy miniature schnauzers, 63 (32.8 percent) had hypertriglyceridemia.2 Definitive differentiation between primary or secondary hypertriglyceridemia is sometimes difficult, but is based on …
