New Veterinarian Reality Series

There is a new reality series in town!!! But this time instead of being about rich families and marrying a bachelor its all about veterinarians! It a series called Veterinarian on Call, on YouTube. It is mainly focusing on large animal vets. They even have Dr. Peter Ostrum, who you may all know better as 'Charlie', from Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory!  A video of him and a dairy cow are below but go check out all the other videos on YouTube as well.

I watched several of the videos and thought they were wonderful. I really like them because they focus on large animal medicine. I think they are helping people see and understand where their food comes from.  I grew up in a rural community have been active in agriculture my whole life.  So it is always shocking to me the number of people who have never had the opportunity to see or touch a cow or pig in person!  Baby pigs are just about the cutest thing you'll ever see, everyone should have at least one opportunity to see and hold one in their life.

LOVE IT! LOVE IT!!

Best Pet Products of 2011

Every Year Veterinarian Marty Becker,  polls 100 of the top professionals in the veterinary and pet fields to nominate their favorite new products.   Becker visited "Good Morning America" to show the top six products that made the list for 2011.

I thought some of the products were super cool, like the challenging cat feeding station and the dog squeaky toy that only the dog can hear!!  But...., I didn't really care for the Lickety-Stik, it sounds like it probably smells bad and then the roller ball dispenser is going to be covered in slobbers... Yuck!

Here is the link.  Instead of posting it all on my page, this is one that would be better to go to.  It has numerous embedded links to take you to all the products.

BEST PET PRODUCTS- 2011
 
Let me know what you think about these products or if you already have them and love or hate them!  I would love to have some feedback.

Bo Has A Home!!

Just an update: Bo has a new home!!  He went to live there about 4 days ago and is doing great per his new owner.  I guess Bo is already telling all his new siblings how things are going to be run!  I am so thankful that this wonderful little dog has a great home!  Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers!

'Bo' - A Special Dog needs a Special Home

I'll start by telling you the reason for this blog and then if you want to go ahead and read his story you can.  We have been fostering Bo, a 3 year old medium mixed breed for ~2 months.  He is in need of a very special home.  I would love to have him, but if you follow my blog you know I have 5 pets!  And to top it off Ebby the Diva has told me she will tolerate no more pets!! 

Bo came to us as  hit-by-car.  He had some very significant wounds that required aggressive-repetitive surgeries to get them to healed up.  It was shortly following one of these surgeries that Bo threw a blood clot.  This blood clot lodged in a blood vessel that supplied both of his rear legs.  Initially he was very painful and had no pulse or feeling in his rear legs.  Within 24-48 hours he was less painful, pulses had returned and he could feel his legs.  The problem was he had long term damage to the muscles and nerves of his rear legs.  This kind of trauma would require long term care and management.  Bo had a very compassionate owner that decided at that time she wouldn't be able to provide the care Bo was going to need.  So she signed him over to me to continue on with his care and recovery. 

At this point I had no idea as to what to expect in terms of Bo's eventual outcome.  We contacted several veterinary surgeons and internal medicine specialists, but they had never seen a case likes Bo's.  They reported most dogs with his condition had to be put to sleep because they never regained any function in their back legs.  I think Bo's un-ending spirit and wonderful personality is what has allowed for him to make it through this.  He has the whole staff here doing his bidding and he makes instant friends with any new person he meets. 

He has slowly began to learn to use his rear legs some and depend more on his front legs when needed.  He is currently receiving daily physical therapy and goes to the animal physical therapist once to twice a week.    He gets around un-assisted now and even goes up and down stairs without help!! (I included a video of him going up and down stairs when there was snow on the ground!)  He is so independent, sometimes you forget he has a disability.  As one of my clients said the other day, "He doesn't know he's disabled, he's just a happy dog".  He just doesnt' let anything get him down!! 



Cherry and Bo

 He absolutely loves other dogs!  He loves big and little dogs, he is equal opportunity.  Him and my dog Cherry(she's big-50#), love to play tug-of-war and chase around my house!!    Cherry doesn't treat Bo like his is disabled and he loves that!  I would recommend Bo doesn't go to a house with kids.  They seem to stress him out (I can understand this, they stress me out a little to!!)  If the kids are bigger and not such scary little creatures I think he would be ok with that!!!  LOL!!



I feel like Bo will always have some degree of disability with his rear legs.  This is why he needs an extra special owner.  Someone who is willing to accept this and love him for it!  As of right now he is having physical therapy 3 times a day and on pain management.  I don't know what long term care he will need, Bo will have to let us know as time goes by.  He really is a great dog and with all he's been through he deserves an great home!!  Please feel free to comment back or contact us here at the clinic if your interested in Bo.  He is taking interviews Monday-Friday!  Phone here is 817-465-1401

Cat and Dog Treat Recipes

I found some tasty and healthy sounding dog and cat treats, for those of you who might want to make your pets a holiday gift of their own.  I know tasty and healthy don't usually go together but these really do sound good.  In my research of treats I will have to say to beware.  There were so many treats out there that we loading with fattening meats(bacon!), grease(lard), and/or dairy(cows) milk.  To me, those recipes are going to prompt a trip to the veterinarian for diarrhea and vomiting!  And for sure if your pet is on a special diet or has a sensitive stomach these treat recipes may not be for them.  Ask your vet to look at the recipe if you have any concerns.

Dog Treat Recipes:
-Peanut Butter Dog Treat with Safflower Oil
-Homemade Peanut Butter Dog Treat with Soy milk

Cat Treat Recipes:
-Tuna Tidbits
-Chick N'Biscuits

Homemade Dog-cat Treats

Hazardous Holiday Plants

I am reposting this from last year, really good recycled information!!



As everyone is aware the holiday's are upon us. There are trees, decorations, and holiday foods everywhere!  In this blog I'm just going to address holiday plants, such as the poinsettia, mistletoe, and the Christmas tree.

-Poinsetta(Euphorbia pulcherrima):  The poinsettia has long been deemed highly toxic by folklore, and perhaps is as a result of misidentification of a plant involved in a lethal toxicosis.  In experiments is had failed to produce toxicosis...  However, in instances where small animals ingest a large quantity it can produce considerable vomiting and diarrhea.  All plant parts (leaves, stems, flower) are irritating. 

-Mistletoe(Phoradendron Serotinum):  This is the American mistletoe, it is actually a parasite of other trees such as oak or walnut.  The leaves and red berries are both toxic!  As little as three berries could be toxic to your pet or a child if eaten.  It causes sudden stomach and intestinal upset, which results in vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea.  This can rapidly progress onto collapse of the heart and vascular system.  If proper treatment isn't initiated then death can occur within 10-16 hours after ingestion.  Due to the toxicity of this plant I recommend people just have the fake-plastic mistletoe if they need a plant to kiss under....

-Live Christmas Tree:  Most common types of trees (Spruce, Fir, Pine) are non-toxic.  The only real concern is if the pet ingests enough needles that it causes an obstruction (block them up, so feces can't pass).  Many pets also decide that the Christmas tree water is a wonderful new watering hole and drink more water than the tree does.  This water often has preservatives in it. These preservatives are primarily diluted sugar and NPK fertilizer. Most animals that drink the water develop no signs. On occasion mild stomach and intestinal signs occur, and rarely, bacterial/fungal contamination of the water may lead to more severe signs.

-Amaryllis:  This is a common bulb that is forced to bloom at Christmas time.  The bulb is actually the most toxic part, but the leaves in a large enough quantity are toxic as well.  Eating leaves generally only results in drooling, vomiting, and diarrhea.  The bulb on the other hand can cause low blood pressure, weakness, falling over, shaking and seizures.  Cats don't generally dig to find the bulb but if ingestion is suspected an immediate trip to the veterinarian is warranted. 

-Lily:  Lilies are more of an Easter flower but many are used in floral arrangements during the holidays.  Lilies(easter lily, day lily, tiger lily) can cause sudden kidney failure in cats.   Even minor exposures (bite on a leaf, ingestion of pollen) may result in toxicosis, so all feline exposures to lilies should be considered potentially life-threatening.  This means head straight to the vet for care, kidney failure can occur in 48-96 hours after ingestion.  These plants are colorful and fragrant which makes them 'uber' attractive to cats! So just don't have lilies if you have cats...

These are the most common plants ingested at the holidays, but don't forget all the yummy people food and stray holiday ribbon that is a source of concern as well.  Many of the holiday treats we have are super high in fats and sugars.  This can lead to symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea that can become severe enough to need a trip to the doctors office.  Those strings that are so pretty and shiny are also crazy exciting to cats!   The cats eat them and can they can cause an intestinal blockage. 

My cats have never, thankfully, eaten any ribbon.  Cedar (the orange cat) haassss pulled an entire Christmas tree over by himself!!  He did this by taking some beaded garland in his mouth and taking off in the other direction at full speed.  This caused the tree to fall over enough that half of the ornaments fell off, then the other half were smashed when the tree smacked back into the wall when Cedar let go of the garland!!!  This all occurred at about 2am when I had a house full of sleeping people!  He always has to be the center of attention, no matter the cost(his or mine)...

Everyone have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Be safe and keep your pets safe.

Discover Your Cat's "Real Age"

Science Diet pet food is hosting an online quiz to help cat owners determine their cat's 'Real Age', not just their calendar age.  I often have people ask me how old their cat is, in 'cat years', so as to compare to humans age.  Most people like to go by the simple rule of multiplying the cats calender age times 7, to say compare them to a 80 year old person.  I find that this isn't uniformly accurate, because of environmental and/or individual cat differences.

Science Diet has taken an innovative approach to cats age.  They ask questions about the cats body type and lifestyle, such as eating habits and activity levels, then calculates whether the cat is older, younger, or about the same age as its calendar year.  This questions are helpful in making you more aware of things you can do or change to make your cat healthier and live longer.  I really like the questions about exercise and measured feedings.  I think these are the two biggest things that cat owners aren't aware of.  That cats do need exercise and most cats really need to have their food measured and the amount regulated -no free choice..... :-(

                                
 Science Diet Age Quiz

FYI:  They also have a chance to win a spa vacation and food coupons.  I won't lie I signed right up for a chance at that spa vacation!!!