Tri-County Veterinary Hospital

Zoonosis:

The definition of zoonosis is a disease that humans can contract from animals (as opposed to contracting from other humans). There are approximately 1400 infectious diseases that affect humans. Almost half of those are zoonotic. The scary thing about that statistic is that a large number of human doctors are not adequately educated in these diseases. This venue is not adequate for a full discussion of all of the zoonotic diseases (which could fill a book) but I will attempt to touch on the highlights.

First of all, the most important zoonotic diseases to pet owners are generally the parasitic diseases such as roundworm and hookworm. These diseases, which commonly affect pets, are contagious to humans and can cause serious disease. The most commonly affected humans are children because of their poor hygiene habits (how many 4 year olds do you know who always wash their hands before eating?) The best defense against these diseases is handwashing and comprehensive parasite control in your pets. However, other places children (and adults) can come into contact with these parasites are in the garden or the yard since they both have larval stages that can live in soil. Other common pet related diseases are diseases such as ringworm (which is a FUNGUS, not a worm), sarcoptic mange (scabies), and toxoplasmosis. Of significant note, although human doctors generally warn their female patients about catching toxo from the cat’s dirty litter box, the most common source of toxo infection (over 80%) is either from contaminated produce purchased in the grocery store or from working in the dirt in a flower bed or garden, not from their cat.

The other types of zoonotic disease are far more serious. The most famous and well known one is rabies. However, most of the bioterrorism and biowarfare diseases (like anthrax, tularemia and salmonella) are also zoonotic. Currently in the news, you will hear of other zoonotic diseases like West Nile Virus (which is not only zoonotic, it is mosquito vectored) and H5N1 or Avian Influenza. What makes zoonosis so important to all of us is that over 70% of the new emerging diseases are zoonotic. This makes control of these diseases very complicated. Our predilection for travel and the total lack of any kind of biosecurity on our borders makes all nations very susceptible to new diseases. If we wanted to be safe from infectious diseases, we would need to do with people what we already do with animals – quarantine them upon arrival for 7-10 days. However, the economics of this and the “inconvenience” make such quarantine procedures unlikely to ever be adopted.

So, what do you do about all these scary diseases? The most important way to protect yourself from almost any zoonotic disease is good hygiene and sanitation. The second most important facet of prevention is to make sure that your pets are kept fully vaccinated and on good parasite prevention programs.

Feline AIDS (FIV) /Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV)

These viruses are terrible diseases of cats. Neither one of them has any known effect on humans. First of all, the feline AIDS virus is exactly like the human HIV virus and causes almost identical symptoms. It’s primary pathogenesis is the destruction of the immune system.

Feline AIDS affects between 1 in 8 to 1 in 12 cats depending on which study one reads. Actual infection rates in feral (wild, outdoor) cats is likely much higher but there is no real way to determine infection rate in those cats. FIV is spread primarily through bite wounds as the virus is shed in high numbers in the saliva. However, a healthy cat biting an infected cat can also pick up this disease through contact with blood. It is possible for a mother to transmit this disease to her unborn kittens as well. Cats infected with FIV may be clinically normal for years but will often die from the disease within 3-5 years. Initial signs can be limited to bad dental disease or loss of appetite but signs will progress to weight loss, sores in and around the mouth, poor hair coat, and chronic infections. Like HIV in humans, it is generally other diseases that will cause death. There is no treatment or cure for this disease.

There is a vaccine for this disease although the vaccine will cause cross reactivity with the tests for this disease (so a vaccinated cat will test positive even if it isn’t). This means that cats MUST be tested prior to vaccination and we recommend that all vaccinated cats be microchipped as well. The vaccine is expensive and requires annual revaccination but is highly recommended for outdoor cats. Call our office for details on this vaccine.

Feline Leukemia (FeLV) is a serious disease that not only causes sickness of the white blood cells (leukocytes) but, as evidenced in last month’s “Case of the Month”, actually causes cancer. Like FIV, it also causes mouth lesions, anemia, and skin problems but can also cause miscarriages, and chronic digestive and respiratory issues. Like FIV, this virus acts very similarly to the AIDS virus in humans (or the FIV virus in cats) and destroys the immune system’s ability to fight viruses, bacteria, and fungi.

FeLV is most commonly transmitted by saliva but low levels can be found in urine or feces so food or water dishes or litter boxes are possible sources of infection. Once a cat has been infected with FeLV virus, there are 3 possible outcomes:

40% will be able to resist the infection and not develop the disease

30% become latent carriers who, while never fully affected by the disease will

carry it and transmit it for the rest of their lives

30% will remain persistently infected and over 80% of these will die within 3

years. Death can be sudden or long and lingering.

There is no way to predict which of these three groups the cat will fall into.

There is a very effective vaccine for this devastating disease and I strongly recommend that all outside cats be vaccinated for this disease. Testing prior to vaccinating is recommended so that you know your cat’s status, especially since the animal can be clinically normal and still have the disease. The AAFP recommends that indoor cats be vaccinated every other year or every third year for this disease to offer them some immunity should they “sneak” outside. Since neither of these vaccines are 100% effective, retesting outdoor cats every 3 years is also recommended. . If you have further questions about zoonosis, FeLV or FIV, please don’t hesitate to email me at dr.kate@tri-countyvet.com

Why Pets Need Vaccinations

Bear with me folks! This is a complicated topic and necessitates a long reply.

There has been considerable media hype lately about “over vaccination” and the “dangers” of administering vaccines to our four legged companions. So, since you asked for it – lets take a few minutes away from the hype to look at some facts of vaccination.

First of all, prior to the discovery of vaccines, infectious disease was the leading cause of death for both humans and pets. However, safe and effective vaccinations have made most of us totally forget how life used to be. Let me refresh everyone’s memories on some of the diseases we do vaccinate for to remind you of the risks:

Rabies:

Transmitted via saliva or blood from an infected animal (principally skunks, bats, foxes, or raccoons but can be transmitted from and to any mammal), this disease is neither treatable nor curable. If your pet catches it, it will die. The really bad part of rabies is that you can also catch it… and you will die as well. The most common vector of rabies from animal to human is the cat. Cat’s generally get the so called “dumb rabies”, not the classic “mad” rabies and can hide any evidence that they are sick but a bite can and will infect a human. The odd thing about this to me is that cats are only vaccinated against this deadly disease about 30% of the time. All too often I hear a client say “it’s only a barn cat so I’m not going to vaccinate it”. Unfortunately, these are the very cats that need vaccinating the most as they are at highest risk for contracting disease.

Panleukopenia (cats)/Parvo (dogs)

This is the same disease (basically). It started in cats then mutated to affect dogs. According to a recent journal article I read, humans also have a strain of this virus. However, the cats only catch the “cat” version, the dogs the “dog” version and so forth. Cats can’t catch parvo from a dog nor is the reverse apparently possible at this time. Parvo viruses can only replicate in rapidly replicating cells such as those in the intestinal tract and the bone marrow. They attack not only the intestinal tract causing severe vomiting and diarrhea, they also wipe out the immune system. In young growing dogs, it can replicate in almost every cell of the body. However, despite “conventional wisdom”, parvo viruses can infect any age animal and the result is generally fatal without medical intervention. Parvo viruses are very hearty and can survive in the soil for years and years. These viruses are also extremely contagious and easily transmitted. A dog that has survived parvo will continue to shed virus in its stool for weeks.

Distemper

A “dog only” disease, this disease affects almost every system in the body. Starting as a severe respiratory infection with coughing, runny nose and eyes, it soon leads to severe vomiting and diarrhea. Incidentally, the “feline distemper” disease is actually panleukopenia, not this disease. If the dog survives this first stage of the disease (and many won’t), the disease will come back months to years later as a meningioencephalitis (an inflammation of the brain and brain stem like rabies) and these dogs will either be euthanized for seizure disorders or die from them. There is no treatment for distemper and the virus can be shed in the urine of infectious dogs for months.

There are numerous other diseases that we also vaccinate for but these are among the deadliest. Some of the diseases for which we recommend vaccination (like Leptospirosis which comes from exposure to contaminated ground water and causes kidney failure if left untreated) are also transmissible from pets to humans so in vaccinating your pet, you are also protecting yourself.

Now, are vaccines dangerous? Certainly they come with some inherent risks. However, the risks of a serious reaction in any pet are very small (less than 1/10,000) regardless of breed, size, or age of dog (no matter what the breeders of some toy breeds will try to tell you). The risk of a dog catching parvo in this region is extremely high. Cat owners are very concerned about the sarcoma (cancer) that has been “associated” with vaccination. However, the facts of the matter are that ANY subcutaneous injection in a cat can increase its risk of developing sarcoma, including a simple injection of saline or even a simple needle stick. But, depending on whom you read (and want to believe), the chance of a kitty developing sarcoma is one in thousands to tens of thousands. The chance of the same cat contracting panleukopenia is much higher – as is the risk of a cat that goes outdoors contracting feline leukemia. So, it comes down to a matter of which odds you want to work with.

So, why do some recommend vaccination every three years? Again, in fact, this interval was created out of thin air with absolutely no scientific research behind it and was loosely based on the fact that some rabies vaccines are labeled for every three year use. Incidentally, there is NO rabies vaccine approved for every 5 years although I keep hearing people tell me that their pet is vaccinated for the next 5 years. But several years ago, the media got their hands on some research suggesting that vaccine titers may last (and in fact, probably do last) longer than 1 year. Somehow this came to be assumed that vaccines were dangerous for your pets and from there some really radical individuals began suggesting that perhaps you shouldn’t vaccinate your pets at all since we don’t see any of these nasty infectious diseases any more. But this is hype. So, lets look at facts.

The study that started this fad dealt with 12 beagles in a laboratory setting. The presumption was that since they were vaccinated as puppies then never got sick, they didn’t need any additional vaccines. For those of you who aren’t scientifically minded, let me point out the errors in this study. First of all, there were no “controls” (animals who weren’t vaccinated at all). Secondly, there were only 12 animals – not particularly statistically relevant. Thirdly, these animals lived in a laboratory where the natural exposure to pathogens was nonexistent. Finally, there was no challenge (the animals were never administered any viruses). It doesn’t take any scientific degree to realize that if you are never exposed to a disease, you will never get sick. Even our most coddled house pets do occasionally get on the ground – or, more insidious still, we go out and putter in our gardens and dig in soil, which can bring pathogens into our “safe” houses. One of the biggest reasons that we don’t see distemper on a regular basis these days is because so many of our pets are vaccinated and the vaccines are very effective. However, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that distemper is an eradicated disease. It thrives in many wild animals and is simply waiting for an “innocent” (nonvaccinated) population in order to strike. In fact, in this clinic, we had a distemper case about 1 month ago. The outcome for this wonderful dog was tragic – as distemper is neither treatable nor curable, she was euthanized.

But back to our story. Some have now suggested that you don’t need to vaccinate your pets every year. They say that the vaccine titer (the antibody response generated by your immune system) lasts longer than a year thereby “proving” their point. Again, let me point out some chilling facts. To my knowledge (and if some reader knows better, please email me!) there has been no definitive study that has proven that a high titer means you are immune to disease… or that a low titer means you are susceptible to that same disease. It has been suggested that rather than vaccinating every year, you should merely check vaccine titers and then vaccinate only when they drop. However, not only are titers expensive to run (generally over $100/disease), the usefulness of these tests have yet to be determined.

So, what can we do to both protect our pets from deadly diseases AND manage the risks associated with vaccines? The best advice is to discuss your particular pet and their particular lifestyle with your veterinarian. This gives us a chance to look at the risks and individualize a vaccination protocol. The days of “vaccinate every pet for every disease” are over but continuing to protect our pets (and ourselves) from these diseases is critical and stopping vaccinations is not the answer.

If you have questions about this month’s topic, you may email me at dr.kate@tri-countyvet.com and I will post relevant answers to questions to this page as the month progresses.

PARVO

Parvo viral enteritis is one of the most frustrating diseases I have to treat. It is a TOTALLY preventable disease with vaccination. Regrettably, only about 5% of the parvo cases I see are puppies that have come from shelters that the owners picked up a few days previously. The large majority of these cases are owned animals that the owners have had for months to years and have simply not “gotten around” to vaccinating.

Parvo virus in dogs first appeared in the late 1970’s as a new emerging disease. It caused widespread devastation in the dog population before a vaccine was developed. Canine parvo virus actually is a mutation of the feline panleukopenia virus. While the original panleukopenia virus still only affects cats, the canine parvo virus not only affects domestic dogs but can also affect foxes and any wild canine, such as the red wolf. In fact, many of the red wolves released into the Smokey Mountains have died from this disease. As an encapsulated virus, this virus is very hearty in the environment and can live for months to years outside the host without any difficulty.

Parvo has two main mechanisms of causing disease: first of all, it can only reproduce in cells of the body that are replicating. This limits the places it can replicate itself to the cells lining the intestinal tract and the cells of the bone marrow. The destruction of the cells lining the intestinal tract causes profound and bloody diarrhea and vomiting. Additionally, this destruction permits the normal bacteria that live in the gut to leave and get into the bloodstream. Although these bacteria are beneficial (and, indeed, essential) to digestion, in the blood stream they can cause serious disease and even death. The second place that parvo effects is the bone marrow and therefore, the immune system. Since the bone marrow is responsible for making most of our white blood cells, when the production of WBC’s drops, our resistance to disease also vanishes. This “double whammy” accounts for much of the fatality of parvo virus. In our experience, animals hospitalized for parvo do best with better than 90% surviving. However, parvo veterinary bills can easily exceed $1000. Home therapy will pull about 50% of the cases through and is cheaper, averaging $350. If parvo dogs receive no therapy, over 95% of them will die from the disease. Of course, the easiest (and cheapest) thing to do is to VACCINATE!!! The vaccines we use are very effective and work well. Keep in mind, a single vaccine for parvo (or any other disease) will not protect your pet as vaccines ALL need boosters to be effective. Also, parvo vaccines need to be repeated on an annual basis to protect your pet.

As usual, if you have questions you may email me at dr.kate@tri-countyvet.com.

Just click on the topic below that you would like to view.

So, Joe and I went to Hawaii with my parents who were celebrating their 45th Anniversary. We arrived in Kailua-Kona on Sat, July 8 after about 36 hours of being awake. The airport at Kona is in the middle of a lava field!

I suspect the airport is where it used to be before the lava flow in 1981 covered it. But all they did was bulldoze the lava flat and rebuild. We stayed at a lovely condo south of Kona.

And yes, this is the Kona that is famous for its coffee. Community Appreciation Day is only 2 months away and we will be giving away a bag of Kona Coffee as a door prize AND have a bag available for the silent auction so – all you coffee lovers, please come out and see how you do! We did visit a coffee plantation while in Kona and it was really interesting to see how coffee gets from the plant to the finished progress.

The Big Island is most famous for Hawaii Volcanos National Park. We spent a full day at the park. Mauna Loa Volcano stands almost 14,000 feet above sea level and 16,000 feet below sea level making it the largest mountain in the world. We even hiked out to see the lava after dark.

The photos do NOT do the event justice as it was one of the most awe inspiring things I have ever done!

We stayed at a great little bed and breakfast in Hilo (the town nearest to Volcanos National Park).

The view from there was phenomenal – the house perches on a cliff.

Of course, the front yard USED to be 45’ wider but has since shrunk to its current size after a large chunk fell into the ocean back in the 1960’s during some of the earthquakes the volcanos generated!

One of the many highlights was the hike to Akaka Falls. My dad was very proud to be able to do the entire hike.

Although people think “tropical” when they think Hawaii, every climataolgical condition in the world exists on the big island. Parker Ranch is the 5th largest producer of beef in the world.

The wind never stops blowing on this remote farm (as these trees show)

and it stays about 65 degrees and rainy all year round in Waimea.

On one day, the boys (Joe and Dad) went on a helicopter ride.

But Mom and I went to the beach. This beach was renowned for its healing properties by the native Hawaiins. All I can say is it was lovely.

Joe was very excited about the helicopter ride. We spent the rest of that day wandering around the north end of the island. My favorite place in all Hawaii was found there – Polulo Valley.

Many of the roads in Hawaii are very minimally traveled, like State Route 250 from the town of Hawi to Waimea. Since you change several thousand feet in elevation, the views can be spectacular.

At the end of a wonderful week, we flew to Honolulu to dive into the 143 Annual AVMA Convention (and my REAL reason for going to Hawaii…. Sure it was J) We still had time for fun. Joe and I spent one evening on Waikiki Beach and ate at a great “grill your own” restaurant.

Joe even tried his hand at surfing! Go baby, go!

Of course, everyone needs to go see Pearl Harbor… apparently, everyone in Hawaii picked the same day we did!

The lines were terrible but we eventually made our way to the Arizona Memorial. It was a somber and sobering event. I found Pearl Harbor very emotionally moving.

Over 1100 men died when the Arizona sank in 9 minutes after being bombed with a direct hit to her forward powder magazine and most of them still lie beneath the water, entombed in the ship in which they died.

The ship still bleeds oil, but the out of respect to the dead, the tanks remain undrained. We also visited the USS Bowfin,

the Revenge of Pearl Harbor. She was the first sub back out of the harbor and was responsible for sinking some of the very ships that were responsible for the attack.

Though the conference dominated most of the week in O’ahu, we did find time to sight see. We drove up to the Pali Lookout. Like many other things in Islands, it was spectacular despite the fact that this is where King Kamehameha I tossed his enemies over a cliff after they lost a battle with him.

The entire island of O’ahu is a slowly eroding massive volcano leaving huge cliffs in some areas.

I have to admit, clouds were also fascinating on both islands.

Although we loved Hawaii, we did have to return and since we didn’t win the lottery, we won’t be moving there any time soon! We spent our last evening at a lovely restaurant on the beach watching the sunset. A fitting end to a great vacation!

Highlights from Hawai'i.

To view the photos full size just click on them.

This was a fascinating lecture that I attended at the AVMA Convention. There is a specific protein, p-glycoprotein (PG) that is normally found on the cells of dogs (and people). This protein is an protective protein – it actively pumps any foreign product (think chemicals) that it can grab hold of out of the cells. For example, if you get something like an anesthetic into the cell, PG actively removes it. This is normal. There are a huge variety of things that PG can grab ranging from metronidazole (Flagyl), a drug commonly used for parasites and diarrhea to common anesthetic agents to ivermectin – a common heartworm preventative. These drugs are all actually quite dangerous if allowed to stay in the cells but in a normal dog, they are rapidly removed. While PG is most commonly found on the surface of cells in the central nervous system, it is also found on the surface of some cancer cells. This is very bad because PG also has the ability to rapidly remove many of our chemotherapeutic agents from these cells making them almost totally resistant to the drugs we commonly use for cancer therapy.

PG deficiency in dogs was actually discovered totally by accident. While we’ve known for years that collies and related breeds are overly sensitive to ivermectin, we’ve never quite known why. Several years ago, certain researchers in Canada began breeding gene deficient mice. This is how they try to learn what genes actually do. If a mouse is deficient in a gene and then develops problems, that tells us a lot about how that gene functions. So, they bred a colony of mice deficient in PG. And discovered that the mice were perfectly healthy. They lived normal lives and seemed to have no problems. This was very disappointing to the researchers. However, they had spent thousands of dollars developing these mice so they kept them but basically ignored them. Some months later, another colony of mice in the same room developed mites (a common problem in lab medicine). The standard treatment is Selamectin (the active ingredient in Revolution) in a fog through the room. They did this overnight and the following morning, all the mites in the one colony were dead… and so were all the PG deficient mice. Since selamectin is closely related to ivermectin, one of the vets thought to themselves “wow, I wonder if this is the problem with collies and ivermectin toxicity” and started researching. They discovered later that yes, animals without PG can not tolerate ivermectin because they have no ability to get it out of their central nervous system where it causes severe (deadly) depression and coma. In a normal animal, ivermectin never reaches any concentration in the central nervous system because PG just pumps it out as fast as it comes in.

This discovery has led to a huge surge in investigation of gene deficiencies as causes of many things in both people and animals. It is a very exciting field of research. For example, if your dog is PG deficient, we need to be very cautious with what anesthetics we use because while one class of commonly used drugs will be perfectly safe, another class of commonly used drugs may be fatal. Also, if the deficient animal develops diarrhea, there are several common antidiarrheals (including Immodium) that can be extraordinarily dangerous although they are totally safe in a normal animal.

Currently there is only one test available for dogs and that is for PG deficiency. However, within the next several years, we expect to develop many more tests to look for genetic problems in both pets and people. After all, wouldn’t it be great to know that your dog whether or not your dog will respond normally to a drug before we use it? What about for you?

As usual, if you have any questions concerning this month’s topic, stop in and see me or email me at dr.kate@tri-countyvet.com

Genetic Testing and Drug Effectiveness.

Winterizing your Pet

Whether your pet is indoor or outdoor, wintertime requires at least a little prep work to make sure your pet is safe during winter months. Although the last few winters have been mild, there are already some warning signs that this winter may be harsh. So, you voted… here is it!

First of all, a fresh UNFROZEN water supply is of critical importance to pets, especially outdoors ones. Dehydration is a common source of illness in the winter and one that people often don’t think about. I recommend heated water bowls (available from most pet stores) if your dog or cat is outdoor exclusive. However, if you don’t have that available to you, you can give your pets a warm drink twice a day. Some pets actually enjoy warm water in the winter (don’t you like a warm drink when it’s cold?) Other things you can do is use insulated water bowls or wrap a towel around the bowl to keep the heat in longer. Either way, you MUST check your pet’s water supply twice daily all year around. If you know that it is going to be a particularly cold night, a small “bedtime snack” can also help your pet have a comfortable night.

Lots of outdoor animals have very wooly coats in the winter. This can hide all sorts of problems like weight loss or weight gain. It is not healthy for pets to be made fat “for insulation” in the winter (although I keep hearing clients tell me that). Pets should maintain a healthy body weight year around. But fluffy pets can lose weight and you be totally unaware of it so make sure you feel your dog or cat’s ribs daily to make sure they are comfortably padded…. But still palpable! Thick-coated animals will also need additional brushing as their winter coats come in to prevent matting. A matted animal can freeze to death where a properly groomed animal may be just fine. If it is unusually cold (below 15 degrees), I recommend ALL pets be brought indoors.

No matter how thick the coat, all animals need protection from the elements to survive cold weather. This means a dog (or cat) house that is wind proof and water proof. A leaky roof can let your pet get wet and in cold weather (or even cool weather), a wet pet can die of hypothermia. This is especially a risk for smaller pets with a higher surface to body mass ratio. The smaller the animal, the faster they can get cold. Pet houses should be carefully sized for your animal. Putting a 10# dog in a great dane’s dog house simply is not acceptable. People seem to think that “bigger is better”. However, the whole principle of the doghouse is that the dog can heat it up by body heat. If it is too large, the dog can and will still freeze to death. A simple way to check is to stick your hand in the dog house an hour or so after the dog has bedded down on a chilly night. If the air is significantly warmer than the outside air, then you’re fine. If it is not, your house may be too large or too drafty.

I recommend that the houses have doors on them in the winter to prevent wind from sucking the warmed air out of the houses. If the dog or cat house does not have a door (and you can make one by tacking a towel or piece of carpet to the door to make a “flap”), make sure the opening is NOT facing into the wind. Also, make sure the house in wind tight – drafty doghouses are almost as bad as nothing. I strongly recommend Igloo doghouses. Cats also need cozy dwellings in the wintertime. I will never forget a neighbor that I used to have seemed to think that a piece of carpet (short pile) on a chair on the front porch was adequate shelter for their cat… and how befuddled they were when they came outside one morning and came banging on my door when the poor cat froze solid in temperatures of only 21 degrees. In a proper cat box (wind proof and with proper bedding), the totally outdoor longhaired cat would have been fine.

Bedding inside the houses is as important as the houses themselves. Animals need 3 dimensional bedding – i.e. something they can snuggle down in. As previously mentioned, a piece of carpet is not adequate – there is no ability to snuggle. When thinking about the bedding in your dog (or cat) house, think about this: if you were sleeping out here with no blanket and only a pair of long johns, a pair of jeans and a sweater, would you be warm enough? Good bedding options include things like straw or wood chips – although you need to watch and make sure these are not getting so packed down that the dog can’t snuggle – or a purchased dog bed – typically foam with a fleece covering. A regular blanket is really not good because blankets, once they are mashed flat, are simply poor retainers of body heat and since dogs and cats don’t have thumbs, they aren’t much good at “fluffing” the blanket. Fleece blankets can make good bedding, however, since they don’t “pack” flat quite so easily.

Every year, I hear clients tell me “I have this great dog house but my dog won’t go in it.” The first thing I ask is “does your dog seem comfortable?” Most of the time, the clients tell me “yes” in which case I tell them that it is simply important to provide the shelter if the dog wants it. Be advised, it is state law that all outdoor pets have access to food, water and shelter. On the rare occasions the owner says that the dog seems cold, there are a few things to consider about making your doghouse attractive to your dog. Keep in mind, although straw or wood chips are not bad bedding options, if your dog is allergic to wood or mold or grass, lying in such bedding can make them itch…. So they will lay out in the cold. Also, some people purchase wooden doghouses then paint them. Paint fumes that we cannot even detect can be very irksome to most dogs. I don’t recommend painting a doghouse except in the spring of the year. Then it has all summer to bake out the fumes. If you have a door on the doghouse or have recently installed a door, some training may be involved to show the dog how to use the door.

In closing, let me remind everyone that many pets put on weight in the winter… as do many people… largely because of lack of exercise. So, don’t slack off on the walks just because it’s cold out there – both you and Fido need it!

As usual, if you have questions about this month’s topic, you may reach me at the office!

HO HO HO! The holidays are rapidly bearing down on us and it’s time to write about some of the dangers associated with this time of year. While everyone knows that antifreeze is a winter time danger for pets (although the ASPCA reports that this problem is not actually seasonal), the less obvious problems are the ones I wanted to talk about.

First of all, as I’ve been hearing spoofed on the radio, “it’s the most fattening time of the year”. There’s a ton of yummies laying around for everyone this time of year and most of them are bad for pets. Chocolate, of course is a terrible thing for pets (they don’t have the right enzyme to digest it properly and the chemicals in chocolate can be fatal) but many of the other goodies that can be lying around during the holidays are almost as bad. Dogs and cats (and people) don’t need to be eating lots of sugar and even nonchocolate sweets can make them sick. So, keep the plum pudding for the 2 legged folks, not the four.

Ribbons and bows…. That’s both the line out of a song and a huge hazard for pets. Ribbons, bows, and tinsel are all very appealing to both cats and some dogs. These things can cause severe injury to your pet. So, if you have cats, no tinsel on the tree and regardless of whether your pet is a cat or a dog, watch out for lots of bows under the tree unless you know your pet is not a bow eater.

Traveling is a large part of many folk’s holiday preparations. If you plan to travel with your pet, you need to make sure your pet is traveling safely. I strongly recommend all pets either be in a seat belt restraint or safely secure in a carrier.

Last year, we had LOTS of sick pets because of Christmas goodies purchased at retail outlets like pet stores, grocery stores and the all mighty Wal-Mart. So, in an effort to keep the puppies and kitties of the world (or at least our region) a little healthier, we are offering Christmas Stockings for either dogs or cats for $9.99 at the clinic. They can even be customized to your pet or custom stuffed with goodies. We can even use your favorite stocking! Call or come by for more info!

Finally, keep in mind; poinsettias are lovely… and toxic as all get out so keep your kitties away from them!

I wish you all the best for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!