Clients Like to Travel? Why You Should Talk to Them About Pet-Friendly DestinationsApril 18, 2016Is your veterinary practice ready to educate clients about including their pet in a family vacation? They’ll appreciate your help with tips for planning ahead to get the most from the experience. Many of your clients reduce the number of trips they take because they worry about boarding their pet too often. That’s true even when an outstanding boarding facility is available. Of course, the quality and attitude of lodging businesses vary a lot. Your practice can become a hero by guiding them through steps they can take for locating places where their pet will be treated with love and respect. Don’t miss this opportunity to make clients know, like and trust your practice even more. How to Help Your Clients Plan Ahead Preparing to take your pet on vacation is not an overwhelming task. But there are several smart planning moves that can easily be overlooked. Here are a few things you can remind clients to do. ID your dog. That means microchipping and ID tag on a collar. Health status. Carry a written record of current examination, vaccinations and parasite preventatives. A list …
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Funds Raised to Help Dog Whose Legs Were Broken on PurposeApril 13, 2016A dog named Iris (nickname Dara’Lynn) came to the Pima Animal Care Center in Tucson, Ariz., last November with two broken legs. After examination, veterinarians determined that her legs had been broken for some time. Iris was treated, but even after four months, her legs still aren’t healing. Iris must wear splints, which cause problems of their own, including pressure sores and rashes. Go Fund Me Iris needs orthopedic surgery, so the Pima Animal Care Center put together a Go Fund Me fundraiser to help raise funds to pay for it. The surgery will be performed by Douglas A. Rohn, DVM, Diplomate ACVS of the Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson. As they write on their Go Fund Me page: “It is going to cost $3,400 by Dr Rohn who has generously offered to only charge us for one fracture. Dr Rohn is an extremely experienced boarded specialist and he is confident he can help Dara'Lynn run and play again! Please consider donating. Together we can mend the wrongs that have been committed against this innocent little sweetheart.” As of press time, the fundraiser has …
Florida Dog Impaled While Playing FetchApril 12, 2016A young dog is recovering after he was accidentally impaled on a 19-inch-long stick and swiftly treated at a BluePearl Veterinary Partners hospital in Tampa, Fla. The injury to Radar, a 1-year-old Australian cattle dog, occurred April 8 as he and his owner played a routine game of fetch in a park. The 2-inch-wide stick is believed to have stuck vertically into the ground as Radar pursued it, and then he somehow ran or fell onto it, puncturing his chest 8 inches deep. "It was terrifying," owner Maya Niewiadomska said. "It was one of the most terrifying things I have seen in my entire life." Luckily for Radar, his best friend knew what to do. Niewiadomska is studying to become a physician's assistant, so she knew not to remove the stick, which could have caused even more damage. Niewiadomska rushed Radar to the BluePearl specialty hospital. BluePearl Veterinary Partners operates 54 hospitals in 17 states. Radar was placed under anesthesia, and Nick Rappa, DVM, and Michael Reems, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, performed surgery to remove the stick and close the hole. Dr. Rappa said Radar's rib cage prevented the stick from damaging major organs. "Everything went extremely well," he said …
Pro Plan Adds Dry Urinary Food for DogsApril 11, 2016Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets now offers a kibble recipe for dogs dealing with urinary issues. UR Urinary Ox/St Canine Formula joins a canned variety that was introduced in March 2015 for the management of struvite and calcium oxalate bladder stones. The additional formula is a needed option for veterinarians and dog owners, said Jason Gagné, DVM, Dipl. ACVN, director of veterinary technical marketing at Purina Pro Plan. “While many veterinarians recommend canned diets for urolithiasis patients, some dogs prefer a dry kibble or may even refuse to eat canned food,” Dr. Gagné said. The dry UR diet is formulated to control mineral levels and create “a urinary environment that is unfavorable to the development of both sterile struvite and calcium oxalate crystals,” manufacturer Nestlé Purina PetCare Co. stated. The veterinary-exclusive formula supports the elimination of sterile struvite uroliths and reduces the risk of recurring struvite or calcium oxalate uroliths, the company added. The dry food is made from corn, brewer’s rice and chicken byproduct meal, among other ingredients. The canned recipe starts with chicken, rice and meat byproducts.
Dogs Found Shot With Arrows are Now Recovering Thanks to VetsApril 6, 2016A story that could have easily ended in tragedy for two dogs has a happy ending thanks to the efforts of a canine rescue organization and an emergency veterinary clinic. Two dogs were found injured and in pain and were taken to Tails of The Misunderstood Canine Rescue Society, in Calgary, Canada. They were then taken to the McKnight 24 Hour Veterinary Hospital in Calgary, which, to everyone's surprise, found arrows inside the dogs. "Not just any simple, little arrows — large, four-point arrows," said Kelly Cerato, president and founder of Tails of The Misunderstood Canine Rescue Society told CBC News. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Update 2: Kitchi-The arrow was lodged in his arm and fractured his bone. My- Our decision did not come easily. We... Posted by Tails of The Misunderstood Canine Rescue Society on Saturday, April 2, 2016 “You can tell by how they were shot that these dogs were meant to suffer as much as possible,” Cerato, told the Calgury Sun. “The shafts …
Vet Assistant Saves Choking German ShepherdApril 1, 2016A veterinary assistant is being called a hero after he saved a choking German shepherd. German Shepherd Nadia was out playing fetch with her owners when she swallowed the ball. When she passed out, her owners rushed her to the Fort Smith Animal Emergency Clinic in Fort Smith, Ark. Veterinary Assistant Justin Rouse, just arriving to start his shift, met them in the parking lot. “I saw some emergency flashers on their SUV and the back hatch was opened up, so I pulled in real quick, and I saw their dog kind of, I could see that it was kind of laying there, you know, it was lifeless,” Rouse told 5News. Rouse realized that the ball was still in the dog's throat. “I could feel the ball, so I pushed behind it and pushed up, and it lodged it out,” he said to 5News. After that, he took Nadia into the clinic for oxygen. When Nadia came to, aside from an irritated throat, she was fine. Nadia's owners were shocked and "mind-blown," according to 5News. Rouse said in his eight years working at the clinic, this was the …
ConsumerAffairs, VETgirl's Justine Lee Partner Up to Create Dog Dangerous Foods ToolApril 1, 2016ConsumerAffairs.com has released an interactive tool for pet owners, which shows what happens in a dog’s body when it consumes 10 of the most dangerous (or thought to be dangerous) foods. It also covers when pet owners shouldn’t be concerned, and when they should call the veterinarian. The free tool was built by ConsumerAffairs research team with the help from VETgirl founder and CEO, Dr. Justine Lee. Lee is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care and a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology. The foods covered include some of the following: Chocolate Chewing gum Grapes Moldy food Bread dough Macadamia nuts Coffee beans The tool was created using guidelines from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Dr. Lee worked closely with the ASPCA, and was able to get great information from them. “The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center is the oldest and most well-respected animal poison control centers in the world,” Dr. Lee said. “It was founded back in 1978 and is the only non-profit animal poison control center in North America. It is …
Virginia-Maryland Steps in to Fund Lifesaving SurgeryApril 1, 2016Mary Lou would have been euthanized had it not been for the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, which not only accepted the 8-week-old mixed-breed puppy as a patient but underwrote the full cost of her surgery and care through the Compassionate Care Fund. The situation was bleak when Mary Lou was referred to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Blacksburg, Va. Her jaw had been fractured on one side and pulverized on the other when a cow stepped on her. Mary Lou was referred by a humane society in Summers County, W.Va., which likely would have had to euthanize her had Virginia-Maryland not intervened, said volunteer Beth Vuolo. Mary Lou made it through surgery and was adopted after she recuperated. The Compassionate Care Fund is used hundreds of times a year to help injured animals like Mary Lou. Donations help pay for surgery and other expensive treatments for animals whose owners are unknown or unable to pay. The Veterinary Teaching Hospital provides $70,000 to $80,000 in aid every year. Animal lover Garnett Smith is one of the fund’s biggest donors. “I just wanted to make sure if someone had love …
Texas Vet College to Offer Voyce Pro Wellness Monitoring ProgramApril 1, 2016Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences will begin offering the Voyce Pro Wellness Monitoring Program to all patients beginning in April. This will be the first veterinary college and teaching hospital to offer the technology, created by i4C Innovations Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Intersections Inc. Voyce Pro enables remote observation of canine patients’ biometric data, including resting heart and respiratory rates, intensity of activity, quality of rest and calories burned. The data will be used to drive better patient health and practice outcomes, according to the company and college. “As an organization, we strive to shape tomorrow’s veterinarians while providing our clients an unmatched patient experience, and integrating the latest advancements in veterinary medicine and technology is essential to our success,” said Eleanor M. Green, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ABVP, the Carl B. King dean for veterinary medicine at the college. “We look forward to incorporating Voyce Pro into our hospital and benefitting from the remote monitoring and objective data provided by this exciting new program.” The partnership between Voyce and the college developed as a result of the …
A 'Chastity Belt' for Dogs?March 31, 2016It might sound like a 15th century solution to a 21st century problem, but amid the clamor for pet owners to get their dogs spayed or neutered and prevent unwanted litters comes a device that’s basically a chastity belt for female dogs. Dexter Blanch, owner of Shreveport, La.-based Highly Favored Creations, invented the Pet Anti-Breeding System, or PABS, as a fabric patch that covers a female dog’s nether region and is affixed using a series of straps. If pet owners knew of the problems linked to early spaying, Blanch said, they might be inclined to welcome PABS as a stopgap until their dogs are older. He cited studies that point to the possibility of shorter life spans, joint disorders and increased cancer risk in female dogs spayed before 18 months old. The dog-owning public has been slow to embrace PABS, which Blanch launched in 2013 as a way to protect one of his favorite female hunting dogs, who he might want to breed one day, from randy males. “Perhaps … the proponents of traditional early spay and neuter practices don’t trust American …
