The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is all over National Pet Week.

In honor of this event, celebrated from May 6-12, they have a National Pet Week web page up on their site. If you click on the Pet Owner's tab at the top you'll come to a page that is chock full of interesting topics.

Continue Reading "National Pet Week" »

I was trying to think of an Earth Day post for pets and the closest thing I could come up with was an interesting story I read in the NY Times about earthquake emergency planning for pets in San Francisco.

Apparently the City by the Bay is taking things to the next level in this arena. I'm not really surprised by that since most things happen there about five to ten years before they happen anywhere else in the country, unless you live in Oklahoma.

Continue Reading "Disaster Preparedness for Pets " »

Interesting article in the NY Times last week about medical and surgical advances in Veterinary Medicine over the last several years.

The thrust of the article was more about the cost of treatment than the advances in treatment. That's a little discouraging from my perspective.

Why should a sophisticated medical procedure performed by a highly skilled medical professional cost less if it's done by a Vet?

Maybe it's because we value the life of a pet differently than that of a human.

Continue Reading "Advances in Veterinary Medicine" »

I often get questions from concerned pet owners about rabies. Their dog or cat will get in a fight or it will start acting strangely and they think rabies. Maybe they just watched the great movie "To Kill a Mockingbird" and they think the neighbor's dog has rabies.

In most of these cases the risks are not that great. Their dog or cat has a recent rabies vaccination for protection or the behavior can be explained easily as something else. Something much more common.

That's the case most of the time, but not always as recent events demonstrate.

Continue Reading "Rabies In the News Again" »

It is that time of year again – time to get in line for the seasonal flu vaccine. But, did you know your dog may benefit from one as well?

Canine Influenza is a contagious respiratory disease in dogs first discovered as a cause of severe respiratory illness in a group of racing greyhounds in 2004. Dog flu continues to be a threat to primarily groups of dogs held in close quarters, such as in breeding facilities, shelters and pet stores.

Continue Reading "That Doggone Flu" »

Last week I told you about the first few days of my Veterinary Mission trip to Honduras. After two days of vaccinating and deworming more than 1,000 animals ranging from cattle, horses, goats, pigs, dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, geese to a rabbit and a parrot in the villages of Potrerillos and Agua Dulcita, the group of 32 veterinarians, veterinary technicians and students were off to the next village.

Continue Reading "Making a Difference in the Mountains of Honduras, part 2" »

After talking about the cost of owning a pet last week, I want to go into more detail about some of the advancements in veterinary medicine that are paving the way for healthier and happier lives for our pets. Some areas of research and therapy are progressing faster than that in human medicine. Stem cell therapy is at the leading edge of this evolution.

Continue Reading "How Fat Can Fix Your Pet" »

In case you missed it, last night was the beginning of the 135th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Now, as a run-of-the-mill dog owner, I have never been too interested in the whole concept of showing dogs. Probably because I never understood the purpose. Well, while watching the procession of perfectly coiffed pups last night, I took a minute to actually dive into the world of dog shows and I have to admit, it is pretty intense.

Governed by the American Kennel Club, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is one of many types of AKC dog events in which AKC-registered dogs can compete. The basic purpose of dog shows is to facilitate the evaluation of breeding stock for use in producing the next generations, according to the Westminster Kennel Club website.

Each dog is presented to a judge by a handler. The judges are experts on the breeds they are judging. They examine each dog with their hands to see if the teeth, muscles, bones and coat texture conform to the breed's standard. They view each dog in profile for overall balance and watch each dog gait, or move, to see how all of those features fit together in action.

Continue Reading "Best in Show? Not for My Girls." »

We spent the Holidays in the Valley of the Sun, aka Phoenix, with my wife's parents watching the rest of the country get pummeled by winter. Actually it was kind of cool in Phoenix barely making it to seventy most days. I did manage a couple of mountain bike rides in the White Tank mountains in my summer attire and I walked around in shorts most of the time.

My wife's parents live on the Western fringe of Phoenix in a house ruled by two dogs. Dog number one is Mickey, a Bichon Frise and dog number two is Zach, a Cairn Terrier. Both are neutered males that pretty much have the run of things. They do spend nights in their respective crates in the garage, but by day they lounge on any available piece of furniture.

I was in the gym this morning warming up on the bike, trying not to watch the TV. I slipped up and noticed a story about dogs on one of the cable "new" channels. Turned out to be a pretty interesting story about military working dogs and the Veterinary care they receive if they are injured in the line of duty.

I followed up when I got home and found the web site for the Holland Military Working Dog Hospital. I took a spin around the site and came away very impressed with the level of care provided at Holland. The have a complete facility with radiology, CT scans, surgery and even rehabilitation services.