Invasion of Dog Privacy??

I know I REALLY shouldn't be surprised by anything, but this concept did - for a few seconds at least.  I'm guessing that the cost is passed on to the dog owner? I'll be honest, I don't really have a strong opinion on this one way or the other. This is NOT the same to me as violations of privacy WE face every day. 

Apartments use DNA to nab poop-scoop scofflaws

(AP) – 4 days ago

LEBANON, N.H. (AP) — Here's the scoop: Some apartment complexes are using DNA testing on dog doo to find out who's not cleaning up after their pets.

The Timberwood Commons in Lebanon, N.H., opened this year and already has had problems with some residents who aren't cleaning up messes their dogs leave.

So manager Debbie Violette is going to use commercially available DNA sampling kits to check the DNA that dogs leave behind when they go.

"We've tried doing the warning letters. We've tried all sorts of things," she said Friday. "It's always a problem. It's just that the majority of people are responsible pet owners and there are a few who are not."

She said residents have been told they must submit samples from their dogs so DNA profiles can be put on file.

More on This

An Honor? ...of sorts

Generally winning the BEST of something is a good thing, even in the animal world - the best at some job/task, the best of one's breed, etc. The following is a story about an honor you probably don't want your dog to have, though there are some that will say, "He's so ugly, he's cute."

She's a bit ruff! Chinese-crested Chihuahua mix wins the World's Ugliest Dog title

By PAMELA OWEN
Created 12:31 PM on 25th June 2011

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

And it definitely seems to be the case with this pooch who was kissed and cuddled by her owner as she bagged the title of the World's Ugliest Dog.

In the dog-eat-dog world of contests Yoda managed to wow judges at a Northern Californian fair on Friday with her short tufts of hair, protruding tongue and long hairless legs.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2008039/Yoda-ugliest-dog-Chinese-crested-Chihuahua-mix-wins-title.html#ixzz1QWTizWHQ

Congrats

Today is my best friend's wedding. Since I'm in the wedding, there will be no blog today (and there wasn't one yesterday!). 
Congratulations to Bree and Scott - two wonderful people who deserve a life of happiness together!


My normal blogging should resume tomorrow!

Luxating Patellas

I apologize for doing this but for today's blog I'm going to refer to another blog. This week has been weird and crazy and since my best friend's wedding is Saturday and I am IN it, I've been a bit off my mental game with educational topics here. 


Medial luxating patellas are a common condition - often congenital - in small/toy breed dogs. I always evaluate whether a new puppy has this regardless of breed BUT definitely in those most prone to it: Yorkshire Terriers, Maltese, Italian Greyhounds, etc. Lateral luxating patellas are more commonly seen in larger dogs but are still really not commonly seen at all. They can both be caused by trauma too though.


I saw a severe case in a 5 month old Yorkie about 2 months ago. It was so bad that the patella was actually permanently moved to the inside of the knee - there was so much scar tissue and contraction and the dog did NOT have a normal gait. The dog needed referral to an orthopedic surgeon ASAP. This dog could potentially live 12-15yrs so we wanted to get him moving as normally as possible in a short time. I don't know if this dog was ever properly evaluated by a vet but the owners bought it from a breeder in Florida. 


The blog I'm referring to has a nice anatomical drawing of the stifle (knee) in a dog.  It is written by a board certified veterinary surgeon out of the Seattle area.  He answers a few commonly asked questions about what this is and what it means for your dog, how it's handled, etc.


Here's the Link

Random Things

Today was a weird day all around. There was the staff issues that seem to ALWAYS arise in small animal practice. Dramas that happen between different factions. I try to stay out of it. There are two sides to every story and then there's the third side: the truth. 


There was also the "new" client who, I guess, thought we were a FREE clinic. He called up and reported his dog has some issues and was in pain but when we tell him an xray is needed (after I do a full physical exam), he suddenly pulls out the "I have no money card." This begins the time and staff consuming process of trying to figure out what to do. No one wants to see an animal suffer. Serendipitously there was a person there at that time that does rescue for a local county. He would've taken the dog (as a surrender), done what he could, and found a good home for him. He does that all the time! But this owner, despite saying he didn't want to see the dog suffer, didn't want to give him up (after saying he did!). Then he ends up leaving without paying for the exam. Nice. Guess I'll tell my debtors I can't pay my student loans and insurance fees this month because I can't and gee, do they want to see me suffer?? Really??? 


BE UP FRONT. ON THE PHONE. Honestly, perhaps this person would've simply been directed elsewhere. 


Again - bills need to be paid for the hospital. Staff is not volunteer. Pets ARE a luxury. NOT a necessity for life. I know this sounds cruel to some but it's the reality of life. Its how we, as a country, ended up in the mess we are in - you are not entitled to a $1000 financed puppy anymore than you are to a 52 inch plamsa TV. If you can't afford it, you shouldn't buy it. 

Maybe We Should Get A Non-Vet To Neuter This Guy

Cops: Drunk, naked man operated on pet Doberman

By Liam FordTribune reporter

3:39 p.m. CDT, June 20, 2011

Alerted by reports of a naked man covered in blood, police rushed to a Near West Side apartment and found a "highly intoxicated" man who had been operating on his pet Doberman, "Foley," officials say.

Stewart Gibbs, 44, was charged with felony cruelty to an animal late Sunday after he told police he had tried to remove a cyst from under the dog's right ear, according to police. Bail of $75,000 was set for Gibbs, whose attorney said is a health care administrator.

Gibbs' landlord got a call from other tenants in the building who said water was leaking into their apartments from the ceiling, according to Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto.

The landlord knocked on Gibbs' door, got no response and let himself in, police said. Gibbs then ran toward him, naked and covered in blood, Scaduto said. The landlord also saw a blood-soaked towel in the apartment before he left to call police.

To See What a REAL Idiot This Guy IS

If You Know You Have an Aggressive Dog...

..then please tell everyone and anyone at the vet hospital when you drop her off for surgery. Don't assume that the person you spoke to on the phone has relayed the info to the whole place. In fact, that person may be on vacation. 


Always nice to find out that a dog that we nearly could NOT get out of the cage (100+ lbs by the way) for surgery, had bitten 3 people and was KNOWN to be aggressive. Not cool!


It's also great when my staff or myself gets up close and personal in your dog's face because the animal seems friendly, when suddenly the owner says "oh yeah he doesn't like his face/feet/ears (you get the point) touched - he usually bites."  Tell us that BEFORE we start petting and snuggling with your lovely little "angel."

Hmmm...

I'm struggling with today's topic. I don't really have one. I had a weird day. I know, I usually don't discuss "personal" stuff on here but I had a fender bender that set my day askew. I am a feline at heart - a control freak ok? I like things to fall the way I plan them to fall. I know that doesn't ALWAYS happen. I know that - on an intellectual level - but still, I have my dreams, plans, and schemes and I always plan on THEM working out.


Here is what I want to say about today: as a veterinarian, I enjoy being needed/wanted. I like that MY experiences, knowledge and training can help someone I care about. Yes, I help those I don't even know daily. But today is about people I know. I LOVE being able to help those that are close to me. Those people often feel "bad" or as if they are "putting me out." The truth is, my ego needs it. I get a lot of my value as a person out of what I can do to help someone or their pet. Please don't hesitate to let me help because I do NOT freely give out my 24/7 availability to the world (there ARE some crazy people out there!). Amazingly, the friends and colleagues I do give out the info to , do NOT abuse it. That's EXACTLY why I'd go to the ends of the EARTH for them!

Breeds of the Week: Southern Dogs!

I saw a few of these dogs this week so I thought I'd share them with you. They are NOT common breeds and even I rarely see one so I figured some of my readers may not be aware they even exist.


Of course these are not the only "southern" breed dogs but just a few of them.


Treeing Walker Coonhound
Yeah, leave it to the southerners to come up with names like this. This is what these dogs look like. 

They are pretty typical hound dogs: healthy, high energy, prone to ear problems but they make wonderful family pets as well as hunting dogs. As the name implies they track their prey till it's "treed" and then alert the handler. However, some dogs apparently track but do not "tree" and others "tree" but don't track. They will need training as they can be (like most hounds) head strong.  They can live 12-14yrs. I've seen a few over the years and haven't seen major health issues. 


Curs
This is actually a whole grouping of dogs. The other day I saw a Black Mouth Cur, which looks like this:

Kinda reminds me of a skinny mastiff.  A list from dogbreedinfo.com lists these as part of the group:

Black Mouth CurBlue Lacy Camus Cur (photo needed) Canadian Cur Catahoula Cur Feist Florida/Cracker Cur Henderson Cur (photo needed) Kemmer Stock Cur Kemmer Stock Hybrid Squirrel Dog Leopard Cur Mountain Cur Mountain View Cur Original Mountain Cur Parnell's Carolina Cur Southern Blackmouth Cur Stephen's Stock Cur Tennessee Treeing Brindle Treeing Cur

Here is how they describe this unique grouping of dogs:
Cur dogs are specialized multipurpose working / hunting dogs from the southern USA. Each Cur breed or type is unique. Usually not recognized as show dogs, but developed solely for their hunting ability.  As a result, most of the cur breeds are types rather than breeds; i.e. one of these dogs can be recognized as a certain type of Cur but the appearance standard is extremely flexible, enough so that a complete breed appearance standard is difficult to create. The name "Cur" means a mongrel dog, and since Curs were developed from a large variety of dogs, that is how they got their name. Cur dogs are not the result of random cross breeding. You cannot "Make" a cur dog. Curs are specialized working dogs bred for ability by breeding the best to the best", based on individual performance and usually regardless of the actual breed. Several kennel clubs do however, register various cur breeds based on their ancestry (bloodlines), and several lines are recognized within each breed. The United Kennel Club has an active registration program and competition hunting program for these dogs. This is a list of Cur breeds and types that have developed over the years.




I have seen Catahoula Curs (also referred to as Lousiana Catahoula Leopard Dog)

 and Feists (of which there is a list!) as well:

Again, these dogs are easy keepers, get along with most everyone and most other pets (of course each dog is an individual) and are healthy overall. They face the same common diseases that all dog breeds and mutts do. Some of the larger ones are more inclined to have hip issues, either congenitally or later in age. 

What is That Thing on My Dog's Eye??

This is another one of those questions we frequently get. In most cases what the dog owner is referring to is a benign lesion, known as a chalazion or meibomian gland cyst, that occurs in the upper or lower eyelid. These occur when this gland gets blocked with the oily substance it produces. Why this happens? Who knows. There can be one or more and they can be pinpoint or quite large. In most cases, the dog doesn't even seem to mind or notice it's there. They are NOT painful.


This is how they often appear:

If they get big or if the dog IS pawing/scratching at it (which means they could potentially cause corneal trauma), it should be surgically removed. Topical medications and warm compresses to the area DO sometimes help but it's often only temporary since the underlying issue remains. 

Another Story Proving Pets ARE Good Medicine!

This quote says it all, referring to a greyhound they use for walking alongside heart failure patients:

"Compared to a hospital ambulation data base of 400 previous heart failure cases, Gypsy’s patients were four times less likely to refuse walking when she was by their side.

“People didn’t think they walked any farther, but they walked twice as far,” Abate said. “We discovered that patients who had walked were released one day sooner.”

An early release could mean a savings near $6,000 for the hospital, according to Bruce Boxer, Director of Nursing Quality and the hospital’s Magnet Program."

Here's the full article: Canine Assisted Therapy Good for Heart Patients

Cat Saves Woman's Life

It's always nice when cats get some recognition for being such great companions too. I saw this story this morning and thought it was really cool. 


READING, Pa. -- Cats may have nine lives, but humans have only one.

Claire Nelson of Reading is crediting her 10-year-old cat, Rusty, with saving her life.

Nelson, a retired nurse, said she was experiencing chest pains on June 8 when Rusty sensed something was wrong.

"Rusty kept following me around, no matter where I was standing or sitting, and jumping up on me with his front paws, letting out these guttural meows," said Nelson.

Nelson, 66, said her 22 pound cat usually has a relaxed and laid back personality, so she knew the way he was acting that morning was not normal.

"Finally, I said, 'Oh darn. Maybe this cat knows something I don't,'" said Nelson, who added that Rusty's behavior prompted her to take the bus to visit her doctor.

As time passed, Nelson said her condition grew worse. While at the bus terminal in downtown Reading, Nelson called 911 and was rushed to St. Joseph Medical Center.


The rest of the story AND a brief video can be found here:

http://www.wfmz.com/health/28236778/detail.html

They Thought She Had Lyme Disease

A dog came in today that had signs of Lyme and since she had it previously in the past AND the owners had removed a lot of ticks from her in the past few months, it was a reasonable thought.

Dogs that have previously tested positive on the in house Snap test we run, often stay positive on THAT test for a while - even possibly years (it's simply an exposure test). So we generally will send out a blood test called a C6 Quantitive antibody level.  This test gives us a number. Anything >30 on this test tells us we can treat. That test will tell us whether Lyme is the cause of the signs.  However there was some question as to whether we'd do the SNAP again. I felt strongly that we should, simply because it had been > 2yrs since we had done one AND if it wasn't a strong positive, I would probably not treat but wait for the C6 to come back.

Well, what happened was a "dot" on the test came up that I was NOT expecting. It was  the Heartworm positive indicator!!  This dog had NOT been on consistent monthly heartworm prevention and had never left Northeast PA. Now, had she been on consistent prevention AND the dog came up positive, guess what? The manufacturer would've paid for treatment - they guarantee the product!

I feel like I'm beating a dead horse here (of course, I would NOT really do that being the animal lover I am) but prevention is better and less expensive and hey, less problematic for the dog. We don't know how long this dog has been harboring heartworms in the chambers of her heart and her pulmonary vessels. The longer they are there - the more damage they do. PLUS, when we kill these off, there is always the chance of more damage, obstructions, blood clots, etc.  I could tell her this - it was infected at least 6 months ago, because we know that from the time of a mosquito bite to the time of the infection being detectable (based on the heartworm life cycle) - it's a minimum of 6 months!

Isn't Calcium a Good Thing??

Sunday I mentioned that one of my cats had some blood work that showed an elevated calcium level. I'm sure most people wouldn't think that was a big deal. Calcium is important and we all know it's "good for us." But too much of ANYTHING is bad. In the case of calcium, it can signal bad things and if it remains elevated, can CAUSE bad things.


We call elevated blood calcium hypercalcemia. In dogs this is generally a level above 12.0 mg/dl (milligrams/deciliter) and in cats, above11.0 mg/dl.  What is measured in a pet's blood work is the total calcium. The level can be affected by some things:
- dehydration (from many causes)
- blood protein levels (notably albumin)
- fat in the blood (lipemia)
- growth (it IS normally elevated some in growing kittens and   
             puppies)


In a normal, healthy animal, and barring any of the above listed situations, the pet is able to maintain calcium within a specific range in the blood. It doesn't matter what they eat, how much of it they eat, if they are athletic or not, etc. This is how the system works:

From a human resource but it's the same in our pets.

Very often, there are no signs in these pets. Sometimes I hear that a pet is drinking and urinating a lot (this is because the body is ATTEMPTING to bring this level down but cannot). 


So we often see it because we are doing screening blood work or we are working on another problem. When I see an elevated Ca level, I do one of two things depending on the amount of elevation and how the pet is doing: repeat blood work in a few weeks/months or go further with diagnostics ( more extensive bloodwork, xrays/ultrasound). 


The first NEXT test is a more involved blood panel that measures parathyroid levels (PTH) and ionized Ca (these things will tell us if the body's feedback system for controlling Ca levels is working ok). 


The reason is that outside of one of those benign things causing Ca to rise, most of the time there is a pathologic or bad reason. The most common reason in pets is cancer. There ARE some cases of parathyroid problems (a small gland that is involved in control of Ca levels). 


But why does cancer cause this? Some tumors make a molecule that acts just like PTH. The most common ones that do this are: lymphomas and anal sac adenocarcinomas (hence the reason all dogs with this should get a rectal exam). A few other, less common cancers do this too.


The other thing of concern is that having an elevated calcium, especially as it gets a few points above normal, can result in kidney damage AND calcification of organs leading to systemic organ failure.


So we need to do things if your pet has an elevated calcium level: 
1. Find out why - this will involve expense and probable multiple hospital visits
2. Bring this level down as soon as we can - in some cases, we will use oral steroids to help this, in cases where the animal may be going to chemotherapy, we have to hold off on this and use fluids and other drugs


In Skittles' case, she has, as is more common in cats, idiopathic hypercalcemia (meaning we don't know why).  This does happen in some cats, they "think" because of some little pumps that move Ca in and out of cells being abnormal or absent in some cases. In her case, it's not high enough to cause damage but it's something I keep an eye on with yearly blood work. 

Thanks!

I will be blogging about an animal topic later today, but I wanted to say THANKS to several people who have been so kind to promote my blog in various ways: word of mouth, Facebook, their own blogs, etc. And now it's MY turn to promote their blogs!


First, thanks to Donna Baver Rovito, who has spoken highly of this blog on her Facebook page, in comment sections of OTHER blogs AND in face to face dealings with other people. She is a friend and someone I work with on healthcare reform. I can't say enough about her tireless efforts, as well as her incredible wealth of knowledge on the subject. Her blog is Health and Liability News Update. The fact that a journalist of her caliber thinks MY blog is good and well written means quite a bit to me (and inspires and pushes me to do better.)


At the end of last week, I met someone, who has already promoted me on HIS blog. Mr. Bernie O'Hare's blog Lehigh Valley Ramblings is NOT animal related but it is always an interesting read. Be warned: he doesn't mince words. Good for him. 

Just for fun -another Cape May Zoo resident - Bengal Tiger

Skittles

Skittles is a 12 yr old spayed, front declawed sweetheart of a cat. She came to me that way when she was 2 yrs old, so I have no kitten photos of her :( 

The funny thing is that I ended up with her because she was supposedly "vicious." Yeah, right. Not even close. This poor girl hid for 2 days when I first brought her home. They were giving her up though and if my employer at the time had seen her, I am 99% sure, he would've just euthanized her. THANK GOD, I was on! 

She, of ALL my cats, has taught me that cats can literally change over months to YEARS in how open they can become. I've seen small changes - where she wouldn't be in the same room as Chris to big leaps: went from NEVER being on the couch at all to being a total coach potato.  It was all at her own will and choosing of time. She's why I advise cat owners: don't give up and you never know how far out of a shell your cat can come. Let them decide. 

She came from a home with very young boys and based on what the owner told me, I suspect she was tormented by them. Only she would sooner run than bite someone.

About the only "biting" she does is what cat owners affectionally call "love bites" - these are when you are petting and stroking the cat, stop and she gently reminds you that it is NOT OK to discontinue the affection. Truly it's more of a nip. No skin is broken.

She has gorgeous eyes. I admit to being a bit biased.

Her favorite activities -not surprisingly like most cats - are eating and sleeping.   For a while there, she was getting skinny, so I'd give her some food separately in a downstairs bathroom (she tended to get bullied out of her food bowl). Now she's got a decent belly. Ok, maybe she's a little thicker than her veterinarian mom thinks is acceptable.


I should make a point that she trained me to know when I bought things that weren't seafood - namely tuna - flavored - as she'd flat out refuse them and give me a look. Then I'd look at the bag and go "ohh..this comes in poultry too??" *sigh* "Ok, Skittles, I'm sorry."  LOL...I'm VERY well trained don't you know??!

Gee she's lounging on the back of the couch..big surprise!

Her and I bonded almost immediately though as we were (at that time) the only females in the house. I had 2 other cats and they were boys plus Chris. I added a few more cats along the way and it wasn't until the last two, that the number of females in the house swelled to 3 cats and one human. 

She initially only felt safe with me. When Chris was gone, she'd find my lap. Almost every night she sleeps with me, curled up behind me as I sleep on my side. Here's what she does when I'm laying there reading..she's TRYING to get me to pet her. So cute. But if you do - be warned - you may not get back to that book for a while!

A few years ago, she gave me a scare. I had run some blood work on her since she was getting older. It was just a baseline screen. The next day, when the blood was scheduled to come back, I was at a veterinary conference in Baltimore. I called my one tech thinking "oh, it'll be fine." Um..no. Her calcium level came back elevated and in pets, that often = cancer. I FREAKED OUT!!!  I'll discuss more on this in another blog. 

Thankfully, after a work up only a medical professional would do (remember, we see the worst, so we think of the WORST possible things!), she turned out fine. AND it was 4-5 years ago...uhh..rather UNLIKELY she had cancer then and is fine now.

Anyhow, while I love all my pets I do think she has the most beautiful face. And she never starts any trouble...except with my OLD man - Arizona (17yrs and still going!).

Breed of the Week: American Hairless Terrier

This is the puppy I saw last week.

I admit to not knowing much about this breed. I hadn't seen one EVER until last week. While generally I am not as big on "hairless" breeds, I have to tell you this dog was REALLY adorable and so velvety to touch.  What a sweetie too!

Taken directly from www.dogbreedinfo.com:

In build, the American Hairless Terrier is identical to the medium-sized Rat Terriers, from whom he is directly descended. The American Hairless is a well-muscled dog with a deep chest, strong shoulders, solid neck, and powerful legs.

American Hairless Terriers are intelligent, alert, playful and loving dogs. Very inquisitive and lively. This affectionate dog makes an excellent companion for anyone. They are good with children...

They reportedly live 14-16 years, as one would expect for a dog this size (between 5-16 lbs).  There are not many health issues listed for them and, as I've never seen one before I can't report any of MY personal experiences with them. They only report minor skin issues - rashes/irritations - as this breed does have sweat glands. They need to be protected from sunburn as well.