Nasty Little Buggers

We just crossed into spring officially but I can tell you that for weeks, pet owners have been finding ticks on their dogs and cats.


Northeast PA is the Lyme disease capital of the US according the CDC. That means you and your pets are at risk.


This article from the Wall Street journal discussed the concern about this upcoming spring, summer and fall, as we had such a mild winter, the tick population has exploded. Add that in with the increased traveling that owners do with pets and you have a recipe for spreaking all sorts of tick burne diseases across the states.


The one thing this article doesn't mention is that we can prevent a lot of Lyme by vaccination and by veterinary prescribed topical products.  In fact, though this doesn't give us 100% protection, what it does is result in a much less sick animal should they acquire an active Lyme infection. They might be a little "off" or not even clinical at all versus the truly "down (as in cannot walk)" febrile very sick patients we see that are unvaccinated.

Very Cool Story

This "lucky dog" was adopted by a gentleman who has gone above and beyond. The dog came from the south. The original "breeder" had Brittany Spaniels and German Shorthair Pointers. Well, an oops happened and this dog was one of that litter.


The owner couldn't sell them so this dog went to the local pound. Somehow, the dog ended up out in the wild and got his foot caught in a wild boar trap. The resulting injury cost him his foot from the mid -metatarsal area down. One vet recommended full limb amputation. The dog owner sought his own way on this.


He found a company out of Colorado that made a prosthetic for this dog. First they had him wear a moldable one for a few weeks. Then they used the wear pattern to make a permanent one. Now the dog acts as if this is just part of his leg. He swims, runs, plays, etc. About every 8 months, the owner has to get the piece re-foamed to keep the padding at a good level.


The lovely dog and his owner were in today for a routine exam. Here are some pictures of it:

This amazing prosthetic has used mountain bike tire tread on it that the owner gets from a local shop. Very cool. This dog is so sweet and gentle I told the owner this dog would be an awesome therapy dog. Can you imagine how this dog could inspire young folks with "disabilities?" 


He is interested in pursuing but says the dog might fail a part of the test - the independence part as he will sooner follow the owner than stay with food. If that is it, well, then, that's silly. This dog is a doll!

Early Easter Warning

With Easter approaching, I thought it prudent to warn of a big danger for our cats: Lily plant ingestion, which  can result in kidney failure.

Please go to this informative website from the American Association of Feline Practitioners (of which, I am a member) to learn more.

Interesting Case

An older golden retriever with a problem has cancer until proven otherwise. Ok, maybe that's a bit extreme. Not that extreme. Cancer is the top killer of Golden Retrievers. They have a 60% chance of dying of it vs a 30% chance for other breeds.


So it's always on my mind when I see an older Golden.


Today I saw a dog on my surgery docket that had a very large lump on his head that was affecting his right eye and his muzzle, to an extent.


It stared a few months ago as a small lump a bit further back from this one. Typical medications were attempted and it seemed to go away a bit but then got larger. Again, different medications were tried and it got bigger despite those. 


I was tasked with exploring it and taking biopsies. It was firmly attached to the skull and definitely not easily resectable. In fact, I doubt you could get all of whatever this thing is out without doing major tissue trauma and possibly causing more harm than good.


There were parts of it that were harder than others and I did believe there might have been fluid in one section, but an aspiration with a large gauge needle yielded nothing.


So I dove in and cut into it. The little punch biopsy tool we use, which is like an "ice" corer or soil sampler, couldn't take a good sample, as the tissue was too mushy, soft, etc or as we say, "friable" - no not in the edible sense..just that it breaks down easily and it's hard to get a hold of!


I had to open the incision up and really give it a good feel and get a more thorough understanding of what I was dealing with. It looked like a giant blood clot. It was something that for the most part, I could get a finger around but there was some bony skull changes too. I got what samples I could and sent them out.


I am very curious but the bottom line is - given the age/breed and how this looks/feels, it ain't good.

Here's a view of it: the mass is the dark object in the center of the incision.

What to Do With Unused Drugs?

I really never gave this much thought until the past few years when I read articles like this one that discuss why throwing your old medications down the toilet or your kitchen sink is not a good idea.


It makes sense when you think about. These medications are not impacted by the treatment facilities. Sure, some may get broken down further, or become less active but when you consider how many people may be doing this with pet and  human medications and how long it has been going on, you begin to see that it's very possible, we all get exposed to low levels of all sorts of drugs.


As a veterinarian, I can tell you that many practices will either give you a credit or at least take them for stray or charity cases. The article points out we cannot re-sell the medications but we can use them to treat animals that wouldn't otherwise get treatment. I have done this many times and am grateful to have that "stash" available to me. 


There's also advice for those with human medications you need to dispose of as well.

This is Where I Differ From Kitties

I love cats. Not a surprise to anyone that knows me. The more I learned about them and observed them, the deeper my love and respect grew. I can relate to them in so many ways. Those little hedonists are, like me, always finding ways to get and remain comfortable. They don't take "no" for an answer if they want to lay on this couch or that person. They love the warmth and sun. They don't like change - unless THEY initiate it. They love to eat and sleep. See why I can relate to them? They are me! 


But this article on how carnivores' taste buds proves a point of difference, because I am in love with sweets. I would rather have dessert than a real meal! 

When Are People Going to Learn?

This has been MY mantra for I don' know how long: Do NOT buy anything edible for YOU or your pet or your livestock that comes from China. I don't know how many times "bad things" have to happen for people to get this.


I feel very bad for all of these people and pets that are going through this yet again, after feeding various brands of chicken jerky from China. 


Check out this article that discusses the push for the FDA to get rid of these products from the shelves. I'm all for that. But get this:


These "country of origin" claims are made possible by laws that say that once an ingredient is "substantially" altered in a given country, the resulting food can be considered a product of that country. These alterations can include cooking, mixing or otherwise reprocessing the ingredients in some way.

Just as oranges from Brazil can be turned into Canadian orange juice, chicken jerky from China can be reprocessed and repackaged in the U.S. to become a U.S. product. This can trick consumers into a false sense of security about the safety of their pet's food, Morrissette said.

We should go out our way to buy products made from reputable companies here in the US that source their products FROM the US. And yes, it may cost more. But you may save you or your pet a lot of pain and suffering.

A Few Laughs

While I contemplate my next big educational push, I thought I'd share a few of these with you. 


I love http://icanhascheezburger.com/ !

Overheard at Vaccine Clinics

This weekend, I participated in another benefit vaccine clinic for a county Humane Society that I work with regularly. 


It was an awesome turn out so they made decent money to help continue the wonderful work they do taking in homeless and sick animals and finding good, forever homes for them.


In any case, I invariably hear things at these events that make me cringe or laugh. 


This one was pretty good, though of course, full of the usual fully nutted dogs (always drives me crazy!) Sadly, yes, there are stereotypes that are true in vet medicine too and there are a group of dog owners (of various races and backgrounds) that just are beyond too attached to their dog's nuts. In any case, this is not about THAT. I do, however, always notice these things.


A lady made a comment I hear a fair bit - and not just at vaccine clinics. When someone finds a cat, especially a larger, long haired cat or an all grey cat, they always jump to the "He's a breed X!" 


Let me tell you, he is generally a domestic longhair or domestic shorthair (DLH or DSH) not a Maine Coon, Norwegian Forest Cat or Russian Blue. I just find it amusing that people take some pride in that and somehow know those three breeds (those are the ones that always come up). There are a lot more cat breeds of course and I can tell you that most stray large long hair cats are NOT Maine Coons. I don't know if they think they found "treasure" or what but they beam when they think they've gotten something more than a regular old "alley cat", as the older generations used to call them.  


The thing is, these cats are often gorgeous and wonderful pets, no matter what their DNA says!

New Vet School

Yes, veterinary school IS harder to get into than medical school. So yes, we are real doctors. That aside, one of the reasons is that, currently, there are only 28 vet schools in the US.
A good resource on these is the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges. 


At present time, Utah has already started a new vet school that partners with Washington State University. The students attend Utah State for the first two years and then go on to WSU for clinical years. A teaching hospital is an enormous expense for a state. There has to be large and small animal medical and surgical facilities, equipment, drugs, and board certified specialists to train and teach students. This is why each vet school wants to make sure you REALLY know what you are getting into when you apply and want to be in their class. You are an investment too. Yes, it costs you money but it costs them too.


Now there is a vet school in Arizona that will open in 2014.  It's good and bad. In my opinion, and studies bear this out, there are areas where there are definite shortages of vets and others where we have too many. "Areas" means types of practices as well as locations. Rural areas are very underserved and large animal vets are becoming a rarity these days. So if we can get students to go into those areas/types of practice, great. It's all about economics. Supply, demand, what someone is going to get paid, and where they would have to live are all part of the equation. You cannot force someone to be a large animal vet or live in the country, still you CAN have economic incentives, like loan repayments. But people that own animals have a responsibility too. Many farmers, especially owners of small sized farms, often don't call a vet until it's late in the process of the problem. Then they want it cheap. Well, that won't fly if you want people to be able to earn a living wage. Student loans are very high no matter what type of medicine you practice after school. 

From Cheetah to Cylon?

I saw this article about a robotic cheetah and of course, I had to check it out. No, it doesn't look anything like a cheetah but it does go pretty fast. There's a short video clip illustrating this on that link.  This "cheetah" is apparently designed with military applications in mind. Being the sci-fi lover I am, and a big fan of the RECENT Battlestar Galactica, I can't help but be reminded of how the Cylon race developed. This seems like a "good" first step. Hmm...

Fitting the Mood

You know what one of the biggest challenges is in veterinary practice? To go into a room with a client and pretend the rest of your life is ok. That nothing else is eating at you. There is nothing else on your mind. No thing you are trying to figure out.


Yeah, it's called being a professional. But ultimately all professionals are human. We all have feelings.  


Today in honor of my very sad feelings on things I am posting a story that, along with nearly every other thing today, made me want to cry...the death of a snow leopard...my beloved cat.


Snow Leopard Loses Battle to Cancer

Sorta Bad News

Today I had the opportunity to take an ultrasound training class run by a veterinary radiologist. I was fortunate enough to meet a veterinarian who has been very generous to me over the past year. She invited me to this private class even though I no longer work for her. I had done some relief work for her last year.


So we had a bunch of dogs and cats. Most of them had problems of some sort. It was a very educational experience. Even though I've played with the ultrasound machine at my current job, I didn't have any "formal" training. Today I definitely picked up some tips/tricks in technique and positioning that I believe will help me going forward. Of course, the biggest help is simply numbers and experience - the more patients you do, the better you get!


I had my own dog, Eggroll, 8yrs old there as a small sized dog model. He's been doing ok but a few years back he was a sick little boy. He was vomiting and not eating. After running blood work and x-rays and finding nothing abnormal, we did an abdominal ultrasound on him. He was diagnosed with pyelonephritis, a kidney infection that often causes dogs or cats to be very sick but can be difficult to diagnose. He was treated with antibiotics and has been health since then. 


I was curious what his kidney's looked like now. Well, as it turns out, that infection likely altered the architecture of his kidneys (and thus the function too). The kidneys have two layers - a cortex (outer layer) and medulla (inner layer). These are very distinct on ultrasound in a healthy dog or cat. In my dog, they are not as distinct. 

Normal dog kidney on ultrasound

It's nothing to "freak out" about but it does mean I need to be vigilant with biannual blood work on him and be in tune to any subtle changes that could indicate decreased renal function.

Overly Hyped Cat Parasite

I like to bring this up from time to time- be it on person or on line - because those not in the know often scare cat owning humans with this particular parasite. This includes human physicians who often have little training or knowledge on zoonotic diseases. 


In any case, it is pretty difficult to actually acquire Toxoplasmosis from your cat. Even if you cat shed this every day, if you simply scoop your litter box once a day, you would NEVER get it (from your cat.) 


This blog explains in a little more detail the statistics and true concerns about this parasite. 

Veterinary Technicians

I want to talk today about veterinary technicians. It's not Vet Tech Appreciation Week (that comes in mid October).


Veterinary technicians can be trained in school or on the job.
I've known excellent techs that have come up in the ranks both ways. I've known techs that went to school that couldn't do much and techs that learned on the job that were superb.  It's about the person as much as the training. Are they eager to learn, do they have the skills - both physical and mental - for the job?


It is a tough job. They are often the main communication between the client and the doctor. They offer support and comfort during difficult times. They are our back up and check system.  I am not too proud to say that I've been saved from mistakes by a veterinary technician. I've learned a great deal from them as well. Early on in my career, there were a few that had far more years of experience and could guide me on cases and techniques. Even recently, I've been able to learn a great deal from one who was married to a veterinary surgeon. Her knowledge base is unmatched. As are her skills and compassion for every pet owner. 


These folks don't get paid a lot and work long, hard hours. They often give up extra time to get the job done. They stay late or come in on days off to give injections to a pet for owners who can't do it at home. They offer to go to someone's home to trim cat nails or give fluids to a patient.   


Next time you go to your vet hospital, remember thank the vet techs that work there! A little gift would be much appreciated too - a gift card for food, Starbucks, a pet supply place or a donation to a known favorite shelter or pet related organization are all great ideas.