Friday, September 27, 2013

Rabies. Your Pets And Your Life On The Line.

Munch.
One of the "Raccoon Seven" on the day of his neuter.
There was an article in the Baltimore Sun in mid-March of this year about a Marylander who died from rabies. It made headlines because it was the first death in Maryland since 1976.

As awful as the news was I was not surprised to hear about rabies being in Maryland. Every year the CDC and AVMA publish the number and species of rabies positive animals found in the US. I remind my clients everyday that rabies is alive, well, and lurking in our backyard.

OK, I will freely and openly admit to being completely paranoid about rabies. After all this rabies we are talking about. Rabies, well, it will kill you. I am afraid and paranoid because I have seen rabies in my clinic more than once.

I have seen it in a 3 month old kitten, in a 3 year old cat, and I have euthanized because we were too afraid to live with the worst case scenario. The worst case scenario that an animal was positive and that a human had been exposed. Or, because the animal was feral and unable to be treated and quarantined. I have had the fear of exposure of my staff and this fear has haunted me for days as I waited for the lab to return a verdict. I have had to tell young adults with their whole life in front of them that their pet came back positive for rabies and that now they must go see their physician to discuss their exposure and how to protect themselves. I have also seen a family of eight children be exposed when their dog and the 7 puppies that she had just given birth to were all exposed to a rabid dead raccoon. Can you imagine that discussion? All of the kids had to have post-exposure rabies vaccinations (and pray that this works), and the puppies had to go into a 6 month quarantine.

Guess what happened when the animal control officer came to their house and informed the family that the puppies and adult dogs and all of the cats (five in total) had to be kept in a double enclosure under state monitoring for 6 months because ALL of them were either waaay overdue on their rabies vaccinations, or never vaccinated at all?  Well when notified of this the family began to think about the expense of keeping these pets and not being able to sell the puppies, so we got a call.

The owners wanted to put the puppies down. Seven, seven week old who are happy healthy playful puppies to put to sleep.That's what they had decided to do about their problem.

That call and that day will be forever indelibly etched in my head. Don't ask me how people do it, I don't know. How do you put a needle into a puppy and kill them because the owners were....whatever...to have ever gotten their dogs vaccinated? I can't do it, and every vet at the clinic refused to do it. That left dropping the puppies at the Humane Society for someone else to do. I even felt guilty about this. At least if I did it I could anesthetize them, they wouldn't be conscious, but crap, I would live with this guilt forever. It wasn't those puppies fault. And worse than ALL of that was that these puppies might be completely healthy and be put down based on a big MAYBE.

I told my crying angry receptionists to send me the owners information and I made some phone calls.


Tess. On the day for her spay.

Munch. Already adopted.

Stella.



Teddy.  A happy puppy.
After being spayed. ready for a new home.
After a heated, emotional, and frustrating call to my rescue friends, and a long discussion with the owner that included bartering, begging, and biting of my tongue like never before, we figured out a mutually beneficial arrangement to help take financial and health care custody of the pups if the owners would keep the puppies for their quarantine period. With the assistance of the Harford County MD Health Department we were able to assemble a suitable enclosure and follow up veterinary care.

I saw those puppies every two weeks to monitor their growth, neurological status, and get them vaccinated. At the end of their quarantine period I spayed and neutered 7 puppies (now adolescents lab-Newfoundland mixes) and the adults. It was a long tenuous 180 days, but this story has a happy ending, and how can you ask for more?

None of us took the easy way out. We all helped save the life of 7 of the most adorable puppies. Could the story have had a bad ending? Yes. The puppies could have become neurologic. We could have been forced to euthanize them. It would have been terribly sad. But, instead we had a bit of faith, took the necessary precautions, and a miracle happened.

Many ENORMOUS THANKS to No Kill Harford for their help and vision. http://www.nokillharford.org/

For the rest of this story see;
http://www.nokillharford.org/raccoon-seven/


Minnie.


Teddy.

The most common (what a terrible way to put this), way that I see rabies influencing our day to day activities at the clinic is the cat that walks in the door with a wound. Want to know how often this happens? A whole lot, like weekly. Cats that are outside, especially those cats that are un-spayed, or un-neutered, fight over territory. Abcesses and wounds are a very common thing that we see and treat. In almost all cases treating the wounds is rather simple. But the very difficult aspect of all of these cases is trying to identify how these cats got these wounds, and from whom they came from. In the overwhelming majority of cases we cannot exclude that these wounds were not caused by a bite. Because rabies is transmitted by saliva of affected animals we don't know who, when, where, or why. So we play it safe and leave the possibility of rabies on the table. To make things stickier, many of these cats are un-vaccinated, or presumed to be un-vaccinated because they are labeled as a 'stray'. Even if the cat appears to be spayed or neutered we don't know how long it has been since they were vaccinated. All of these unknowns result in a cat that is going to be either euthanized or placed in quarantine for 6 months. Most people who haven't taken the time or put forth the effort to get their cats spayed, neutered, or vaccinated are not so keen on quarantining it for 6 months. Here we go again, another pet who may or may not ever get sick, who may or may not have even been vaccinated, or even exposed to rabies, and I feel guilty about giving up on these guys again.

Ask me how many cats we have kept?, or how many my very compassionate very generous technician has  taken home with her. Or how many our good friends at No Kill Harford have helped us with. I think its about a dozen..

Aria.
Kept for 6 months by my dear technician.

Gracie.
Also kept by Ms. Kate for her quarantine sentence.

Is there is anyway I can convince, beg, plead, every person out there to get and keep their pets vaccinated for rabies??

We at Jarrettsville Vet are going to try to make rabies vaccines easily accessible, affordable and convenient so that maybe we won't have to look into another pets eyes and ask ourselves all of the "what ifs." Keep watching.


Munch..a mug shot.

A BIG Thanks to everyone who joined forces to help save all of these wonderful wonders!

Update;
September 2013. I see a few of the pups every so often for routine stuff, and because their families know how much it means to me to see them grow.


This is Belle. A little shy, but the love of her mom's life.






This is Belle. A little shy, but the love of her mom's life.

If you have any questions for me about rabies, or anything else pet related please visit me at Pawbly, or on Twitter @FreePetAdvice, or @Pawbly.

Be safe everyone. And PLEASE vaccinate all of your pets for rabies.

World Rabies Day. September 28, 2013



Wren and Oriole,
my babies.

All of us have to learn some lessons the hard way every once in a while. 

I have to remind my clients that I don’t want them to make the same mistakes that I have.

There are even occasions that I find myself  begging them to heed my warnings as the lessons learned have dire consequences.
I don’t get much resistance from clients about vaccinating for rabies. Primarily because it is required by Federal and Maryland state law that every pet be vaccinated. But, every once in a while I find myself in an exam room with a client actually having the following discussion. Like the “law” is something I can give your pet a “pass” on.  

I think that people want to believe that their pet is immune to disease. I also think that some people are plain old tight wads. With either excuse they are placing not only their pets health and safety, but also their families own health and life, on the line. 

How is it so difficult to understand that we vaccinate your kids, yourself, and your pets to try to reduce all of their chances of contracting a disease? Maybe we are all too far removed from the days of polio? Maybe we have forgotten how many millions of people have died from diseases that are almost considered eradicated now?
I have had to learn my lesson the hard way that rabies is NOT one of those mysterious, “heard of, but never seen it, because it doesn't really exist around here,” kind of diseases. Let me say loud and clear that it is alive and well in all areas of the continental Unites States.  
My first experience with rabies began my first year out of Vet school. I went into a routine new kitten examination to meet a little 1-1/4 pound (about 5 to 6 weeks old) sweet orange ball of fur and fluff in a brand new Couture pink sparkly bedazzled pet carrier. This little kitten was much more interested in exploring her new world than looking fashionable, but her barely minted proud new mom wanted a transportation device that had style. It was like carrying a WWF wrestler to the fighting ring in Cinderella’s  glass coach. That young college aged girl very much the epitome of modern trendy elegance, wanted a cute pet she could accessorize to match her own stylish outfits, but instead had an endless amount of firecracker energy and an all-over the place personality. I was delighted to see them. Even if that kittens mom refused to give up on her attempts to domesticate her new little beast she loved that kitten and I was sure there was a long term bond here, individual personality clashes aside. 

That first exam on her kitten “Sunny” was uneventful. We tested her for FeLV/FIV, (both were negative), de-wormed her, and reviewed the protocols for vaccinating. I explained to her that  we typically begin vaccines at 8 weeks old, and repeat them every 3 weeks until 16 weeks. We also vaccinate for rabies at 12 to 16 weeks. We made an appointment for Sunny to come back in two weeks to start her kitten shots. 
A week went by and I received an urgent phone call from Sunny’s mom that she wasn't eating well. I asked her to bring her in immediately. When she arrived she was still a bright bubbly effervescent kitten. She was however underweight. I often have difficulty understanding  what a client is trying to explain to me, whether it be language barriers, social or cultural differences, or because clients don’t always tell you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I have to try to investigate why something is happening, especially because I know my patients can't tell me themselves. For instance, I have seen pets not eat because another pet in the household is eating it first, or, they are feeding a food the pet doesn't like, or cannot eat. About 10 years ago the pet food companies actually had to change the shape of the kibble because smooshy faced kitties couldn't pick up the pieces to get the food in their mouth. If I am feeling stumped about a case, or if something doesn't make sense to me I try to do my own investigative digging. So, for Sunny I did what I have done multiple times before, and hence made my first BIG mistake. I asked Sunny’s owner to leave Sunny with us for a few  days for us to observe her. I wanted to know if she was interested in food, but wasn't trying to eat? or, was she eating but not keeping it down? etc. etc.
I brought Sunny back to the hospital and asked the entire staff to keep a close eye on her. Within a few hours she was playing up front with the receptionists and seemed happy, playful and fine. It took the next day for me to start to see that she was in fact acting a little oddly. She didn't have coordinated concise movements. She was clumsy and also started to tremor a little. I then got me big “light bulb” moment and thought worst case scenario, (which I have learned I need to think of first with every case). I scooped her up, brought her upstairs, and placed her in quarantine. I also called Sunny’s owner to update her. Unfortunately, I didn't have much good news for her. Instead of giving her answers I was giving her more questions and I didn't have any idea when I would know any of the answers.
After two days Sunny could barely walk. She was barely functional at all. Her prognosis was grave. I called her mom and asked her to come in and see her. When she arrived all she could do was cry. Her once perfectly animated kitten had turned into a lifeless pathetic shell. I told her that she should be humanely euthanized before she died from respiratory arrest which I thought would happen within the next 24 hours. 

Unfortunately, Sunny had bitten and scratched not only Sunny’s mom, but her granddad, and one of my receptionists. I now had to send Sunny to the state pathologist to have her examined for rabies. She tearfully said her goodbye and we all tearfully euthanized her.
A few days later we received the call from the state lab that Sunny was indeed positive for rabies. My heart sank. I felt awful that so many people now had to go to their doctors and receive post rabies exposure shots. From that day on I have made sure that everyone who works at Jarrettsville Vet is vaccinated for pre-exposure rabies. Thankfully everyone in Sunny's family was fine. And I have learned my lesson. I will always think of “worst case scenario” first, and I will not put my staff at risk.
Every year JAVMA (Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association) publishes a “Public Veterinary Medicine: Public Health” report on the “Rabies surveillance in the United States.” The September 15, 2011 edition reported the following, “during 2010, 48 states and Puerto Rico reported 6,154 rabid animals and 2 human rabies cases to the CDC, representing a 8% decrease from the 6,690 and 4 human cases in 2009. Hawaii and Mississippi did not report any laboratory-confirmed rabid animals during 2010. Approximately 92% of the reported rabid cases were wildlife.” 36% were raccoon's  24% were skunks, 23% were bats, 7% were foxes, 5% were cats, 1% were cattle, and 1% were dogs.
I think the whole article is worth reading.


And as an end note; the two human fatalities were; a 19 yr old migrant worker from Mexico who entered the US on July 25, 2010, and on Aug 2 reported left arm and shoulder pain. His clinical signs progressed quickly to generalized weakness and he had to be intubated to maintain breathing. He died on Aug 21, 2010. His rabies was tracked back to being bitten by a vampire bat on July 15 in Mexico. The second human fatality was a 70-year-old man who began to experience right shoulder pain on December 24. Two days later he began to have difficulty swallowing. Four days later he had to be intubated. It is unknown how he contracted rabies.

In 2012 the CDC reported the following: 

In this century, the number of human deaths in the United States attributed to rabies has declined from 100 or more each year to an average of 2 or 3 each year. Two programs have been responsible for this decline. First, animal control and vaccination programs begun in the 1940's and oral rabies vaccination programs in the 2000's have eliminated domestic dogs as reservoirs of rabies in the United States. Second, effective human rabies vaccines and immunoglobulins have been developed. All human cases in the United States since 1995 are summarized in the Table of Human Rabies Cases from 1995-2011 (see table below). The case histories (if published) of the ten most recent cases can be found using the links below:
Cases of Rabies in Human Beings in the United States, by Circumstances of Exposure and Rabies Virus Variant, 1995-2011
Date of DeathState of ResidenceExposure History*Rabies Virus Variant†
March 15, 1995WAUnknown#Bat, Msp
September 21, 1995CAUnknown#Bat, Tb
October 3, 1995CTUnknown#Bat, Ln/Ps
November 9, 1995CAUnknown#Bat, Ln/Ps
February 8, 1996FLDog bite - MexicoDog, Mexico
August 20, 1996NHDog bite - NepalDog, SE Asia
October 15, 1996KYUnknownBat, Ln/Ps
December 19, 1996MTUnknownBat, Ln/Ps
January 5, 1997MTUnknown#Bat, Ln/Ps
January 18, 1997WAUnknown#Bat, Ef
October 17, 1997TXUnknown#Bat, Ln/Ps
October 23, 1997NJUnknown#Bat, Ln/Ps
December 31, 1998VAUnknownBat, Ln/Ps
September 20, 2000CAUnknown#Bat, Tb
October 9, 2000NYDog bite - GhanaDog, Africa
October 10, 2000GAUnknown#Bat, Tb
October 25, 2000MNBat bite - MNBat, Ln/Ps
November 1, 2000WIUnknown#Bat, Ln/Ps
February 4, 2001CAUnknown# - PhilippinesDog, Philippines
March 31, 2002CAUnknown#Bat, Tb
August 31, 2002TNUnknown#Bat, Ln/Ps
September 28, 2002IAUnknown#Bat, Ln/Ps
March 10, 2003VAUnknown#Raccoon, Eastern US
June 5, 2003PRBiteDog/Mongoose, Puerto Rico
September 14, 2003CABiteBat, Ln/Ps
February 15, 2004FLBiteDog, Hati
May 3, 2004ARBite (organ donor)Bat, Tb
June 7, 2004OKLiver transplant recipientBat, Tb
June 9, 2004TXKidney transplant recipientBat, Tb
June 10, 2004TXArterial transplant recipientBat, Tb
June 21, 2004TXKidney transplant recipientBat, Tb
Survived, 2004WIUnknown#Bat, Unknown
October 26, 2004CAUnknown#Dog, El Salvador
September 27, 2005MSUnknown#Bat, Unknown
May 12, 2006TXUnknown#Bat, Tb
November 2, 2006INBiteBat, Ln/Ps
December 14, 2006CABiteDog, Philippines
October 20, 2007MNBiteBat, Unknown
March 18, 2008CABite-MexicoFox, Tb-related
November 30, 2008MOBiteBat, Ln/Ps
Survived, 2009TXUnknown#Bat, Unknown
October 20, 2009INUnknown#Bat, Ps
November 11, 2009MIUnknown#Bat, Ln/Ps
November 20, 2009VABiteDog, India
August 21, 2010LABiteBat, Mexico, Ds
January 10, 2011WIUnknownBat, Ps
Survived, 2011CAUnknownUnknown
July 20, 2011NJBiteDog, Haiti
August 31, 2011NYBiteDog, Afghanistan

CDC 2012 rabies cases

Wren and Oriole.
My work buddies.
Both rescued as kittens, lucky for me both happy and healthy.

The WHO rabies information;

Key facts

  • Rabies occurs in more than 150 countries and territories.
  • More than 55 000 people die of rabies every year mostly in Asia and Africa.
  • 40% of people who are bitten by suspect rabid animals are children under 15 years of age.
  • Dogs are the source of the vast majority of human rabies deaths.
  • Wound cleansing and immunization within a few hours after contact with a suspect rabid animal can prevent the onset of rabies and death.
  • Every year, more than 15 million people worldwide receive a post-exposure vaccination to prevent the disease– this is estimated to prevent hundreds of thousands of rabies deaths annually.

Rabies is a zoonotic disease (a disease that is transmitted to humans from animals) that is caused by a virus. The disease affects domestic and wild animals, and is spread to people through close contact with infectious material, usually saliva, via bites or scratches.
Rabies is present on all continents with the exception of Antartica, but more than 95% of human deaths occur in Asia and Africa. Once symptoms of the disease develop, rabies is nearly always fatal.
Rabies is a neglected disease of poor and vulnerable populations whose deaths are rarely reported. It occurs mainly in remote rural communities where measures to prevent dog to human transmission have not been implemented. Under-reporting of rabies also prevents mobilization of resources from the international community for the elimination of human dog-mediated rabies.

Symptoms

The incubation period for rabies is typically 1–3 months, but may vary from <1 week to >1 year. The initial symptoms of rabies are fever and often pain or an unusual or unexplained tingling, pricking or burning sensation (paraesthesia) at the wound site.
As the virus spreads through the central nervous system, progressive, fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cord develops.
Two forms of the disease can follow. People with furious rabies exhibit signs of hyperactivity, excited behaviour, hydrophobia and sometimes aerophobia. After a few days, death occurs by cardio-respiratory arrest.
Paralytic rabies accounts for about 30% of the total number of human cases. This form of rabies runs a less dramatic and usually longer course than the furious form. The muscles gradually become paralyzed, starting at the site of the bite or scratch. A coma slowly develops, and eventually death occurs. The paralytic form of rabies is often misdiagnosed, contributing to the under-reporting of the disease.

Diagnosis

No tests are available to diagnose rabies infection in humans before the onset of clinical disease, and unless the rabies-specific signs of hydrophobia or aerophobia are present, the clinical diagnosis may be difficult. Human rabies can be confirmed intra-vitam and post mortem by various diagnostic techniques aimed at detecting whole virus, viral antigens or nucleic acids in infected tissues (brain, skin, urine or saliva).

Transmission

People are usually infected following a deep bite or scratch by an infected animal. Dogs are the main host and transmitter of rabies. They are the source of infection in all of the estimated 50 000 human rabies deaths annually in Asia and Africa.
Bats are the source of most human rabies deaths in the Americas. Bat rabies has also recently emerged as a public health threat in Australia and western Europe. Human deaths following exposure to foxes, raccoons, skunks, jackals, mongooses and other wild carnivore host species are very rare.
Transmission can also occur when infectious material – usually saliva – comes into direct contact with human mucosa or fresh skin wounds. Human-to-human transmission by bite is theoretically possible but has never been confirmed.
Rarely, rabies may be contracted by inhalation of virus-containing aerosol or via transplantation of an infected organ. Ingestion of raw meat or other tissues from animals infected with rabies is not a source of human infection.

Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)

Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) consists of:
  • local treatment of the wound, initiated as soon as possible after exposure;
  • a course of potent and effective rabies vaccine that meets WHO recommendations; and
  • the administration of rabies immunoglobulin, if indicated.
Effective treatment soon after exposure to rabies can prevent the onset of symptoms and death.
Local treatment of the wound
Removing the rabies virus at the site of the infection by chemical or physical means is an effective means of protection. Therefore, prompt local treatment of all bite wounds and scratches that may be contaminated with rabies virus is important. Recommended first-aid procedures include immediate and thorough flushing and washing of the wound for a minimum of 15 minutes with soap and water, detergent, povidone iodine or other substances that kill the rabies virus.
Recommended PEP
PEP depends on the type of contact with the suspected rabid animal (see table).

Table: Categories of contact and recommended post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)

Categories of contact with suspect rabid animalPost-exposure prophylaxis measures
Category I – touching or feeding animals, licks on intact skinNone
Category II – nibbling of uncovered skin, minor scratches or abrasions without bleedingImmediate vaccination and local treatment of the wound
Category III – single or multiple transdermal bites or scratches, licks on broken skin; contamination of mucous membrane with saliva from licks, contacts with bats.Immediate vaccination and administration of rabies immunoglobulin; local treatment of the wound
All category II and III exposures assessed as carrying a risk of developing rabies require PEP. This risk is increased if:
  • the biting mammal is a known rabies reservoir or vector species;
  • the animal looks sick or has an abnormal behaviour;
  • a wound or mucous membrane was contaminated by the animal’s saliva;
  • the bite was unprovoked; and
  • the animal has not been vaccinated.
In developing countries, the vaccination status of the suspected animal alone should not be considered when deciding whether to initiate prophylaxis or not.

Who is most at risk?

Dog rabies potentially threatens over 3 billion people in Asia and Africa. People most at risk live in rural areas where human vaccines and immunoglobulin are not readily available or accessible.
Poor people are at a higher risk, as the average cost of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis after contact with a suspected rabid animal is US$ 40 in Africa and US$ 49 in Asia, where the average daily income is about US$ 1–2 per person.
Although all age groups are susceptible, rabies is most common in children aged under 15. On average 40 % of post-exposure prophylaxis regimens are given to children aged 5–14 years, and the majority are male.
Anyone in continual, frequent or increased danger of exposure to rabies virus – either by nature of their residence or occupation – is also at risk. Travellers with extensive outdoor exposure in rural, high-risk areas where immediate access to appropriate medical care may be limited should be considered at risk regardless of the duration of their stay. Children living in or visiting rabies-affected areas are at particular risk.

Prevention

Eliminating rabies in dogs
Rabies is a vaccine-preventable disease. The most cost-effective strategy for preventing rabies in people is by eliminating rabies in dogs through vaccination. Vaccination of animals (mostly dogs) has reduced the number of human (and animal) rabies cases in several countries, particularly in Latin America. However, recent increases in human rabies deaths in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America suggest that rabies is re-emerging as a serious public health issue.
Preventing human rabies through control of domestic dog rabies is a realistic goal for large parts of Africa and Asia, and is justified financially by the future savings of discontinuing post-exposure prophylaxis for people.
Preventive immunization in people
Safe, effective vaccines can be used for pre-exposure immunization. This is recommended for travellers spending a lot of time outdoors, especially in rural areas, involved in activities such as bicycling, camping, or hiking as well as for long-term travellers and expatriates living in areas with a significant risk of exposure. Pre-exposure immunization is also recommended for people in certain high-risk occupations such as laboratory workers dealing with live rabies virus and other rabies-related viruses (lyssaviruses), and people involved in any activities that might bring them professionally or otherwise into direct contact with bats, carnivores, and other mammals in rabies-affected areas. As children are considered at higher risk because they tend to play with animals, may receive more severe bites, or may not report bites, their immunization could be considered if living in or visiting high risk areas.

WHO response

For at least three decades WHO has fought to break the "cycle of neglect" affecting rabies prevention and control particularly in low- and middle-income countries through advocacy, surveys and studies and research on the use of new tools .
The Organization continues to promote human rabies prevention through the elimination of rabies in dogs as well as a wider use of the intradermal route for PEP which reduces volume and thereby cost of cell-cultured vaccine by 60 to 80%.
WHO supports targets for elimination of human and dog rabies in all Latin American countries by 2015 and of human rabies transmitted by dogs in South-East Asia by 2020. In this latter region a five-year plan (2012–2016) aims to halve the currently estimated number of human rabies deaths in endemic countries.

WHO rabies article


Related posts. MD man dies from rabies

If you have any pet related questions you can find me at Pawbly or in person at the clinic Jarrettsville Vet.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Wordless Wednesday, September 25, 2013


Mr. T.S's turtle..in surgery with Dr. Hubbard last week for an auricular abscess..

Little Loon, loving her new cat tree.

Needy and Stormy, here for their re-check. They both had an upper respiratory infection.
But their mom took excellent care of them, and they feel much much better now.

Hello! Stormy in her coozied carrier.


The newest bottle baby.

Aimee, who stole my heart with those brown eyes, abundant kisses, and gentle soul..love her!

Bear, with his new family..

Blossum..all ears and under bite.

Ally's dog Addy, selfie.


At Eastern State Penitentiary, Terror Behind The Walls field trip.
Our annual trek to scare the panties off of ourselves.



Lilly's sister here to get her rodent ulcer looked at.

Honey. Who came in for seizures.
Thankfully she hasn't had any more.
We hope that's the last of it.

Idgie, begging for...well, anything.

Joe and Courti, at the end of a Sunday of work and the Ravens game.

Our JVC Merial workshop.
Learning how to perfect our customer service.

Merial lunch!!
Yummy,,and a big Thank-You.

A typical day at work for my pups.

A typical night at home.

Kiana,,looking for a home..and there are about 15 new kittens
waiting to get big enough to go out in the public.

Jekyll, enjoying his shotgun ear rub.

A client in the lot..just thought it was funny.
Always should end on a happy note.