The End Of The First Chapter

I knew this day was coming.

All pet owners know that someday they will have to say goodbye. That someday their beloved companion will no longer be with them and that we just never get enough time with them no matter how long that time is.

I have already told you all about how Midnight came into my life. A tiny speck of black kitten found at a auto garage near my first apartment. She was spotted by my boyfriend and he knew she was too little and too fragile to be left there. If she somehow managed to avoid the dangers of the garage she would be killed on the busy highway the garage was on. Without asking me he brought her home and I knew this was the guy for me.

She is the last living remains of a time in my life I am far removed from. She traveled with me from that apartment to our home in Blacksburg where I spent 15 years, and went to vet school. To my life here in Pa on a farm, and running this veterinary practice. She has been with me every step of the way for two decades.

Saying goodbye to her was as hard as saying goodbye to any of my other cats, but it also meant the end of everything she has helped me through.

I think of Maggie, the little Yorkie, who was attacked by the Rotties boarding at JVC, and how Maggie means so much more than just a pet to her owners. She is the last living reminder of their son who died at such a young age and who's absence has left them clinging to Maggie in his place.

Saying goodbye to Midnight is the last page of the last chapter of a life I remember being long ago, but still miss in some ways. It's the loss of a time, and a place, and a person I am no longer around. And for today, for me, I am sad to let go forever.

There is always a piece of my heart in that place and time but there isn't anything to touch anymore.

With little Wren peeking from behind the pillow

On my lap. Her favorite place to be.

Here is Midnight's original blog, from last August.
http://tinyurl.com/9ctxfgo



I know that everyone doesn't get so attached and I know that for everyone this isn't a normal response, BUT I have forewarned my husband that tomorrow I am bringing home two clinic cats. They have been at the clinic waiting for a home for almost a year, and tomorrow they come here, to help me start a new page in the first chapter of a new book in the rest of my life. I hope they are with me for the next two decades to come.

What kind of crazy cat sleeps on a chair ontop of a table? MINE!!

The "Lick It List," A Childs Bucket List for his Dying Dog

A story to remind us all how incredibly lucky we are to have our canine companions.

Some of them are truly lifesavers.

Here is one child whose love for his dog reminds us to live every day embracing life, and savoring the little things in life that bring us joy.

Fulfilling a Canine Bucket List

Boy seeks treats for his dying service dog

JoAnna Lou | August 22, 2012

When eleven-year old Cole Hein found out that his Jack Russell Terrier had only weeks to live, he created the “Lick It List,” a canine bucket list to honor his pup Bingo. For five years, Bingo has been taking care of Cole, who has a medical condition that can stop his breathing. The thirteen-year old dog is trained to alert adults if the boy needs CPR.

In the first six months the two were together, Bingo saved Cole's life three times, leading to her induction into the Purina Animal Hall of Fame in 2010. Now it's Cole's turn to help Bingo make the most of her time left as the pup battles Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome.

Here is Cole and Bingo's Lick It List:
1) Let Bingo "taste" the world by getting him dog treats from around the globe
2) Take Bingo for one last "public" outing to Ruckers (a favorite game-and-pizza place)
3) Walk around the block twice with Bingo
4) Do a photo shoot with just Bingo and Cole (which has already been arranged)

To help Cole achieve Bingo's Lick It List, he's asking people around the world to send treats. No monetary donations will be accepted (Bingo's medical care is taken care of). Any treats that Bingo can't consume will be donated to the local animal shelter. Likewise, if you're not able to send treats, Cole asks that you make a donation to your favorite animal rescue in Bingo's name.

Dog treats can be sent to:

Cole Hein/Bingo Hein
P.O. Box 413
Shilo, MB
Canada
R0K 2A0

If my dogs had a bucket list, treats would certainly be number one! What would be on your dog's Lick It List?


I asked my dogs to come up with 3 items that they wanted on their Lick It List. Here are their answers. (As you can see some (1) has a problem with restraint and moderation).

Here is Savannah's Bucket List;

1. "A belly rub until I fall asleep."

2. "A huge can of cat food to devour without being scolded."

3. "A day at home with my mom without the puppies. They are loud, obnoxious, and serve no purpose. I quite frankly don't know what you see in them."

Here is Charleston's List;

1. "Being able to sleep on the human bed all night with my own pillow and mom and dad petting me".

2. "A huge juicy steak purchased, cooked, and delivered to me."

3. "A whole day without Jekyll bothering me to play with him. (He barks at me, jumps at me, and forces me to play with him. He is a pest and he drives me nuts)."

Here is Jekylls list;

1. "To have my mom and dad hide treats for me in the yard like it is Easter. (My nose can find a morsel anywhere and it is just as much fun searching for it as it is finding and eating it)."

2. "To be able to run on the beach and meet everyone there, and to have them love meeting me as much as I love meeting them. (It really hurts my feelings that everyone in the world does not love me as much as I LOVE them)."

3. "I would like a guard dog house installed at the end of our walkway so I can monitor my kindgom from the comfort of a plush heated, air conditioned, and decorated home. (Perferably with a butler to bring me snacks when I becon)."

4. "Get rid of the cats, I don't like them, and I am sick of being nice to them because you tell me to."



"P.S. I know you told me to write 3 things down, but it is my list, I'm cute, and I know you will give me whatever I want anyway."

 An article from the LA Times;

How dogs can help unravel genetic diseases in people

By Rosie Mestel Los Angeles Times

August 15, 2012, 3:14 p.m.

Dog lovers may be interested in an article published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine: It highlights the discoveries scientists are making about diseases that various dog breeds are prone to -- and how those findings can benefit human health as well as that of canines.

It’s written by longtime dog genetics researcher Elaine Ostrander of the National Human Genome Research Institute.

The discoveries are possible because of several things: First off, both the human genome and dog genomes have been sequenced. (The breeds chosen for the first round of dog DNA sequencing were a standard poodle and boxer, should you be curious.)  

Secondly, dogs have been intensively bred into distinct breeds, and in the case of purebreds (though not my black mutt Nightshade; who knows where she came from?) their pedigrees are very well known. Often, the breeds are descended from just a few animals, so they can be very inbred as well.

The intensive selection over the decades and/or centuries for traits of body shape or hair color has also inadvertently selected for genes that foster diseases. And so Bedlington terriers are prone to copper storage diseases, Doberman pinschers are prone to narcolepsy, and so on.

Here is where some lemonade gets made out of that sad lemon: It’s far easier in many cases for scientists to track down genes associated with, say, a cancer or vision disorder in dogs than it is in human beings, Ostrander writes.

That’s especially true when a disease could stem from one of several genetic defects. If you study a bunch of people with the disease, the underlying genes involved will probably be a mix and the results will be too cloudy for scientists to make sense of. But in an inbred dog strain prone to a disorder, the underlying cause is far more likely to be rooted in one specific gene.
And that means scientists can find it. Once they’ve found it, they can then go back and see if the same holds true for some human beings.
Some examples Ostrander cites of gene-influenced disorders in dogs shedding light on diseases in human beings:

--A syndrome called RCND that causes kidney cancer and skin growths in German shepherds was pinpointed to versions of a gene called folliculin. That same gene, it turns out, is involved in a human disease called Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome.

“The single, large dog pedigree was collected and genotyped in a fraction of the time it took to collect and characterize the many necessary human pedigrees,” Ostrander notes.

--Epilepsy crops up in a lot of different dog breeds, and scientists have found a different underlying genetic cause for miniature wire-haired dachshunds versus Lagotto Romagnolo dogs. Extending the study to other breeds of dogs could expand the list of genes that can be involved in epilepsy, allowing scientists to get a better handle on all the different ways that it can crop up in people.

-- And here's a gene therapy example. Leber’s congenital amaurosis type 2 is a progressive retinal atrophy in dogs that leads to blindness. It results when a gene called RPE65 is nonfunctional. The disorder was successfully treated by introducing a functional version of the gene to a dog, carried on a virus. The same genetic disease occurs in people, and “humans with Leber’s congenital amaurosis are now being successfully treated for the disorder,” Ostrander writes.

I see many dogs with epilepsy. In almost all cases we never understand what causes the seizures to start. Sometimes we can "control" the pets seizures with medications. But I always warn my clients that for as much as we are hoping that the medications control the seizures, in the end, if the seizures are minimized the drugs wreak utter havoc on the internal organs (most noteably the liver), and if these pets don't die from their seizures they will die of liver failure. Epilepsy can be a difficult, frustrating, devastating, and an expensive disease to just "control."

Every vet knows, (and most breeders) that there are certain disease's that we see over represented in some breeds. Dobies with heart diease, neurological diseases, Westies with skin, urinary stones, Dachshunds with back problems, white bulldogs and Boxers with skin disease, beagles and cockers with ears, the entire brachycephalic cascade of facial deformities, King Charles with heart disease, German Shepherds with allergies, hips, immune diseases, the list goes on, and on.

Maybe in an effort to unravel the mysteries of why human's get some of these diseases we can also figure out how to cure or prevent them from affecting our pets.

Until then my best piece of advice is to mutt-up those breeds. I know I am causing heart palpitations in the Westminster-wanna-be crowd, but it's true. I am not treating 1 mutt with epilepsy right now, BUT I am treating about 10 other pure breds.

For a good text book on this subject I recommend;

http://www.amazon.com/Breed-Predispositions-Disease-Dogs-Cats/dp/1405180781/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345309165&sr=8-1&keywords=pet+breed+disease

Available through Amazon. To look at this book follow the link and then take a tour of the book.

SmartBrief Newsletter AVMA

Our mission is to save you time and keep you smart. So you won't miss a thing, here are the top ten most-clicked stories in Animal Health SmartBrief from the past 7 days.

1. Boy Scout leader hurt in attack by rabid beaver A Boy Scout leader attacked by a rabid beaver during a swim in the Delaware River is recovering. Scouts helped the 51-year-old man and killed the beaver, which was later determined to be rabid. Poughkeepsie Journal (N.Y.) (08/13) http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012308130009&gcheck=1&nclick_check=1   2. Petco food bowls, Catswell treats are recalled Philly.com (Philadelphia) (08/14) http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/pets/Recalls-Radioactive-pet-food-bowls-and-cat-food.html   3. The wackiest pet names and how they came to be Chew Barka's name refers to the apricot toy poodle's main activities during his trial overnight with eventual owners Michele and Peter Manzelli III. Chew Barka and cat Pico de Gato topped Veterinary Pet Insurance's 2012 lists of the wackiest dog and cat names. NBC News (08/13) http://animaltracks.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/08/13/13218725-chew-barka-and-pico-de-gato-top-wackiest-pet-names-list   4. Atlanta zoo adds raccoon dogs from Italy A pair of 2-year-old raccoon dogs from a wildlife park in Italy joined the lineup at the Atlanta zoo. The animals, also known as tanuki, originally came from eastern Asia, and while they resemble raccoons, they're actually canines. Record (Hackensack, N.J.), The (08/14) http://www.northjersey.com/news/international/166082266_Atlanta_zoo_welcomes_pair_of_raccoon_dogs.html   5. Newfound snake virus resembles deadly arenaviruses A California woman's love for her boa constrictor, Larry, led researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and the Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences to new studies that ultimately uncovered a virus related to Ebola and arenaviruses such as Lassa fever that are deadly to humans. LiveScience.com (08/14)  http://www.livescience.com/22334-virus-discovery-snake-disease.html 6. Frequently asked questions by pet owners about bed bugs and pets Reports of bed bug infestation are increasing in the United States. To educate pet owners and help them take precautions to protect themselves, their families and their pets, the AVMA has developed an FAQ on bed bugs. View AVMA's bed bug FAQ. https://www.avma.org/public/PetCare/Pages/Bed-Bugs-FAQs.aspx?utm_source=smartbrief&utm_medium=email   7. Do dog owners look for breeds to match their temperaments? Aggressive people may choose their dogs from breeds that are perceived to have similar temperaments and aggression levels, according to researchers at Queen's University Belfast. The study surveyed 147 owners of German shepherds, Rottweilers, Labradors and golden retrievers. LiveScience.com (08/09) http://www.livescience.com/22240-aggressive-dog-owners-hostility.html   8. Austrian zoo elephant pregnant using frozen sperm from wild male Ultrasound photos show a normally developing fetus inside Tonga, an African elephant at the Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienna who was inseminated with frozen sperm from a wild African bull elephant. Frozen sperm has been used successfully in other mammals, but it has proved trickier with elephants, and this case is believed to be the first success story. BBC (08/14) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19260522   9. Experts share latest animal behavior tips Pet behavior experts offered updates and advice before the AVMA Annual Convention earlier this month. Presentations ranged from advice on which supplements can help aging cats cope with cognitive changes to a simple suggestion to stop your dog from eating feces. Chicago Tribune (free registration) (08/15) http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/sns-201208140000--tms--petwrldctnya-a20120815-20120815,0,1859322.column   10. Judge's ruling may set precedent for feral cat care A Cook County, Ill., judge ruled last month that feral cats are wild animals and the care of their colonies comes under state authority. The potentially precedent-setting ruling came in the case of a couple cited under local rules for caring for a feral cat colony; the court upheld a county law that allows residents to care for feral cat colonies as long as the animals are properly vaccinated, neutered and microchipped. Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Ill.) (08/10) http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20120810/news/708109923/

Thank you for making Animal Health SmartBrief your daily news source. Your Animal Health SmartBrief team

Who Ever Said That "The Meek Will Inherit The Earth"

If it's not the meek, maybe then it's the ignorant?

Encouraging isn't it?

I am talking about the breed specific legislation that has passed in the State of Maryland. Where any dog that looks like a pit bull is to be considered "inherently dangerous." How does this affect everyone who loves pets? If you own a house and rent it, and if your tenant has a dog that might look like a pit bull you are hereby deemed responsible for anything that dog might do.

It's preposterous!

If the experts are telling you that it is NOT the breed, but the owners who are the danger to society, then why isn't anyone listening?

It is heart-breaking to know that many wonderful dogs will be put down, or surrendered (and then put down), and further unjustly discriminated against, just because they "look" dangerous.

I thought that we had already decided that racial profiling wasn't accurate or legal?

I spend my entire professional life trying to educate my clients, and pet owners across the globe, and in the end I needed to be in Annapolis talking to politicians?

The news feed from the week;

Get AP Mobile for your phone at GetAPMobile.com

Dog-bite liability bill fails in special session

MD State Wire
BRIAN WITTE
Published: Aug 14, 2012 ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - A measure that Maryland lawmakers hoped would address liability concerns relating to a court ruling on dog bites by pit bulls has died in the recent special session on gambling.
The House and Senate could not reconcile differences between the two chambers by early Wednesday morning.
Lawmakers wanted to change the law to address liability concerns over a breed-specific court ruling by Maryland's highest court, which determined pit bulls to be "inherently dangerous." The ruling means that in an attack involving a pit bull, plaintiffs in civil lawsuits don't have to prove the animal's prior violent behavior for the owner to be held liable for damages. The ruling also means landlords can be held liable in dog-bite cases on their property.
The failure to pass the bill means the court's ruling will stand.

© 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

This is Charleston. My Maryland home grown pit bull mix dog.

September 2013. Huffington Post article

Strut Your Mutt Baltimore, September 22, 2012

 

I was talking to my sister the other day, we were contemplating signing up for the Humane Societies 5K run, but we wondered why we couldn't run with our dogs? AQnd then this came across my email!

 

How perfect would a walk with your pup be to raise money for pets in need?

 

SIGN ME UP!!

 

I will do my very very best to be there, two pups in tow and a big JVC sign. If anyone else is interested send me an email.

Strut Your Mutt Baltimore

Join us on September 22, 2012

Register Now! Donate To This Event

Carroll Park, 9am

_{It's Time to Strut Again for Homeless Pets!}

Get ready, get set, get your pooch warmed up ..it's time for Best Friends Animal Society's First Annual Strut Your Mutt in Baltimore. Join us for a leisurely morning walk to help homeless pets in the Baltimore area, and then celebrate afterwards at Carroll Park at our ultimate doggie festival.
Who: Animal lovers in the Baltimore area who want to raise money for homeless pets, and have a great time with their dogs.
What: Leisurely group dog walk followed by a doggie themed celebration festival that includes pet contests, photo opp's, treats for your dogs, fun activities, refreshments and more.
Where: Carroll Park, 1500 Washington Boulevard (Bayard Street, Washington Blvd. & S. Monroe Street), Baltimore Maryland 21230
When: Saturday, September 22, 2012. Registration begins at 7:30am; walk begins at 9am. Festival ends at 12pm.
Why: To raise money for one of our participating local animal rescue groups (our No More Homeless Pets Network Partners) and Best Friends Animal Society, and help bring about a time when there are No More Homeless Pets.
Registration Fees:

• Individuals: $30 ($35 day-of)
• Couples: $50 ($60 day-of)
• Kids 12 and under with t-shirt: $20 ($25 day-of)
• Kids 12 and under without t-shirt: FREE
• Virtual Participant (not attending our official Strut in Baltimore): $10 (does not include a t-shirt but our 2012 Strut shirts will be available for purchase). Virtual Participants, like Individual Walkers, can raise money for Best Friends or for a participating Network Partner--but will need to join a Network Partner's Dog Pack in order to raise money for that group.

Note: every person who is attending the event must be registered in order to participate.
To support one of our participating Network Partners, you can join a Network Partners Dog Pack and they will receive 100% of all money raised (after transaction fees).
The top individual fundraiser and his/her dog will be recognized in Best Friends Magazine and on the 2013 Strut Your Mutt t-shirts!!
For Questions, contact Best Friends Events
E-mail: events@bestfriends.org

Interested in volunteering?
E-mail: bfvolcoord@bestfriends.org
This event will be held rain or shine!

  

Thank you for signing up.

Top Fundraisers

1. Lynn Heun
2. Judy Ashwell
3. Amey Spigel
4. Marla Habecker

View More

Top Dog Packs

1. Lucky Dog Animal Rescue
2. BARCS
3. Charm City Animal Rescue
4. Must Love Dogs

View More

 

 Here is a link to their webpage.

http://www.strutyourmutt.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.event&eventID=515#_methods=onPlusOne%2C_ready%2C_close%2C_open%2C_resizeMe%2C_renderstart%2Concircled&id=I0_1345303763546&parent=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.strutyourmutt.org

 

http://tinyurl.com/bsm8bur

 

 

George the Gigolo

A very good client came in yesterday to drop her cat George off for a neuter.



We usually take in our surgery patients between 7:30 am and 9 am on the day of their surgery.



We try very hard to get all of the surgeries done by about 3 pm so that everyone is awake, alert, and ready to go home by 8 pm, which is our closing time. We are not a 24 hour a day facility. Because of this I prefer a pet be home at night with their family so they can watch over them, versus in a cage at a closed clinic. If there is ever a problem I want someone to know sooner versus later.



There are a few exceptions to the "no overnight patrons" rule. We have some patients who need 24 hour fluid therapy and cannot afford, or do not want to be transferred to the ER. There are also some patients we want to be monitoring as much as possible. Sometimes we get requests from clients to leave their pet overnight because they can't get them back here in the morning, or they want to drop them off the day before because their work schedule won't allow an 8 am drop-off. Other clients want to drop off because they don't have a way of keeping them from eating overnight. With few exceptions our methodology works well for almost all parties involved.



George came to us on Sunday afternoon for his Monday morning neuter. Sundays we are open for two hours for walk-in appointments. It is usually a busy time, but it allows quick re-checks, boarding pick-up/drop-off, medication refills, and just a bit more convenience for our pets and clients.



George is a big beautiful tiger striped brown tabby cat. He has gorgeous yellow-green eyes and a kind of “King of the jungle” presence. He is strong, muscular, and pompous in a quiet elusive way. He is Marlon Brando with fur and bigger (but only slightly) jowls.

I remember that at his drop-off our client requested a fecal, a micro-chip, vaccines, and a neuter after he was tested for FeLV/FIV and found clear. I also remember over hearing her say to the receptionist that she had had him for "over a year." He certainly looked like he was 2 or older. I went back to my appointments and left George in the capable hands of the staff.



At arrival this morning I gave George his exam. He certainly is an impressive boy. He isn't afraid of anything, generally allows you to do anything to him, and has a presence about him of calm, secure confidence. The chicks love him, and he knows it.

The surgery technician informed me that his FeLV/FIV test was negative, and that he appeared to have ear mites. He was also getting sick of being scruffed. Seems he thought it demeaning, and he was done with the pleasantries of mild protest.



I concurred with the surgery tech. He was in excellent health, minus the ear mites.



A dose of sedation was drawn up and delivered via three people, a muzzle, and a few pleadings of "this will be quick, relax." He went into his anesthetic slumber quickly, and easily.



He was clipped, scrubbed, and prepped for surgical castration within a few minutes. I was gloved and holding one testicle in one hand and cutting it away from the body with the other when I heard the "beep, beep" of the microchip scanner being passed over his back.



One testicle removed, one to go, and this cat has a microchip. Not good. We all quickly quibbled between each other..."Who micro-chips a cat and then doesn't neuter him?" one tech asked.



"Crap!" I thought. This cat doesn't belong to this owner, and I don't think I can only do half a neuter? "Can I?" I already have the other teste cut, clamped and ready to be cut.."Crap!" Think quick and move on..I said to myself,,you still have a cat under anesthesia.



I finished the neuter and asked the receptionist to “check our computer to see if this chip belonged to a cat that was a patient of ours?”



One minute later she returned to say that "He's not ours."



"OK, please call the chip in and see if we can find out who he belongs to?”



“I better call the client, and see if they know what's up?" I said.



I went to call our very good client and started my internal finger crossing.



"Hello Mrs. M. it's Dr. Magnifico. We neutered George and realized half way through his neuter that he already has a micro-chip."



"OHHH! NO!!!" she said rather loudly and very dramatically. "What do I do?"



"Well," I replied “I think we should see if we can find his owners and then go from there."



"OK, can I get into trouble for this?" she asked. It was a valid question, and I was thinking the same myself.



"Can you tell me what you know about him?" As the words came out of my mouth I realized I probably should have had this conversation yesterday. I would not have taken a stray in without looking for a micro-chip first. But I hadn't thought that he was a feral cat or a stray. I had assumed he was her cat. (Oh, how many times do those assumptions get us into trouble?).



My client told me that she had been feeding him for over a year. That he showed up at her house, looking for attention and hand-outs, was friendly, gentle, affectionate, and un-neutered. She said that her daughter had grown very attached to him and that they had scoured the neighborhood looking to see if there were “Lost” posters with his mug posted but never found any, so they had decided to keep him, provide him veterinary care, and have him neutered. Somehow all of this discussion had missed the front desk, or at least missed my ears yesterday.



It is our policy, and practice, to scan every pet who walks in the door without formal adoption papers. In full disclosure I will admit that I have not ever seen or heard of a micro-chip unneutered cat. It is common practice to micro-chip at spay and neuter time. I also thought that JVC was the only clinic in a multiple state area to offer free micro-chips. So who would pay for a micro-chip and then not spay or neuter?



 I spoke to my client for a few minutes and then I asked her if “I could call the owners of the cat for her?”



Pause,,,,”Well?,,,Umm,,,” she wasn’t forming any sentences and I didn’t know if she was going to be the hard side of this custody battle.



“Yes, he is their cat. I guess so.” I think she was more worried about getting into trouble with the “good deed” then she was about losing her daughters new BFF, but I also think that this was a close draw.



OK, I thought, we have our first party sounding agreeable to a compromise, let’s see what the other party sounds like.



I hung up and started calling the numbers that the micro-chip company had provided. The listed owners’ phone number was “no longer in service.”



I tried the emergency contact. I got an answer. The second I introduced myself as “Dr. Magnifico from Jarrettsville Veterinary Center” and asked if she “knew who owned a male brown tabby cat?” I got a scream.



“Oh my god is he dead?”



“No, he is fine.” I replied. “He was brought in by a client to be vaccinated, neutered and micro-chipped. When we went to micro-chip him we found he had one already, and that’s how I found you.”



She went on to explain that he was adopted from the Humane Society almost 2 years ago by her daughter. Since then her daughter and granddaughter had moved in with her. They had had some financial hardships over the last year or so and not ever gotten around to having him neutered. (Secret very loud inward scream and cringe on my side of the phone. No wonder we can’t get the feral cat population under control. The Humane Society is adopting out unsprayed, unneutered cats! ARGH!) She also told me that they had tried multiple ways to keep him inside but that he had broken through screens, screamed all night, and refused to be an inside cat. (I really, really, wanted to mention that maybe neutering would have helped curb his wanderlust?, but my primary objective was to make peace and keep my clients, and my own butt, out of any more hot water). She also told me that they had spent the last two nights calling for him around the neighborhood.



I asked her “What his real name was?”



“Matt” she replied.



After a few minutes of talking I understood that this family truly loved Matt.



She asked “what the bill was?”



I told her that “I wouldn’t charge her for the exam, and that I would only charge her for the neuter and vaccines.” I also asked if I could exchange each other’s phone information.



In the end, Matt has gained what he already had, but no not secretly anymore; two families that love and care for him.



And I will resume scanning first, and not depending so much on believing that I have the whole story.

Few intact male cats don't bear war wounds. Here is Matts, a lacerated tongue.
Male cats fight for territory intensely. Many have frequent abscesses due to fighting.
FIV is transmitted by cats fighting and seen predominantly in feral male cats.
Please neuter at 6 months old after checking FeLV/FIV status.

This Little Piggy Cried Whaa! Whaa! Whaa!, All the Way Home.

The lifeline of equine medicine is foot problems. Actually I should re-state that the demise of racing horses are foot problems. And did you know that one of the largest chapters in the textbooks for both ruminants and equids is on foot problems? And, there are quite a few foot ailments chickens get, too. Okay, I suppose that the point is that many, many, species are afflicted with foot problems.

For a little anatomy review I will remind everyone that dogs and cats have four feet. We still call them wrists and ankles, or to be anatomically specific; meta-carpals (wrist) and meta-tarsals (ankle). Our pets fingers and toes are called phalanges. And, just in case you didn't take human anatomy there are a lot of bones in your hands and feet. (I should know how many off the top of my head, but to try to recall at this point would require a pad, pen, and stick drawings, and I would still forget a few ones in that muddle of upper wrist. Remembering those freshmen anatomy pop-quiz questions for me at this point requires walking to the shelf an opening a book).

In dog and cat veterinary medicine we see a fair share of limping pets. The first thing we try to do when we see a limping patient is to try to identify where in the leg the problem is.

We start with a general overview of the pet walking and ask ourselves the following questions;
First we decide how bad the lameness is? We grade lameness on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 being the mildest and 5 being non-weight bearing. A 5 means that the pet refuses to put the foot down to ambulate. This implies that the foot is so painful they won't use it, or so unstable (fracture) that they can't use it. Any and all grade 4 and 5 lameness's need a vet ASAP.

The second thing we do is palpate the entire leg. Here is where the experience comes into play. We all have our own methods of palpation. I tend to start in the area that I don't think has the problem. So if I think the problem is in the foot as I watch the pet walk I will start palpating high on the leg. As a good rule we also look at both legs from the back and front to check for symmetry. We look to see if the legs are different sizes/shapes and that helps us identify chronicity of the disease, or aggressiveness of the disease, if bones and/or muscles are involved, swelling of tissue. In general, there are a ton of clues very good observation will give you. And then we palpate everything.

Palpation helps to identify the source of the pain, and the source of the problem. If we feel a swelling of the bone we worry about bone cancer, or bone diseases. If we feel a incongruity of the bones we think fracture or dislocation. A loss of muscle indicates chronic disuse of the muscle to the point of atrophy. We also check for lymph node enlargement.

There is certainly an art to good palpation. Every vet has had the dog who has an obvious limp and yet refuses to show any sign of pain no matter how hard you try to identify the source of their lameness. I call these guys the "stoic" dogs. There are also many many dogs who will bite you if you even approach their feet on a good day when everything seems normal. Try to  identify a foot problem in a foot phobic fear biter..it's not fun, and it is frustrating I promise.

Oddly, (although I shouldn't say that, because "oddly = normal" in my life), I saw three foot dogs in an afternoon. 

The first was a young sweet Boston Terrier. She was an easy one because her owners had witnessed her jump on their porch and then slide across the deck where they saw and heard her drive her foot into a very long wooden splinter. She immediately yelped! and then lifted her foot. They could see the splinter in her foot so they tried to pull it out. Unfortunately only half of it could be extracted. It broke under the skin and left a large piece behind. When I say "thankfully they saw it," I say it because as big as that piece of wood was you could barely feel it, and you couldn't see it at all. If they hadn't been there to point it out I would have missed it on her physical exam. It took two vets, three technicians, and a muzzle to remove it. When we finally got a forcep on it it came out easily and measured about an inch long. OUCH!

The second was a Bernese Mountain dog. He came in limping and with a large red wound on the top part of his foot, (we call it dorsal). Where some pets who have what we call a "lick granuloma" this dog seemed to be excessively licking her foot because it hurt. It took a few minutes to find the source of her pain. She had a small black pinpoint wound between her toes. She was licking the top of her foot to try to tell us that she had a wound on the bottom of her foot. Thank goodness we didn't write her off as "another dog licking for some unknown reason" and just put an e-collar on her. I have a serious pet peeve about e-collars. They only get used when you are sure of the reason and and you are treating the cause. They are otherwise torture devices. Not being allowed to scratch or lick a boo-boo is torture if you aren't treating the boo-boo.

My last dog of the day had a laceration to her foot pad. We see this a lot. They bleed like crazy, send owners into a panic attack, and often somewhat limiting in our ability to treat. Luckily foot pads heal very quickly if kept clean, dry and protected. Often after a few hours they don't seem to hurt so bad and most pets go back to walking almost normally. The real trick is to keep them from opening back up and bleeding. Now IF you have a deep laceration to the foot pad that can be a different story. keeping a deep laceration clean and allowing it time to heal, (usually this means you try to keep the pet from walking too much on it, because all that motion on the foot means the wound can't close). Some of these deep lacerations require surgery, long term antibiotics, and strict cage rest. And another concern is that many of the foots tendons live under the foot pads, we need to insure they are still intact or the foot will not function properly.

For many of the foot pad lacerations I see they are usually just the most superficial layer of the pad, so I often place a temporary foot bandage on it with lots of antibiotic cream, (after I have soaked the foot in another antimicrobial foot bath), and then re-check them in 24 hours. Usually 24 hours later the bandage can be removed and the skin/foot pad has already started to heal.


For those limping, lame dogs that we cannot find a wound on, we try to use our hands, the history from the owner and our experience to try to identify whether an x-ray will help identify the source of the problem. I have to admit and warn you that there are times when we take an x-ray and still we don't find our answer. Without being able to identify an obvious cause we often recommend rest and an anti-inflammatory. This is also the time that I tell my clients to come back and let me re-check if the problem persists or worsens. Sometimes it takes a few visits for us to figure out the cause for lameness. But I always promise that I won't give up on you if you don't give up on me. Diagnosing and treating any disease is a process and sometimes we all get stumped. When this happens, or when we feel the problem is beyond our abilities, we will refer you to orthopedic, neurology, or radiology experts.

If your pet is lame, painful, or not getting better, keep looking for answers, and don't give up. There is always a reason, and it is very difficult to provide a treatment plan when you don't have a diagnosis.

When The Long Arm Steps In

I had an odd appointment the other night.

A couple in their early 30's, very informally dressed, somewhat nervous, and fidgety were sitting in the exam room with their black and white Cocker Spaniel.

The examination technician put the couple and the dog in the exam room, discussed the reason for their visit, (as we always do), then came out to talk to me about what they had discussed.

The exam technician primary tasks are to take the patients weight, temp, go over the owners concerns, if they have any and review the reason for their visit. This particular appointment she put the clients and my patient in the room, spoke to them for a few minutes and then came out with the patient file and a quizzical look.

My technicians are really exemplary. They in many cases can take care of over half of a clients needs without me. They can pull blood, trim nails, express anal glands, TPR, and get a good history for me. I up to help finish the few items they can't.

This appointment however, was not because the clients had a concern about their dog, it was because they had been ordered by a local official to bring their pet to see the vet.

I rarely receive an appointment with a letter. Before I could get my hands on the "reason for pet exam" the letter had made its way to every hand in the building. Everyone was curious to see what the letter said, and what the order was for.

The only thing that I was told, (because I am the last person on the totem pole to get to read the, or any, letter was that the letter was from the county animal control officer), and it simply stated that the owners had "7 days to get the pet to the vet for care" or they would be fined.

I was directed to the front desk to learn "the rest of the story," (should you ever need a kernel of information in a veterinary hospital go to the front desk. Those receptionists are the gate keepers to every tidbit of information about every piece of local gossip. They are the lifeline and the blood supply of every practice).

The rest of the story went something as follows; The somewhat estranged son of the couple had been begging his parents to get their Cocker Spaniel dog to the vet for care. After some time, and no action, he had decided to intervene on the dogs' behalf. It seems he felt she was being neglected and he wasn't going to listen to their excuses any longer. So he picked up the phone and called in a report of abuse/neglect on his parents. The following day a county animal control officer arrived. They looked at the dog, filed a report, and presented the parents with a summons.

Cocker Spaniels usually need to be groomed about every 6 to 8 weeks. They have a thick curly coat and if not kept clipped it will tangle. Many larger, flat-coated breeds, however, never need a bath or a grooming. For instance my beloved beagle Jekyl never needs a bath, (unless he finds ground hog poop a favorite cologne of his). Of the breeds that I see most needing routine scheduled grooming I would rank Cockers, Westies, Yorkies, and the hairless guys (they get so filthy it's almost hard to believe) highest. Many others get semi-annual baths just to cut down on shedding and keep the coat lustrous. In general the bigger breeds with the flattest coats almost never need water or shampoo,  but the smaller they get the dirtier and more maintenance they seem to have.

I also see a much greater incidence of skin disease in many of these "high maintneance grooming" breeds. So if you have one of the listed breeds above please talk to your vet about what kind of grooming products you use, what kind of skin lesions you see, how itchy your pet is, how they smell, how red their skin gets, and if you notice any allergy flare-ups. I tell my clients all the time, that "I know they do about 99% of the detective work for their pets ailments, it's just my job to help them recognize them, and understand what they can treat for at home, and how to hopefully avoid ever having to see me." I think many of my chronic skin guys can be managed in most part largely at home.

Cocker Spaniels are an intensively problematic skin breed, especially with respect to their ears. Those big floppy ear flaps cause a couple of things to occur in Cockers much more so than other breeds of dogs. I call it the "ear disaster perfect triangle," (you know like the fire triangle you learned in elementary school).

First, those big floppy ears may look very cute but they seal off the ear canals like  a bank vault door. Those thick heavy long ears mean that no light gets in or out. Unlike humans, (who have open erect ears therefore allowing us to get great air circulation, and sunshine), Cockers have these closed-off, dark, never see the light of day, ear canals. The lack of air flow, sunshine, and circulation causes the normal resident bacteria and yeast to go wild. They get their own little easy bake ear oven to just propagate away. And if no one ever lifts the hatch to look inside the ears just simmer away with their infections brewing away until you get a full fledged stinky, red, pus filled vat. Many Cockers get so used to the low grade ear infections that owners will come in and tell me that they had no idea the ear(s) looked so bad." I use the much repeated vet mantra advertising slogan, "flip the lip," penned by some marketing person to encourage owners to lift the lips of their pets and check out the teeth, (another ignored aspect of pet care that I will discuss later) and turned it into "flip the flap," to remind owners with floppy eared dogs to stick your nose under that ear flap every week or so. If you ever notice a red or smelly ear it's time for ear maintenance.

OK, back to the second part of the ear problem triangle.The second side of the disaster triangle is the ear flaps close out sunlight, and seal in moisture. So that dark moist environment with an already resident population of bugs only needs one more thing to "get it's party started."

The last side to the triangle is those bugs need food. Your pet provides this in the way of dirt, debris, and wax.

Those Cocker Spaniels tote around two portable incubators on each side of their cranium.

Wanna know the best way to keep your pets free from ear infections? Keep them super clean! For me that means use the heck out of a good ear cleaner. No scrubbing, no swabbing, just fill the ear and massage in. If your pet shakes out a whole wad of brown goop, just repeat the process.

I was expecting to give my "ear infection triangle speech" when I walked in the room. What I saw instead was a humongous hard to believe amount of black fur scattered in every corner of the exam room. The size of my Cocker Spaniel patient didn't seem to adequately reflect the amount of hair I was looking at. I was definitely having one of those "I can't believe what my eyes are seeing" moments.

I then understood the animal control officers letter. The mats behind this girls ears were indescribable. They were easily the size of her head, like grapefruit size, and in clusters of grapefruits.

The mats are bigger then my hand, cause her ear flap to be pushed forward,
and the mats are knotted to the skin.

Right ear mat

Left ear mat.

"How long did that take?" I secretly wondered.





Both ear pinnas shaved.

I spent some time in the exam room trying to impress upon my slightly embarrassed clients how important grooming was to these guys, and how detrimental matted hair can be. They agrred to and booked an appointment with the groomers next door to have a full head to toe beauty treatment performed, and then I asked the groomers to bring her back to me so I could finish her physical examination.


Luckily, she didn't have any skin concerns, and her ears were clean and normal. She did have some mild fungal infections between her toes that we only could identify after we have trimmed the massive amount of hair clumped between her toes.

I placed her on our 3 month reminder list. So now her parents will get a "grooming needed" post card reminder every 12 weeks. (It's a way to help them remember and an effort to keep them on the right side of the long arm of the law).

For those of you out there with a desire to own one of these "high maintenance" breeds, please remember that grooming is a necessary part of owning them. Budget accordingly, and be nice to your kids, they might rat on you.