Welcome to a Thursday edition of Furbaby Friday with Dr. Tammy. This week has been an exciting one at the veterinary hospital. One of our clients came in at her wits end. She came home to find her dog had created a HUGE hot spot over her hip and rump area. It was bad enough that this person felt she could no longer give her pet the care she needed. Heartbroken, she surrendered her in hopes someone else would be able to fulfill the obligation.
Meet Ary...
She is as sweet as she looks in her video debut. The hot spot she's sporting on her right has improved a great deal in just the two days she's been with us. From her previous allergy testing, we found out she's allergic to many of the local grasses and pollen, fleas and a variety of other environmental allergens. We suspect she may also have a food allergy component as her itching is constant...all year long. We've started her on a food trial to determine what proteins are her triggers.
Before you judge her previous owner too harshly, having a pet with allergies isn't easy. In fact, it's downright difficult at times and frustrating as hell. The larger the dog, the more costly medications will be. If they're lucky, caretakers of pets with allergies are able to find out the combinations of shampoos, oral medications and other therapy that work early on in their treatment plans. Realistically, it can take many attempts and treatment failure before improvement is noticeable. Visits to the veterinarian can be long and drawn out and just because one rash responded to antibiotics doesn't mean the next one won't be caused by yeast. Allergies for pets are ever changing...
and that's exactly what ends up becoming the last straw for many pet owners. Some give up entirely. They curl up into a fetal position and hope the allergies just go away. Others decide to ignore the problems. As long as their pet is eating and drinking, who cares if they scratch, chew and lick themselves raw 24/7? They'll put up with the smelly ears and skin because they've become immune to it.
The rest of the world is not...
It takes a village to raise children and it takes that and more to help manage pet allergies. It takes patience, dedication and understanding that allergies will NEVER be cured.
Let me repeat that in case you missed it. Never. Be. Cured. They can be managed and quiet effectively but it will take time to figure out what works and what doesn't for your furbaby. It takes a close working relationship with your veterinarian to help you find the combinations of therapies that make your pet comfortable.
If you feel like you are up for the challenge, and you live in or near the Seattle Metro area, why not meet Ary and see if you have a connection? Who knows? You just may be the one to bring great joy to this wonderful creature's life.
Hello and welcome back to Furbaby Fridays with Dr. Tammy. This week we are counting down to Easter and I thought today would be a great time to remind folks about the dangers of chocolate. Yesterday, one of my clients came in because one or both of her dogs ate dark chocolate truffles—enough to make them both seriously ill. Their visit reinforced the need to take time out to discuss the dangers of chocolate for our fur babies. This tasty treat comes in all shapes and sizes and formulations whether in cocoa products like candies, cakes , cookies and brownies, but also in cocoa beans and mulches. The most accidental exposures of pets to chocolate of course occur more around the holidays and Easter is a big one.
Because dogs tend to be the pets that tend to eat just about anything, we don't usually see cats with this toxicity, but there are a few of those pesky felines who pretend they are dogs and ingest some odd things. So to be safe, keep chocolate away from all fur babies. This includes some cocoa bean hull mulches. Not only do the mulches smell like chocolate Pop Tarts, they are readily available for pet for some pets because of their use in gardens and landscapes. Of course the makers of the mulches will say there has only been one documented death from the ingestion of these kind of mulches, this does not mean that animals are not sick from them. In fact, even Hershey one of the makers of these mulches admit that 50% of dogs who ingest their mulch can get sick from it. Here's an article by snopes.com that talks a bit more about it.
What makes chocolate toxic to animals?
Methylxanthines are the culprits here, specifically theobromine and caffeine. That's right. There are TWO toxic components in chocolate and each will vary in concentration depending on the type of product. The rule of thumb is the darker the chocolate the higher the amounts of both of these compounds. White chocolate has 0.25mg theobromine per ounce and 0.85mg of caffeine per ounce. In contrast, dry cocoa powder has 737mg theobromine and 70mg of caffeine per ounce. Now what does that mean?
Animals can show mild signs after only ingesting 20mg/kg of either theobromine or caffeine. Severe signs are seen at 40mg/kg and seizures at 60mg/kg. So if you have a 20 pound dog (roughly 10 kg) it would have to eat 400 mg of the toxins to start showing some signs. So only 1/3 of an ounce of the dry cocoa powder can be dangerous and only one ounce of the cocoa bean hulls in the mulches could do it as well. Less than 1 ounce of milk chocolate per pound of body weight is potentially lethal for dogs. Milk chocolate is nearly 100 times as toxic as white chocolate. Baker's chocolate is SIX TIMES more toxic than milk chocolate.
A lot of figures, I know but I wanted you to see the comparisons. If your dog decides he likes your dark chocolate candy bar you've been saving in your purse, you very well may have an emergency on your hands.
For an article about chocolate intoxication and a chart that includes the amounts of the types of chocolates and caffeine sources click HERE. It's a page on the ASPCA website with articles aimed more for veterinarians. The article is a PDF that will download to your computer if you click on the link.
It's not only the actual amount of chocolate we have to worry about when our pets ingest these kinds of foods. More often than not, the ingestion takes the form of eating candy in wrappers. Those can be just as bad leading to obstructions in the stomach and bowel loops. Even if the mulches are of the variety that have been treated to remove the theobromine, the debris itself could cause an obstruction if enough is eaten.
What are the clinical signs to look for?
Usually withing six to twelve hours of ingestion you will see the first clinical signs. These include polydipsia (drinking a lot of water), vomiting, diarrhea, bloating and restlessness. If enough of the chocolate has been ingested, the signs can progress to an animal that ends up extremely agitated/hyperactive, urinating a lot, tremors or even seizures. Other symptoms include high heart rates, arrhythmias, elevated body temperatures, coma and even death. It's the arrhythmias that can cause death in these patients so it's imperative that you seek immediate veterinary care if your pet gets a hold of any kind of chocolate. It's better to be safe than regret it later.
How is chocolate intoxication treated?
As soon the pet arrives, the veterinary staff will be in motion. Stabilization first involves decontamination of the stomach by inducing vomiting. This will be done only if the patient is stable enough for it to happen. If your dog is seizuring, the induction of vomit will NOT occur. Instead the seizures will be brought under control first. Once more stable then decontamination will occur using stomach tubes to remove as much of the chocolate that remains and to administer activated charcoal without sorbitol. (In the paint ball toxicosis article you will recall that sorbitol is one compound that can cause issues all on it's own.
If it's been within a two hour period of ingesting the chocolate, emesis (vomiting) will be induced. Trust me, some of the dogs that have come into my clinic after eating chocolate have amazed me with the sheer amount of the stuff in their stomachs. One patient at a box of mint cookies covered in dark chocolate. My treatment room reeked of minty chocolate for hours after that pooch tossed his cookies...pun intended. ;)
Intravenous fluids, close monitoring of vital signs to make sure elevations of temperature and heart rates don't occur. If the signs do progress, then medications are administered to control seizures and arrhythmias. Usually our patients present early enough that just 12 hours of IV fluids, and monitoring are all that's needed after the decontamination. Activated charcoal is sometimes split into three different doses in order to continue to absorb any chocolate that got into the intestinal tract. The patients that have the longest recovery are those who are treated after the bad symptoms have already started or they've ingested chocolate that contains other "ingredients" such as marijuana, laxatives, "magic" mushrooms and other recreational drugs.
So do yourself and your pets a huge favor and lock up all products containing chocolate and caffeine. Even if it's white chocolate containing very little toxin per ounce, it's best to just keep it out of reach. Don't leave any candies out in dishes, Christmas stockings, wrapped under the Christmas tree, in Easter baskets accessible to pets, boxed chocolates on Valentine's Day, or baked goods out where your pets have access. I know that all seems like common sense, but you'd be surprised by the number of folks who say "my dog never jumps up on the counter. Why would I put the chocolate away?" Here's another good one, "It's a dog. They don't eat chocolate."
This is where I usually hear Bill Engvall's "Here's Your Sign" routine. LOL
Welcome to a revisited Furbaby Fridays with Dr. Tammy. This was the very first post I did for this feature even though since this blog's creation I've tossed out stories about my experiences as a veterinarian. Furbaby Fridays was my attempt to keep some of the stories going on a regular basis. Things got too hectic as my life tends to do, so this feature took a back seat for a bit. I'm hoping to give at least a post a month to this one. I'm starting out revisiting with the previous posts including the ones covering the things toxic to pets. After twenty-one years as a veterinarian, I've seen and experienced quite a few memorable cases. Some of them would break your heart just as much as others would make you smile. Today I'd like to talk about a topic that quite a few people don't ever think about until they have a problem.
Just How Many Cats Is too Many for One Household?
If you put ten veterinarians in one room and ask this question, you will undoubtedly get ten different answers. Over the years I've come up with one criteria that will help you determine if you should have a cat in the first place and just how many you are willing to share your space with. Drum roll please...you need a MINIMUM of one litter box per cat. That's right. I said one box per cat. The rule of thumb is actually one box per cat plus one. So if you have two cats, you should have at least three litter boxes.
But I live in a small studio apartment? I can't have more than one box.
Well, then you shouldn't have more than one cat. Sure, two cats may do fine with the one box if it's a large one, but once you start adding the third, fourth and fifth cat to your furbaby family, you are asking for a world of hurt with only one litter box.
Cats are very territorial. If they start to feel crowded or stressed in any way, they are going to start exhibiting behavior problems. The first of which is inappropriate urination. This doesn't just mean spraying urine on walls, doors and windows. Stressed cats will start urinating on bedding, furniture and clothing. You name it, they will pee on it.
Stressed cats can develop a syndrome called FLUTD: Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease. This can be a life-threatening condition in male cats. Cystitis can develop because of the stress causing the cat to be unable to urinate and it's bladder to fill. Toxins normally expelled from the body through the urine will then back up causing kidney problems, even kidney failure, electrolyte imbalances that can cause a fatal arrhythmia, not to mention the cats are in excruciating pain. It's not pretty and requires an emergency run to your veterinarian.
The second most common behavioral issues with a crowded cat household is aggression directed at one or more of the other cats, or even human family members. Many cats are euthanized every year because of aggression towards humans. Most of these cases could have been avoided if the warning signs were noticed from the beginning.
My cats do just fine with one litter box because they know if they start peeing on my stuff, they will be banished outside.
Good luck with that. As a veterinarian who has to treat outdoor cats for injuries from fights, dog attacks, hit by car/truck injuries, not to mention the contagious viral diseases that affect cats, I always recommend cats stay indoors. My two cats are indoors and they are quite happy. They have four litter boxes, multiple toys and scratching posts to keep them busy and we give them individual attention. We don't have fighting between them and we don't have any urinations or defecations outside of their litter boxes. Now if someone could find a way to retrieve all the bottle caps they've tossed under the stove and refrigerator, life would be "purrfect" for them!
If you live in an area where your cat is able to go outside and roam around without being exposed to the dangers I described above, more power to you. The folks who live in heavily populated areas should think twice about letting their cats roam. You may not mind having strange cats in your yard, but your neighbors may not be so happy about it. Some cities also require outdoor cats to be licensed and others have a limit on how many you can have in the house so make sure you check with the local animal control office for the local regulations.
Think twice about bringing home a cat!
I'm not saying DON'T have a cat or several cats as part of your family. I want you to think about a few things first before you bring that cute little fur ball into your home.
1. Is your living space big enough for the required number of litter boxes?
2. Are you willing to scoop out those boxes at least once a day and completely clean them out at least every other week?
3. Do you have a local veterinarian to be sure each cat is healthy before you bring them into your home and to help you keep them healthy afterward? This includes vaccinations, annual checkups, grooming if long haired, nail trims, dentistries, and proper nutrition. (For you vegetarians and vegans: cats are CARNIVORES. Their diet has to be mostly MEAT. If you can't handle the idea that your pet has to eat meat, then don't get a cat.)
4. Cats and dogs are a lifelong commitment. You can't just get rid of them when they no longer suit your needs/desires.
5. Are you willing to give up being the Master of your house? Once a cat enters, everything and everyone is there to serve them. ;)
I hope this post helps to give you some insight on what it takes to be the "guardian" of a cat. You can't make them fit your lifestyle. They allow YOU into theirs. Once you are "in," it's your responsibility to make sure they have everything they need to keep happy and healthy for many years to come.
Welcome to my first Furbaby Friday post of the new year. It's been a while since I wrote a piece for this feature segment but events at work last night got my brain running on overdrive and I had to share. I worked the late shift at the veterinary hospital last night. The day went pretty well until the second to the last patient. It was a cat we've never seen before and the owner didn't bring any records from her other veterinarian. My receptionist and technician only had the information the owner provided on her client information sheet and verbally during the check in process. The cat presented with a common ailment: conjunctivitis. This is usually due to the feline herpes virus and something we can help the owner manage quite easily—most of the time. The cat was very calm and allowed me to perform a full oral exam, listen to his heart and lungs and palpate his abdomen without any problem. I even went back and showed the owners the amount of dental disease present and recommended a comprehensive oral assessment treatment plan for them to consider after we get his conjunctivitis under control. This is where the visit turned ugly.
Without warning, the cat viciously clamped down on my right hand and removed a nice little chunk of my flesh. Within seconds of that, he went back to being a quiet patient as if nothing happened. What shocked me the most was the owner's reaction. She apologized and said, "Yeah, that's why he's been banned from two other veterinary clinics." Really? I could've used that bit of information a little earlier than AFTER my hand is injected with all the bacteria residing in the cat's mouth! My injury wouldn't have occurred at all if the owner told my staff or myself this cat's history. We need this information in order to give the best care possible. We have to keep the patient safe as well as the owner, the staff and the doctor. The history is a very important part in this case because the cat gave absolutely no warning he was upset. His ears were not laid back. He was actually purring during the exam. His eyes were not fully dilated. There wasn't a growl, hiss, swipe of a paw or anything to lead me or my staff to believe he would turn on me. I didn't do anything painful for this animal either. No injections. No deep palpations of sore limbs. Nothing. Pet owners it is your responsibility to inform anyone who comes in contact with your animal any behavior or health issues. YOU are legally responsible if your pet injures another person, especially if you allowed the contact to take place knowing full well the danger you put everyone in during the encounter. The lesson learned here for my staff and myself is to ask more pointed questions about the patient's behavior. Even if we have to ask repeatedly to get the owner to be honest about it, we'll do it. If we tick some folks off by that they'll just have to take their business elsewhere. We don't have to take this sort of thing when all we want to do is help keep their pet healthy.
To those people who think I should have known the cat would turn on me because I'm a veterinarian—you must've missed the part where I said the cat bit me WITHOUT WARNING. This same thing could've happened to a child in this owner's home. If this animal has a history of biting like this, it can be considered a menace and a danger to people. Animal control can step in and remove the animal from the house to be euthanized. I don't want that thing to happen to any of my patients but if this sort of behavior is "normal" for this cat, these owners have to seriously consider their options. The first one would be to see a veterinary behaviorist to see if there is anything to be done to curb the biting. Cat aggression is out of my expertise and I always refer my clients to specialists for help on this one.
If they refuse to do that, they need to be more proactive about keeping all encounters with this cat safe for everyone. Not allowing the cat to interact with house guests is a good idea. Informing veterinary personnel about the cat's short fuse and will bite without warning is a MUST each and every time. This is the third bite I've received in my twenty-one year career that's bad enough for me to be worried about my ability to heal quickly and without additional intervention. By that I mean I may need to have surgery on my hand if this bugger gets infected. I'm on medication now and flushing the wound twice daily, but that may not be enough. Depending on the "bugs" living in that cat's mouth, I could be in for a hell of a medical nightmare. This is the sort of thing that makes me happy I'm looking at retiring this summer. Injuries like this now take longer for me to bounce back from simply because I'm getting older. I don't have time to be laid up from a potentially career ending bite wound.
Take home message: If you have a pet that's a biter or has shown any aggressive tendencies in the past with family, strangers or other veterinarians, PLEASE be sure to give full disclosure to the next vet and their staff. It will make things so much easier and safer for your pet and everyone else involved. Until next time, ~Dr. Tammy
Welcome to Furbaby Fridays. I'm Dr. Tammy and today I thought I would share a post I did in October of last year. It was written right after a particularly stressful Monday at my veterinary hospital. Not that it was atypical for it to go down the way it did, but having so many patients with similar ailments was a bit odd. Mondays tend to be one of our busiest days in general because people don't feel like giving up their days off to take their sick pets into the vet and don't get me started about animals that get sick after hours! I've discussed this numerous times before. It's an honor and a privilege to own a pet, not a RIGHT. Along with pet ownership comes huge responsibilities including but not limited to: keeping your pet healthy with routine checkups, vaccinations, flea control, and heart worm prevention; seeking medical attention when the pet is ill, providing clean and protected housing. If you can't provide these things for yourself and your family, you really shouldn't be a guardian for a pet until you can. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but it's a bit of advice that can save you a lot of heartache in the long run. Now to today's post...
I've worked over twenty years of Mondays as a veterinarian and to this day, it's my least favorite part of my work week. Not only is there always a rush first thing in the morning with client's who conveniently "forgot" we were open on the weekends, there usually is a literal flood of transfers of patients from the emergency clinics. The 8 am doctor is usually swamped and by the time I get in there at 10 am it's chaos at it's best. There are the usual dogs and cats that have been sick for at least the last three days and of course NOW it's an emergency to their owners. Each and every single one feels their pet is sicker than the rest and should be taken care of first. We have a basic triage system at our hospital. Each patient is given a stability check. If they are deemed stable to wait, they will wait their turn. If they are thought to be critical, they move up the list. Even appointments have to be delayed if an emergency walks in the door. Most folks understand that, but there are those chosen few...you all know the folks I'm talking about. The ones who come into the lobby crying and screaming "My BABY! My Baby is dying and I need a doctor NOW! Lawdy Jesus, save him. He's got the epilepsy and he's been having seizures for the last three days straight..." When asked why they waited to bring their precious in, our ears are assaulted once again. "We ain't got no money! You have to save him. You took an oath!"
Yeah, I do see those kind of clients more often than I care to admit, but today was a mixture of emotions I hadn't felt in a while. Two good Samaritans brought in a stray Chihuahua they found on the side of their street. This poor dog was in severe shock after being hit by a car. He had a broken back leg, broken pelvis, fractured ribs creating what is referred to as a flail chest, and major head trauma. These wonderful people took the time to carefully transport this older dog to us so we could end his suffering. He had no microchip, was not neutered, and had no collar or tags. He would have died along the side of the road, alone and afraid if it wasn't for these two men. From the bottom of my heart I thanked them for helping this animal die with dignity. I wade through the next several drop ins and appointments until I come across one where the owner wants to talk about a weight loss program for her cat. You see, he's just a little larger than your average cat. He tops the scales at just over TWENTY-FIVE POUNDS!!! Holy Guacamole!
This cat doesn't like to get very active at home and he feels he's run a marathon just getting from his litter box to the couch every day so he's not thrilled with the idea he has to earn his keep. After going through how many calories he is to get TOTAL per day and an exercise program for him, my staff took over to draw blood from him for his Senior Wellness panel. Well, let's just say the blood draw went very well, but not the collection of urine. He was much too big to even feel his bladder and the our needles weren't long enough to reach it through all of his body fat. Ugh! (yes he could have been a twin to the one shown in the picture!)
Besides all the pets with major diarrhea issues over the weekend, multiple pets came in with broken nails. Not one of them broke them outright. No, they had to be partially broken so that we have to let them grow out some more in order to cut them back. At least they were all good spirits about it. Cookies go a long way with the bouncy Pitbull who keeps trying to lick your glasses off when you are placing the padded bandage on his front foot. And of course, let's not forget the wrestling job we have to go through to get the E-collar on! LOL We didn't get any patients ingesting their owner's marijuana stashes today, but one energetic boxer decided to polish off half a chocolate cake around 8am. What time did his owner actually bring him in you ask? Well, 2:15 pm. That would be beyond the window we have to induce vomiting and he really should be admitted to the hospital for intravenous fluids and a seizure watch. What were we allowed to do? Subcutaneous fluids and activated charcoal. That's it. Hopefully that will be sufficient. I guess we will find out more by morning when the dog is transferring from one of the emergency clinics for convulsing all night long!
Sometimes we get patients in because their owners are actually going through some medical issues of their own...the psychiatric kind. I had one of those today. This very nice woman insisted her cat was covered in bugs that were burrowing under her skin creating these horrible sores on her body. We went round and round about it and finally I got her whole story out. The owner had been off her own meds for too long and was actually self medicating with Goddess knows what. One thing she was doing was coating her body in Desitin. She thought she would put some on her cat and did, but luckily she thought better of it. Desitin has zinc in it and can cause serious life threatening anemia if it's ingested by a cat. Oy! Finally I got the woman to listen to me when I told her that her cat was healthy and only had a flea allergy. I also told her that her home was infested with fleas since they were also biting her and she was digging the shit out of herself. She agreed to call the exterminator again in the morning. Today was also the day of the "land shark." I'm sure you've heard the term from me from time to time. It's used in the veterinary field to describe the little dog that introduces itself to you with a snapping jaws. Wouldn't you know that all of my land sharks today were chihuahuas? One of them even lunged at me as I was leaving the room. Well, I went right back in and the dog backed up cowering behind the owner. I took the leash and walked him back out. Ha! He was more than okay to be my friend then. Stinker!
I had one cat today that made it's way onto the land shark list. All claws and teeth this one. Of course he was on his "best" behavior with me, but as soon as my staff took over for testing, he turned into the Tasmanian Devil! What the hell? He even launched himself around our treatment room daring my technicians to catch him long enough to give him his tapeworm medication. Whew! One last thing before I end for the day. I know many folks like to keep a bowl of fresh fruit out on their tables or counters. If you have pets, it's probably a good idea to be sure you don't include grapes in those bowls. Grapes and raisins can be very toxic to dogs and cats. If they eat enough for their body, they can end up with kidney failure. How much is too much? No one knows. The amount varies from pet to pet so it's best to just keep grapes and raisins safely locked in the refrigerator.
For cats, make sure you keep any and all lilies out of their reach. Not all of them will cause kidney failure in cats, but many do. Two in particular, the Easter Lily and the Tiger Lily will cause kidney failure if any part of the plant or flower is eaten. Peace Lilies will cause horrible gastroenteritis...yeah tons of vomiting. So do yourselves and your inquisitive cats a favor and don't have these flowers/plants around. Well, that's it for me. Another Manic Monday under my belt and I'm wiped out. Time to head to bed and rest up for Terrible Tuesday! LOL Until next time... ~Dr. Tammy
This year marked my 20th anniversary as a full time veterinarian. I've had some amazing days and some that I don't care to experience ever again. As I enter my last year in this career, I've begun to reflect up on all that I've seen and heard over the years. Some of it will shock the hell out of you as it did me at the time I went through it and still does as the memories run through my brain. So much more of it will warm your heart and make you laugh until you beg for mercy!
I'm going through my older posts here and updating them a bit to share again and then add more. Sharing my memories and experiences as a veterinarian and animal lover is my way of giving a bit back to a profession that helped create who I am today. As I move on to pursuing my writing and publishing career, I'll continue to use what I've learned as a veterinarian and from those I've met along the way. Who knows? Maybe some of you will recognize bits and pieces of it in my books! LOL! Here's a bit of one of my days a year ago... I've got a lot of stories to tell having been a veterinarian for over a fifth of a century. Some will make you cry and others will make you laugh until you pee your pants. Still quite a bit more will have you shaking your head and saying WTF???? Today was one of those days for me. Just when I think I've heard everything when it comes to my four-legged patients, in walked in an adorable and obviously very pregnant pit bull. Her owner was in complete denial. He told my receptionist that he already knew what was going on with his dog because he googled it.
Seriously. You read that right. This man actually asked GOOGLE to diagnose his dog.
According to Google, his precious "child" was going through a false pregnancy. Here is the conversation that followed after I picked my jaw up off the floor. Not only could I feel at least two puppies in her uterus, I heard their heartbeats with my stethoscope. Her mammary glands were full of milk and getting ready for the arrival of the pups. Her body temperature was a little low as well. This is another indicator that BIRTH IS COMING!!!
"So why do you think she's going through a false pregnancy?"
"Cuz it's only been a month since she was in heat. She's not been around any other dogs except at my friend's house."
"When was that?"
"Two months ago, but that can't be it. She wasn't in heat then when they tied up."
Now I got him. "Dogs won't breed unless they are in heat and definitely won't be tied up unless the female is in heat and receptive to the male."
"I don't get it. I bred her twice last time and it didn't take. She was definitely in heat then and all she did was fight the other dog off."
Here's where I wanted to smack my head against the wall repeatedly but I refrained myself. I had a hell of a time keeping from laughing though. "Uh, hate to tell you this, but when she fought the male off, she wasn't in heat. THIS time she was, and at the right time to get pregnant. Your dog due any day now."
"But Google said—"
I held up my hand. "With all respect to Google, I disagree. If you want, we can take an x-ray and count the puppies to see how many and how big they are."
"Don't have any money for that, Doc. I just want you to fix her false pregnancy. That's what I came here for today."
"It's not a false pregnancy. She is going to give birth. Nothing false about that."
"Google said her symptoms go along with a false pregnancy so there ain't no pups in there. I used to work at the shelter and I learned a lot. What I didn't know, I looked up on Google. So far I've done right by all of my dogs, except for the two puppies that died last year."
"Oh, sorry to hear that. What happened to them?" I had a pretty good idea. The most likely cause of their death would have been parvovirus. It is a deadly virus that is highly contagious. Too many people in our area don't get their puppies vaccinated early enough, or for a long enough period of time. Because of that, these pups are unprotected when their owners take them to the local dog parks and beaches.
"Well, Google said they had worms so I gave them dewormers, but that didn't work."
"Did you give the puppies vaccines?"
"Naw. They weren't old enough yet. Everybody knows you don't start vaccines on pups until they are five or six months old."
"Where did you hear that?" Oh I regretted that as soon as I said it.
"My friend who's raised dogs all his life told me. He's raised tons of litters. Just to be sure though, I googled it."
"How about you take these handouts that explain everything you need to know about your dog giving birth. They also tell you what to look for while she's nursing them and how old they need to be when they have their first veterinary exam and vaccinations."
"Thanks, Doc but you didn't need to go through all this trouble. If I have anymore questions I'll just hit up Google!"
Take home message:
Getting veterinary advice from Google or any other search engine on the Internet is a bad thing. Using Google to look up information your veterinarian has discussed with you can be a GOOD THING. Take the time and ask questions of your veterinarian while your pet is getting it's annual and semi annual exams. Just because someone has raised animals all of their lives doesn't make them experts. Please, please please be responsible pet owners and seek proper veterinary care for your new and current fur babies.
Being a pet guardian is not a right. It's a privilege and an honor.
Welcome to Furbaby Fridays with Dr. Tammy. This week has been filled with so many frustrating cases and clients. I thought I'd share an article I posted here 1 !/2 years ago and it sums up what my colleagues and I had to deal with working in our very busy veterinary hospital over the last month. For myself, it was nearly verbatim a conversation I had with a male owner concerning his very sick cat. He screamed at me when I couldn't just lay my hands on his cat and tell him for sure that the mass I felt in Miss Kitty's belly was in fact going to be terminal. Never mind he waited five days to bring her in this last time. She was in very big trouble and I had to try to get through to him. Ultimately he did go to the specialist as I recommended, but it took two more doctors to tell him the same things I did...at two different clinics...before he came to grips with the severity of his pet's illness.
Ever have one of those days where no matter what you do, or what you say you just can't seem to make a difference? Today was one of those days for me and a few of my fellow veterinary colleagues. Each patient chart that turns up in the rack is a potential puzzle to be solved. Sometimes we try to come up with ideas of what could be ailing the pet before we go in, just to see if our intuition is on target...or way off depending on what kind of information the pet owner is willing to divulge to our staff before we get in there.
It can be like pulling teeth getting an accurate history. I've had clients refuse to give any details about what is up with their furry companion until I get in there, and still they keep quiet, thinking that just by laying my hands on the animal I will miraculously know what is making "Fluffy" not want to eat for the last week. Starting with the usual questions about what foods they animal is being fed and it's "potty" habits can be the most challenging.
"I don't know the name of the food, Doc. It's the one in the yellow bag."
"I got four cats, how am I supposed to know who pissed or shit in the box?"
"What does his food have to do with why Ranger is itching and keeping me up all night?"
"Flea control? Naw, I never saw a flea on him so it ain't flea allergy."
Wanna make a bet?
Today I had one woman say to me that she knew the reason her cat was so ill was because she switched his food over to a raw food diet. That was over five days ago and he still wouldn't eat ANY food. I told her that the diet switch may have been the final trigger that set the anorexia off, but probably not the cause. Do you know what she said to me? "Well, you're just guessing now. You have no proof of that."
I stared at her for a half a beat and then let her have my sweetest smile. "You are the one guessing here. It's time we do some blood work and figure out what the heck is wrong with Angus instead of guessing until we're both blue in the face."
"Well, I don't see the point in spending a lot of money to find out what's wrong if there's a chance the tests will come out normal."
I had to really restrain myself from rolling my eyes. "Well, you're obviously worried about Angus, otherwise you wouldn't have returned here three times for us to check him out. I think it's time you take our recommendation and see if we can at least find out what's NOT making him sick."
"If it turns out to be the food that's making him sick, do I have to still pay for the tests?"
"Yes. The costs are for running the tests and interpreting the results. If we don't do some sort of testing, we'll keep guessing and throwing treatments at him that may or may not work one bit."
"Can't you just tell me what's wrong by looking at him? Are you a newly graduated doctor? Why can't you just tell me right off what's wrong? My old vet who retired ten years ago could do that. I never had to pay for these expensive tests."
Now I am really biting my tongue and hoping that the blood from the wound doesn't seep out onto my lips. "I graduated over 20 years ago now, Mrs. Green and have been in practice ever since. We can get into why properly diagnosing pets often needs more than just the physical exam, or we can do the testing you came in for today. You agreed to come back if Angus didn't respond to the fluids so that we could do these tests."
"You vets just want all of my money. I've had cats all of my life and I never had to do this stuff before."
"Angus is nearly 17 years old now and there are a lot of things that could be going wrong with his kidneys, liver, or other organs. He could have a cancer somewhere that we can't feel on exam yet, or the start of diabetes or hyperthyroid disease. The only way to know is to do the blood tests."
"Well, I just don't want to spend any more money on him. The treatments you all gave him didn't work. He's sick again. Why won't he eat?"
We stare at each other a few more moments. This woman brought her cat into the hospital THREE times now and has refused to do anything for him other than subcutaneous fluids. She was told repeatedly that this was just to help with his dehydration and wouldn't tell us anything about his condition at all. "What do you want from me, Mrs. Green?"
"I want you to fix my cat. Tell me what food to feed him so he'll eat again. Tell me what's wrong with my cat."
"We have to do these tests to figure out what is going on so we can treat him properly."
"I don't think the tests will tell us anything."
At this point I'm so tempted to tell her Angus has a terminal cancer, but know that's not what she wants to hear and I don't know that's what's wrong with him. "Why did you come back today, Mrs. Green?"
"I want you to tell me what is wrong with my cat and fix him."
"I'm trying to do that but we need the tests so we can do this the right way."
"Why can't you just look at him and the notes from the other doctors and figure it out that way? I know I'm right and it's because I changed his food."
At this point, I basically want to pull my hair out. Angus has lost another pound in the last week. That's over 10% of his body weight gone in less than 7 days. His anorexia had been going on for the last two weeks, off and on. It was now five days since he ate anything at all. This wasn't good at all and until we figured out what was going on, he could continue to go downhill. I changed tactics a bit. "I know you love Angus and want what's best for him. I wouldn't recommend these tests if I didn't think it was the first steps we need to take in order to help him. That's exactly what the other doctors have recommended as well."
She bit her lip a few times. "Well, if really you think the tests would help find out what's going on, then let's do them. If I would've known they were so important to his health, I would've done them sooner. You know, it's not a matter of the money. I'll do whatever I need to do to help him. I just don't want to do any unnecessary tests if he can be fixed with just a shot."
Oy! Does anyone else feel like they're in the middle of an Abbott and Costello movie? I did at the time it all happened and still do reading through it again! ~Dr. Tammy
Welcome to Furbaby Friday where I devote a bit of time to share with you my experiences as a veterinarian and hopefully answer some of the questions about the most common topics typed into the Google search engines. This week I thought it would be a good idea to talk about traveling with your pets, especially flying. It's not as simple as many think. In fact, if you just go by what the airline rep tells you when you call them to inquire about their rules, you may just end up in a huge mess...and your pet in quarantine. Why is that? The airline is only a small part of the equation. The destination state or country is who has complete control over what kind of and how many animals can enter. The airline may not require that you have a health certificate, but where that plane lands is a whole other story. Flying within the continental United States or traveling between EU countries is definitely easier with your pets than if you must fly to Hawaii or internationally. Many other countries have strict rules concerning what breeds of dogs, cats, and other species of animals are allowed to cross their borders. Some have specific steps that must be followed TO THE LETTER if you hope to bring Fluffy with you.
Traveling to Hawaii
Practicing in California, I see a lot of client's who wish to take their pets on vacation with them in paradise, but many of them fail to do their homework and find out they'll have to make alternative plans.
Hawaii is a rabies free state. This means that all animals on the islands are free of this virus and they intend to keep it that way. In order for this to happen, all pets entering the state have to be vaccinated with at least two rabies vaccines in their life time AND have a test done to be sure their rabies antibodies are at acceptable levels. Once the pet's blood test is received by the lab, a count down begins. Your pet cannot arrive on any of the Hawaiian Islands unless at least 120 days have elapsed. If those two requirements are met and can be DOCUMENTED, then your veterinarian must do an exam and fill out a health certificate for your pet certifying it's safe for your furbaby to travel. They also have to apply flea and tick control and note that on the health certificate as well.
If these details are not carried out to the letter, you may find your pet has to spend some time in quarantine on Oahu, maybe up to the full 120 days until all requirements are met to the Hawaiian State Veterinary Officer's satisfaction. These rules will not be waived, even for guide dogs and other service animals so it's best to be prepared for any contingency.
This is where doing your research is the most important and contacting your veterinarian to help you plan it all well in advance. There are also many pet transport companies that help do all the leg work for you and can be a valuable resource. Check your local listings for the companies near you.
Lucky for many people traveling to countries in the European Union, some of the strict rules have been changed. As of January 1, 2013 pets can now enter the United Kingdom, Ireland and Wales without having to spend six months in mandatory quarantine. Japan has also adopted these new rules. Having proof of at least two rabies vaccinations, rabies titers, other routine vaccinations, deworming, and application of flea/tick control are all that's needed to be done in preparation. Of course the health certificate must still be filled out by a USDA Accredited veterinarian AND then also signed off by the USDA-APHIS veterinarian of the state the flight departs from. This requires a visit to Sacramento in my state of California.
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and many other countries still have very strict rules and timelines that have to be followed. Just because you want to take a two week vacation on an African safari does not mean that you can take your "Boo Boo" with you without doing the required tests or filling out reams of forms. Your veterinarian cannot just call up South Africa and ask them to waive their requirements for you because you need your little dog with you to keep you from having a panic attack.
One of my clients never dreamed that a veterinarian had to be involved in getting her pets ready to travel to Germany when her husband was transferred for his job. She called our office in a literal panic because she wanted us to sign a paper saying her pets were healthy and could travel. My receptionist informed her that she needed a health certificate as well as vaccination updates in order to go, but she insisted she emailed the German consulate and was told all she needed was that letter from us.
She insisted so much that I finally relented, examined her cats, updated their rabies vaccinations and wrote her the letter. Then I had her sign a waiver stating I had explained the rules of traveling to Germany as I knew them and she was choosing to not follow that advice.
Needless to say, the client didn't actually email the consulate until AFTER our visit and had a rude awakening. I was right. Now she had to make alternative plans to have friends take care of the cats until the proper waiting period had transpired after the rabies vaccine. All of this could have been avoided if she would have simply picked up the phone to call our office to find out what she had to do and where to go for her research.
Take Home Lessons
As the pet's owner, you have the responsibility to be sure you have the most up to date and CORRECT information for traveling with your furbaby. Showing up a day or two before you plan to fly out of the country and demanding your veterinarian "make it all happen," isn't going to get you anywhere. It takes careful planning to be sure all goes as smooth as possible and by including your veterinarian in your plans...well in advance...can help you eliminate quite a bit of the stress.
The veterinary hospital where I work has established additional guidelines to help our clients get through all the details. We have them set up a consultation with or without bringing their pet with them so we can go over all the details needed. Our receptionists try to schedule these appointments as an hour long so that we can go over all the paperwork the pet owner has with them and do any additional online research as needed. This way we can set up all the future appointment dates in order to meet all the specific guidelines required by the destination country. Once our client's have a plan in place, they have one less thing they have to worry about during their travel or move to another country.
You too can have this sort of relationship with your veterinarian. Start your research early and make an appointment to discuss it all with your vet. Trust me. All of us want you and Fido to be able to travel with minimal stress.
So go on, plan that trip or accept that job offer overseas. With a little time, effort and planning, it will all work out for your ENTIRE family!
Here are some valuable links to help you in your research. You can also call the embassy of the country you wish to travel to in order to find out their latest rules and regulations.
