Hookworms are very dangerous to puppies and kittens. They feed on blood by attaching themselves to the intestinal wall, can make a young animal anemic and in some cases are even fatal. Hookworms are particularly dangerous to the very young because they can be transmitted in utero, through the mother’s colostrum, and through ingestion or [...]
Tapeworms are the most common parasite to be observed by my clients, as they are one of the few that are visible to the naked eye. Tapeworm segments can often be seen in fresh feces or hanging from an infected dog or cat’s anus. Like many other parasites, tapeworms have primary and secondary hosts. The [...]
Someone recently asked me why we give puppy and kitten shots the way that we do. “What’s the point in giving them shots every 3 weeks?” Just like humans, puppies receive some conferred immunity to illnesses through the colostrum. Colostrum is produced in the mammaries in the late stages of pregnancy and the first few [...]
We are all aware that obesity has become a problem in the United States, particularly over the last twenty years. The number of Americans that are classified as overweight but not obese has remained essentially unchanged, but the number classified as obese has risen by over twenty percentage points. There are a lot of different [...]
As more and more innovations are made in veterinary medicine, we have more and more medical interventions available to treat your pet. Pets can receive sophisticated oncology treatments, cutting edge orthopedics, and even CT scans, the scope of which would have been inconceivable thirty years ago. These interventions have changed the way we practice veterinary [...]
Dogs are a benefit to our lives. They have been our companions for an extremely long time, with some estimates for the beginning of their domestication stretching back 30,000 - 40,000 years. Over those many, many years our species have developed a pretty special relationship. Of all other creatures on earth, only the domestic dog [...]
Heartworms are probably the most well-known of canine parasites among dog owners, maybe second only to tapeworms. Cat owners should probably also be aware of them, as well, since heartworm infections are less common in cats but often more deadly. Adult heartworms can be up to a foot in length, though the male worms are [...]
If you see worms in your pet’s water dish, I have some good news: they are parasites, but they probably aren’t coming from your pet. Well, unless your pet is a tarantula or hissing cockroach, in which case it very possibly did come from your pet. Many years ago I got a call from a [...]
One of the most difficult types of cases we see in our day to day practice is the foreign body. Young dogs are particularly susceptible, but dogs of any age can ingest something they shouldn't and cause a potentially fatal health crisis. Over the many years we have been in practice, we have seen a [...]
Mike Nuanes, who lives in Denver, got a call from Atlanta Animal Control Services telling him they had his dog. Nuanes has four dogs, and they were all in his yard. He had lost his dog, Jordan, so many years before that it didn't even occur to him that could be who they were calling [...]
