It can be stressful to wake up one morning and see discharge coming out of your dog’s eyes. When are eye boogers normal, and when are they a sign of a serious problem? How can you tell when your dog’s eyes are sick? Here’s how to decide when to chill, and when it’s a big […]
It is quite common for a kind person to find a stray cat, take it in for a few days to find an owner, and end up keeping the cat as part of their family. I often see these cats for their first veterinary visit after the new pet parent has had them for a […]
Has your dog had an upset tummy? Is he throwing up? Does your dog have diarrhea? Or maybe both? Hopefully you went to your veterinarian. They probably did blood tests, maybe x-rays, depending on how your dog presented. Then the vet told you everything came back normal, and you’re not sure what to think. How […]
When you think of testing your dog or cat for worms, your mind immediately goes to checking the poop. That’s accurate for the majority of worms! However, there are some important exceptions, both IN and OUT of the poop you should know about. Let’s start with the ones you’re thinking of. Worms you can see […]
On of my dogs eats worms from the sidewalk. My other dog will drink water from a puddle, no matter how sketch. And then there’s dogs eating rabbit poop… Spring is so fun! Dogs love to eat gross things… yet we still love them. Sometimes, though, we wonder “will that hurt you? How aggressively should […]
If your dog is shaking his head, or has red, painful ears that smell or even have a visible discharge, there’s a good chance he has an ear infection. It’s important to have him seen by a veterinarian to get the type of infection diagnosed, and to get an appropriate ear cleaner. There’s a common […]
It can happen to anyone. You have multiple pets on medication. Your mind is distracted. You’re handing out pills. Maybe somebody spits one out and their buddy snatches it up. Maybe one gets dropped and you don’t know who got it. Maybe you flat out gave the wrong pill to the wrong pet. (I’ve done […]
With many people working from home, kids being home from school, and the whole schedule changing, many cats have had their routines turned upside down. Eventually we will try to return to “normal” life, whatever that will be like, but how can we help our cats adjust? While dogs might think it’s cool that their […]
As a house call veterinarian, I treat a lot of senior pets, so therefore I run a lot of senior bloodwork. Every so often the blood results on a seemingly healthy older dog comes back with one abnormality – anemia. What is it, and how worried are we? Like everything else in medicine…it depends on […]
Baxter is a 4 year old lab mix who had torn a ligament in his knee called the ACL. This is a common injury, unfortunately, and surgery is often required to restore function to the leg. (Here’s my article on ACL tears). Baxter’s mom loves him, so she was willing to pay over $3,000 to […]
“My cat had diarrhea, the vet treated it, and there’s no poop in the litter box.” “We treated my dog’s diarrhea, and she hasn’t pooped in 3 days. When do I worry?” These are common questions that I get asked a lot. What’s going on? First of all, don’t panic. It is actually quite common […]
Lately I’ve been asked about essential oils and cats by many clients. Is it safe to diffuse essential oils around cats? Will essential oils harm the cat? Which essential oils are toxic? Are any essential oils safe, or even beneficial to cats? Let’s start with the basics – what ARE essential oils really? They are […]
Whenever I have a patient that I suspect Addison’s disease in, I always sigh and dread having to explain it. Why? The disease is not straight-forward, can have many forms, and can imitate other disease, making a simple explanation impossible. I’ll try to cover it as reasonably as possible…this might be long and kinda boring […]
Coccidia (pronounced cox-IH-dee-a….kinda rhymes with a semi-laxative yogurt brand) are microscopic parasites that can infect both dogs and cats. We most commonly see it in puppies and kittens, although any age of pet can come into contact with the parasite and contract it. If your veterinarian said your pet’s poop sample tested positive for coccidia, […]
Getting the phone call from your vet telling you your pet has giardia can be un-nerving. If your dog or cat has had diarrhea, this is the likely explanation. If it was a routine fecal test on a healthy pet, however, the diagnosis of giardia can be a bit of a surprise. Most vets are […]
Many pregnant women go to their first doctor visit and leave with unnecessary fear and anxiety about their beloved cat. Physicians have been getting better in the past years, but there are still some doctors out there who have not kept up with the times, and are telling pregnant women they cannot have a cat […]
Enucleation. (Pronounced ee-NEW-clee-AY-shen). It’s a much nicer sounding word than “eyeball removal.” But that’s what it is. If you’ve been battling a major eye disease for a while, and the eye is not responding, your veterinarian might have recommended it. We typically recommend removing the eye when it is no longer able to see (so […]
Dogs don’t need sunscreen, do they? Most of the time they do not. Their fur shields their skin very well. However, there are situations where dogs can become severely burned if we are not vigilant, and we actually need to put sunscreen on our dogs. The first possibility that came to your mind is probably […]
I first became involved in rescuing dogs from puppy mills about 20 years ago. I made friends who had made friends with these breeders. When they had an older dog who wasn’t producing enough puppies to be profitable, it also wasn’t worth the price of food, or the price of a bullet. These puppy mills/breeders […]
That’s right. Your vet might be good, but there are some diseases that she cannot diagnose as well as you, the pet owner, can. So know these, watch for signs, and tell your vet if you see them. While she doesn’t have specific diagnostic tests for these conditions, she can certainly offer treatment or adaptations […]