DECEMBER 2002 FYI
Remember to give your dogs and cats their monthly heartworm preventive
SANTA -PET PICTURES are
scheduled December 7. Don't delay, call the office at 419-885-4421,
and schedule a time to have a studio quality holiday picture taken
of your pet with Santa. The area's premier pet photographer will
again take the most beautiful holiday pictures. The basic package
is a 5x7 photo. Key chains, wallet sized pictures, buttons, statues
and Christmas cards can also be ordered. The fee for each sitting
is $12.00. A donation of $3.00 will be made to Maumee Valley Save-A-Pet's
hospital account. Last year we had 100 sittings and all the pictures
were great. Let's all work to beat last year's record and make a
big donation to Save-A-Pet. We expect a representative of SAP to
be at the hospital with adoptable pets.
SANTA/PET PICTURES IS ANOTHER SYLVANIA VET COMMUNITY SERVICE
PROJECT.
SKUNK ODOR IS TOUGH to
get out of your pet's coat. Many recommendations have been made
to eliminate the pungent, persistent odor from the unlucky pet that
gets sprayed by a skunk. Bathing your pet in tomato juice and a
commercial product called "Skunk Off" are frequently recommended.
A new recommendation has recently been suggested. Woolite, detergent
for delicate fabrics, has been found to effectively remove skunk
odor from pet's hair. Shampoo your pet in Woolite; allow it to soak
for 10 minutes then rinse and dry. Woolite might be drying to the
skin and if ingested might mildly irritate the stomach.
PETMED EXPRESS IS UNDER ATTACK again by a state pharmacy
and veterinary board. Texas has filed a lawsuit against the rogue,
on-line pharmacy to ban sales in the state. This is the first time
a lawsuit to stop PETMED from doing business in a state has been
tried. Previously federal and state governments have used administrative
hearings and fines to punish PETMED EXPRESS. Over the last several
years fines of over $200,000 have been paid by PME. Again, we remind
you that our prices beat the prices from PME. Additionally, we are
here to answer questions and support the products. Guarantees granted
by the manufacturers are not honored when products are purchased
from an on-line source.
NEW HOSPITAL DESIGN
is nearly complete. After several generations of design changes
the floor plan is nearly finalized. The appearance of the outside
is also nearly done. The next step will be to design each individual
room and decide on materials. We are on schedule to begin construction
in March and completion in August. We will need lots of help at
moving time. If you would like to help us move in let us know. We
are looking for someone to head up our rehabilitation department.
If you know a retired or underemployed physical therapist or PT
assistant have them call Dr. Bob or reach him at Drbob@sylvaniavet.com
MEMORIAL GARDEN TO BE PART
of the new hospital. This space will be dedicated to the memories
of departed pets. They will be honored with engraved bricks or dedicated
wind chimes. We are in the process of starting a tax-deductible
foundation, MEMORIES LIVE ON ANIMAL FOUNDATION that will sell the
memorial bricks and wind chimes. Foundation funds will be used to
support a variety of causes, including pre-vet school scholarships,
orphan animal assistance fund and more. We will begin accepting
donations and selling bricks after the New Year. Check in early
2003 for details about our foundation.
WEST NILE VIRUS has caused
lots of concerns and questions from our clients. Now that the season
is winding down it might be useful to discuss this newly immerging
viral disease of many animals. There have been cases of West Nile
found in birds in Lucas County. To the best of our knowledge there
has been no case of West Nile Virus in any mammal in our region.
The first national case of fatal canine WNV was recently diagnosed
in Illinois. What this proves is that dogs can die of West Nile
Virus, the only other reported fatal dog case was in 1977 in Botswana,
Africa, but does not raise the specter of a wide spread epidemic.
A few facts about WNV will help you understand that this disease
is not a major worry for our pets. Various animals are more susceptible
than others to the disease. Birds and horses are among the most
seriously affected. Humans, dogs and cats are in the low risk category.
For a patient in this group to become fatally ill there must be
a previously weakened condition present. Most cases will recover
with supportive care. Clinical signs in an ill patient will involve
the nervous system. The disease is transmitted from animal to animal
by a mosquito bite. There is a vaccine for horses and one for wild
birds is being developed. You may use approved mosquito repellants
to protect your pet. We suggest a spray called Duocide LA or Avon's
Skin So Soft. We believe that there are diseases that are a greater
risk to your pet than West Nile Virus. All dogs and cats should
be on monthly heartworm medication. Lyme disease is found in our
area and ticks are prevalent. You should protect your dog with Lyme
disease vaccine and against ticks with Frontline Topspot.
DOG JOG WAS A GREAT success.
We raised over $400 dollars that will enable us to donate about
$300 to Team Greyhound. Over 30 dogs and their families dressed
up for Halloween and walked the campus of Flower Hospital. Our grooming
manager, Kelly Rowan was in charge and deserves a big thank you
for a job well done. We would also like to thank Flower Hospital
for making their beautiful grounds available to us.
REFERRING CLIENTS CAN BE
LUCRATIVE to you. Every time you send a new client to Sylvania
Vet your account is credited $5.00 as well as making you eligible
for a gift from the office. After 11 referrals you will receive
an 11% for all your pets for a full year. Once you have become a
preferred client you can maintain your discount by referring 5 additional
clients during the year.
FELINE LYMPH NODE CANCER
(LYMPHOMA) has been linked to passive cigarette smoke. A study
published in the American Journal of Epidemiology clearly indicated
that exposure to cigarette smoke has "devastating consequence
for cats because of the increased likelihood of contracting lymphoma".
The more smokers in a household the greater the risk to the cats
living in the home. Cats are exposed both by inhaling second had
smoke and by ingesting carcinogens when they groom themselves.
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY VETERINARY
SCHOOL is looking for pure- bred dogs to participate in a study
of anterior cruciate ligament rupture. They are looking for pedigrees
and DNA samples from large breed dogs that have healthy ACL's and
those that have had a ruptured ligament. We are sending for details
and paper work so that if any client would like to participate they
may do so. We do not expect this study to cost anything and should
only require a blood draw.
BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING
is commonly accepted practice in human medicine. Recently, the ability
to monitor dogs and cats BP has become realistic. We have begun
to use BP monitoring for many of our patients. Older pets with heart
or kidney disease are prime high blood pressure candidates. Low
BP can occur during surgery without any outward knowledge of the
monitoring staff or surgeon. We have two automatic BP monitors as
well as a direct monitor called a doppler. Dogs and cats blood pressure
is measured as a single number and should be between 100 and 150.
High blood pressure can cause sudden onset blindness in cats. We
will be using our blood pressure equipment on a regular basis in
both the exam room and surgery.
CANINES KEEP TRACK of
their treats according to research at Cal Davis. The study reports
that dogs possess a basic mathematical ability that allows them
to tell when one pile of objects is bigger than another. They also
verified what we dog lovers have long suspected, dogs barks are
used to communicate. A single high-pitched bark occurs when they
are separated from their owners. A lower harsher bark is used when
strangers approach or the doorbell rings. High-pitched and unevenly
spaced barks indicates playfulness.
NEW VACCINE IS BEING PROMOTED
for cats. Ft. Dodge, a veterinary manufacturer, recently released
a vaccine for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus. You will see advertising
promoting FIV vaccine. We are not recommending this vaccine. Most
pet cats are not at risk for FIV. There are also questions about
the vaccines efficacy and what is does to our ability to evaluate
a cat should it develop signs of FIV disease. The inability to determine
if a cat is ill or has a positive test from vaccine is a serious
issue. Until more is known about FIV vaccine and a test is available
that can find disease when a cat has been vaccinated we do not think
cats should receive this vaccine.
USE CAUTION when buying
and applying flea control products from someone other than a veterinarian.
Recently, a client purchased Biospot for dogs and mistakenly applied
it to her cats. Both cats were rushed to the office with signs of
permethrin toxicity. After three days of hospitalization the cats
were recovered enough to go home. All the over the counter flea
control products have the potential to be toxic. The veterinary
products, Frontline Topspot, and Advantage are not toxic to cats
and dogs and therefore safe even if the product is accidentally
misapplied. Also, remember that you should not buy pet flea control
products from anyone other than our office. Our prices are better
than any local veterinarian is and much better than on-line pharmacies.
Additionally, the manufacturer does not guarantee products brought
from anyone other than a veterinarian and you do not receive discounts
that 
are
available from us.
· REMEMBER TO PUT
A WORTHY ANIMAL WELFARE ORGANIZATION ON YOU HOLIDAY GIFT LIST.
We recommend MAUMEE VALLEY SAVE-A-PET, PAWS and WHISKERS CAT SHELTER
and THE MONROE COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY. You can give the check to
us and we will see that it gets to the appropriate organization.
· DOG LICENSES WILL
BE AVAILABLE IN DECEMBER. YOU MUST HAVE A LICENSE FOR YOUR DOG
BY JANUARY 20, 2003.
THE ENTIRE STAFF OF SYLVANIA VETERINARY HOSPITAL WISHES YOU A JOYOUS
HOLIDAY SEASON
AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.
