114 Volunteer Opportunities

I have bumped into several clients and former clients this week who have no pets or have room for more pets in their life, but don’t want to adopt a new one for life. These people are realistic about the time demands of a new dog or planning on traveling soon, but feel a hole in their lives right now. I have a suggestion: Volunteer!

The City of Lewisville Animal Services has an active Volunteer program with formal training and background checks, starting as young as 16 years old with a signed parental waiver. Volunteers are allowed to do housekeeping chores, handle and socialize animals, provide needed human contact, interact with future adopters, and ultimately even “jog a dog”.  Check out their Facebook page.

For more information: https://www.cityoflewisville.com/about-us/city-services/animal-services/volunteer-with-animal-services

Breed rescue groups are always looking for temporary foster homes. I find many clients that LOVE a specific breed and know its idiosyncrasies make great foster families while the parent organization does the work to find a forever home. So if you love Golden Retrievers or Shelties, find their local rescue group, go through their process, and schedule fosters on your time frame. Win for you, win for foster pet, and a win for the rescue group.

The ultimate foster is to be a puppy raisers fora service dog. We actually have a national organization called Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) with an office in Last Colinas in Irving. This is a big commitment since you will raise their lab/golden mix puppy for 12-18 months to adulthood with basic training, CCI competes their specialized training, and then they are matched to a disabled person free of charge for their forever home. This would be an ultimate act of giving.

113 Bacteria, Fungus, and Yeast, Oh My

We are entering the moist warm season where little tiny microorganisms love to grow, especially after all this rain. Most of think of these little beasties, like bacteria, fungus, and yeast, as bad actors because they cause disease. But if we take a larger look at them, these little guys can be our friends and allies.

Bacteria are one celled organisms, responsible for plague, strep throat, staph infections, but also normal gut flora, fermentation( turning wine into vinegar), milk to yogurt or cheese, and lacto-fermentation ( preserving cabbage as sauerkraut and kimchi). They are used to manufacture insulin!
Yeast are one celled organisms, responsible for athlete’s foot, swimmer’s ear, thrush, but they also are the magic ingredient to convert sugar to alcohol in beer, wine and cider, or make bread “rise” with CO2.

Fungus are chains of single celled organisms that can cause ringworm, other fungal dermatitis, and even some systemic fungal diseases like histoplasmosis, blastomycosis, cryptococcosis, and coccidioidomycosis (Valley Fever). But the good one create culinary and medicinal mushroom (the fruiting body of the colony) like shiitake, button, oyster, and psilocybin (magic mushrooms). They also help recycle dead plant material in the forest and create rich soil for more plants to grow in.

These tiny creatures do more than cause disease. We don’t want to kill them all with strong antibiotics, antifungals, or disinfectants unless we have too. I love harnessing them in my kitchen for sourdough bread, sauerkraut, wine and mead!

112 All Good Things …

No, I am not retiring. But I am sad that two of my favorite TV shows are over and finished. I am of course referring to Game of Thrones and Big Bang Theory. I was really rooting for more dragons, but at least I got the reunion between Jon Snow and Ghost, the dire wolf.

I especially liked the ending for Big Bang Theory. Nerds need love too, and friends to help them be their best versions of themselves. Girls can be geeks too. Vets in general are pretty nerdy. We actually have a higher suicide rate than many other professionals.

We are also saying goodbye to one of our staff, Kayla. She got married recently and will be moving to be with her husband in the Navy. We wish her well, and hope she finds another animal hospital with which to share her talents. We lost 2 staff women to relationships last summer. Something must be in the water.

I also have three grass fed steers ready to graduate to the freezer. Most people get ½ a cow ( ~300# of meat), or split it with another close family member. See Blog 100 for more info about the meat.

The last ending is my son’s college days. He graduated last week from University of Texas at Dallas with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He was my home schooled child, and this achievement is very sweet for me too. I am so proud of him. Yes, the Aggie in me had trouble writing those checks to the University of Texas system. So I am no longer a single mother with 2 school aged kids, but happily remarried wife now for 14 years with 2 adult, college graduated, married children, and one grandchild.

“All Good Things” was also the title of the final episode of Star Trek/ Next Generation, which coincidentally was aired on May 23, 1994, exactly 25 years ago today!  I can’t wait to see the new Picard Series.

Life is good.

111 CBD for Pets

Hardly a day goes by when a client doesn’t ask me about CBD products. Many companies are marketing CBD oil for pets, mostly dogs, to manage pain, arthritis, seizures, and anxiety. Clients want their pets not to hurt, nor seize, and not to get high. So What’s Up with CBD?

CBD is short for Cannabidiol, one of several cannabinoid compounds naturally produced to the Cannabis plant. CBD isn’t THC (the one that is psychotropic), and does have many medicinal properties that we are trying to figure out. Unfortunately, we have only recently discovered the naturally occurring endocannabinoid receptor in our body, just like we have natural opioid receptor that react to derivatives of opium, another plant based compound.

Legally, cannabis is tricky too. The FDA has classified it as Controlled Schedule I, the most dangerous category, which has stifled legitimate testing for decades. The climate is changing, and it is now legal to grow industrial hemp in several states. Hemp by legal definition produces less than 0.3mg THC, but it looks identical to the marijuana plants that do make THC. So Hemp makes CBD in different amounts and wonderful other compounds, called terpenes, which are the aromatic essential oils which also have effects on living systems.

There are several well-constructed completed University run therapeutic drug trials with CBD for dogs with specific diseases, and many more on going. Eventually, we want to know the ideal dose of CBD (and other terpenes) for different disease conditions, which form is best absorbed (oral chews, sublingual tinctures, or even topical), how often to give, can it be given with other medicines (like for arthritis & seizures dogs that are already on meds), side effects, and most importantly—-Which product is the “best”?

I have just completed a six hour online course to learn more about this new category of medicine, and I don’t have the answers, but I am learning what questions to ask at least.

If you are looking at a pet CBD product, ask for the Certificate of Analysis. It should come from an independent lab, show all the different cannabinoid compounds, but especially CBD, and THC. Ideally, it would include terpenes. And it should be recent and on this specific batch or lot, not something done 18 months ago. “Organic” is also preferred due to less pesticide residues. Look for grown in America, not overseas. Keep a log of your pet’s response and dose. If it is helping, keep using it and try to use the same product next time, knowing that CBD is derived from a plant, and each batch could be slightly different. Just like wine, a bottle of Cabernet this year will be different than one last year, even from the same vineyard, even on the same vines. The wines may have the same alcohol content, but may taste slightly different. For CBD and terpenes, those variations could make all the difference in the medical response.

Stay tuned for more CBD updates as they occur.

For more information and terminology: https://www.veterinarycannabis.org/guidelines-for-pet-parents.html
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/public-health-focus/fda-regulation-cannabis-and-cannabis-derived-products-questions-and-answers#approved
veterinarynews.dvm360.com/cornell-takes-lead-cannabidiol-research
https://www.akcpetinsurance.com/blog/cbd-oil-for-dogs
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2018.00165/full
https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/terpenes-the-flavors-of-cannabis-aromatherapy
https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/understanding-cannabis-testing

110 Mother’s Day Gifts

So last week my sweet little 7 month old puppies brought me the sweetest gift: half a rat. They had been playing at our ranch in East Texas, and FINALLY caught a rat (or large mouse), and were fighting over the back half. I assume they ate the front half. When I told them to “drop it”, they did so and were so proud. I gave them each a big treat for killing a rodent. Rodent extermination is their chief terrier job description.

We have to remember that our four legged children do some genetically hardwired traits to do certain things. Labradors retrieve. Shelties herd. Pointers point birds. Huskies pull. Greyhounds run. Cats will catch mice & birds and even small snakes. It is a beautiful thing to see God’s creatures do what there were designed to do.

But if your cat brings you a ‘”gift” of a snake or your terrier “gifts” you with half a rat, you should praise them, reward them, THEN throw it away.

109 Twenty nine year Anniversary in 2019!

Yes, we really opened our doors April 30, 1990. My daughter was 2 then, and I had a different husband. I now have a one year granddaughter, and I am celebrating Fourteen years with my husband, Dan. My son is set to graduate from UT Dallas this month and was married last summer. Life if good!

New things during the last twelve months:

SIGN: We got at new sign around New Years! It actually fits the old frame, but with the new logo and new LED lights so it looks great at night.

FACES: We have some new faces: Larissa is the head nurse that started last summer. She already had 10 years of experience in other practices and we call her the “cat whisperer”. Kayla up front started about this time last year.

PUPPIES: I got my 2 terrier pups (Chuck and Sally) in November, and they are now 7 months old. They have been my refresher course on puppyhood and training, and a lesson in patience every day.

ONLINE PHARMACY:  I reevaluated several, but ultimately decided to stick with VetSource

PET INSURANCE: We added Petplan by AAHA to our previous recommendation of Pet Best

REMINDER: Soon we will offer an online portal so you can get custom reminders: postcard, email or texts

CONTINUING EDUCATION class on Canniboids:  I just finished an online vet CE class on medicial canniboids for pets and am blown away by the potentials. There aren’t any medicines to prescribe yet, but I am on a learning curve for this new class of medicine.

108 Car vs Cat (or dog) Anatomy Lesson

Many of you know that my husband and I “do” old cars, specifically Model A Fords. Built by Henry Ford in 1928, 29, 30, &31, they are classic, fun to drive, and so simple to work on. And we work on them a lot. So I know a little bit about “car anatomy” of these classic cars, which are way less complicated than today’s computerized monstrosities. As a result of this hobby, I find myself using car analogies when I talk to clients about their pets. For example, for lameness, I look at the toe nails like I would tire tread to look for odd wear patterns.

Body systems of Cars and Animals:

Dermal system– This is obviously the painted sheet metal. Some car owners get really fussy about their paint job. Others just want it not to rust too badly. We even call rust spots “cancer”. So it needs some care like washing and waxing. “Wax on, wax off”, kind of like a cat licking itself or bathing a dog. Fortunately for pets, their skin heals on its own. Hail damage or a dented sheet metal doesn’t heal itself. Fortunately for cars, there aren’t “car fleas”. I think of the tires like feet with sneakers on, or maybe more like stiletto heels when we use those skinny tires with tubes. And if the tires aren’t aligned right, we call it “toeing in “or “toeing out”. Imagine the way a bull dog walks “toe in”, or a dachshund with crooked legs walks “toe out”.

Skeletal system– The frame (or chassis) is like an animal’s bones which support the rest of the car body (unlike today’s “unibody” cars). The “joints” of a car are very like out joints- they need lubrication and can wear out. Car joints can be replaced, but then so can some dog joints. We give the cars a shot of grease when they get creaky and we give pain medicine to arthritic dog. And the steering and braking were all mechanical back in the 30s, so you have to really stomp on those brakes, and your arms can get tired after fighting that steering wheel after a long day’s drive. Fatigued and broken metal frames can be welded instead of pinned or cast in plaster. Actually, many Model A bodies are partially wood instead of all metal.

Circulatory system (heart & blood)– This would be the engine with oil and coolant. The radiator would be like the capillaries & sweat glands in the skin to help cooling, (dogs and cat don’t really “sweat” through their skin), but they do pant or radiate on their foot pads, nose & ears. Standard Model As do not have a pressurized coolant system, and you can actually read the engine temp on the thermometer that looks like hood ornament on the radiator cap. I wish cats had a pop out thermometer so I wouldn’t have to take it rectally. Sometimes when I see an anemic dog, I say they are a “quart low. “ And I often compare a spleen to an oil filter, because it filters blood.

Respiratory system– The nose would be like intake manifold, the lungs are like the carburetors because Model As are air-aspirated (no fuel injection back in 1930). The carburetor mixes the air with the gasoline and feeds it to the engine. This is really important when we go into the mountains where the air is thinner. At least we can manually” adjust” the carburetor, unlike a dog or cat. They just breathe harder until their bodies adjust to the altitude. One different is a dog bark or cat meow is air driven, while the famous “ahooga” horn is purely electrical. Low voltage car, sad sounding horn.

Gastrointestinal system– This is where the fuel goes, but gas instead of kibble. Buy crummy gas, have poor running car. So I guess the muffler is “you know what”. I don’t know of any “prescription” fuels, but they definitely come in different grades based on Octane. My husband, in the petroleum industry, swears all “gasoline” is the same, but the additive packages in different brands make a huge difference on the lifetime of an engine, which makes him a gas “snob”, just like some pet owners are with pet food labels. Back in 1930, these cars could run on just about anything, even moonshine. Some dogs and cats seem to get by with low quality food, where others need the expensive stuff.

Nervous system (brain & spinal nerves)– the electrical system. Now in the stock Model A, you find a 6 V system instead of 12V. Many of us have upgraded to a more standard and more powerful 12V, so we have brighter lights, modern batteries and alternators. No computers or fancy sensors back in 1930. You get a mechanical “speedo” with odometer, a fuel gauge that floats in the tank and points vaguely to your level (located just behind the engine basically over your lap), and a dash light bulb that you have to turn on to use. Does that make the headlights like eyes? I often compare the eye’s cornea to a windshield and the eyelids to windshield washers. Model A don’t have windshield washing systems, with solutions. We get out and wash them by hand, and use a lot of Rainex.
For electrical things to work right, those wires have to be intact, no electrical shorts. Kind of like a dachshund that is down in the back. And if you pull the master fuse on a Model A, it is like a dog fainting. No signals going anywhere. I don’t think cars “seizure”, but when they sputter, it sure feels like it.
Cars can “store” electrical energy in the battery. Dogs and cats store biochemical energy in their fat. Some store a lot more than others.

Endocrine and Immune systems– I read in on a woman’s auto repair site, that modern on-board computers and sensors are the like endocrine and immune systems. I am sure glad dogs and cats have them, but there is nothing like that in an old Model A. We rely on traveling in groups to help when we have “unscheduled roadside seminars” (aka breakdowns). Imagine a hyperactive Cabriolet with hyperthyroidism, or a sluggish Phaeton with hypothryoidism! A diabetic Woody Station Wagon? What about a moody Coupe “in heat”? But it sure would be handy to leave two cars in the garage together, and come back to find a little baby Roadster!

Come out the Pate Car Swap Meet this weekend (April 25-17, 2019) at Texas Motor Speedway to see the shrine of the rusty old car part and classic automobile. Admission is free, but parking is $5. And yes, my husband will be there, working for the Model A Club. AAhhooogggaaaa!
See you down the road.

106 Easter Toxins

The ASPCA has put out their list of the top 5 Easter Toxins. Let’s be careful out there this Easter Weekend!

Chocolate– we all know chocolate is “bad”, but it does depend on the type of chocolate and the size of the dog. Check out the  chocolate calculator link. So if my little 16# terrier ate 2 oz of dark chocolate, it is WAY worse than 2 oz of milk chocolate. Did you know white chocolate isn’t toxic?

Lilies– Keep cats away from Easter lilies, even their leaves and vase water. See the link for the types of “true” lilies.

Easter grass– this plastic stuff isn’t digestible and clogs up intestines. Be super careful if you use it in Easter baskets where it might get food smells on it.

Table food– Many of us will make special holiday foods like ham or brisket. They can be fatty and very rich for our pets, so only tiny amounts if you must share. And I have a picture of peeps on this blog, but peeps aren’t toxic. I just love the photo of rabbit peep getting neutered.

Herbicides– gardeners will often be using herbicides in the spring, so follow the directions, especially if you have pets. Most are safe when dried.

https://www.aspcapro.org/resource/shelter-health-poison-control/top-5-easter-toxins

106 Veterinary Care of Dragons

I love Games of Thrones. I am looking forward to seeing the dragons again April 14 in the final season of the HBO series.
I was originally planning on writing an article about the veterinary care and husbandry of bearded dragons, a small pet species that I treat and enjoy. I also just watched the latest Jurassic Park movie that had an actual dinosaur veterinarian! And then I started imaging what it would be like being a veterinarian for the Game of Thrones dragons! So many veterinary principles would still be the same. Here are my thoughts on the care of this exotic “new” species.
While a bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) is small omnivorous reptile, originally from Australia and quite tame, the Game of Thrones dragons can be quite large, carnivorous, fire belching and quite vicious. So how would I take care of one if Daenerys asked for advice?
Diet: What is the optimum diet for a growing dragon? Sheep? Cattle? Humans? How many a day does one need to eat to optimize growth? I don’t think we know yet, but we would probably want “fresh” healthy prey, not frozen, canned in armor or ill meat (zombies). Do they ever stop growing?
Environment/temperatures: All the reptiles I see are cold blooded, and never do well in the frozen temperatures we saw north of the wall. I can’t imagine flying north is good for our dragon’s metabolism, but they seem to withstand it. Maybe they aren’t cold blooded? Maybe they generate their own heat internally since they breathe forth fire? And what if you are changed to an ice dragon? That may help withstand the cold, but then can Viserion tolerate the heat of Kings Landing?
Training: These dragons seem highly intelligent and very food driven. As a new puppy owner, I know I can get them to do a lot for food. I also know they are high energy and need lots of exercise. Dany figured that out the season when she tried to chain them up to not let them fly, and naughty behavior ensued. I wonder if you could use clicker training on them like Owen does for the velociraptors in Jurassic World? What about pheromones? They do seem calmer when around Dany and her Targaryen “scent” and Jon (spoiler alert), so could we bottle that smell and tame the dragons? They obviously can be voice trained as in the “dracarys” command to breathe fire, maybe we can teach them some less lethal commands such as sit, roll over, fetch.
Parasite control: Reptiles commonly get parasites from their prey, so I think dragons would be no exception. I imagine those hordes of Dothraki might have some parasites. We could certainly send out a fecal to look for parasites if we could find a fresh dropping. Or maybe the fire inside kills all internal parasites? What about external parasites? Maybe we could have Dany apply a topical dewormer on their back based on their estimated weights.
Nail trim: I don’t even want to try, but the Fear Free approach might have Dany conditioning them to allow foot exams, then gentle touching and eventually filing or Dremel tool. But maybe their nails should stay sharp to help them catch prey like a raptor? She should have addressed this training when they were small and perching on her naked shoulders. Ouch.
Reproduction: Well dragons obviously lay eggs. But are these 3 dragons related? Are we sure about their sexes? How does one sex a dragon? Does it matter is they are the only dragons in Westeros? Do we want to have more dragons? Couldn’t we just clone them like Jurassic World?
Euthanasia: The current euthanasia of reptiles is sedation, followed by injection of euthanasia solution directly into the heart. Even then it is a slow process. Freezing a reptile is considered inhumane. These dragons seem to have a weak spot for dragon glass. But when Viserion was struck with a magic ice spear, and fell into a frozen lake, she became an undead ice dragon. Winter is coming has just taken on a whole new meaning with more bad tidings. I have questions and where did I put that dragon glass just in case?

105 Heartworm Awareness Month Specials

April is National Heartworm Awareness Month again, and we have decided to kick it off a monthly special to help save you money on your dog’s heartworm testing and medicines.

For the month of April, 2019, we are offering a FREE Heartworm test (regular value $25) with the purchase of 12 months of heartworm prevention here. We carry both Interceptor (which gets heartworms and intestinal worms), and Trifexis (which gets fleas, heartworms, and intestinal worms). Plus the manufacturer, Elanco, is also offering a rebate on each product ($15 on Interceptor, and $40 for Trifexis), so you get more money back from Elanco after the purchase. We do need to have a current exam on file, and the special only goes until the end of April.

Our online pharmacy, VetSource, is also offering some manufacturer rebates at different weeks in April, which might help if you shop online for many different brands of heartworm preventions. We do need to have a current (< 12 month) heartworm test before we will approve online heartworm medicines, but we are trying to give many options. There are even TOPICAL heartworm preventions that you can get online, and we are looking into 6 month heartworm injections (no more pills). Remember that heartworms are transmitted by mosquitos, so all dogs are affected.

Goodness knows we get mosquitos, and they will be out if larger numbers soon.

https://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/incidence-maps https://www.elancorebates.com/