Month: February 2020

146 Early Spring

The calendar still says February, but everything outside is saying it’s Spring. And that means bugs and allergies (for some). We are already seeing fire ants, and next will be the fleas and ticks. Ticks really don’t die in the Winter and in some parts of the country are worse than Spring for deer hunters.

So, this is a reminder to everyone who has pets that go outside- start you flea and tick medicines NOW. Don’t wait until you are picking them off Fluffy, yourself, or your children. The new modern class of oral insecticides (isoxazolines) like Credelio, Simparica, Nexgard, and Bravecto are effective, safe, and easy to give. Here at Garden Ridge Animal Hospital, we carry Credelio since it pairs with Interceptor for larger rebates and makes it the least expensive per dose. The other products are made by different manufacturers, are excellent as well, and I wouldn’t hesitate to use them on my own pets. If your dog is on Trifexis, remember that it kills fleas, heartworms, and many intestinal parasites, but NOT ticks. You can easiy order any of these products on our online pharmacy through VetSource. They are priced comparable to Chewy.

Topical flea and tick medicines like Frontline and Vectra also work but are a little less effective than the oral meds in heavy infestations. Just be very careful NOT to apply a dog product on a cat. It can be fatal. And make sure you have the right weight range on the box if it is an OTC product. When I used topical products years ago, I chose to apply just before bedtime so I wouldn’t be accidentally petting the dog and removing it with my hand.

Not all dogs are at risk for ticks. If Fido never leaves the yard, doesn’t walk around wooded areas, doesn’t go traveling/camping, and you have never found a tick on him, you probably don’t need tick prevention. But always be on the lookout. I have had many pet owners complain over the years that they suddenly got ticks in their yards/fences, and usually blame the neighbor. Ticks don’t hop and jump like fleas, but the do climb up on trees, shrubs, and fences and then “drop” on to pets. And many bugs hitch a ride on wildlife like squirrels, rabbits, possums, and stray cats that come into our yards when we aren’t looking.

Cat certainly can get fleas and ticks, but we just don’t see them on the pet as often because are such awesome groomers. Many times, I think the indoor/outdoor cat is the culprit that brings bugs into the house, where we then find them on the dog (or baby). We are using Revolution Plus on cats for topical flea and tick prevention, and it get some intestinal parasites, ear mites, and prevents heartworms from mosquitos! Bravecto also makes a topical product for cats.

So enjoy the Spring weather outside, but protect your pets.

145 Blog Review of Texas laws on Rabies Vaccination

I have been getting quite a few hits on my blog website about rabies vaccinations, and it’s been a while since I have written about it. Here is an updated review of Texas laws concerning Rabies.

All dogs and cats in Texas must be vaccinated for rabies by 4 months of age by or under the direct supervision of a licensed veterinarian using a vaccine licensed by the USDA. The vaccine must be approved for that species and given after the minimum age requirement and by the right route of administration. There are no exemptions to this requirement, even for medical reasons or by demonstrating measurable rabies antibody titers.

Animals should be boosted according to the recommended interval as established by the manufacturer, unless limited by local ordinances. Most rabies vaccines are boosted at one- or three-year intervals. For a USDA licensed triennial (3 year) vaccine, the typical interval is booster 1 year after initial vaccination, and then every 3 years. For a 1-year vaccine, boosters are given annually. As far as I know, all the local cities and counties recognize the 3-year vaccine interval.

What is the minimum age for dogs and cats to be vaccinated for rabies?This is usually regarded as 12 weeks. The sweet spot is to vaccinate for rabies between 12-16 weeks of age.

What vaccines does Garden Ridge Animal Hospital use? For dogs, I use Defensor 3 by Zoetis, approved for dogs, cats, and ferrets, has a 3-year label, and have use it for over 20 year with no problems. But for cats, I currently use Purevax Feline Rabies by Merial  since it is adjuvant free, but it only has a 1 year label. The non- adjuvant vaccine is recommended to reduce inflammation at injection site and prevent injection site sarcomas. No one wants their cat to get cancer because of a vaccine, but it can rarely happen. For ferrets, the Defensor 3 is approved with annual boosters.

What about very old pets or “inside only” cats? The law is clear that they must be vaccinated and stay vaccinated. Realistically, an inside only cat isn’t going to spontaneously get rabies, but if they bite or scratch a human a series of events will happen that puts your unvaccinated cat in rabies quarantine for 10 days, usually at a shelter. If a vaccinated pet bites a human, the quarantine time can often be served at home. All rabies vaccines are killed, dead, not alive. They seldom make pets even run a fever. The human rabies vaccine that I have been given is so safe I could get boosted even when I was pregnant. (Yes, vets are vaccinated against rabies)

What if my pet was vaccinated over 3 years ago, and overdue a booster? Upon receiving a single dose of vaccine, they will be considered current, and assigned the maximum vaccination interval based on the license of the vaccine.

Why does the state care about rabies vaccination and no other diseases like parvo and distemper? Rabies affects humans, is 99.9% fatal, no cure, and the other diseases don’t. We vaccinate pets to protect humans.

How does the state test for rabies in an affected animal that is euthanized? The head (brain) is sent off to the state laboratory. There is no blood test to confirm rabies for pet, livestock or wildlife.

How can I find out if my pet’s rabies vaccines are up to date? If you pet was vaccinated at Garden Ridge, we have record. You can access your pet’s vaccines history online through our Pet Portal, found on our website. You do have to log in the client number that is on your receipts, and then create a password. Many clients who board their pets elsewhere or use doggie daycare find the online portal convenient and always available.

For more information:
https://www.dshs.texas.gov/idcu/disease/rabies/vaccine/pets/
Actual legal state regulations; https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.ViewTAC?tac_view=5&ti=25&pt=1&ch=169&sch=A&rl=Y

144 Watching Dogs Perform

The days before Valentine’s day usually mean hunting for the perfect card, getting reservations at a special restaurant, or ordering gifts for that “special someone” online. For Dog lovers, it means time to watch the Westminster Dog Show on TV. I have never been to a real dog show, but the Westminster is the Super Bowl of Dog shows in US.

I used to assume it was just a “beauty pageant” like Miss America, but it is so much more now. There are separate Agility and Obedience competitions also. Last night, the Standard Poodle won the Best in Show section. Siba was an outstanding examine of a standard poodle, even with the crazy hair cuts that are the breed standard. She was beautiful and “floated” around the ring. I was rooting for the gorgeous merle Sheltie or the crowd-pleasing Golden Retriever, but the poodle won. After over 30 years in vet practice, I have a profound appreciation for the sturdiness and intelligence of poodles in general, even though I see many more Toy Poodles than Standards.

I also enjoyed watching highlight of the Agility competition. I personally took a Agility class with my Sheltie, Sarge, when he was younger.  It was so much fun, but it was exhausting to do outside in June in Texas. Sarge loved it though. He could hardly wait for his turn to run the course.

On a similar note, my husband and I attended the Fort Worth Stock Show last weekend, on the last day. There weren’t many critters there, but my favorite thing was watching the Sheep Dog competition. We saw dozens of border collies, working 3 scared sheep around a large sand area, working only from the owner’s voice or whistle. They had to listen, read the sheep’s body language, and move a group around a course, around barrels, though a fenced area, and ultimately into a small 10’x10’ pen, all by himself. We saw several overexcited dogs be disqualified to nipping at the sheep. But in their defense, some of the sheep were pretty stupid and didn’t stick together. Sometimes it reminded me of trying to herd cats. Or the movie Babe about the pig.

Overall, it has been a pleasure watching dogs do what they were bred to do, whether it was herding, agility, or a beauty pageant. Dogs are amazing.

Westminster Best of Show   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh8Bot1OfkE&t=1s
Agility Championship   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZn7oWMHD90
Sheep dog competitions  https://www.texassheepdogassoc.org/

143 Neighborhood Construction Projects

If you have driven around Garden Ridge Blvd or College Street in the last few months, you probably noticed lots of roads being torn up and blocked off. I thought it was upgrading of utilities like water or sewer, but my searches on the Lewisville website were useless. I had a client in this week whose home is on College and was impacted. He reported he had gotten letters from Atmos natural gas company that they are utility at work here, not the City of Lewisville. A search of the Atmos website revealed this is  the Line F upgrade, mostly 6 miles along Garden Ridge Blvd.

This Atmos utility work on Garden Ridge Blvd is a minor inconvenience to clients trying to turn onto Glencairn Lane into our parking lot since they have temporarily blocked the South bound Left hand turn lane. If you go a short distance further toward Main Street, you can turn Left at two locations and perform a legal U turn, and approach us on the Northbound side of Garden Ridge Blvd.  If you are driving North on Garden Ridge Blvd, it is narrowed to one lane, but it is easy to turn right onto Glencairn into our parking lot.  The “back route” is to use Glencairn Lane East of us, and turn right and cut through Garden Park Shopping Center to the Jack in the Box to get to Main Street, OR turn left onto Cimarron Strip to cut over to College Street.

There are two other construction projects in our neighborhood. The Chin Baptist Church in under construction just east of us. The Chin are Christian refugees from Myanmar (Burma), many of whom have settled in Lewisville.

The third project is the old Thrift City in Garden Park Shopping Center, which has been purchased by the Lewisville Independent Sschool District to create more administration space for professional development for the school district. The scheduled completion is November 2020.  We are happy to have the LISD Bolin Center and other administrative functions as neighbors.