July News

The Northeast Veterinary conference will be held the beginning of August in Providence, Rhode Island. Dr. Crowley will be attending the 3 day continuing education meeting as well as technicians Michelle and Katie. We hope to come back with lots of information to enhance patient care.

The Beverly Animal Natural Health Center also just acquired the Vetscan chemistry analyzer by Abaxis. In addition to our laboratory services with Angell Memorial, we now have the ability to do in-house analysis of your pet’s blood . This is especially helpful for critical and emergency cases as well as convenient follow-up in chronic disease cases. Analyzing your pet’s bloodowrk can help us detect abnormalities that may not be found on a physical exam as well as assessing response to therapy.

Dr. Crowley recently became elected vice-president to the Veterinary Association of the North Shore( VANS). She has been a member for several years and has served on the board for the last three. VANS not only does the annual rabies clinics but also holds monthly meetings during the school year to provide continuing education and enhance collegiality among the veterinarians of the North Shore.

Hope the summer finds everyone well! The weather has been improving. Seems like the ticks have taken a back seat to those blood-sucking mosquitos! K9Adavntix for dogs works well for repelling ticks, fleas and mosquitos so you may want to consider that if your healthy dog spends a lot of time outdoors. Be sure to have your pet on monthly heartworm preventative. They need to be current on their exam (within the last 12 months) and with no current medical concerns. The heartworm test (a blood test) can be done at annual physical exams throughout the year.

For those concerned about West Nile Virus in their dog or cat, the most recent data shows that relatively small number of WNV infected dogs (<40) and only 1 WNV infected cat have been reported to Center for Disease Control during 2003. The dogs tended not to show any signs and the cats may have had some lethargy and fever. There is no specific treatment for WNV infection. Full recovery from the infection is likely. Treatment would be supportive (managing symptoms, if present) with no long-term consequences. There is also no documentation of transmission from a dog or cat to a person of West Nile Virus. At this time, it is only transmitted by mosquitos.

Other Zoonotic concerns

A zoonosis is a disease that can be transmitted to a person from an animal. Post 9-11, the country has become more aware of such diseases due to terrorism and global issues. Mad-cow disease is an example of a zoonotic disease. Anthrax is another zoonosis but it is sometimes transmitted through inert ( non-living means) such as powder in envelopes.

Fortunately, the risk to any of us from such zoonotic diseases is rare. The more common zoonotic diseases are ones that can occur in our backyard or beach. These include hookworms and roundworms. Larva or the immature form of these worms can migrate in human tissues producing the zoonotic diseases known as larva migrans. They are most common in the skin but can also occur in the eyes, brain or intestinal organs.

Humans, especially children, are exposed to zoonotic parasites through fecal contamination by infected animals. Unfortunately this happens most often in common areas which we share with raccoons and other wildlife. This is the reason that you should always pick up after your pet! It is also the reason why beaches are off limits to dogs during the summer months. People are much more likely to walk the beach without shoes on leaving less of a barrier to the parasites.

To minimize the risk to you and your family, including your pet, we recommend that you:

• Check a stool sample from your pet at least once a year, more often if previous parasite infection
• Always wash hands after playing/handling your pet as well as after outdoor activity
• Always wash hands before eating
• Pick up feces from yard as soon as possible.

Tips for Dogs Afraid of Thunderstorms,
Fireworks and other Loud Noises

Many dogs are afraid of noise and become anxious when they occur. Thunderstorms are not something that we always know the timing of but with the Fourth of July approaching, we can offer you tips to try to help your dog through these stressful situations.

Try not to comfort your dog in a sympathetic voice when the dog acts afraid. This can make your dog think that they should be afraid. Instead of a sympathetic voice, use a happy, jolly, playful voice--a hearty voice. This may help give your dog confidence. If you can get your dog to play with you during a storm, that is ideal.

Be sure to provide your dog with a safe place to be during storms, and not outside. Many dogs have been lost when they ran from their fenced yards in terror during storms. Your dog may want to rest in a dog crate in a quiet room. It is also ok to set up a special bed under a table or even in the bathroom if the dog feels more comfortable in that situation.

Some people also report their dogs do better with some background noise from television or radio. People also sometimes help these dogs by making an audiotape of thunder noises, and playing it softly, then gradually louder and louder, until the dog gets used to it. Some dogs react more so to the barometric pressure changes that can occur with storms and often occur minutes to hours before the actual thunder and lightning.

Consider trying flower essence therapy such as Mimulus and or Rescue Remedy/Calming essence. During the summer months, it can be given routinely as well as "spur of the moment". Refer to the article in the library on flower essence therapy.

Some dogs will need prescription medication to cope with this. There are combinations of behavior modifying drugs that can sometimes help when used in conjunction with conditioning exercises (above recommendations) If you have concerns regarding your pet’s noise phobia, please call the office to set up a consult.

Client Profile: Coach Carole and Saffron

Do you consider living "a dog's life" to be a blessing or a curse? Well, in Saffron's case, it's definitely the former. Saffron is a well-traveled dog and leads a busy life. He first flew on a trip to California to celebrate the transition from 1999 to 2000. Just making the in-cabin weight limit of 16 lbs., he traveled in a soft-sided bag under the seats of owners Paul Schwartz and Carole Rein, sleeping most of the way, awakening during landing.

His next air travel was to France in 2002, where he accompanied his owners as they traveled the Midi Canal on a barge. It's true that he fell in the canal once and it is unknown whether it was intentional or an accident. At home, he usually wears his life jacket, acting as a good role model for the children who love to see him sailing.

His life is more than play, though. In addition to working as a model (see http://www.JoyPetProducts.com), he is also a routine visitor to local nursing homes as a certified therapy dog with owner Carole Rein, a Personal Life Coach (see http://www.CoachCarolecom).

Thinking of breeding??? Think AGAIN!

For People who Want to Breed Dogs

Factors to Consider

• Will your dog contribute excellent health, temperament, working ability or conformity to the breed standard?
• Do you understand that spaying and neutering will prevent some health problems that you risk by keeping your dog intact?
• Are you aware of any and all health and temperament problems in your dog's pedigree?
• Are you willing to search for the best dog to breed your dog to, even if you have to travel out of state?
• Do you have carefully screened buyers and deposits for all the puppies you may produce?
• Do you have money set aside in case the dam or puppies need emergency care?
• Can you or another responsible adult be present 24 hours a day for the first 3 weeks in case hand feeding is needed?
• Have you read about what to prepare and expect for canine pregnancy, whelping and puppy rearing? (rec source: Canine Reproduction: A Breeder's Guide 2nd Edition, Phyllis Holst)
• Are you willing to keep and properly socialize all the puppies until good homes are found?
• Are you willing to take back any or all puppies any time in their lives that they may no longer be wanted?
• Are you willing to serve as a lifetime resource for the buyers of your puppies?

Pre-Breeding Procedures

• Annual CERF eye certification.
• Wait until 2 years of age before breeding, then have OFA hip and elbow certification performed.
• Have all breed-specific health clearances performed - check with veterinarian and national breed club (may include heart, thyroid, genetic testing, many others).
• Have Brucella canis test performed 1 month in advance.
• Have a complete physical examination performed on your dog prior to breeding.
  - This should include a digital vaginal exam to check for vaginal band/stricture.

by Joni L. Freshman DVM, MS, DACVIM
Permission to copy with original attribution
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