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My little man Manny!

Rawhides - Why I Hate Them

The fourth year of vet school consists entirely of clinical rotations.  I tracked mixed animal so my rotations consisted of things such as small animal medicine, small animal surgery, large animal medicine, large animal surgery, radiology, anesthesiology, etc. No matter what you track (small animal, large animal or mixed animal) everyone is required to complete a necropsy rotation.  Which I’m sure to the average person sounds horrible but remember we’re veterinary students and we view it as a chance to learn.  However, I will admit the smell is horrible and no matter how many times you shower or how many times you wash your clothes the smell is still there.  So by the end of the rotation you end up throwing out every piece of clothing that you wore during that 2-week period.  Also, for whatever reason they have you dress all in white which makes absolutely no sense.  Anyway, the most rewarding cases were the ones that you immediately found the cause of the death and you didn’t have to wait for the results of histopathology or any further testing.  During my 2-week necropsy rotation there was one case that I will never forget.  A 4-year female spayed Pomeranian presented for sudden death at home.  According to the owner the dog was acting perfectly normal went outside for a few minutes, came back inside, suddenly collapsed and died.  When performing a necropsy there is a strict protocol you follow so nothing is missed.  I’ll spare you the details of the protocol but by the time I got to dissecting the larynx I had found the cause of the death.  A large round piece of rawhide was lodge in the larynx completely occluding the airway.  The pathologist in charge looked at me and said,  “this is going to be a hard phone call to make”.  I was devastated both for the dog and the owners.

After graduation I went into private practice and at least once a week we remove esophageal foreign bodies, usually rawhides.  Esophageal foreign bodies can be life threatening and need to be treated immediately.  The foreign body can cause severe injury to the lining of the esophagus including perforation, which is life threatening.  Potentially any type of foreign object can become lodged in the esophagus – bones, needles, fishhooks, rawhides, etc.  Clinical signs of esophageal foreign bodies include drooling, gagging, repeated attempts to swallow, pawing at the mouth, not being about to swallow food or water.  Many esophageal foreign bodies are easily seen on x-rays.  Once diagnosed esophageal foreign bodies should be removed immediately typically with a flexible endoscope or forceps.  If surgery is needed the overall prognosis is poor.  Complications associated with esophageal foreign bodies include stricture formation of the esophagus, severe and might I add painful inflammation of the esophagus, laceration of the lining of the esophagus and aspiration pneumonia secondary to regurgitation.

My advice is to completely avoid rawhide chews. There are many other great and safe alternatives.  I personally or I should say my dogs personally love kongs.  I also highly recommend supervising any dog with any type of chew toy.                 

What are you looking at?

Dog Parks

After seeing the end results of some pretty horrific dogfights secondary to dog park visits I decided to share the California Veterinary Medical Association recommendations for dog park safety.  While dog parks can be fun they aren’t for every dog and they harbor some serious risks such as bites and exposure to infectious diseases.

   

The CVMA has the following recommendations for keeping your dog safe while visiting a dog park: 

• Make sure your dog’s vaccination status is current
• Make sure your dog is socialized and gets along well with other animals and people
• Keep a very close eye on your dog at all times
• Make sure small dogs and big dogs are separated
• Bring water for your dog to drink
• Have your veterinarian check your dog regularly for parasites
• Talk to your veterinarian about any precautions you should take with your dog

Some other things to consider

• Promptly pick up and properly dispose of any feces
• Don’t take your dog to the park when it’s sick or recovering from an illness

Zoonotic Diseases – An Introduction

Not many people are aware but veterinary medicine has a proud history and tradition of promoting and improving the health of not only animals but of humans as well.  Veterinarians receive an education in physiology and clinical science comparable to that of physicians but they also receive extensive training in comparative medicine.  We are educated in preventive medicine, population health, parasitology, zoonotic diseases, and epidemiology and not to mention we must be familiar with a multiple number of species.  Because of this training veterinarians have and continue to make significant contributions to the control of infectious diseases of humans.   

In one way or another all veterinarians regardless of their specialty are involved in protecting humans from diseases, in particular those transmitted between humans and animals.  These diseases are called zoonotic diseases.  According to the CDC approximately 75% of emerging infectious diseases affecting humans are of animal origin and approximately 60% of all human pathogens are zoonotic (http://www.cdc.gov/ncezid/).   I personally don’t like the term emerging disease because many of these diseases aren't necessarily new.  Therefore, the more correct term in my opinion for many of these diseases is re-emerging infectious diseases.  So why are we now seeing what appears to be an increase in infectious diseases?  The difference is that theses diseases now have the potential to cause worldwide epidemics.  The world has become much smaller and much more vulnerable to the spread of infectious diseases.  Another reason is changes in our environment including logging of forests, changes in the use of land, migration of people from rural to urban areas and improper disposal of waste.  Zoonotic diseases affect and kill hundreds of thousands of people especially in developing countries, even though most of them can be prevent.

Examples of zoonotic diseases classified according to their infectious agent include:

·      Parasites: Toxoplasmosis, Cysticercosis

·      Bacteria: Anthrax, Leptospirosis, Tularaemia

·      Fungi: Dermatophytoses, sporotrichosis

·      Viruses: Rabies, Hantvirus

·      Prion: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

Please don’t let this information scare you.  Throughout this blog we will cover various zoonotic diseases and ways to protect yourself, your family and pets from them.  And please remember pets provide many health benefits to humans; examples include decrease blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and triglyceride levels.  They also can provide a great source of exercise.   Although pets can carry germs, it is important to know that you are more likely to get these germs from other sources than your pet.

“However secure and well-regulated civilized life may become, bacteria, Protozoa, viruses, infected fleas, lice, ticks, mosquitoes, and bedbugs will always lurk in the shadows ready to pounce when neglect, poverty, famine, or war lets down the defenses.  And even in normal times they prey on the weak, the very young and the very old, living along with us, in mysterious obscurity waiting their opportunities” –Hans Zinsser 1934”

“The microbe is nothing; the terrain, everything.” – Louis Pasteur 1822-1895

Antifreeze - Deadly Danger

It’s that time of the year when we need to be reminded of the toxic dangers of antifreeze for both dogs and cats.  Antifreeze contains ethylene glycol, which is a colorless and odorless alcohol that has a sweet taste that animals are attracted to.  Just a few licks antifreeze can cause kidney failure and death.

Clinical signs of early ethylene glycol toxicity include:

• Drunken appearing (ataxia) gait
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Increased thirst
• Lethargy
• Coma

It’s extremely important that a veterinarian sees your pet as quickly as possible after ingestion or suspect ingestion of ethylene glycol.  

Prevention tips:

• Do not let your dog roam freely, especially in the garage
• Check your car for any leaks
• Keep antifreeze containers tightly closed and stored out of reach of pets
• If antifreeze is spilled make sure that it is thoroughly cleaned up
1. Use cat litter to absorb the liquid
2.  Clean up the area with rags
3.  Safely dispose of both the cat litter and rags
4.  Finally rinse the area with water 
• Never pour used antifreeze down storm drains, sinks, toilets or on the ground
  o   Wildlife can suffer from antifreeze poisoning too

There are now less toxic antifreeze alternatives to ethylene glycol available containing propylene glycol.  Although not entirely nontoxic propylene glycol is significantly less toxic and appears to be less tasty to animals.  Please look for these pet safe propylene-glycol antifreeze alternatives.

If you suspect your pet has consumed or might have consumed any toxic substance call your veterinarian and/or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control (888) 426-4435. 

Dinner please!

Heartworm Disease – The Importance of Preventive Medicine

My Personal Story - Dreyfus

It was during my 4^th year of vet school between my necropsy and anesthesiology rotation that I got Dreyfus.  We met at a Petco in New Brighton, MN.  I was picking up cat litter and he was looking for a home.  He was in a wire cage that was stacked on top of another cage.  He was very thin, extremely filthy, had a tuft of hair sticking up on the top of his head and was shaking.  Around his neck he wore a camouflage collar that said “Will Bolt”.  The card attached to his cage said “Male Neutered Beagle. History unknown.  Found living with other strays on a dirt lot in Wisconsin.  Heartworm positive.”  It was love at first sight.  I adopted him not knowing how severe his heartworm disease was but, I figured if he didn’t make it at least his last few days would be in a warm and loving environment.  I paid his adoption few, picked him up and took him home.  The next day I took him in for a full work up and to see how severe his heartworm disease was.  We retested him for heartworm, which to no surprise he came up positive for.  He also tested positive for ehrlichia but thankfully wasn’t clinical for it.  His complete blood count and chemistry profile were perfect and his chest x-rays only had minor changes.  The radiologist wrote on his report “this is good news for the dog”.  We decided to treat his heartworm with the three dose protocol of Immiticide, meaning he’d get one dose now and then a month later get two doses 24 hours apart.  In theory it’s suppose to be the safest protocol because you’re killing the worms off slower.  In reality all dogs with heartworm disease are at extremely high risk for post-treatment pulmonary thromboembolism (obstruction of blood flow through the arteries of the lungs secondary to dead heartworms) and can die at anytime.  We began his treatment and I kept him quiet for 2 months and prayed.  Fortunately, Dreyfus was the perfect patient.  He kept himself extremely quiet, so thankfully I didn’t have to crate him.  I'd carry him outside (up and down three flights of stairs) four times a day to go to the bathroom. He wasn't allowed to walk and honestly he didn't want to walk he was too weak, so we'd sit in the grass and watch the world go by.  Fortunately, during his treatment he never had any adverse reactions.  I think he only coughed once.  Two months and again six months after his final treatment he was heartworm negative.  Slowly over time Dreyfus regained his strength and today his favorite thing to do is go on long walks.  Dreyfus is one of the lucky ones.  Most dogs with heartworm disease don't survive and the worst part is it's a completely preventable disease.   

Dreyfus right after being adopted.

Dreyfus 4 years later!

Please schedule an appointment with your veterinarian for a heartworm test and make sure your dog or cat is on heartworm preventative medication.  The are numerous medications on the market please talk with your veterinarian about which one is best for your pet. 

Brief Overview of Heartworm Disease

Heartworm disease is a very serious and potentially fatal disease that is caused by parasitic worms living in the right side of the heart and arteries of the lungs.  It can infect dogs, cats and other species of animals including in very rare instances humans.  Mosquitoes, infected with heartworm larvae, spread the disease.  Once an infected mosquito bites a dog, cat or other susceptible animal the heartworm larvae enter the blood stream and are transported into the arteries of the lung.  Over the next several months the larvae develop into mature adult worms where they continue their life cycle and cause serious injury to the lungs and heart. 

Cats are slightly different in that they typically have fewer worms than dogs.  Nevertheless these worms can still cause extensive damage to the arteries of the lungs.  Even one worm can kill a cat.  Outdoor cats are at greater risk of being infected, however an extremely high percentage of indoor only cats have been infected.   

It is important to remember that heartworm disease has been reported in all 50 states. 

Clinical signs

In dogs clinical signs may not be detectable in early stages because the number of worms in the animal accumulates over time.  Heavily infected dogs will show signs of mild to severe cough, reluctant to exercise, fatigue after a short amount of exercise, decreased appetite and weight loss.

Cats typically exhibit non-specific signs.  Clinical signs include vomiting, gagging, difficulty or rapid breathing, lethargy and weight loss.  Signs can be very similar to feline asthma. 

How to detect heartworm disease?

Heartworm disease can be detected with blood tests.  This is something that your veterinarian can and should do annually.      

Prevention

Heartworm disease is a preventable disease.  I repeat heartworm disease is a preventable disease.  There are numerous heartworm preventative medications currently on the market.  They are safe, easy to administer and inexpensive (especially compared to the treatment!).  Make sure you give them as directed by your veterinarian and do not miss a doses.  I recommend giving them year round so you don't get out of the habit of giving them.  Heartworm disease in dogs is potentially treatable but it is an extremely long, difficult and expensive process.  Keep in mind there is no effective treatment for heartworm disease in cats, so once again prevention is key.

Treatment

In dogs, adult heartworms are killed by a drug call Immiticide that is injected into the lumbar muscles through a series of treatments.  The dog then must remain extremely quiet for at least two months.  Post-Immiticide complication is development of severe life-threatening pulmonary thromboembolism (obstruction of blood flow through pulmonary arteries due to dead heartworms).   

Form more information on heartworm disease please visit http://www.heartwormsociety.org/