Yesterday, I was running around delivering medications to three patients, and it occurred to me that all three were heart patients. So, I thought I would discuss heart disease in pets with this blog. Now, we all know how important heart disease is in humans. Well, for people, it is all about the cholesterol plaques. … Read more
This week, I battled alien invaders. The battleground was Muller, a 5 month old bull terrier puppy. He was really sick, not eating, and had a painful belly and nasty diarrhea. The cause turned out to be a type of intestinal worm called Strongyloides. Where most self-respecting worms spread as eggs passed in stools, waiting … Read more
It’s not just an eye infection. It’s not just a lash or a piece of grit in his eye. That red, goopy eye that just does not get better may be a case of Dry Eye. Dry Eye is what happens when the immune system attacks and shuts down the dog’s own tear gland. … Read more
There are new frontiers now in arthritis therapy! Now, instead of just using medications to stop the body from sabotaging itself, we have modalities to encourage it to heal itself. Laser Therapy A subject near and dear to my heart! A better option for dealing with arthritis was my prime motivation for getting my laser … Read more
It was not that long ago that supplements were viewed in the same light as voodoo, mysticism, and the power of positive thinking (also called the placebo effect.) But now the evidence is undeniable: these things WORK, and make a significant difference in the management of arthritis. Cartilage builders: Remember how in part one, we … Read more
As discussed in the last post, the new anti-inflammatories are a great tool to use in managing arthritis. They are only part of the medication story, though. Medication: Multi-modal Pain Control Pain perception is a pathway. We have: The source of the pain. In the case of arthritis, this is the joint, which … Read more
There is so much more now that we can do for arthritis than we used to be able to. When I started practising over 2 decades ago, we had one approved anti-inflammatory for dogs, that was it. If a dog did not respond to “bute” (phenylbutazone), or got an upset stomach on it, too bad … Read more
How to tell the Thyroid: “Enough Already!” In the last post, I went over what Hyperthyroidism is and what it can do to the body. Now, what are we doing about it. In the case of Spice, she is in an only-cat household. Since thyroid hormone is made using a molecule of iodine, we can … Read more
Hyperthyroidism: the Nitty-Gritty I’ll say it again, a truism of veterinary medicine: cats are not small dogs. You almost never hear of a dog having an OVERactive thryroid gland. In cats, it is one of the most common diseases once they hit double digits in age. I have 2 such cases right now, so I … Read more
Why 3 is Not a Lucky Number for Cats: “Triaditis” There are some things cats just do differently. It is a truism of veterinary medicine that “cats are not small dogs”; there are some details about how they work that are distinct from the way dogs or people do things. A recent case I dealt … Read more