Holiday Safety Tip #1 - Dog Greetings

Whether your guests bring a pet to the party is your call, but you need to make sure the introductions are done under close adult supervision and if they don’t appear that they will get along, you may need to separate them for everyone’s safety.



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Fishing Hook Danger

Fishing hook danger.

Summer time is here and fishing season is upon us. Dogs are great fishing companions but sometimes they can get into a little mischief that can cause an emergency trip to the vet.

Dogs are attracted to the smelly fish bait and shiny lures.  They can mistake these as toys or a treat. Dogs can get the hooks stuck in their mouth, paws, and sometimes even worse they will get stuck in esophagus or stomach.

Do not try to pull these lures out once stuck in tissue. Due to the multiple barbs on the hooks it can cause much more damage to the tissues and embed them further if you pull on them.  Pets need to be sedated and have a minor surgical procedure for these barbed hooks to be properly removed.

If the hook has been swallowed they may need a major surgery or endoscope to remove it.  If you see a fishing line coming from your pets mouth do not pull on it!  This could cause a tear in their esophagus or lining of the stomach which could be fatal. 

If your pet has a hook stuck in a paw or body, try and cover the hook so the pet can not chew on it and cause more damage and then head to your vet.  If it's stuck in their mouth or has been swallowed try and keep the pet calm and head straight to your vet.

So, if your four legged friend likes to go fishing with you always be careful by following a few simple rules.  Never leave the tackle box open. Only bait one hook at a time.  And make sure to remove hooks and lures from the fishing line prior to storing equipment.

www.ahrdvm.com

Kill The Mouse, Kill The Rat....Kill The Dog, Kill The Cat - The Dangers of Rodenticide Poisoning

Extremely Toxic to Pets... Even in Small Doses

Rodenticide, rat bait, mouse killer, or D-Con are a few names for many poisonous products that are meant to kill rodents. All are very toxic to pets, even in small amounts. Pets are usually exposed to rodenticides at home. They are attracted to the smell of the bait and will seek it out. In general, dogs are more likely to eat baits than cats, but bait should be placed whether neither species can access it. Pets can also be poisoned by eating an intoxicated rodent. Most rodenticides take time to kill. While the rodents are dying they are slower and incoherent. This makes them walk around out in the open where dogs and cats can easily catch them.

Not All Rodenticides Are the Same

All rodenticides are not the same. The toxic ingredients are different for different brands. It is important to know which toxin the pet might have been exposed to. In general, there are the anticoagulant rodenticides and other types. The anticoagulant type is by far the most common. Fortunately, it has an antidote. Anticoagulant rodenticides work by interfering with clotting. Affected rodents basically bleed to death. Vitamin K is the antidote to anticoagulant rodenticide. It must be Vitamin K1. This is a prescription. Vitamin K3 is available over the counter and is much less expensive but won't cure the poison. They need to be on it at least 4 weeks, sometimes longer. If you catch your pet's exposure to rodenticide and know that no previous exposures were possible, don't panic. It generally takes at least 3 days for dangerous bleeding to start, sometimes a long as 7 days. Clotting tests are usually normal on the day of exposure. At the hospital, we would start Vitamin K1 and retest clotting in about a week to be sure it's still normal. Unfortunately, a lot of pets come to the hospital because they are already bleeding. It's not unusual for pet owners to have no knowledge of exposure to rodenticide. In one case, the neighbors put out bait and the dog got poisoned because the mice traveled to his yard before dying. In another case, the previous owners of the house put out bait, unbeknownst to the current owners. They'd lived in the house for over a decade. The dog found the bait because they moved things around in the garage, and the nose knows. One owner recalled that their dog had escaped the yard for a few hours a week prior to presentation.

A Little Bit of Good News

The other types of rodenticides kill in different ways. One causes brain damage and one causes kidney failure. Neither of these have a cure. Both can easily kill pets even with treatment. There is a little good news. Most pets will not be poisoned by eating a rodent that is dying of intoxication. They have to eat the bait itself. You can tell which type you have from reading the package. There will be no mention of using Vitamin K under the emergency/first aid section if the active ingredient is one of the other types. Pets will usually start to get sick within 24hr of exposure to these types of baits.

Use Traps Instead

Dr. Clary can't kill anything, so she uses mouse sized live traps she gets at Tractor Supply. She baits the traps with peanut butter. These traps catch mice or rats in a chamber that they can't get out of. She checks the traps daily. If something's caught, she drives the mice several miles from her house and dumps them in a field.

• The veterinarian must know the active ingredient to know what treatment is needed. Keep the package!
• It may take up to a week for dogs and cats who eat anticoagulant rodenticide, or a poisoned
• rodent, to start bleeding.
• The anticoagulant type of rodenticide has a cure. All others do not.
• Dogs and cats are far less likely to become ill eating a rodent intoxicated with rodenticides other than the anticoagulant type.
• Dogs and cats that eat bait that is not the anticoagulant type are much more likely to die of intoxication.

- Kim Clary, DVM, ABVP
kclary@ahrdvm.com
www.ahrdvm.com

Stone was a Bad Boy...

He ate the Customer Service Relations teams' employee appreciation gifts. A good reminder to all that chocolate and raisins are toxic to pets. He will be okay, but has 48 hours of fluids ahead of him. Poor Stone!


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Loving Kitty finds Loving Home...

Caring for Pet's Foundation does it again!

This cute boy shows up in a carrier on our doorstep....

We immediately love him and snuggle him to pieces.

Caring for Pets donates money to pay for him to be neutered (Thanks Dr. Carter!) and vaccinated.  We combo test him and he is negative for FIV and Feline Leukemia.  He learns to use the litter box with a little potting soil....

After his week stay at Animal Hospital of Rowlett, loving kitty gets adopted and goes to his new home where he is loved forever and ever!

Thanks Memory for finding this lovebug a home!

Read more about Caring for Pets Foundation including ways you can contribute funds for emergency, urgent, and non-elective veterinary care.

Kibble Chaos: What to do when the fear mongers come out

I am sure most of you have already read about the lawsuit filed in California last week against Nestle Purina by a concerned and grieving pet owner. This lawsuit claims that all three of the owner’s unrelated dogs became ill after consuming Beneful dog food, with one of them, an eight-year-old English Bulldog, dying from this mystery illness.

The lawsuit further alleges that an ingredient used in the food (propylene glycol) is toxic to dogs and that the grains were contaminated with mycotoxins. The lawsuit seeks to prove that both factors caused the dogs’ illness, or at the very least they seem to be trying to hammer Nestle Purina with enough bad PR through emotionally charge, but poorly detailed media reports that they will settle out of court.

Read more at the link below:

https://weethnutrition.wordpress.com/2015/03/03/kibble-chaos-what-to-do-when-the-fear-mongers-come-out/

Reeses Torn to Pieces! **Graphic Images**

Reeses Torn to Pieces - Dr Hurley and his Mom put him back together again. A story of time, TLC and healing.

Meet sweet Reeses....



He came to us on January 23 after he had been attacked by some other dogs...he snuck out of the fence and went to try to mate with a nice lady dog down the street.  Unfortunately, when he arrived, so had 2 other much larger male dogs.  The female and both males attacked sweet Reeses who came running home with very severe injuries.

Dr. Hurley placed him under sedation and gave lots of pain medications.  She placed drain tubes to keep the infection out and keep the pus/blood draining and started him on hydrotherapy, where we run warm water over the wounds and then bandage with honey to promote skin growth.  The following pictures are after the surgery and after he had been cleaned up from his wounds.

Reeses came back to the clinic for rechecks after his mommy did hydrotherapy at home.  His wounds had already started closing up and he looked great.  He is such a happy little guy...tail wagging all the time, even when he was hurt.  He licked up during hydrotherapy.  He is a doll.  We removed the drain tubes and let the wounds continue to heal.  They were actually looking great.

Reese's mommy sent us some new pictures of him after just 4 weeks from his original treatment.  His wounds are healing and the skin has grown over them so much already!  The huge open wounds from his leg are almost completely healed and the neck no longer has any open skin showing.  He is doing amazing and making a wonderful recovery.

Caring for Pets Foundation helped to cover the costs of rechecks, bandaging and a portion of the initial surgery so that Reeses could heal and be back to normal. We are happy his mommy brought him to us and that we were able to help him get back to a healthy pup!  He does not know it yet, but he is coming in for a neuter soon....so he doesn't try to roam and sneak off again to find a lady friend.  Yay Reeses!  We are so proud of you!

Sincerely,

Your AHR family

Here's more on the Caring for Pets Foundation and how you can help another pet receive critical care