I may have rescued Bernie…but he rescued me right back

Before I tell the tale of my yellow Labrador retriever Bernie, a little background is in order.  Before there was Bernie, there was Tiffany, an amazing yellow lab I adopted while I was still in college.  I had just come off a very rough break-up; split up with my high school sweetheart of nearly 6 years, and I was not in the best emotional state.  One day as my roommate at the time was perusing the classifieds at a time when we still read newspapers, he noticed that there were lab puppies for sale.  I had always wanted a lab, and since I had already been accepted to Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in the British West Indies (was headed there in the fall – at the time it was early winter), I wanted the responsibility that woulld come with a dog as part of my transition from college boy to veterinary student.  I also could have very much used the distraction to take my mind off my ex, while giving me a companion to take to a very unfamiliar place and institution.

As I arrived at the breeder’s house with my roommate to check out the puppies, I was attacked by playful puppies, licking every inch of me, each desperately vying for my attention.  There were 12 week old lab puppies of all colors, yellows, chocolates, and blacks, each beautiful with great personalities in their own respective ways.  But out of 12 puppies, one struck me far and above the rest.  Rather then cover me with puppy kisses, she was just patiently sitting in a back corner of the room looking at me, and only walked over to me when I called her over.  She was gorgeous, a light yellow that was almost blond, with bright hazel green eyes, and rather than lick me head to toe, she just calmly laid in my lap and darn near fell asleep as I pet her.  I looked at my roommate and he nodded in agreement without saying a word, that this was my dog, and the name that instantly came to me for her was Tiffany.

While I could gush on a on about Tiffany (eventually to be dubbed Tiffdog), I will just say that she was the smartest dog I ever had, potty trained within 2 days, and did not need a leash, as she always was glued to my side unless I threw something for her to fetch.  As a college bachelor, I did not have the knowledge to train her, nor the patience, but luckily for me, Tiffdog just virtually trained herself.

She became my most constant companion, ran at the park with me, went on errands, and loved to travel my parents’ house (my childhood home) when I went home some weekends to visit them (and also get some laundry done).  They fell in love with her too, in fact, everyone who knew her fell in love with her…even people that were not necessarily dog people.

In NJ, it was popular to throw in money with a bunch of friends to rent a shore house for the summer, and guess who our house dog was?  Oh, the hours I spent drinking beer while submerged in a baby pool with my dog on the front lawn of our house, and we would venture to splash in the wave at the dog friendly beach any chance we could (like many labs, Tiffdog was addicted to being in water).  She very my very best friend and most cherished companion.

Fast forward 8 1/2 years to June 2006, I had been a practicing veterinary for 4 years, owned my own practice on the Florida Space Coast, and married for 3 years to my wife Melissa.  We had no kids yet, so we had our “furry family” of three dogs and 2 cats, none more special than Tiffdog.  My wife had come to love Tiffdog dearly as well, as Tiffdog was a prominent participant of every step of our courtship and our lives together.

One day at work, a yellow lab puppy came in screaming in pain.  He was only 5 months old and had sustained a severe fracture across his growth plate, with the lower part of his humerus (upper arm bone) fractured into three fragments.  The puppy had never had any veterinary care, no vaccines, no deworming, never even an exam.  He was also covered in fleas.

The severity and complexity of the fracture required the expertise of a spet, but the owners could not even afford the fee to splint the arm to stabilize the fracture for transport to the referral hospital.  This was not surprising given that the puppy had never even had basic wellness care…a classic case of people adopting a dog with no consideration for the cost of caring for it properly.

The puppy, named Duke, was absolutely gorgeous, with huge feet and big ears, indicating that was going to be a very large dog one day, thus not surgically stabilizing this fracture properly would leave him lame for life, not to mention in severe chronic pain.  I decided to have the owners sign the puppy over to my hospital, with the intention to have the hospital pay for the orthopedic spet to surgically repair the limb, foster the puppy while we oversaw his post-operative rehabilitation, then find him a good home.

He had surgery the next morning, a 6 hour procedure that included 2 pins, a screw, and a bone plate to stabilize, and fixated with a Spica splint (a splint that immobilizes the front limb and kind of resembles a body cast).  My wife came with me the next day to take Duke home, as he barked and carried on as if I had been his owner all along, although I had only met him for one hour 48 hours earlier.  The technicians told us that he had not reacted to anyone walking into the ICU like that, and that I must be fated to be his new Daddy…even though that was not the plan.  My wife and I already had 5 pets in a 3 bedroom house, and we were not looking for more.  But the techs were right, and at that moment I had no intention of ever finding Duke a home other than my own, and my wife read my face and knew it as well.  Being big NY Yankees fans, we decided to give him a new name after the great Yankee, Bernie Williams, and Bernie was born.

But as graceful, intelligent and trainable as Tiffdog was, although he was innocent, sweet and loving as could be, he was goofy, not very smart, and not nearly as trainable.  Even potty training came slowly.  Thankfully we had Tiffdog to guide him and he emulated her as best he could.  Puppies in a “pack” benefit from learning from the older members, and Tiffdog was a model example.   But rather than feel annoyed by Bernie’s less than stellar intelligence, he was so loving, cuddly, and innocent, we found his goofiness was kind of endearing.

As fate would have it, within 2 weeks of Bernie moving in with us, Tiffdog started leaving some of her food it the bowl, something that was very unlike her, as she was typically a ravenous dog.  She also started to show weight loss and was not as playful as she typically was, so I decided to give her an examination…and that was when I discovered that all of Tiffdog’s lymph nodes were grossly enlarged.  My princess had lymphoma.

While at first I was devastated, this presentation of lymphoma in dogs was the most treatable, with remission rates with chemotherapy of 18 plus months at that time.  It was not a death sentence yet, and we use chemotherapy doses in dogs that are far more tolerable than we use in people, so side effects are in most cases minimal.  Tiffdog’s initial response was remarkable, 100% remission only 4 weeks into her treatment course.  Her appetite was back again, and she was even swimming and playful again.

Then week 5 came, and  the cumulative effects of her treatment lead to ulcerative colitis, a severe complication involving the large bowel.  I tried everything in my arsenal of medicine to treat it, to reduce her pain to no avail.  And one evening at 11 PM she was in so much unrelenting discomfort and she looked at me with such pleading desperation in her eyes, that I could not put her through it any longer.  My whole family who adored her as much as I, met me at my clinic at that late hour, and we all said goodbye  to my rock, my most cherish companion, my Tiffdog.

For those of you who have lost human friends and family, it may sound silly how hard I took the loss of Tiffdog.  I had lost a dear grandmother before that, another grandmother and 3 uncles since; but losing Tiffdog was the deepest level of grief I had ever experienced.  I felt like I’d lost a piece of myself, my fearless companion who was always my reliable constant through a period of my life that I had loved and lost, had friends come and go, was engrossed in study and learning, was embarking in a new career, and lived in many different places including an island in the British West Indies, all the while becoming a man.

I was married 3 years when Tiffdog passed, been a vet for 4 years, and a practice owner for 2 years.  I was comfortably settled with roots for the first time in my life, with talk between my wife and I of starting a family.  It seemed as if the Lord had put Tiffodg in my life to be my rock through all those years of constant change and emotional roller coaster, and now that she fulfilled her roll in my life, the time had come for her to go…but I was not ready to let her go.

I recall looking at Bernie a few days after Tiffdog had passed and feeling sad for him, because  although I loved him, he could never fill the shoes that Tiffdog had vacated, could never fill the void the loss of Tiffdog left in my heart.  As I looked away, he slowly army crawled to me on the couch and gently rested his head on my leg, as he looked up with the most sympathetic eyes I had ever seen since…Tiffdog and the way would look at me during times of sadness; and suddenly, everything changed.

I realized that my time with Tiffdog was a blessing bestowed on my life and I should celebrate those years rather than dwell on her loss.  I realized that although Bernie was not her, was nothing like her, he was beautiful inside and out in his own way.  He did not need to fill a place in my heart that Tiffdog left behind, because Tiffdog would always keep that place…Bernie would find a different place in my heart that was all his own.

From that moment on, Bernie was my constant companion and went with me everywhere, just as Tiffdog had done before.  He helped me through one of the toughest moments of my life, and has been at my side as I have welcomed my little son and daughter to our home.  A gentle giant so tolerant of and gentle with the children, he and the kids go hand in hand in the joy in my home.  When we have family swim time, Bernie is out there enjoying it with us as my son throws his Jolley Ball to fetch time and again.  The life I live with Bernie and my family at my side is very different from the life I had with Tiffdog, no more or less special, just different.  I am just as grateful to have my Bernie for this part of my life, as I am to have had Tiffdog for the part of my journey that she was at my side.

One of my favorite comedians and insightful speakers was the late George Carlin, a huge dog lover in his own right.  He once said that for those of us that love dogs, reflecting on one’s life as one approaches the twilight of one’s time on this earth, life really little more than a series of dogs, each one representing versions of you on the respective stretch of life’s journey that they were with you.

My first dog at 4 years old was Waldo, a cocker spaniel, who taught me the wonder and unconditional love of canines, and that they truly are man’s best friend  Then there was Stanley, another cocker spaniel who showed me the same, but taught me responsibility for another life during the otherwise generally self centered teenage years.  Tiffdog was my companion as I broke away from my childhood home, pursued higher learning, took on an exciting new career, became a man, and transitioned to marriage and a more settled life.

Bernie is in the part of my life of large responsibility, growing my business as I provide for my family, secure college funds, coach youth sports, and remain engaged with the community.  While I used to take long walks with Tiffdog just she and I, Bernie’s walks are accompanied by my 4 year old son, Austin walking our other smaller dog Lulu, me walking Bernie (Lulu is a whole other story fit for another blog post).

Life is different indeed, but it is all the better with Bernie walking this part of my journey with me.  In the end, we rescued each other.  Don’t pass up the opportunity to rescue an animals, for the one you may be rescuing ultimately is yourself.

Dr. Roger Welton is the President of Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne, FL and founder/CEO of Web-DVM.net.

A Day in the Life of a Practicing Veterinarian

We all have our preconceived notions of what the experiences of various careers are like.  Our notions may come in part from television, from books we may read, from hearsay, and what we may dream up in our own minds.  Veterinary medicine is no different.

As a practicing veterinarian for 11 plus years, I have heard many notions of what people think my work experience is like, and while it remains the most rewarding and enjoyable job I can conceive of and I am thankful every day for what I get to do for a living, I find that people tend to have an over glorified, over glamorous, and idealistic idea of what it is like to be a veterinarian.   Since a lot of my fans are students aspiring to be veterinarians or vet techs and because I have gotten a lot of general feedback that such an episode would be fun and interesting for many of you, tonight, I endeavor to outline the typical day in the life of a general veterinarian.

Now mind you, there will be some variation from veterinarian to veterinarian, as not all will be just like me in their daily ritual, but having worked in several facilities during my career and having known a lot of different veterinarians along the way, I have found we that all tend to share some general similarities.  Also, I am giving you the perspective of a small animal general practice veterinarian…so bear in mind that the typical day of a large animal veterinarian or spet may be quite different.

8:45 AM – Morning Rounds.

Rounds is the time when doctors conference with the veterinary technicians who are responsible for treating in-hospital cases and prepping patients for surgery.  Technicians will alert the doctor of all vital stats, demeanor and physical examination findings, improvement/worsening of clinical signs, appetite, etc.  The doctor with then follow up with a physical examination of his/her own and make adjustments to the treatment protocol, stay the course, or recommend discharge.

Morning drop off surgery cases are examined by the admitting technicians and all recommended pre-operative diagnostics are performed by the technicians, such as pre-operative blood work and clotting profiles, x-rays, EKG and blood pressure.  Once all physical examination findings are documented and all test results are in, the technician will conference with the attending veterinarian.  The veterinarian will interpret all of the data, possibly re-check physical examination, and then make recommendations for pre-anesthesia injections, induction and intra-operative fluid protocols.

9:00 AM-ish – Surgery, dentistry, other procedures.

Most veterinarians – me included – prefer to perform surgery and procedures in the morning.  Patients that are to go under anesthesia or be sedated have been fasted overnight and not fed any breakfast, so it is nicer to our patients to have their procedures done ASAP and not make them linger hungry for too long.  Also, since our procedures are elective in nature for the most part. Most general practices are not 24 hour facilities, so most find it medically expedient to have surgery done in the morning so that the patients can be monitored throughout the rest of the day while the hospital is fully staffed.

I will also perform acupuncture and therapy laser treatments in the morning, as well as any time consuming diagnostic procedures, such as ultrasound and non-routine x-rays that require sedation, etc.

Noon-ish – Lunch, lab reports, call backs.

Lunch time tends to be a great deal more than eating lunch for the practicing veterinarian.  While a peaceful meal is occasionally an option, more commonly we utilize this time to review outpatient lab work and make client call backs.

Call backs most commonly consist of reporting lab work results, answering questions clients may have about a given set of results, treatment course, or ongoing management of health issues.  Having the distinction of being a practice owner, my call backs also sometimes involve disgruntled clients.

Although call backs and eating are the primary goal over the lunch break, lunch time is commonly a time when pharmaceutical reps will wish to come in to educate us about a the launch of a new medical product line, or provide us useful information on updates regarding existing products.  Since the reps will commonly bring in lunch for the doctors and staff, such an event is called a “lunch and learn.”

2:00 PM – 5 PM – appointments.

Afternoon appointment slots are for patients who are sick, injured, or are due for their yearly physical examination, stool analysis, heartworm screening, and vaccines.  Not every general practice sees urgent and critical care cases, but my hospital does, so emergency visits are not uncommon.  If the patients are stable enough to be hospitalized in a non-24 hour facility, then we will hospitalize them.  If they are critical or unstable, we will recommend overnight hospitalization at a 24 hour critical care facility.  We may still hospitalize a patient if the owner cannot afford referral to a 24 hour facility, but we make it clear that it is a bit of a gamble with no one in the hospital overnight.

5:00 PM – after hours

One day of the week, my hospital is open until 8:00 PM for people who work from 9-5 on weekdays and cannot arrange for their pet to be brought in during regular business hours.  The rest of the week, our day technically ends at 5:00 PM.  However, since pets do not always get sick or injured in a timely fashion or during business hours, we commonly will take overbooks that will keep us in the hospital beyond business hours.  With after hours veterinary care coming at a significantly higher cost than general practice, pet owners are often urgently trying to have their pet seen at a general practice if at all possible.

We will also sometimes approve critical after hours surgeries and other emergency procedures.  Although these cases are much more suited to being addressed in a 24 hour facility, we will make the best accommodations we can for pet owners that cannot afford the higher cost of after hours care.

Once all appointments have been seen and procedures completed and/or discharged, the technicians will report vital stats and other pertinent information about in house cases.  The doctor will then review each case and perform his/her own physical exam if indicated, then confirm orders for all in hospital patient.

Then we all go home to do it all again in the morning.

Dr. Roger Welton is the President of Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne, FL and founder/CEO of Web-DVM.net.

 

Pet Poisonings a Common Occurrence in the Home

According to veterinary industry experts that track incidences of poisoning cases in dogs and cats, hundreds of thousands of pets suffer from poisoning from household items in the home each year.  Between the Pet Poison Helpline and the Animal Poison Control Center of the ASPCA, over 300,000 calls of suspect pet poisonings are logged per year.

Both of these sources show that the majority of these cases of canine and feline poisoning are from over the counter medications, such as Tylenol, Advil, aspirin, other anti-inflammatory pain medications, and prescription drugs pet owners may have in the home to treat any number of human health problems.   Many of these cases of poisoning are the result of the pet being sneaky and getting into these medications one way or another, but far too often, it is the result of pet owners intending to self treat the pet for whatever he/she perceives may be wrong with the pet.  With very different metabolisms and body weights that may significantly affect dosing considerations for dogs and cats, these drugs can reach levels of severe toxicity in a very short period of time.  Lesson 1 to take away from the post is, the first and most important way to prevent poisoning of the pet in the home is to REFRAIN FROM SELF TREATING YOUR PET, and only give over the counter medications under the direct supervision of advice from a veterinarian.

Next on the list are products actually made for pets to prevent insect or ectoparasite infestations on the pets.  While most topical pet insect control medications are safe for use in pets, pet owner misuse of these products commonly leads to poisoning.  From purchasing the wrong strength and/or volume (strength/volume of these products are usually based on pet’s weight) to using the product on the wrong species or applying doses too often; used improperly, insecticides can lead to severe health consequences.  In a recent example of an insecticide topical that led to poisoning in my own hospital, a pet owner decided that she would save money by buying the dog strength of a particular topical preventive, but use smaller amounts on her cat in order to spread its use a longer period of time.  That kitty ended up coming in on an emergency visit because of severe muscle tremors that resulted from using the dog strength, albeit smaller amount of the insecticide.  Lesson 2: USE ALL PET MEDICATIONS AS DIRECTED and do not deviate from label directions, while being certain to use medication designed for the appropriate weight and species.

Lastly, most pet owners have at some point been lectured by a veterinarian or even other pet owners about the dangers of feeding “people food” or food from the table.  This danger does not just include predilection to obesity, pancreatitis, and GI disturbance, but also includes outright  poisoning.   Some foods are just not tolerated by dogs and cats.  For example, the ingestion of garlic and onions can lead to red blood cell abnormalities in dogs and cats.  Chocolate ingestion may lead to the development of severe heart arrhythmias in dogs and cats; the artificial sweetener Xylitol found in many desert items and cookies is implicated in liver failure and death in dogs.  Other potentially toxic foods include macadamia nuts, grapes, and raisins.  Lesson 3 for preventing poisoning in dogs and cats: REFRAIN FROM FEEDING PEOPLE FOOD.

Lower on the pet poisoning list are other household items such as cleaners, deodorizers, detergents, automotive chemicals, and painting supplies.   Like naughty little toddlers that can get into these items if they are not well secured, pets may experience accidental poisoning if they ingest these products.  This brings us to our final lesson for prevention of pet poisoning: PET PROOF YOUR HOME AS YOU WOULD BABY PROOF IT by keeping all potentially dangerous household chemicals safely secured away from access by your pets.

Accidents happen and pet poisoning will never be 100% preventable.  However, by following a few simple common sense strategies, the risk of pet poisoning in your own home can be decreased considerably.

Dr. Roger Welton is the President of Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne, FL and founder/CEO of Web-DVM.net.

A Dog’s (Cat’s) Last Will and Testament

I hear all to often as pet owners deal with the pain of the final moments of their pets’ lives, pet owners proclaim that they will never have another pet again.  Their beloved dogs and cats have become such a fabric of their home and everyday life, that losing them can be one of the most grief filled moments of their lives.  I know, I have been there myself many times.  But pet owners experience the end of life of a beloved pet and can be so overcome with grief that they will tell me that they will never adopt another again, for the pain of losing them is far too much.

While I can certainly understand why people would feel this way in the midst of their grief, let us try to take a look at this from two perspectives.  First, let us look at the side of the consequences when a loving, dedicated pet owner or pet owning family takes their loving home out of the pool for a final destination for an seemingly endless number of homeless dogs and cats.  I recently saw a post on Facebook called “A Dog’s Last Will and Testament.”  The author is listed as unknown everywhere I have seen this, but this short statement is so moving, it sums up my point better that anything I would write.  Substitute the word cat for dog, and it applies to any beloved feline just the same:

Before humans die, they write their last Will & Testament, give their home and all they have, to those they leave behind. If with my paws, I could do the same, this is what I’d ask…

To a poor and lonely stray I’d give:

 

-My happy home.

-My bowl and cozy bed, soft pillows and all my toys.

-The lap, which I loved so much.

-The hand that stroked my fur and the sweet voice which spoke my name.

 

I’d Will to the sad, scared shelter dog, the place I had in my

human’s loving heart, of which there seemed no bounds.

 

So, when I die, please do not say, “I will never have a

pet again, for the loss and pain is more than I can stand.”

 

Instead, go find an unloved dog, one whose life has

held no joy or hope and give MY place to HIM.

This is the only thing I can give…

The love I left behind.

The other important perspective to consider when making a such a proclamation is to take stock of one’s life and be realistic about endeavoring to save oneself the pain of future loss by sacrificing unconditional love and joy in the present.  Where does one draw the line?  Do we not nurture friendships because one day our friends may move away or die?  Do we not marry because one day we may have to endure the pain of divorce or death of a spouse one day?  Do we not have children because they will one day have to face the death of their parents, or because we fear what could happen to them in a dangerous and unpredictable world?

Living in fear of loss is not living at all.  While losing my beloved pets have been some of the lowest moments of my life, I would rather face the pain of loss than deny myself the many years of joy I spend with them in between.  No household nor family is complete without the sound of paws in the floor, the wonderful greeting one gets as one returns from work, the endless snuggle time on the couch, the unconditional love that means so much when the stresses of life rear their ugly head.

Our pets are one of the greatest blessings of humanity.  Do not deny yourself that blessing for fear of loss.

Dr. Roger Welton is the President of Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne, FL and founder/CEO of Web-DVM.net.

Spring Time is Here and With It, New Dangers for Pets

 

We all love spring time.  The weather warms, daylight hours increase, new plant life and leaves on trees begin to grow, our lawns begin to thrive again, and all of our spirits just rise with more time outdoors and the world around us teaming with life.  Indeed, it is a time to celebrate and feel lucky to be alive, however, with regard to our dogs and cats, we need to be careful about dangers that spring time brings with it.

The first and most prevalent of all dangers is external parasites, namely, fleas and ticks.  Fleas and ticks do not only cause direct irritation of skin through their bites, irritation that can become severe and result in secondary hair loss and skin infections, but they also spread disease.  In both dogs and cats, fleas can transmit the microscopic larvae of a species tapeworm that infects the gut causing GI disturbance and ill thrift from nutrient leaching.

In cats, fleas can transmit a dangerous bacteria known as Bartonella.  Bartonella can manifest in many different forms of disease, including infections and ulcerations of the mouth, respiratory infection, and urinary tract infection to name a few.  Feline carriers of certain strain of Bartonella may transmit Cat Scratch Fever to humans susceptible to it.  Cat Scratch Fever is capable of causing a potentially severe disease  complex in certain people.  Even if you have a a gentle kitty not prone to scratching out of fear or intolerance, cat scratches still occur all the time that are not necessarily intentional, such as when a kitty may be on one’s lap and gets startled and jumps off.

While dogs and cats will not contract disease, fleas are carriers of Yersinia Pestis, the bacteria responsible for the Black Plague, making flea infestations on our dogs and cats a danger to the human members of the family.  A small but still troubling number of people contract plague each year, with young children and the elderly being the most susceptible.

Ticks can transmit a number of serious bacterial infections in dogs, including Lyme Disease, Anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and Ehrlichiosis.  These diseases cause a number of severe disease manifestations including severe fever, muscle and joint pain, severe listlessness and death if left untreated.  In cats ticks can transmit a blood parasite called Hemobartonella, which can lead to anemia, sometimes severe in nature.

With warming weather and increased spring rains comes a resurgence of mosquitoes.  Mosquitoes are not just pests due to the sting and subsequent irritation the stings leave on the skin, but they transmit mircofilaria, the infective larval stage of deadly heartworm disease in dogs and cats.  While dogs are the definitive host where the larvae mature to adult heartworms that colonize the right side of the heart, heartworm infection can reach a semi-mature stage of larval development in cats that can lead to chronic inflammatory airway disease and dangerous clot formations.

Warm weather and precipitation also awaken dormant forms of all manners of intestinal parasites that infect dogs and cats, from protozoal parasites like coccidia and giardia, to worm parasites, like hookworms, roundworms, and whipworms.  These parasites cause diarrhea, cramping, ill thrift from leaching of nutrients, and possible dangerous structural and vascular disease of the GI tract in dogs and cats.  Roundworms can be transmitted to people as well, posing a danger to small children, the elderly, and immune suppressed people (congenital poor immune system, cancer patents, HIV patients, etc.).  In these individuals, roundworms can reach a larval stage that can travel in skin tissue causing severe irritation and itchiness.  They can also reach an ocular migration state in young children, where they migrate to eyes and cause blindness, a potential tragedy for children aged infant to up to 5 years of age.

Pet owners can easily see that, while spring time heralds in a more enjoyable time and quality of life for both pets and people, there are hidden dangers that call for vigilance and precaution.  Luckily, veterinary medicine offers an array of preventive solutions to keep your pets and family safe this warm weather season.

For prevention of flea, ticks, heartworm disease, and intestinal parasites, the veterinary industry offers an array of topical and oral products that effectively prevent these pesky and potentially dangerous pests.  Veterinary pharmaceutical companies like Elanco and Pfizer have pioneered “all in one” preventive products that cover against multiple external and internal parasites.  However, be certain to ask your veterinarian before purchasing any parasite preventives, as not all are created equal with regard to safety and effectiveness.  Pet store grade products can be especially ineffective and even dangerous for your pets.

Yearly to semi yearly heartworm blood screening and stool analysis for intestinal parasite screening are an essential component to keeping your pets and family safe.  These simple and inexpensive diagnostics enable early screening of parasitic infestations that give us the opportunity to have them treated before pets become very ill or members of the human family are at serious risk.  Most importantly, a comprehensive relationship with your family veterinarian will keep you and your family current on pet disease risk in your geographic area, as well as kept informed of the most current modalities to treat for and prevent them.

Dr. Roger Welton is the President of Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne, FL and founder/CEO of Web-DVM.net.

Dog Breed Banning Legislation is Misguided and Wrong

I am coming to you in print only again this evening…although the bulk of my cold has passed, my voice is still hoarse and 30 minutes of non-stop talking is not what the doctor ordered.  At any rate, tonight I am discussing a troubling trend here in my home state of Florida, but a trend that is also happening in other municipalities across the country: the legal banning of pit bull, pit bull mix dogs, and other select breeds.  The aim of such legislation is to stem the tide of dog violence in the form of cruel dog fighting for sport, as well as the potential harm these dogs can inflict on people when trained as attack dogs.  The thought process behind such legislation is that these dogs were bred for the sole purpose of aggression, and that they present a danger to the community.  Other communities have taken breed bans even further to include Rottweilers, Doberman Pinschers, German Shepherds, and other breeds.

While it is true that these and some other breeds of dog are absolutely capable of inflicting serious harm to other animals and people, especially to small children, banning them does not address the real problem: the cruel, sadistic human element that abuses and torments these dogs to fight or attack.  It also unfairly targets thousands of these dogs who are gentle, loved members of many families.

While it is true that some individual dogs may have deep seeded aggression issues that may result from unethical breeding, poor socialization or other factors, for the most part, a dog’s temperament is determined by how it is treated by the people who raise it.  If a dog is loved, nurtured, and well socialized from a young age, it is likely that dog will be a gentle dog, regardless of breed.  Case in point, the vast majority of pit bulls that I see in clinical practice enter the exam room wagging their tails and licking us from head to toe.  Many regularly stay as welcomed guests in our boarding kennel and spend time with their owners frequenting the dog beach to play with other dogs.  These dogs are no more a threat to society than my Labrador Retriever and Border Collie are.  Should families be forced to give up these gentle furry family members because others are turned dangerous by abuse and torment at the hands of people who are intent on making them that way?

The truth is, with enough abuse and torment, any breed of dog can be turned dangerous and/or be trained to fight.  Pit Bulls just happen to be the ones most commonly chosen because of their musculature, notariety and the strength of their bite.  But what happens when law makers are successful in instituting a ban?  Are they so deluded that they think this will stop the problem?

First of all, keeping law abiding citizens from owning Pit Bulls and other “dangerous” breeds of dog that seek them for companionship, is not likely to keep criminals from owning them for the purposes of guarding their meth labs and crack houses, or for fighting them for sport.  Criminals by their nature do not refrain from owning or doing something simply because it is against the law to do so.

But let us say that hypothetically that criminals were deterred from owning Pit Bulls.  Would this really keep us all safer from dog violence?  Of course it would not.   If Pit Bulls were successfully banned, then they would use American Bulldogs.  If American Bulldogs were banned, they would use Bandogs.  If Bandogs were banned, they would use Boerboels.  If Boerboels were banned, they would use any one of many variations of Mastiff that have historically been used as guard or fighting dogs (Presa Canario, Fila Brasiliaro, Japanese Tosa Inu, etc.)…and so on.

If a vicious beast is what a criminal or sadistic person endeavors to possess, then he will stop at nothing to attain one to turn to his sinister purposes, no matter how many breeds of dog get banned.  Meanwhile, otherwise gentle dogs and the families that love them as a vital part of their family dynamic will pay the price for the cruelty of others.  It simply is not fair, and it will in the end do nothing to quell dog related violence.

A much better idea would be to make penalties for pit fighting far more severe than they currently are in most states and on a federal level, while making dog owners criminally accountable for the actions of their dogs.  This brings me to another point that I believe should also be the law of the land: in order to own any dog (and cat for that matter), it should be mandatory to have that pet micro chipped.  Therefore, anything that occurs with the dog throughout the course of its life, whether it is abused, abandoned, is sold for pit fighting, or inflicts injury on a person, somebody will and should be held accountable.

Banning dog breeds is not the answer to reducing dog violence.  All that will serve to do accomplish is hurting responsibly dogs owners, their dogs, and their families.  Holding the people who turn dogs into monsters for their own sinister purposes criminally accountable for the actions of their dogs is the only effective way to prevent dog violence.

Dr. Roger Welton is the President of Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne, FL and founder/CEO of Web-DVM.net.

The Rise of Leptospirosis in Dogs

I am addressing you only by print today, as I am under the weather and have no voice for my podcast tonight.  However, the message I have to offer you this week may save your dog’s life one day, so I implore you to please read on…

Leptospira is a type of bacteria known as a spirochete.  Spirochetes are motile bacteria, that is, they have a means of self propulsion in liquid media.  Leptospira in particular persist for long periods in fresh standing water (puddles, wet soil, lakes, rivers, streams, etc.).  Some strains are known to live in water outside of a host for as long as 6 months.

Its persistence in the environment is an especially troubling aspect of leptospirosis, because it is transmitted through the urine of most mammalian species.  It is especially prevalent in wild squirrel populations, posing a serious threat to to canines that come in contact with infected urine, who in turn can transmit the disease to their human family.  Children are particularly vulnerable to infection from the family dog.  Therefore, leptospirosis falls into category of diseases that can be transmitted to people: zoonotic diseases.

Once it enters the host, leptospira has an affinity for the liver and kidneys.  Initial signs of disease are lethargy, poor to no appetite, and a jaundiced (yellow) appearance to the whites of the eyes, skin, and gums.  As the disease progresses, severe fever, vomiting, dehydration, and shock set in as the liver and kidneys begin to fail.  Once the patient is compromised from active infection, leptospirosis carries a high mortality rate, with 30% – 40% fatality even with aggressive treatment.  Treatment consist of high doses of IV fluids, antibiotics, GI, liver and kidney protectants.

Luckily, a very effective vaccine for leptospirosis exists for dogs.  However, in a well intentioned but perhaps in some cases overzealous push to reduce vaccine schedules, leptospirosis vaccine administration has dropped substantially, and as a result, leptospirosis incidence is rising to a troubling level.  For example, whereas in the past I did not tyically see more than one case per year if that, my veterinary hospital has recently seen 2 cases within one week of one another.  This increased frequency of disease in my hospital is no coincidence, as national statistics are reflecting a sharp increase in the incidence of disease.  And although leptospirosis is more prevalent in tropical and subtropical climates, the increase in the incidence of disease is increasing regardless of climate in places like the eastern seaboard as far north as Maine, in the midwest and even in western states.  Basically wherever there is fresh water and wild rodent populations, there is a leptospirosis risk.

As my previous posts have indicated, I am very open to alternative medicine and holistic care where appropriate, as well as utilizing immunology reasearch to reduce vaccine frequency.  However, in our effort to limit vaccine frequency, we must continue to toe the line of adequate protection while making our best effort to avoid over-vaccinating patients whenever possible.  While we underestimated the endemic impact of leptospirosis, partly by getting a bit overzealously swept up in vaccine reform, we now have strong evidence that the risk of disease far outweighs the risk of vaccinating against leprospirosis.  As such, the doctors in my hospital have engaged in a push toward getting more dogs covered with the leptospirosis vaccine.

Dr. Roger Welton is the President of Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne, FL and founder/CEO of Web-DVM.net.

Anesthesia Free Pet Dentistry Brushes with the Law

On its surface, one may hear of the notion of anesthesia free pet dentistry and have their interest instantly piqued!  “Why, a dental for my pet without the need for general anesthesia?  That sounds great!”  Of course it sounds great, but like most other things that seem too good to be true, anesthesia free pet dentistry most certainly is too good to be true.  But unfortunately, it has not stopped thousands of shysters across the country from giving it a try and in the process hurting pets….and seriously breaking the law.

Anesthesia free dentistry is mostly offered by groomers wishing to expand their services.  These groomers are engaging in this activity without a veterinary medical license of any kind, without the supervision of a licensed veterinarian, and essentially winging a highly technical health maintenance procedure of the utmost importance.

Since most dogs will not simply open up and say “AH” as their teeth are scraped with a currette, groomers simply take advantage of the whole “perception is reality” aspect of customer service.  With patience and tenacity, they can often manage to scale off calculus from the most visible teeth (canines, incisors, and front premolars) on the surface that is visible to the owner (the buccal surface).   However, they are largely unable to scale the teeth far in the back of the mouth (the rear premolars and molars), nor can they successfully scale the inner surfaces of the teeth (the lingual surface).  When the pet is discharged back to the owner, the groomer shows off the newly white teeth and is the hero for saving the Fluffy from an expensive and unnecessary anesthetic procedure.

Only here is what the pet owner does not see or know:

– There is tartar and calculus remaining on the non-visible rear teeth, as well as the non-visible lingual surfaces of virtually every tooth on the pet’s mouth.

– Having no knowlege of dentistry, the groomer has not probed for pockets that form between the teeth and gums as a veterinary technician would have done.  These so called gingival pockets are regions of detachment of the gum tissue from underlying bone.  While gingival pockets of 3mm or smaller will generally re-attach after scaling, pockets of 5 mm or greater may not.  For these large pockets, dental x-rays must be taken to check to see if the tooth root is still viable.  If it is viable, then deep curretting of the root is necessary to achieve rettachment, something that would be excriciatingly painful with anesthesia.  If the root is not viable, to prevent chronic pain and ongoing loss of the jaw bone, the tooth must be extracted.

– Scaling done without follow up polishing leaves surface scores on the tooth surface.  These scores will actually serve as a matrix for tartar to reform faster.  Polishing with a highspeed polisher and polishing paste smooths out these scores – you can think of it as going from rough sandpaper to smooth sand paper for fine detailed woodwork.

Despite all this the pet owner leaves happy, for the teeth look cleaner; but Fluffy goes home with a mouth virtually as infected, calculus ridden, and possibly as painful as before she arrived.  The overall health consequence of dental disease are not alleviated, and at some point, Fluffy will need to have a serious amount of oral surgery to get her mouth healthy…and hopefully in the process, she does not sustain immune suppression, infection seeded into other tissues such as kidneys and heart, or pathological fractures of the jaw bone.  What Fluffy’s owners are also largely not aware of is that groomers who are offering these low rate services are in violation of the law.

Think about it, would you go to a barber shop or hair salon to have your teeth professionally cleaned and examined?  It is no different for pets.  Do yourself and your pets a favor and refrain from allowing these unlicensed, unqualified people to unlawfully and unethically practice dentistry on your pets’ teeth.  Have their teeth instead cleaned and inspected safely under the expertise of a licensed veterinarian and veterinary technician.

Dr. Roger Welton is the President of Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne, FL and founder/CEO of Web-DVM.net.

Why Not Alternative Medicine? (Part 3 of a 3 Part Series)

In this final episode covering the use of alternative medicine in every day practice, I will be offering 3 real case examples of how I have used integrative medicine, that is, the combination of both western and alternative medicine, to treat each respective patient.

Case # 1: 8 year old female Australian Shepherd presented with severe pain and paralysis of the rear limbs. The pain was localized to the thoracolumbar spine (mid-back), and spinal x-rays and examination determined that she had likely herniated 3 intervertebral disks in her back.

The western approach:

This dog needed immediate pain relief and reduction of inflammation to try to free up some of the compression of the spinal cord causing pain and paralysis of the rear limbs. I gave a muscle relaxer and steroid injection intravenously, as well as an injection of a morphine derivative pain reliever.

The alternative approach:

The dog was given a low level laser treatment over the injured region of her back, as well as a an anti-inflammatory, connective tissue restoring and anti-inflammatory nutraceutical injection called Adequan.  Over the course of 3 weeks, the patient received a total of 6 of these treatments.  By laser/adequan treatment 4, the dog had regained full function of her rear limbs and was pain free.  By treatment 6, we had weaned off all steroids, muscle relaxers, and pain medications.  We later integrated acupuncture into her alternative management plan, put her on hte precription Hills J/D diet to support her musculoskeletal system, and she continues to come in for alternating laser and acupuncture maintenance treatment.

Case # 2: Cat fell asleep on the owner’s RV engine and suffered severe head trauma, severe burn wounds, and full body lacerations from the engine.

The western approach

Patient was in a near comatose state when she presented, and she also had sustained severe blood loss.  Supportive care was the first priority, so she was given shock doses of intravenous fluids, a blood transfusion, and dopamine to increase her blood pressure, and a morphine derivative injection for pain relief.  She was then fitted with a morphine derivative pain patch to provide long term pain relief.  Given the contaminated nature of her wounds and the nature off her wounds being very prone to infection, she was put on 2 intravenous antibiotics.

Despite the alternative therapies described below, the patient also had to undergo 2 surgical procedures to amputate necrotic toes and trim away necrotic tissue from the tips of her ears.

The alternative approach

In order to facilitate healing of the burn wounds and lacerations, she was given 3 therapy laser treatments per week for a month, as well as spent time in a hyperbaric chamber.  She was given a sea salt/seaweed , soothing naturally antibacterial spray.  She was and continues to be fed a diet supplemented with omega-3-fatty acids for their anti-inflammatory properties and for that fact that they also condition and nourish the skin.  Despite missing most of her toes, she was able to keep her central pads and gets around remarkably well.  There was no irreversible brain damage and her burn wounds not only healed, but she regrew most of her hair.

Case # 3: 8 year male neutered King Charles Cavalier Spaniel presented with vomiting and not eating or drinking for 48 hours.  On presentation, he was jaundiced (yellow pallor to the whites of his eyes, his gums and skin) and severely dehydrated.

The western approach

The patient was immediately started on shock doses of intravenous fluids, antibiotics, and anti-nausea/GI protective medication.  The combination of blood work, x-rays, ultrasound, plus ultrasound guided needle aspirates of his liver, yielded a diagnosis of chronic active hepatitis, a debilitating inflammatory disease of dogs.  With this confirmed diagnosis, I added a steroid to his medical regimen, as well as a gall bladder contractile agent to flush his gall ballder and liver.  He was discharged on an oral steroid and gall bladder contractile agent for long term maintenance care.

The alternative approach

In addition to the long term maintenance therapies that the patient was sent home with for long term treatment, from the alternative side, he was also discharged on a supplement with milk thistle and SAM-E, as well as an omega-3-fatty acid supplement.  His diet was a liver sparing and nourishing prescription formulation from Hills call L/D.  The diet is fortified with vitamin E and other powerful free radical scavengers, is highly digestible, and reduces the workload of the liver by providing protein of high biological value (protein that is mostly utilized by the body with little excreted as waste).  The patient maintained excellent quality of life for 3 more years until he succumbed to disease at the age of 11.  Given the gravity of this disease, average life expectancy beyond diagnosis is 9-12 months…he more than tripled that life expectancy.

Ladies and gentlemen, integrative medicine, the combination of both alternative and western medicine is what is best both for us and our pets.  These cases are just a few amoung thousands of cases that I have used integrative medicine to treat and manage very serious disease.  Although integrative medicine is still a fledgling field in the human medicine because of insurance companies not covering most alternative modalities, because of ego, and because of simply obstinate health care providers; it is gaining momentum in veterinary medicine.  Practitioners of integrative veterinary medicine are out there and numbers are increasing every day.  Take the time to find these kinds of practitioners…your pets will live longer lives with better quality for it.

Dr. Roger Welton is the President of Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne, FL and founder/CEO of Web-DVM.net.

 

Why Not Alternative Medicine? (Part 2 of a 3 Part Series)

Now that I have established the contrast between traditional western versus alternative veterinary medicine and highlighted the main reasons for our culture’s resistance to alternative medicine, I would like to get into the science of how and why various alternative treatment modalities work.  Please bear in mind that I will only be delving into only alternative therapies that I am familiar with and integrate as a part of daily practice.  Always looking to increase my repertoire of medical advances, both western and alternative, I plan on continuing my training in all aspects of medicine to offer more treatment options for my patients.  These are the main alternative treatment options I currently integrate for wellness and disease management in my patients:

Nutraceutical therapy:

Nutraceutical is a term that refers to pharmaceutical grade nutrient health supplements.  The reason pharmaceutical grade is a very important aspect in consideration of these kinds of products is that these types of health products are not FDA regulated, meaning, there is no governing body overseeing the integrity of their quality.  As such, there are alot of these types of products out there that do not have the quantities of the given ingredients that they claim, they may have the ingredients that are not processed properly to be optimally absorbed in the gut, make contain rancid products (as is often the case with fish oil supplements), or may not even have any aspect of the ingredients they claim altogether.  A few years back, DVM News Magazine conducted a random study of canine and feline joint health supplements sold over the counter at pet stores and online and found that, astonishingly, only one in four products had the ingredients that they claimed.   It was at once a troubling and telling expose of the pet industry as a whole.

So how does one avoid buying sub par quality nutraceuticals?  Ask your veterinarian.  As pet health providers, we work with and are aware of companies that have long established reputations for quality and offer transparent quality control and analysis.  These companies generally are pharmaceuticals that stand to lose a great deal if they were found to be selling bogus products.  In the case of my hospital, we work with a private lab to produce our own brand of health supplements, shampoos, and topicals to ensure that we choose what ingredients go into our products, as well as have oversight of the production and quality control.

Milk Thistle

Milk thistle is an herb that has regenerative capabilities with regard to the liver.  One can think of the liver kind of like a star fish.  If it gets damaged or loses functional tissue due to disease, it can regrow and replace the damaged portions of liver with new health liver tissue.  Mild thistle facilitates that process and therefore should be an integral component of any chronic liver disease treatment protocol.

SAM-E (S-Adenosyl Methionine)  

SAM-E is a compound that, similarly to milk thistle, has regenerative and anti-inflammatory properties with regard to the liver, properties that work synergistically when used in combination with milk thistle.  SAM-E also has anti-inflammatory activity at the level of the nervous system and therefore can be helpful in cases of cognitive dysfunction and neurological pain associated with spinal disk disease and diabetes.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is a powerful anti-oxidant, and is therefore very useful in conditions where there are disease processes that lead to large amounts of free radical creation in the body. Free radicals cause oxidative damage to cells and tissue.  Vitamin E is therefore an very helpful component in treatment of cognitive dysfunction, chronic liver disease, chronic kidney disease,  and cancer.

Vitamin E also promotes the movement of oxygen, making it invaluable in the treatment of circulatory and heart disease.  Finally, Vitamin E aids in the repair of connective tissues, thereby being helpful in cases of arthritis, vascular disease, and spinal disk disease.

Glucosamine

This a molecule that is an integral component of normal, healthy cartilage and synovial fluid within the joint.  Giving this supplement therefore helps to repair damaged cartilage and increases joint fluid production within the joint to provide relief from arthritis, degenerative joint disease, and other inflammatory conditions of the musculoskeletal system.

MSM (methoxysulfonylmethane)

The exact mechanism is no known, but data suggests that it has an anti-inflammatory affect on the body, especially in the joints.  As such, it is used in the management of osteoarthritis and other inflammatory conditions of the joints.

Bromelain 

Involved in collagen synthesis and is therefore useful in treating arthritis, degenerative spinal disk disease, and other cases where damaged cartilage or other connective tissues are involved.

Chondroitin

A major component of normal, health cartilage and therefore helps with treatment of arthritis.

Vitamin C

A powerful anti-oxidant and therefore helpful in any condition that leads to free radical creation: chronic liver disease, chronic kidney disease, cancer, arthritis, skin disease, endocrine disease.

Omega-3-fatty acids

From my point of view, this is the mack daddy of all nutritional supplements.  Derived from fish oils and certain omega-3 rich vegetables, omega-3-fatty acids are a powerful anti-inflammtory at the level of most tissues in the body.  A key component to the cell membrane, omega-3-fatty acids are also invaulable in the repair of damaged or compromised tissues.  From cognitive dysfunction and dementia, to chronic allergy at the level of the gut, skin, and circulatory system, this nutrional supplement should be part of any animal’s diet.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture may be defined as the insertion of needles into specific points on the body to produce a healing response. Each acupuncture point has specific actions when stimulated. This technique has been used in veterinary practice in China for thousands of years to treat many ailments. The Chinese also use acupuncture as preventative medicine. Acupuncture is used all around the world, either along or in conjunction with Western medicine, to treat a wide variety of conditions in every species of animal. Clinical research has been conducted showing positive results in the treatment of both animals and humans, and the use of acupuncture is increasing. Acupuncture will not cure every condition, but it can work very well when it is indicated.

Acupuncture is indicated for functional problems such as those that involve paralysis, noninfectious inflammation (such as allergies), and pain. For small animals, the following are some of the general conditions which may be treated with acupuncture:

• Musculoskeletal problems, such as arthritis, intervertebral disk disease, or traumatic nerve injury
• Respiratory problems, such as feline asthma
• Skin problems such as lick granulomas and allergic dermatitis
• Gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea
• Selected reproductive problems

Low Level Laser (Cold Laser)

MLS Therapy is a new therapy for treating pain, inflammation, swelling, and for repairing injured tissues.  With regard to pain reduction, the therapy laser stimulates the synthesis of pain reducing biochemicals in the body, specifically endorphins and encephalin.  Since the laser stimulates lymphatic drainage from a site, it also considerably reduces swelling and inflammation, which also has a pain reduction effect.  Finally, the therapy laser stimulates muscle and trigger point providing musculoskeletal pain relief.

Accelerated healing is another benefit of the therapy laser, as photons of emitted light penetrate deeply into tissues to stimulate rapid cellular reproduction and growth.  These photons also increase the amount of energy available to cells so that they can absorb nutrients while eliminating waste products faster.  As a result of all of this, tissues such as tendons, ligaments, muscle and skin are repaired more quickly.

Another phenomenon that stimulates faster healing is the opening or dilation of small blood vessels in an area.  More blood supply brings in healing cells faster, accelerating the healing process while reducing the formation of scar tissue.

Chiropractic

A chiropractic adjustment is defined as short lever, high velocity controlled thrust by hand or instrument that is directed at specific articulations to correct vertebral subluxations.  It comprises the adjustment of vertebral joints, extremity joints, and cranial sutures.  It includes evaluating the patient’s history, intended use/athleticism, health state and prior x-rays and tests.  A chiropractic exam includes a neurological exam, stance and gait analysis and motion and static palpation. 

Chiropractic is invaluable in the treatment of the following conditions:

• Neck, back, leg, and tail pain,
• Muscle spasms and nerve problems,
• Injuries from slips, falls, and accidents,
• Jaw or TMJ problems, difficulty chewing,
• Event or sports injuries,
• Post-surgical care,
• Bowel, bladder, and internal medicine disorders,
• Maintenance of joint and spinal health,
• Healing/helping with chronic internal medicine disorders.

In my next and final installment of this series, I will give real case examples of how I integrate both western medicine and these alternative modalities in the treatment of disease.

Dr. Roger Welton is the President of Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne, FL and founder/CEO of Web-DVM.net.