It Feels Like Fall!

Written by Marissa Greenberg

What a change in our weather over the last few days! It feels like fall is here, especially after our record-breaking temperatures.  Here are a few things to think about for your pets with the change of season.

1)   The days are getting shorter and many of us find ourselves having to take our dogs for walks in the dark now.  For safety, make sure you are wearing reflective clothing or a headlamp, and put a reflective collar and/or a blinking safety light on your dog.
2)   With the shorter days, you may not be able to spend as much time outside getting exercise with your dog.  If this is the case, keep in mind that you might need to cut back on the amount of food that your dog eats in order to maintain an ideal Body Condition Score (BCS).   Please call for an appointment with one of our veterinary nurses to help you evaluate your pets’ BCS.
3)   It is starting to get a little colder and even a little wet! Make sure that your pet has a place to get away from the elements.  We’ve already had some fall thunderstorms, and there will likely be more to come.  If you have a dog or cat that is scared of storms, we can help you.  Please contact us for information about desensitizing your pet to loud noises.  In some cases, we may need to consider drug therapies to help your pet work through their fears.

4)   With the holidays just around the corner, there are hazards galore for dogs and cats alike!  The first one is the Halloween candy and decorations.  Be sure to keep all candy locked securely away somewhere that your pet can’t get to them.  Keep all holiday decorations out of reach to prevent the need for an emergency surgery to remove one from the gastrointestinal tract!  With family gatherings and yummy meals for the holidays, remind family members that what tastes good to us, isn’t always healthy for our pets.  It’s best to avoid any handouts from the table for your four-legged friends, especially bones that can cause blockage of the intestinal tract or a choking hazard.

Pet Wellness Month

Written by Marissa Greenberg, DVM

Most of us visit the doctor or the dentist at least once a year. Many of us may not know that this is equally as important for our pets!  Dogs and cats should have a wellness exam at least once a year.  As pets age or develop conditions, it may be recommended that they be seen more often. 

During a wellness exam at Animal Care Clinic, your pet will have a complete physical exam.  This includes checking their eyes, ears, nose, teeth, mouth, lymph nodes, skin, and external reproductive system, palpating their abdomen, and listening to their heart and lungs with a stethoscope.  Recommendations will be made based on each individual patient and client needs for things such as vaccines, blood tests, and parasite prevention, as well as dental cleaning.  Many pets may need yearly dental cleaning to maintain healthy teeth and gums.  Most patients do not need yearly vaccines, but we may recommend yearly blood tests to check for things such as feline viruses, heartworms, or diseases transmitted by ticks. 

As pets age, we may recommend blood tests such as white and red blood cell counts, general health profile chemistry tests, thyroid levels, and urinalysis.  These are similar to the tests many of us have ordered by our own doctors.  These tests can help us catch some diseases early and intervene quickly.  They can also serve as a baseline to have something to compare to if a pet gets sick later down the road. 

Please contact us to schedule your pet’s yearly wellness exam or to find out more about our recommendations!

The Joy of Fostering Pets

Tryg - foster cat turned adopted pet by Dr. Evans

Written by Jennifer Evans, DVM

I recently fostered a litter of orphan kittens from the county shelter and I loved it!!  I got them at about 3 weeks of age and raised them until they were old enough to be adopted out.  I actually ended up keeping two of them because I had an “opening” in my household!  Fostering pets that need homes can be a very rewarding experience.  It provides “special needs” animals a place to thrive until they find their permanent homes.  It also gives the foster family the joy of having a new friend along with the satisfaction of placing that friend in a wonderful permanent home.

Fostering is a serious decision to make.  Potential foster families need to make sure they have adequate time and training to take on the pet and equally important is the need for adequate facilities.  If there are other pets in the household, there needs to be a place to quarantine the newcomers for a sufficient time to make sure they don’t bring home an infectious disease.  Relationships between current pets and incoming fosters also needs to be considered and closely monitored initially.

My foster kittens were a lot of work but it was wonderful to know that I helped raise well-adjusted, friendly kittens for some lucky families!

Meet our featured employee of the week, Lindsay Gange!

Lyndsey joined the veterinary nursing team in June 2010. She originally grew up in Seattle Washington, obtained her bachelor’s in Archeology at Western Washington University. Lyndsey is now working toward her goal of earning her Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) license. She has several cats (Oscar, Shanti, and Squeek) and a dog named Ziggy. On her own time, Lyndsey enjoys skiing, hiking, going to the beach, yoga, and volunteering with Heaven Can Wait Equine Sanctuary.

 Lyndsey is also a recent newlywed so CONGRATS TO YOU, LYNDSEY! 

Guide Dogs of America: Recco's Second Evaluation

Stephanie and Recco

Written by Stephanie Ruggerone, Practice Administrator

Many of you are already aware of Animal Care Clinic’s association with Guide Dogs of America, as a portion of the donations received at our annual Wine Gala Open House benefited this wonderful organization.  What you may not know, is just as it “takes a community to raise a child” so it also takes the help of many people to properly socialize and raise a puppy to be the eyes for a blind individual.  While I may be the official “puppy raiser” for “Recco”, my sixteenth guide dog puppy, the entire clinic as well as our clients are instrumental in his education.  Successfully learning to remain calm and quiet, following commands given by a variety of people and exposure to life’s sights and sounds would never be accomplished without all of you!

Stephanie and Recco at work

Recco recently returned from a week of evaluations at Guide Dogs of America in Sylmar, California; and I am happy to report he passed with flying colors.  All puppies must be returned to the school several times during the “raising” period to insure they are developing into the type of dog that can handle the stressors of guide work.  At 6-months of age he was evaluated to determine if he should be considered for the school’s breeding program.  This recent evaluation was performed at 9-months of age and he was observed for his reactions at a busy indoor mall as well as for his response to obedience commands.  His hips and elbows were x-rayed to rule out dysplasia and he had exposure to unfamiliar dogs in the community runs and kennel.  His next evaluation is scheduled for his 1-year birthday in late December.  We are also honored that Recco has been chosen as one of several “puppies in training” to attend the Guide Dogs of America annual gold tournament and awards banquet being held in Las Vegas next month!

Our Dr. Evans is scheduled to raise a female yellow lab for GDA.  Her puppy was born recently and can be seen on the “puppy cam” at the Guide Dogs Of America website.  I will let you know how Recco does in Las Vegas; perhaps he will bring home a jackpot!

Adopting Pets - What to Know Before You Bring Fluffy a New Friend

Written by Jennifer Evans, DVM

Kitten with Upper Respiratory Infection (URI)

Getting a new dog or cat is always exciting, and getting one from a shelter is a wonderful way to help an animal in need.  Getting a new pet when you already have a dog or cat has its own set of complications.  Many dogs and cats appreciate a new friend but it is our responsibility to make sure our new friend doesn’t make our old friend sick.  Any animal from any shelter or pet store has the potential to have some sort of infectious disease they could pass on to your current pets.  Whenever many animals are housed together, or even just have contact with each other like at a dog park, there is a chance they could catch an upper respiratory infection or possibly something more serious.  Just like kids get colds at pre-school, dogs and cats get upper respiratory infections anywhere they have contact with multiple others.  The environments of shelters are just such a place.  Many dogs and cats that have been adopted from a shelter either come home with an infection, or develop one within the first two weeks of being home.  Cats typically have upper respiratory viral infections with sneezing, runny eyes and runny noses.  Sometimes they are very sick and other times they seem to feel fine.

Dog with Kennel Cough

Dogs most typically have some form of ‘kennel cough’- a broad term for many different infectious causes of coughing or upper respiratory infections.  There is also the possibility that your new friend could have something even more dangerous such as parvo, feline leukemia (FeLV) or feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV).  Because of this possibility, a veterinarian should see all newly adopted pets as soon as possible.  New cats should be screened for FeLV and FIV, all pets should be checked for giardia and any new pet should be kept separate from other pets in the household, ideally for 2 weeks.  I realize this is difficult to do and may seem unnecessary, but it really is in the best interest of your whole four-legged family.  Elderly pets are especially susceptible to infectious diseases and if they catch something it can become much more serious.  Just like a cold in a 10-year-old kid is much less dangerous than one in a 90-year-old person, a case of kennel cough is just an annoyance for a 3-year-old dog but can become life-threatening pneumonia in a 13-year-old.  Shelters are excellent places to find a new companion, but just be aware that they shouldn’t instantly be integrated into the family.  If you have any questions about bringing a new pet into the family or you have a new family addition that needs a check-over, we would be happy to help!!

Check out Wood’s Humane Society or San Luis Obispo County Department of Animal Services to find a new furry friend.  There are also several other local humane groups who can help you find a good match!

Meet Jeff Larsen!!! Our featured Employee of the week!

Jeff is another local to the SLO county area. He grew up in the Five Cities and joined our Customer Service Team in August 2010. Jeff has his two little dogs P-nut and Buddy (which including himself makes PB&J!) Becoming a Registered Veterinary Technician is one of Jeff’s goals along with earning degrees in accounting and dance. Jeff enjoys all performing arts, but is especially passionate about dance and choreography. He’s been dancing and putting together shows, dance concerts, and various other performances since the age of 15. Equally, he has developed the same love for marching band and colorguard. Jeff has performed with and taught several scholastic and independent marching units, including Arroyo Grande High School Marching Band and Colorguard, The Northern Lights Winterguard from Portland, Oregon and The Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps from Concord, California.