Breed Rescues

Written by Marissa Greenberg, DVM

Marissa and Cramer

Many of you read Dr. Evans’ article about fostering pets until they find their “forever home.”  Dr. Evans’ foster kittens came from one of the local shelters, but there is also something called breed rescues and they are often in need of foster homes.  Let’s face it, though many of us like mixed breeds, there are those of us out there who have a particular breed they are fond of or prefer.   Or we may like a certain breed but don’t want to purchase one from a breeder.  Breed rescues focus on rescuing a certain breed of dog or cat out of shelters.  They then place these animals in foster homes until they find permanent homes.  Breed rescues also receive pets from homes where that particular breed may not have worked out very well for the owners.  They often advertise the pets they have up for adoption on petfinder.com, where you can search for a particular breed, or through their own websites.  This allows people who are searching for a particular breed of dog, but aren’t interested in going out and purchasing a puppy, to find dogs in need of forever homes. 

As many of you know, I have an Australian Cattle Dog (ACD) named Mico.  But what you might not know is that he is my third cattle dog!  My first was named Tallou, and my family adopted him when I was in high school from a friend who couldn’t keep him anymore.  I fell in love with the breed!  I then adopted Slink from our local animal shelter while I attended Cal Poly.  When I went to vet school at Washington State, I met a fellow vet student who was also an ACD fan.  In fact, he and his wife had started their own ACD Breed Rescue organization called Heeling Hearts.  They worked very hard to find ACDs that had ended up in shelters and got them out and into foster care.  These dogs came from all over WA and adjoining states, as well as from across the country.  I was fortunate to provide foster care for several wonderful ACD’s, and was even more fortunate to be able to watch them go to their new owners. By getting these dogs out of the shelters and into foster homes, we were able to learn more about each dog’s personality in a home environment, which helped to place them in the right permanent home.  I thought it would be difficult to say goodbye to these dogs after opening my heart and my home to them.  But, I was always so excited to meet their new owners, and knew that they would bring someone else as much joy as they had brought me in the short time they lived with me.  And whenever one went to a permanent home, it meant that I had the opportunity to foster another. 

Tango at home

Like most breed rescues, Heeling Hearts has a selective process to be sure that these dogs are placed in homes appropriate for the breed.  If you are interested in a particular breed, contacting a breed rescue would be a good way to gain more information about it and see if it might be the right one for you.  Or if you already share your home with a pet, but think that you might provide a good foster home, consider looking into breed rescues.

              

Meet Amanda Berry! Our Featured Employee of the Week!!

Amanda came to San Luis Obispo from Angels Camp, California to attend Cal Poly as an Animal Science major. She works in the ACC veterinary nursing team beginning in July 2008. Amanda hopes to attend vet school and someday practice large and small animal medicine. Some favorite hobbies/activities of Amanda’s are camping, hiking, scrap booking with her mom and fishing. Amanda also loves off-roading and dirt biking.  She is also enjoying training and playing with her dog, Gracie.

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!