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Pet Tales: |
News and Information from
Alta Rancho Pet & Bird Hospital |
June 2008 |
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Early Disease Detection..
It's all in the details...
Our mission is to help keep our
patients; your pets, as healthy as
possible. In order to help accomplish
this, we want to help you become our
early detection warning system. With a
little bit of information, you may be
able to pick up the subtle signs of
illness in your pet before the disease
gets the upper hand. In order to know
what is abnormal in your pet, it is
necessary to know what is normal. Let's
start with normal basic bodily
functions:
- Temperature:
Dogs and Cats 100 to 102.5
- Heart Rate: Dogs- 80 to 140
Cats: 100- 140 beats/minute
- Respiratory Rate:
Dogs- 10-30
Cats: 16-40/minute
- Gum Color: Dogs and Cats-- Pink
to Red
- Eye Color: (white part) White
Take a moment to feel your pet's chest
and count the heartbeats in 1 minute.
Next, count the number of breaths in a
minute. Next, pull back the gums and
look a the color of the gums and tongue.
Similarly, pull up the eyelids and see
how white the white part (sclera) of the
eye is. Finally, take a digital rectal
thermometer and take your pet's
temperature (use vaseline or ky jelly as
lubricant).
Now that you know the normals, it is a
good idea to check these items any time
you think your pet is acting off or
strange. Increases in respiration rate
may indicate heart failure, pneumonia,
and even cancer. Consistently high or
irregular heart rates may indicate heart
failure, anemia or chronic infection.
Pale gums indicate anemia or poor
circulation. Alterations in the color of
the eyes, especially yellow pigmentation
indicate liver problems.
In addition to these physical signs, you
should monitor your pet's water and food
intake regularly. If you notice that
there is an increase in thirst or
appetite, this may be a sign of
significant problems such as diabetes or
kidney failure. If you have a scale in
the house. It is wise to weigh your pet
once a month to see if their weight is
staying stable. If you don't have a
scale, feel free to stop in any time and
use ours. Changes of more than 10% of
body weight are generally significant
and should prompt you to bring your pet
in for evaluation.
Keeping track of these few parameters
will help you detect illness in your pet
at its earliest, most treatable stages.
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Dear Reid,
Greetings friends,
I hope you all had a safe and fun filled
Memorial Day weekend. As summer starts, I'd
like to take some of this issue to help you
get you and your pets ready for a great
season. Take a moment to read our summer
safety tips to ensure your pet's safety and
comfort.
Good health begins with understanding the
normal behavior of your pet and learning how
to spot abnormalities. Check out the article
on early disease detection and become your
own medical sleuth.
As a group we are committed to giving you of
unparalleled service. Please feel free to
call or email any and all suggestions, which
can help us achieve this goal.
Sincerely,
Reid Shufer, D.V.M.
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Case of the Month
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Bubba is a 2 year old dachshund cross who
presented to us with a history of lameness
in the left forelimb for a period of 2
weeks. According to the owner, the lameness
was intermittent and seemed about the same
intensity for the two week period.
On physical exam, the dog appeared painful
in the region of the elbow. Being part
dachshund, Bubba was suffering from a
certain amount of angular limb deformity
(crooked legs) which is common to the breed.
At this point, we were suspecting some joint
problem related to the misshapen legs, which
can cause abnormal stresses on the joints.
Bubba was sedated and radiographs of the
limb were taken. |
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To find out what we found, click here |
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How to care for your pet in a down economy
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We know that inflation, high gas prices
and the mortgage crunch is affecting
everyone. In tough economic times, it may
seem prudent to cut back on your pet's
health care. As tempting as that may appear
on the surface, postponing preventive
medical care may lead to much more difficult
problems for your pet and your wallet as
disease processes march on. Take, for
example, delaying routine dental cleanings.
Just this week, we have had to extract 16
teeth from a 5 year old dog because the
dental work had been put off and put off.
Earlier intervention could have saved that
dog's mouth and saved the owner a
substantial amount of money related to the
extractions and aftercare.
We understand the financial pressures facing
everyone and we want to let you know that we
don't want to let finances come between you
and your pet's good health. As such, we have
taken the following measures to help you
through this economic downturn:
- We have refrained from increasing
our fees despite rising rents, salaries,
health care and supply costs.
- We offer 90 day interest free
financing (on approved credit) as well
as affordable long term credit options
through Care Credit to ease the
financial impact of your pet's health
care costs
- We offer preventive health care
programs with substantial savings for
all stages of life
- We offer Low-cost Vaccine Clinics
daily
- We encourage your enrolling in Pet
Health Insurance to help cover costs
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Click here for financing options |
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Summer Safety
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Summertime is a great season to enjoy our
pets. Please follow these simple precautions
to protect your pets from these common
hazards:
Heat: Every summer it seems to be
getting hotter and hotter. This heat poses a
threat to many of our pets especially those
with snub noses (bulldogs, pugs etc), older
pets, obese pets, and dark coated animals.
Heat stress and stroke can be easily avoided
by making certain that pets at risk are kept
indoors when the temperature goes above 80
degrees. If dogs are left outside, be sure
they have shade and cool water available at
all times.
Poisons: Frequently we see more
intoxication from pesticides such as ant,
rodent and snail bait, as well as some
herbicides such as roundup. Please be sure
to lock up all poisons to keep them away
from pets and children. Do not place any rat
bait, snail bait, gopher bait or other
poisons in any area that your pet has access
to. Keep in mind that these poisons can
remain potent for years!
Drowning: Swimming is fun for the
whole family. Keep in mind that dogs can
fatigue as easily as people and then go on
to drown. If you are taking your pets
boating, to the river, lake or ocean, invest
in a flotation device to keep them safe. If
you have a pool, don't allow the pets access
to it without your direct supervision.
Rattlesnakes: Summer means more
hiking and more exposure to snakes.
Rattlesnake bites are often fatal if not
treated rapidly and aggressively. If you
live in the hills or hike a lot, please keep
your pet on leash during hikes. Consider the
rattlesnake vaccine if you think your pet is
at risk.
Taking these few precautions should help
everyone have a safe and enjoyable season!
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May the Force be with you!
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Congratulations to Richard and Heather,
our happy new parents! The Felixes welcomed
their new baby boy; Luke Skywalker McMurray
Felix on April 12, 2008. Luke weighed in at
8 pounds 2 oz and was 20 inches long at
birth. He is a beautiful baby and healthy in
every way.
As you might guess from his name, someone in
the family is a bit of a Star Wars fan :-).
Next time your in, ask the proud father to
show you some updated photos! |
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Give the Gift of Health and Everyone Save!
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The greatest compliment you can
give us is your personal
referral to friends and family.
We have created our "Gift of
Health" program to help you
encourage referrals to our
practice. Here's how it works:
Refer your friends or family
members to us and as new client
referrals they will receive
their 1st visit at 1/2 off the
normal fee. That is a $19.00
savings.
When they come in, we will send
you a thank you letter with a
coupon for $10.00 on any
veterinary services (food, drugs
and supplies are not eligible).
After you refer 10 clients to
us, you will become a permanent
"Good Health Ambassador" and
receive 10% off on all your
veterinary services for the
year.
If you are happy with the
services we have been providing,
spread the word and give the
Gift of Health to all your
friends today.
We appreciate your support!
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Alta Rancho Pet Hospital | 8677 19th Street | Alta Loma
| CA | 91701 |
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