www.hvah.com

Hospital Updates

Happy 2008! Spring and summer are just around the corner! This means for many of you it is time to bring your pets for their yearly examinations, vaccinations, fecal exams, heartworm tests, heartworm preventative and flea and tick control.

Being new to the Hardin Valley area, we would like to invite everyone to come in for a hospital tour and an opportunity to meet the doctors. Along the way, if any questions arise, please feel free to give us a call.

Canine/Feline Heartworms

Heartworm disease is common in pets all around the United States. The key is to keep your pets as safe as possible, by giving them heartworm preventative monthly. Many owners believe that giving preventative every month makes their pets 100 % safe. Heartworm preventative is very effective, but accidents happen. For instance, a dog may vomit within hours after taking the heartworm preventative, before it has a chance to be absorbed. It is important to test dogs yearly for heartworms to be 100% sure there were not any problems throughout the year.

Heartworms have commonly been associated with dogs, but new research has shown that cats are at risk as much, if not more, than dogs. One or two heartworms in a cat may be fatal due to its smaller size. Also, no reliable test exists for diagnosis of feline heartworm disease. Prevention for cats is simple; a few drops can be applied to the back of the neck, once monthly just like in your canine companion.

Flea and Tick Control

Fleas, Ticks and Mites, oh my! Warmer weather causes increased numbers of fleas and ticks to hatch. Even in the coldest parts of the winter here in East Tennessee, we still see fleas and ticks. Freezing temperatures do not last long enough to kill the eggs. It is important to use flea and tick control all year long in this geographical region.

Even if you do not see any fleas on your animals, chances are good the fleas are still there. Research has shown that for every flea you see there are 99 that you do not. Also, it is important to repel ticks since they are common carriers of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other serious diseases.

A dog or cat with just 1 flea may acquire a tapeworm infection of the intestine. Dogs and cats get tapeworm parasites by ingesting a flea that is carrying the tapeworm larvae inside of it; the larvae hatches in your dog or cat’s gastrointestinal tract and the worm lives out its life cycle.

The most common mode of detection of tapeworms is visualization of the worm on the outside of the feces that the animal has deposited. Tapeworms produce short, flat white segments. (They look similar to rice or a cucumber seed).

The other way tapeworms are sometimes detected is the presence of a rice-like segment attached to the hair around the anus of the animal. Should you see any of these segments, your dog or cat will need proper medication to remove the tapeworms. Along with the parasite treatment, you should get flea/ tick preventative to keep your pet from having this problem again.

Coupons

10% off any veterinary products

Exp. 4/30/2008

15 % off Avid Microchip

Exp. 4/30/2008

10 % off Idexx Canine Heartworm test

Exp. 3/31/2008

Buy 6 doses of Frontline Plus get 1 dose for free

Exp. 4/30/08

By: Ryan Jurgensmeyer M.S., LVMT

March 1, 2008