 WHAT'S NEW
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Vaccines — Insurance
Purevax Feline Rabies Vaccine
Did you know that if your cat goes outside, he or she is twice as likely to be in contact with rabid wildlife as a dog? In the past 20 years, the cases of rabies in cats have far surpassed those in dogs. From 1988 to 2000, there were 252 cases of feline rabies reported annually in the United States. That's pretty scary, especially when we know that diagnosing feline rabies in the early stages is very difficult and the incubation period (time from infection to signs of disease) can range from 2-12 weeks. Also, rabies is always fatal.
Why are cats more prone to rabies exposure and infection than dogs? It has to do with their interactions with wildlife such as skunks and raccoons. While you dog may get sprayed by a skunk if he/she gets too close, your cat may be more likely to get in a fight with these animals. It is the exchange of saliva containing the rabies virus that must occur to spread the disease. Most reported cases of rabies in cats occur in areas with a high incidence of the disease in skunks and raccoons. For the past 2 summers, Yellowstone County has been under quarantine due to the presence of confirmed rabid skunks.
While we have had good rabies vaccines for our feline friends in the past, they posed potential risk to the patient. All of these vaccines were developed using an adjuvant, a substance added to the vaccine to make it more effective and last longer. The presence of adjuvants in vaccines has been linked to the development of mild to severe vaccine reactions, the most serious of these being fibrosarcoma. Fibrosarcoma is a type of tumor that is very aggressive and very difficult to treat.
We recently began using Purevax Feline Rabies Vaccine because it is made without the use of any adjuvant. The Purevax vaccine is just as effective as any other rabies vaccine, is safer due to the lack of adjuvants, and has the advantage of being approved for use in kittens as young as 8 weeks of age. Since the Purevax product is a more "pure" form of rabies vaccine (lacking an adjuvant), it must be boosted annually instead of every 3 years. While this may seem less convenient to some of you, the annual visit will allow is to perform a complete physical exam on your cat to potentially pick up signs of illness or disease. As always, we will send reminders by mail and through your Pet Portal when your pet's vaccines are due. If you haven't signed up for your Pet Portal yet, you can access the login area on our homepage or this newsletter.
Rattlesnake Vaccine
Speaking of vaccines…we are offering the Rattlesnake vaccine for our canine patients. Although we are now into fall, there are still several warm days ahead. Many of our clients hunt with their bird dogs in the fall and come across rattlesnakes. Several of our clients who live in the city report seeing rattlesnakes on their daily walks in more remote areas. The vaccine doesn't entirely eliminate the need for veterinary care should your dog be bitten, but it does lessen the severity of the symptoms that might occur. The vaccine is given initially in a series of 2; the initial vaccine and a booster one month later. After the initial series, the vaccine is boosted annually. We have had one patient "test" the vaccine so far and he had a very favorable outcome! Please call our office or schedule an appointment if you have additional questions about this or any of our vaccines or protocols.
Pet Insurance
Do you ever wonder what you would do if your pet became seriously ill and needed extensive hospitalization or surgery? The necessary veterinary care to save your best friend can sometimes be costly. It would be awful to have to make decisions for your pet based solely on whether or not you could afford the care. We all want to do the very best for our furry family friends, and pet insurance can make it much easier to provide the very best care.
We use and recommend Pets Best Insurance. Pets Best is an industry leader in pet health insurance and recently partnered with the American Veterinary Medical Association. They are leading the way, providing no-hassle coverage, easy claim filing and prompt re-imbursements for care provided. Our staff's pets are covered by Pets Best and so far we have had our claims processed and payments mailed without any problems.
Premiums are very reasonable and insuring puppies and kittens when they are young seems to be the most logical approach. That way they are covered before they develop any health conditions that might be classified as "pre-existing". Of course older pets are also eligible. There are a variety of plans to choose from, including wellness plans that cover vaccines, spays/neuters, heartworm and other routine care. Please visit their website or stop by our office for a brochure!
What's New with Our Staff?
Dr. Amanda Barnes—Dr. Barnes is a 2005 graduate of Washington State University. She worked as a kennel attendant at the practice where Dr. Best first started when she graduated from veterinary school. Dr. Best and Dr. Barnes only recently became reacquainted during a chance meeting at WalMart! Dr. Barnes has had extensive experience with both large and small animal practice in the Billings area. She will be joining Circle of Life on a relief basis for now, working most Thursdays. She is young, energetic, very pleasant, and will be an outstanding addition to our staff!
Tahina Dudgeon—Tahina (a.k.a. Tina) recently joined us at the reception desk. She moved from Washington, where she worked at a veterinary practice for 4 years. She brings a new enthusiasm and lots of great ideas to the practice. In her short time with us, she has already adopted a stray dog, adding to the 4 dogs and one cat that she already shared her life with! Look for Tahina's photo and bio on the website in the next few weeks!
Dr. Best attended a heart ultrasound course over the long Labor Day weekend. This course focused on both canine and feline heart disease. The lecture portion discussed diagnostic testing and treatment options while the lab focused on echocardiography or ultrasound of the heart. All patients with heart murmurs and certain breeds of dogs and cats are prone to heart disease. The ultrasound is just a portion of the testing and can provide important information about the severity and progression of disease. It is also important to help measure the success of treatment. If we have talked to you about your pet's heart murmur or potential for heart disease, you should ask whether a heart ultrasound might benefit your pet.
Holly and Cynthia, two of our Certified Veterinary Technicians, will attend the Central Veterinary Conference West in San Diego, CA at the end of the month. They will undoubtedly learn important information that they can bring back to the practice. Our veterinary technicians are a crucial part of our staff. Furthering their education benefits all of us!
FALL WELLNESS TIPS |
Arthritis
Does the onset of cold weather have your older dog moving a little more slowly? Perhaps struggling to get up, reluctant to go up or down stairs, maybe even limping? It's not unusual for our older canine friends to have varying amounts of arthritis that can affect their mobility. We have a variety of options that can provide dramatic results and have your old pal up and running like they were a puppy again!
Factors that contribute to arthritis pain are things like excess body weight, advancing age and breed size. Excess weight means extra stress on joints and cartilages, which can lead to arthritis and joint health problems. It is important to provide healthy exercise, a good environment and balanced nutrition for managing dogs prone to or at risk for obesity and arthritis. As dogs age, the cartilage degenerates, affecting his overall mobility. Also, although small and medium sized dogs can suffer from arthritis, large breed dogs are more prone to the debilitating effects of joint disease.
Nutritional Support: Hill's Prescription Diet j/d is a diet specifically formulated for treating joint disease in dogs. Hill's j/d contains the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids and EPA for canine joint health. It also contains the lowest omega-6 to omega-3 ratio to help reduce inflammation. As an aid to weight loss, it contains the highest level of L-carnitine to aid in weight management. In clinical studies, j/d was proven to:
- Improve mobility in as few as 21 days.
- Reduce pain in dogs with arthritis.
- Help dogs with arthritis walk, run and play better and climb stairs more easily.
- Help improve the quality of life of dogs suffering from arthritis.
- Help decrease the amount of non-steroidal pain relievers needed to provide comfort.
Glucosamine Supplements: We currently use and recommend two different Glucosamine supplements. Dasuquin is a unique glucosamine/chondroitin sulfate product that contains Avocado/soybean unsaponifiables (ASU). This is a relatively new product that has been tested and has been found to be effective in reducing chondrocyte cellular damage and pain. Chondrocytes are the lining cells in the joint that produce a healthy joint surface. Besides improving chondrocyte metabolism, there is new evidence that this supplement reduces the formation of prostaglandins — the pain mediators. This may be the new "natural analgesic" that we have been waiting for! It may significantly reduce the amount of non-steroidal pain relievers that are necessary as well.
We also carry a product called Reflex 4, which is a glucosamine supplement with MSM and a small amount of Omega-3 fatty acids. Both of these supplements are in a chewable tablet form that most dogs will eat like a treat!
Welactin is a salmon-oil supplement rich in Omega-3 fatty acids. It is easily added to your pet's food and most dogs will begin to prefer their meals with the product instead of without it! Aside from being very beneficial to your dog's joint health, it can also provide a healthy, shiny coat, improved skin condition, promote a healthy heart and help with those "Senior" moments by providing neurologic support as well.
Adequan Canine: Adequan is an injectable form of polysulfated glycosaminoglycan (or PSGAG) that helps prevent the cartilage in your dog's joint from wearing away. It helps keep the cartilage healthy and intact, so that the bone in the joint cannot touch other bones. No other drug for arthritis can do that. Adequan is administered two times a week for four weeks. The drug is injected intramuscularly to ensure it reaches the critical parts of the joint. It goes to work in the joint in about two hours and stays in the joint for about three days. With Adequan® Canine you should see signs of improvement within four weeks. Your dog may begin to act like the playful, active dog you remember. After this initial treatment, the injections can be given every 4-8 weeks to help keep your dog comfortable. The injections can be given in the hospital by our technical staff, or owners can learn how to give the injections at home. Adequan is just another product in our growing arsenal against arthritis in dogs. It can also help decrease the need for non-steroidal pain relievers.
Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAID's): This group of pain relievers includes several different products that vary somewhat in strength and route of delivery. As a group, these products inhibit prostaglandins, which are inflammatory products that promote joint pain. There are also prostaglandins that are beneficial to the body by protecting the lining of the stomach, protecting the kidneys and maintaining blood clotting function. It is somewhat of a delicate balance for these products to inhibit pain, yet protect the stomach, kidneys and platelet cells.
As development of these products has advanced, they have become more potent and potentially safer. All NSAID's have the potential to have negative effects on the kidneys and the liver. When patients are prescribed these products, we need to perform blood testing to assure that the liver and kidneys are healthy to start with and remain healthy after being on the drugs.
The products that we carry and recommend are, in order of relative strength and safety, Rimadyl, which is available in both a chewable tablet and caplet for oral administration as well as injectable form for post-operative treatment. Metacam is an oral liquid that comes with its own unique dosing syringe/system. Metacam is also available in an injectable form for use during and after surgery and is approved for use in cats. Previcox is available in a chewable tablet form and has been approved for post-operative use in soft-tissue surgery as well as for arthritis and orthopedic surgery. Deramaxx is in a chewable tablet form and is one of the strongest products available on the market today.
How do we choose which product is best for your pet? There are a lot of things to consider…how picky is your dog about taking pill or eating a chewable tablet? Would a liquid be easier to administer? How severe is the pain and how long has it been present? Are you willing to give other supplements or nutritional support in addition to decrease the amount of active drug needed? All of these things can be discussed during an exam to try to determine the best combination of treatments to make your dog as comfortable as possible for as long as possible. Call us today to schedule an appointment!
FEATURED CASE |
Tiny Dog, Big Problem!
Kita's mom rushed her into the office — Kita wasn't breathing and her owner was sure she was dying. Bad thing is, her owner was right….
Kita is a barely over three pounds. She is a 3 year-old Yorkshire terrier. She loves to play with bees! Her owner had witnessed her biting and eating bees (and getting stung by bees) all summer. On this particular day, she had seen her get stung on the front leg and things quickly got serious after that.
Kita was having a severe allergic reaction to her bee sting. Also known as anaphylaxis, this type of reaction leads to difficulty breathing due to airway constriction and a rapid drop in blood pressure. Kita's organs, particularly her brain, were not getting enough oxygen and she was literally dying.
Thankfully her mom steered her way to our hospital instead of her regular doctor who was across town. It is unlikely that Kita would have survived the trip.
Dr. Best quickly recognized the problem and administered medications to counteract the allergic reaction. These include dexamethasone and diphenhydramine as well as epinephrine. She also placed an intravenous catheter and quickly started high doses of fluids to help raise Kita's blood pressure. Within a few short minutes, Kita was responding. She began to move her head and appear more alert.
After about an hour, Kita was trying to stand up on her own and started responding to her name. Kita was kept at the hospital all day for observation. She was allowed to go home that night. Her owner reported that although she seemed a little tired, she was back to normal the next day!
So, why did Kita have such a severe reaction after so many bee stings? Likely her body had built up a sensitivity and could no longer deal with any more stings. It is unknown whether she will continue to have problems. Her owner said she will try to keep her away from the bees from now on, but how do you control a three-pound terrier? We think that is nearly impossible!
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