It is amazing to me how many clinical signs of disease are dismissed as "just getting older". It is certainly true that old age will bring about some degenerative changes that we cannot remedy. On the other hand, many diseases of the older pet are very treatable. I have listed common signs of disease that […]
Category Archives: Diagnostic Testing
"He’s never been sick before. I mean, he’s been slowing down, kind of grumpy-acting, but he’s just getting older." Bad arthritis slows you down, abscessed teeth make you grumpy, kidney failure makes you sick, and a weak heart keeps you from playing like you used to. If these problems are detected earlier, they can be […]
Or, "if you don’t look, you don’t find". When a client presents a pet with a problem they are concerned about, it’s very tempting to go right to that problem. After all, that’s why they’re here, right? Unfortunately, unless I go about the pet’s examination in a systematic way, I’m liable to miss something because […]
"Blackie" is seven years old. For the last two years he has had recurring urinary problems. Every couple of months, he’d have an episode of having to "go out" frequently; he would strain to pass small volumes of urine, and there would be noticeable blood in the urine. His previous doctor treated him with amoxicillin, […]
Baby is a ten-years old mixed breed dog who weighs about twenty pounds. She shares her home with two nice people, and two nice dogs, a six-years old Chihuahua and a sixteen-years old Chihuahua. Baby’s owners had been taking her to another veterinarian for a chronic cough. She had been coughing for over two months. […]
People often say that you can’t be a "little bit pregnant". Either you are or you aren’t. When we’re talking dogs and cats we’ve got a little more of a gray area, and some areas are grayer than others. First of all, they have multiple offspring, aka "litters". So, in that respect, you could be […]
"Is it a boy or a girl?" Most people hear this question in conjunction with the announcement that some couple has a new baby. In the early seventies, being one of the first guys with long hair in redneck-ville would get you the same question. Reminds me of my favorite line from "Easy Rider": "Looks […]
If you’re a pet-lover, you’re well aware that the number of animals needing homes far exceeds the number of homes looking for them. That’s why many folks don’t look to the pet-store or the breeder when they are increasing their furry family. They look in the animal shelter, knowing the need is great. Then there […]
Two weeks ago, we welcomed back a former client who had moved to Kentucky about nine years ago. They moved back to our area and Winston the Scottie came to see us before his bags were unpacked. Prior to leaving the Bluegrass State, he had begun to pass blood in his urine. His previous veterinarian […]
So what happened in the wee hours this morning? First, the prologue… When I am presented with an animal who has medical problems, I am also being presented with a mystery. Sometimes it is much more mysterious to the pet’s owner than it is to me (see future post on emergency diaper rash). Sometimes the […]