Responsible Pet Ownership

I am really going out on a limb here and taking a risk of offending some people, but believe strongly it will be a risk worth taking.  Recently, the City of Fort Scott Police Department announced they would be going door to door to verify dog owners are in compliance with the City ordinance regarding pet ownership.  Simplified these ordinances include that all dogs are vaccinated against rabies, that a family cannot have more three dogs and that they be licensed with the City.  This announcement has stirred up a great deal of people and also caused a flooding of telephone calls to our office about the cost of Rabies vaccinating their dog(s).

As a veterinarian, I took a vow to serve as an advocate for animal welfare.  This means that since an animal cannot express itself regarding its care and well being, it is part of my responsibility to speak for the dog when owners fail to.  I take this responsibility seriously.  That being said, I fully support the City of Fort Scott and the Police Department in its efforts  to enforce an ordinance that has existed  since 1924 (reported in the Fort Scott Tribune).

One of the concerns from citizens of our good community is there are people who cannot afford licensing fees.  According to the City, licensing a pet costs $3.00 for a neutered/spayed dog and $5.00 for those that are not spayed or neutered.  This means if you have the 3 dog maximum, it will cost you $15.00 a year to license your pets.  I find it ludicrous to think that a responsible pet owner could not afford $15/year for these fees.  The fees collected are held in the City's General Fund, which also funds our local Animal Shelter.

We have a great Animal Control Officer (ACO) in Max Daly.  Officer Daly works diligently caring for dogs that have been abandoned, allowed to run at large, feeding and cleaning up after these unfortunate dogs, not to leave out how hard he works in trying to get the dogs back to their owners or work with other shelters in trying to re-home them.  Our city animal shelter has limited numbers of kennels available, and are regulated by the State of Kansas regarding how many dogs they can house based on the number of kennels available. When the numbers of dogs exceeds the limits allowed by the State dogs are euthanized.  The Animal Care Center (ACC) has the unfortunate task of euthanizing dogs for the City when these dogs have exceeded the time limit the City can hold them or the shelter is overfilled and has no room for other dogs that have been neglected or abandoned.  In 2016 the ACC euthanized 58 dogs,  and to date 2017 we have euthanized 20 dogs.  This does not account for the actual number of dogs that have been housed within the shelter that have been returned to their families or re-homed.  In the last 20 months, 78 dogs lost their lives because of irresponsible pet ownership.  Licensing pets with the City may very well help decrease these numbers and will certainly make pet owners accountable in doing the right thing regarding their pet.

In order to acquire a City license for your dog, your dog will need a current Rabies Vaccination.  Rabies prevention is crucial for the protection of the general human population.  Rabies can be transmitted to humans through saliva from infected mammals, including your dog.  Requiring Rabies vaccinations is your City government working to keep you and your family healthy but preventing the spread of rabies to your pets from other wild mammals that can carry rabies.  There is no cure for Rabies, prevention is the cure. The cost to protect your pets and you from Rabies is priceless.

Our City requires little regarding pet ownership; a rabies vaccination and a city license, costing a pet owner less than $50/year per dog. My personal opinion.  Pet ownership is a privilege; as a pet owner we voluntarily accept the responsibility that comes with pet ownership.  We agree to not only provide our pet(s) with shelter and food, but also accept the financial responsibility that comes with pet ownership by providing for it's physical and mental welfare.  Responsible pet ownership means working with your veterinarian to ensure your pet has a physical examination yearly, vaccinations to protect your pet from disease, heartworm prevention to protect from heartworm disease, year round flea/tick control to protect your pet from flea/tick born diseases, intestinal parasite examinations and control, spayed/neutered to decrease the over population of pets in our shelters; these are the my basics, not just a Rabies vaccination required by our City.  If you have a dog(s) or are considering adopting any pet, you must seriously consider the financial responsibility that comes with pet ownership.  If you cannot afford the City's minimum requirements, then perhaps you should reconsider being a pet owner...it's not all just about the love.

Your Pet Is Not a 4 Legged Human

This morning I received a telephone call from a woman expressing concern that her dog was painful and had been up all night.  This morning she gave her dog an Ibuprofen tablet.  I was immediately concerned for the dog.  You may not know that Ibuprofen is not tolerated by dogs and extremely toxic to cats.  Your pets are not furry humans.  In the Veterinary World, we use lots of human labeled medications in pets, but how the animal utilizes it and eliminates it from the body can differ from humans.  Your veterinarian is educated in pharmacology and the best source of information regarding what medications are safe for your pet.  Before you give any over the counter medication or left over medication your physician prescribed you, please talk to your veterinarian.

This conversation inspired me to address the issue of recognizing and treating pain in your pets.  Since your pet is not verbal, it is often difficult to assess pain in dogs and cats (even for a veterinarian), they are very good at masking pain (especially cats!).  Animals have a genetic "hardwire" to hide pain, if they exhibit pain, they could be vulnerable to predators that prey on the weak.  Pain is very subjective and difficult to measure.  It is not uncommon for us to see one patient crying and limping over a torn toe nail and another that happily wags it's tail and jumps around with a broken leg.  Some animals are just more stoic than others with regard to pain, same could be said for humans.

Signs of pain can be very subtle; a reluctance to move, anorexia, hiding, anxious behavior, pacing, grouchiness are some examples.  These can also be signs of other conditions.   Even overt signs of pain like crying or yelping can be associated with conditions that cause pain; pancreatitis, cancers, etc.  It is common for me to have a pet owner bring their pet in because they sense that something is just not right, we call that "ADR" (Ain't Doing Right).  They don't have anything specific they can pinpoint, the pet is eating ok, drinking ok, not vomiting, going to the bathroom ok, not limping or crying, but just seems a little left of center.  A careful history, physical examination, potential diagnostic tests such as blood work and radiograph may be necessary to isolate the problem.  It is important for you and your veterinarian to work together interrupting your pet's body language in order to isolate the primary problem.

The important thing to remember is FIRST TALK TO YOUR VETERINARIAN.  Make an appointment for your pet to have your veterinarian assess your pet's condition and why your pet is painful before any medication is administered.  For more information on how to determine if your pet is painful check out this link at the American Animal Hospital Association.

Your Horse's Vaccinations

Every April the Animal Care Center hosts an Equine Health Month by offering discounted vaccines and Coggins testing.  This is our effort to try to get our equine enthusiasts ready for a season of fun and keep their riding buddy healthy.  Every year I get lots of questions about vaccinations in horses, so I thought I would address them today.

One common question we get is whether the horse owner can vaccinate their horses themselves.  Of course you can.  This can sometimes be one way to decrease some of the costs of vaccinations.  However, I would recommend your purchasing your horse's vaccinations from your veterinarian.  One of the biggest concerns veterinarians have is if the vaccines have been shipped and stored properly.  Vaccines that have not been stored under refrigeration may be de-natured and not effective.  If you order your vaccines on-line and are not cold on arrival, send them back.  When you get them, refrigerate them right away if you are not immediately administering them.  I am always cautious about purchasing from local farm stores, because I don't know if they were warm when they came in, or were left sitting in a box until they were warm and then refrigerated.  If you trust your local farm store, then by all means they can be purchased there.  In our clinic, all vaccines are immediately taken from their shipping container and refrigerated, if they are not cool on arrival they are returned to the supplier.  You can trust your veterinarian.  The biggest advantage of letting your veterinarian vaccinate-manufacturers will guarantee the safety and efficacy of the vaccine if it was administered by a veterinarian. 

What do you vaccinate for?  What you should be vaccinating for depends on your horse's lifestyle and designed to protect your horse according to their risk of exposure.   All horses should at least receive core vaccines: Western and Eastern encephalitis, tetanus and West Nile).  Ask your veterinarian if horse should be vaccinated against Rabies, Strangles, Herpes and Influenza.

Finally, I would recommend giving your horse at least a 48 hour rest after a vaccination.  Vaccinations stress your horse's immune system and cause him to feel off center for a few days.  The ideal would be to wait at least 2 weeks after his vaccinations for any heavy riding or performance.

If you have any questions about your horse's vaccination safety, feel free to give me a call or e-mail me.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017!

Another year has come and gone, all too quickly for an old girl like me, and a new year has begun.  There has been ups and downs and a few side-way moves, but all in all I haven't a complaint.

The Animal Care Center has enjoyed having Dr. Amanda Gray join our group, she has been a nice addition to the team.  We are proud of the new cattle pens that were built in December and glad that we will be able to handle larger groups of cattle.  Our digital x-ray machine now a year old has allowed us to work more efficiently and have results quicker for our patients.  Our new website allows our clients to make appointments from the website and their smart phones!!

All of us at the ACC are a happy lot and glad to call the ACC our home away from home.  We are happy to continue to serve our clients and our patients by providing quality and caring medical care, large and small.

My New Year's resolution--eat healthier, learn something new everyday, finish about 10 uncompleted knitting projects and resume blogging on a regular basis.

To all of our clients, we wish you the best during this new year and extend our heartfelt thanks for your kindness, your faith in us and for making us feel good about being in the veterinary profession!