Failure comes in many packages.
Today I want the opportunity to rectify two failures that I had in 2011.
First of all, fleas and ticks kicked my butt.
My last writing on Fleas was a response to many people coming to me in the late season with a flea problem. Some of you had used topical products and still had them. So I went back to the principles we used 20 years ago before we had all those fancy chemicals.
Now, todays topicals are so much less toxic than those used 20 - 30 years ago. But they weren't enough for many pets.
I just finished reviewing all of the new products on the market and I've made a few decisions I wanted to share with you before you are faced with flea and tick season.
I've decided to stop carrying Frontline. I think its still a good option for many pets, but my colleagues in the south have been complaining for several years that its not working as well. Last year I went to a conference with a famous flea guy and he said that its just as effective as when it was released on the market. He doesn't work for the company that makes Frontline, so I believed him.
This is a hot topic in veterinary circles. Bottom line for me is that you all come to Kindred Spirits because you trust us, and more than once this year I talked some of you through a flea infestation despite the fact that you are using Frontline.
...and quite a few dogs that used Frontline came up positive for Lyme.
I will still use and sell Advantix and I am adding another product called Vectra 3D.
I have several veterinarian friends who have used this over the past 2 years and think its great. It will cost about the same, have similar reaction rate to Frontline (low).
I have not been a big fan of the Lyme vaccine for the past 20 years, but with Lyme increasing in our area from 5% of the population to almost 20%, I'm feeling differently about it now. We are talking to everyone about it, although each patient has a different risk factor.
We will still have Revolution for cats. It is a topical that also gets rid of worms and ear mites.
I've added an oral medication for fleas called Trifexis as an option for those of you who had fleas this year or are freaking out because somebody dropped a vacuum bag in your mudroom. This is a product for dogs that is very non toxic, kills fleas for a month and prevents heart worm and intestinal parasites to boot. I learned about it last year and as usual, skipped the new product for the first year it was on the market. I feel like this was a dumb move on my part, apologies to those of you who battled with fleas this year.
You don't have to memorize any of this, but I wanted you to be aware that we'll have some more stuff this year and that we will cater the right product for each pet. Frankly, just as important as knowing when to use products is knowing when not to use products. For those of you with indoor cats or little ChouChou like dogs that get carried around everywhere they go, no product is probably going to be my recommendation.
One last thing about fleas is that in August I made it mandatory for all hospitalized pets to get a flea killing pill that lasts for 24 hours called Capstar. At the time 75% of the patients we were taking in had fleas and the other 25% were going home with them. We are still doing that and will continue to this year. I did a low cost spay/neuter day at the Bangor Humane Society yesterday and 1/4 of the cats had fleas...and let me remind you its February!
Now, the next thing that I failed last year was drumming up enough votes to get a grant from Bangor Savings Bank for Friends of Kindred Spirits. Best I can tell, we got a lot of votes, but they went under lots of different write in categories. Friends of Kindred Spirits was spelled wrong several times, and several people wrote Kindred Spirits Veterinary Clinic. For those of you not familiar with Bangor Savings Bank's annual Community Matters More program...they give away lots of money to non-profits all over the state.
FOKS is a really good non-profit. Please consider voting for us. You can vote for up to three non-profits, so if you don't know of any more, I might suggest you vote for Forgotten Felines (a feral cat group that is making a difference in Bangor) and Heart of Maine Chorus (Sullivan's mom is a member).
A couple things before I give you the link...please look under Greater Bangor Area. Where it says "Other", type in Friends of Kindred Spirits. It should give you a small drop down menu. Make sure you pick the one that is spelled right. Friends of Kindred Spirits.
Neither Kindred Spirits Veterinary Clinic or Kindred Spirits Vet--hospice are eligible for this program because they are not registered 501c3 organizations.
So there universe.
Defeat me once, shame on you
Defeat me twice, shame on me.
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