DR. RADOSTA VISITS MDAH:

Pet Behaviorist, Dr. Lisa Radosta, did a walk through of our Resort area on August 3rd. She gave us some great ideas on how we can better our Resort for your pets. We look forward to the new changes that will be coming up here at Martin Downs Animal Hospital.  

ANESTHESIA FREE DENTAL DAY:

Our next Anesthesia Free Dental Day is scheduled for Thursday, September 8th. We will again offer 15% off anesthesia free services on this date. Please call today to see if your pet is a candidate and schedule an appointment with us.

CANINE REHAB UPDATE:           

Our canine rehabilitation assistant, Laura, will be returning from maternity leave this month. Canine rehab will now be offered Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and Saturday mornings.  Bryan Graham, owner of Ocean Side Physical Therapy who is also a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist, will be available Thursday afternoons starting at 4pm for initial rehab evaluations and also follow up appointments.  If your pet is having any joint issues then canine rehab would be very beneficial to them. Call us with any questions you might have regarding your pet's arthritis problems and we would be glad to point you in the right direction.

Samantha is a beautiful 3-year-old Goldendoodle. She comes to our spa to have her bath, pedicure and hair cut. Goldendoodles are "designer" breeds that are a mixture of two purebred dogs. They are becoming more popular and our groomers have to stay on top of all the designer dog haircuts.

Princess was unsuccessful this month with her Pet Slim Down Project. Princess's owner, Heidi, has not been compliant with giving her the proper exercise she needs to help her lose the weight and it has shown. Princess weighed in at 56.6 pounds, which is the exact same weight she was last month. With proper exercise, she should be able to shed a few pounds each month. Princess cannot do this project by herself so she needs the help of her family to reach her desired weight. While she didn't gain any weight this month, she didn't lose any either which is the goal. Come on, Bennett family, you can do this and Princess deserves to be fit.

September is Senior Pet Health Care Month

As pets age, their bodies are less able to cope with physical or environmental stress. Since pets are very good at hiding any sign of illness, you may not notice some problems that seem to creep up very fast. You may see them as sudden problems for your pet when in reality they have been burdened with these problems for quite a while. You can help, though. Your senior pet should be examined every 6 months by a veterinarian which would include lab work to catch these symptoms early.

You may ask, "When is my pet a senior?" The answer is there is no specific age when you can classify them as a senior pet. Look at the chart below to see a guideline of your pet's age.

There are many issues that can burden an older pet. As they get older, their immune system becomes weaker, their organ functions change and they are more prone to developing certain diseases and conditions including:

Please call today and schedule an exam with lab work for your senior pet. Or if you have any questions, we will be happy to take your call. 

We will now be offering a new alternative for heartworm prevention. Back by popular demand the Proheart 6 Injection is here. This is a unique option in that it is an injection that lasts for a full 6 months. In addition to treating heartworms, Proheart 6 also treats existing larval and adult hookworms. Proheart 6 can be used in pets 6 months of age and older. This is a great alternative for owners who forget to give the monthly preventative, which is so important because of the way heartworms are transmitted. Mosquitoes transmit heartworms and Florida is the number 1 state for heartworm disease.

Ellie is an eight-year-old German Shepherd who presented to our hospital for hind limb lameness.  Over the past few months, Ellie was having a little difficulty with rising and was reluctant to jump into her owner's car.  On examination, we found that Ellie had mild muscle atrophy in both of her hind legs and was resistant to having her hip joints extended.  We took radiographs of her hip joints and found that she had changes consistent with osteoarthritis.

We discussed several options with Ellie's owner on how to manage the arthritis, including weight management, glucosamine and chondroitin supplementation, pain medication and rehabilitation.  Fortunately, Ellie was a healthy weight, so we did not need to work on weight loss, which can be a problem for many arthritic animals.  Glucosamine and chondroitin supplementation is helpful with improving joint health, especially in cases of mild to moderate arthritis.  Dasuquin, a chewable joint supplement available at our hospital, is an easy way to administer a daily dose of glucosamine and chondroitin to dogs or cats.  We also discussed using pain medication for the days when Ellie was having more difficulty than usual with her joints.  We offer several different types of pain medication that can be useful for dealing with arthritis pain.  Lastly, we discussed the use of canine rehabilitation to help Ellie's arthritis. Canine rehabilitation is a service we began offering at our hospital in 2009.  With rehabilitation, we can help Ellie build up strength in her legs and improve the mobility in her joints. We decided to start Ellie on Dasuquin and begin canine rehabilitation. She started taking Dasuquin in January and her owner began noticing an improvement with Ellie's ability to rise and jump within about 4 weeks.  After the first month on Dasuquin, Ellie began rehabilitation.  She began with three one-hour sessions per week for 12 weeks at our hospital, and then we taught Ellie's owner how to continue certain rehabilitation techniques at home to continue her therapy.

Currently, Ellie is doing really well.  She has marked improvement in her joint mobility, has gained a considerable amount of strength in her hind legs, and is now able to jump in her owner's car without assistance.  We are all very happy with Ellie's success! If you think your pet may have symptoms consistent with arthritis, please call us, so that we can help!