March April 2013

Volume 6 - issue 2

Tails from the ER

News and updates from Happy Tails Veterinary Emergency Clinic
Dear friends, Did you know that if your pet stays at your regular veterinarians overnight, there is no t a veterinarian in the hospital to provide continuous supervised medical care? If your pet requires overnight or weekend care when your regular veterinarian is closed, you should consider taking advantage of our Transfer Patient Partnership Program. This program is designed to provide your pet with continuous supervised medical care by a veterinarian at a discounted rate. If you would like more information, please feel free to ask. Sincerely, Kelley Gebhardt, DVM

Fundraiser for Red Dog Farm

With warm weather quickly approaching, many rescue groups will be inundated with new adoptable animals. For every NEW "like" of our Facebook page between now and April 1st, we will donate $1 from Happy Tails directly to Red Dog Farm Animal Rescue Network, which has rescued and placed countless numbers of pets from bunnies to horses. Wouldn't it be great for Happy Tails to write a check to Red Dog Farm for $1000??? Let's see how many NEW likes we can get and how many dollars we can donate to Red Dog Farm by the end of the month. Like, share and tell your friends to help raise money for RDF!

Top 10 Toxins for 2012

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Human medications Insecticides Over-the-counter human products Veterinary products Household products Food Chocolate Plants Rodenticides Lawn & garden products

Did you know March is National Poison Prevention Awareness Month? For more information on these and other toxins visit the ASPCA Poison Control webpage: http://www.aspca.org/petcare/poison-control.

Recently, we have been seeing a lot of "old dog vestibular disease" cases. Although these episodes are very scary for both the pet and the owner, the symptoms are not always associated with end of life issues and can resolve with a few days of medical treatment and supportive care. The vestibular apparatus is the neurological equipment responsible for your pets perception of their physical orientation relative to the earth. The vestibular apparatus allows our pets to walk and run without falling and helps prevent them from becoming dizzy. If there is trouble in the vestibular apparatus, your pet will not know which way is up, the world may look like it is spinning for them, and they may feel dizzy. This is typically called vertigo in people. The signs of vestibular disease include: trouble walking; vomiting (from motion sickness); nystagmus (rapid, abnormal eye movements); circling, rolling, or falling over; head tilt; and asymmetry of the face. The most common causes of vestibular disease in pets are: idiopathic (unknown cause); middle ear infection; and brain lesions (tumor, vascular accident, or infection). Idiopathic disease is the most common form of vestibular disease in dogs and cats. Feline and canine idiopathic vestibular disease (old dog vestibular disease), begin suddenly and resolve rather quickly. Significant improvement is usually seen within the first 12-24 hours. Further improvement is usually seen over the following 7-14 days, although occasionally a head tilt will persist. Treatment of idiopathic vestibular disease involves supportive treatment with IV fluids, antinausea/anti-motion sickness medications, and nursing care while the condition runs its relatively short course. If there is no improvement during the first 12-24 hours or if the symptoms worsen, then there is often a more serious underlying cause for the vestibular symptoms. If your pet suddenly develops vestibular symptoms, have them evaluated immediately by a veterinarian to discuss diagnostic and treatment options.
(Modified from The Pet Health Library By Wendy C. Brooks, DVM, DipABVP (Veterinary Information Network, Inc.))

2936 Battleground Ave. Greensboro, NC 27408 (336) 288-2688 www.happytailservet.com 2013 Happy Tails Veterinary Emergency Clinic, P.A.