International travel with pets is a complicated affair. Each country has its own set of rules about vaccinations, blood tests, deworming and microchipping. For island countries free of rabies, an elaborate scheme of testing and vaccination is required to prevent a dog or cat from introducing the disease to the country.
Some families handle the international health paper requirements better than others. Take for example Justin Bieber and his pet Chapuchin monkey, Mally. Passports are required for band members on the Believe Tour to enter a foreign country, and Mally the monkey needed special health papers to enter Germany. The problem was, proper papers were lacking and Mally’s concert touring days prematurely ended. Apparently, Mally remains overseas.
Here’s a better story of a family that did their homework regarding international pet travel. Today I saw a cute dog named Avatar, in need of an international health certificate. One of the requirements for entry into her home country is a health certificate signed by an accredited veterinarian. Not every veterinarian is accredited by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), but this family knew to ask for an accredited veterinarian because they had carefully researched this information.
Avatar came to my office with a pile of papers carefully detailing all her vaccinations. I need this information to be sure she meets the entry requirements and to document vaccinations on the international health certificate. Another requirement for Avatar’s destination country is vaccination against leptospirosis. Leptospirosis is an infectious disease caused by a bacteria spread in the urine of wild animals. Happily, the paperwork indicated a vaccination against leptospirosis and I quickly checked off that requirement.
Avatar’s destination country did not require a microchip, but documentation of a microchip is a common requirement for entry into many countries. Some countries also have their own import paperwork, but Avatar’s accepted the USDA form. Once I signed off on my part of the health certificate, Avatar had another stop: the USDA area office at JFK Airport, where she received the endorsement of their New York area veterinarian.
How can you avoid a Bieber epic fail when traveling internationally with your pet?
Start early to ensue you have enough time for required testing or vaccination protocols.
If you need the signature of an accredited veterinarian like me, check to see if your veterinarian is accredited or ask for a recommendation.
Keep your pet up to date on vaccinations and other preventive health care measures to avoid any delays in getting your pet’s international health certificate.
A recent survey of both pet owners and veterinarians interrogated the pet health issues each group thought were most important. In this blog, I will write from the veterinarian’s point of view and in next week’s post, the issues from the pet owner’s perspective.
Starting with an exam
In an exam room with a pet owner and a furry, feathery or scaly patient, veterinarians focus on performing a complete physical examination, a pet’s need for routine blood testing, intestinal parasite control and issues related to senior pets and pain management.
Physical examination detects abnormalities in your pet’s body that veterinarians can determine the cause of through blood tests, x-rays, and other specialized tests. For example, crusty eyes will be tested for tear production, or a brown discharge in the ears will provoke an ear swab and a microscopic examination of the discharge to determine the best medication to clear it up.
If your cat is losing weight or your dog has a bad haircoat, thyroid testing might be indicated.
Blood tests
A complete physical examination is just one component of assessing a pet’s health. Veterinarians use blood tests to monitor organ function, monitor drug therapy and discover disease. Without them, we can only guess about your pet’s health. You shouldn’t be surprised that blood tests are high on our list.
Intestinal parasite control
The Companion Animal Parasite Council, a group of parasite experts, recommend all pets be treated with monthly anti-parasite agents. The recommendation stems from the need to keep your pet healthy and also protect humans against infection. Tummy upset is a common reason for urgent visits to veterinarians. Parasite control helps keep these visits less frequent and keep you and your pet happier.
Senior pets
A pet lifetime is compressed into 10-15 years. Once your pet reaches 8-10 years of age, she is considered a senior pet where one year of life represents multiple years of aging. To detect age related conditions, experts have recently increased the recommended frequency of visits for senior pets to a minimum of twice a year. When we see your senior pet, we will consider age related changes such as pain from arthritis.
Pain management
Veterinarians know pain from arthritis is an important issue for their patients and their families, but families and veterinarians alike struggle with how best to diagnose pain and measure response to treatment in pets who cannot talk. Watching them engage or not engage in their normal daily activities provides the best clue. Sometimes a hunch leads us to try pain medications and when we see a positive response, know we have made the correct diagnosis.
Now that you know what’s on your veterinarian’s mind you will be better able to understand how we can collaborate to keep your pet in perfect health. Be sure to take a list of what’s on your mind when you visit your pet’s veterinarian to promote this collaboration.
Hurricane Sandy created hardships for people living up and down the East Coast. Residents were displaced from their homes and sent to evacuation shelters or lived in flooded apartments, and life in general was disrupted. Sandy spared few. Animals, too, suffered as a result of the high winds and flood waters inflicted by the storm. The concept of zoobiquity springs from the fact that animals and humans share many of the same diseases. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, I would argue we share much, much more.
Animal homes flooded
The ponies of Chincoteague Island have always held a special allure for me, and after visiting this barrier island last summer, I was concerned for the ponies’ safety as the storm surge rose. Before the storm, the pony caretakers opened the gates on the fences around the pony habitat, allowing the ponies to go to higher ground and have free range of the entire island. All the ponies safely weathered the storm, as you can see on this video of their hurricane experience.
The New York Aquarium sits right on the famous boardwalk of Coney Island and is at the epicenter of New York City hurricane damage. Although the aquarium was without power for several days, generators ran filters and staff members pumped oxygen into tanks, keeping the fish, invertebrates, and mammals well cared for in their watery homes.
One of the newest aquarium residents, Mitik, an orphan baby walrus, seemed to enjoy the storm, not unlike many other New York City youngsters who rejoiced when school was cancelled for a full week.
Animals displaced
Aquarium residents were not evacuated from their home, but many New York City pets were. All New York City evacuation shelters accepted pets and Mayor Bloomberg encouraged residents to take their pets with them as they evacuated. The New York Veterinary Emergency Response Team has monitored the census of pets in evacuation shelters in the New York area. As of Veteran’s Day, 141 pets still remained in the city’s shelters.
Other animal displacements were a pair of brown pelicans. Brown pelicans are normally southern birds and are neighbors of the Chincoteague ponies. Wildlife rehabilitators reported two displaced brown pelicans blown off course by Hurricane Sandy and found in Rhode Island.
This time of year, Rhode Island is much colder than the birds’ normal southern habitat and these fellows are currently resting and recovering from their harrowing hurricane experience while awaiting transport home.
Families, animals included, reunited
Despite the upset and havoc Hurricane Sandy caused, there are happy stories too. Neighbors helping neighbors, runners of the cancelled New York City Marathon helping in relief efforts and families reunited. Patches the cat was rescued from the rubble of his home by a dump truck operator and Sandy the dog is back with his family.
Microchips are a large part of the reason why happy post-hurricane stories can be told. If your pet is not microchipped, don’t wait until the next big storm. Now it the best time to get one.
The Animal Medical Center’s friend, Amy Sacks at The Daily News, has posted great information about how you can help pets affected by Hurricane Sandy.
Do you know anyone who had their lives or those of their pets disrupted by the storm? Share your stories in the comments below.
September is Disaster Preparedness Month. Whether it is a hurricane, flood, or fire, disasters affect every member of the family, pets included. To help the furred and feathered members of your family weather a disaster safely, here are The Animal Medical Center’s suggestions for disaster planning.
Plan
Advanced planning is critical. Identify a safe place to take your pets in an emergency. New York City shelters will house animals in the event of emergency, but not all shelters will. Check NOW to see if your local emergency shelter plan includes pets. If not, find a boarding facility that will. Make a list of pet-friendly hotels in your area. Visit PetsWelcome.com for a state-by-state listing.
In case you and your pet are separated, be sure you pet is both microchipped and is wearing a collar with ID tags for quick identification.
Prepare
Create a Pet Go Bag for each pet in your household. The Pet Go Bag should contain information about your pet and necessary supplies. These include: your pet’s medical records and contact information for your veterinarian, proof of identification (including microchip number, photo of you and your pets), food, water, medications – enough for one week, pet first aid kit, leash, muzzle, toys, a sheet to use as bedding or to cover the carrier, towel, litter and pan, trash bags. Keep everything together with your pet’s carrier and consider storing your pet’s medical records in the “cloud” using a service like Microsoft Health Vault.
Respond
Remember first responders’ primary goal is helping people, but keep these following tips in mind once disaster strikes: Take your Pet Go Bag if you and your pet are evacuated. If your pet has sustained injuries administer first aid until veterinary help is available. Bathe your pet as soon as possible to clean wounds. Feed your pet only safe food such as that in your Pet Go Bag. Register your family and your pet as “Safe and Well” using the Red Cross website.
This past week was a watershed week at The Animal Medical Center. With the flip of a switch, an electronic medical record (EMR) became a new part of practicing veterinary medicine.
What is an EMR?
The name, electronic medical record, does not do this system complete justice. It is definitely electronic. Consequently, we have computers in every nook and cranny of the hospital attached to three types of new printers – one for collar-style name tags, one for cage cards, and one for blood sample labels. A paper medical record includes notes about examinations, results of blood tests and x-rays, surgery descriptions, and diagnoses. Our EMR includes all those components, but it goes further.
But wait, there’s more
With this new system, I can order x-rays from my 8th floor clinic computer and the radiology team on the 2nd floor knows exactly what I want – faster than we can transport the pet to radiology. Previously, the patient and a paper request were transported to radiology. The same software that records patient information also orders blood tests from the laboratory or pills from the dispensary. For hospitalized patients, all medications administered by the nursing staff are now requested on an electronic whiteboard and recorded with the click of a mouse.
My personal favorite
Each patient has an electronic clipboard and on the top is a handy little box. Once I figured out how to use it, I went back into all my patients’ clipboard records from this week and loaded them up. I can write anything I want in the box. My plan is to use it like an electronic post-it note to remind me when certain infrequently performed tests are due. In Vivian’s box I put the date for her next iron injection, for Cleo the date her urine needs a follow-up culture, and I added the dates of scheduled chest x-rays for several more pets. One of the reasons both physicians and veterinarians are moving to EMRs is to help them become better doctors, and this will definitely help me.
New tools
The EMR allows importing of photograph files, a feature particularly useful for oncologists like me who want to monitor the response of a tumor to treatment. The photographs also help the ER doctors who might not know what the tumor looked like before, but now can click open a JPEG file and see the tumor for themselves. The EMR contains dog and cat diagrams ready for annotation to mark the location of abnormalities found on examination.
Improving the health of all animals
In addition to improving care for individual pets, the EMR will help improve care for all pets by facilitating research. Old style paper medical records cannot be searched for information. Our electronic medical record allows us to search and find all patients with a particular diagnosis or disease. Information gleaned from the records will help us to share information with other veterinarians about successful new treatments. Thus, the EMR will benefit not only AMC patients, but patients everywhere.
Transitioning to any new system is hard work and takes persistence, but with all these benefits, we have entered a new era.
If your veterinarian uses an EMR, some store records in “the cloud” allowing you to view your pet’s medical information anytime. Ask about this feature the next time you visit your veterinarian, as the information could be very valuable during an ER visit.
Recently, the news has featured many stories about TomKat. No, not a story about a feline, but the ongoing saga of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise. One story that caught my eye involved their daughter Suri having a tantrum in a pet store because her mother would not buy her a Morkie, a dog she wanted.
In every family without a pet, there is at least one child begging for one. But for health reasons, travel, or time in the daily schedule, a pet does not always fit into the family’s lifestyle. There are, however, other ways, even without owning a pet of your own, that you can bring animals into your family’s life. Here are my top ten tips to add the fun and adventure of animals to your family without actually owning a pet:
1. Attend the local animal show. The owners of dogs, cats, birds and reptiles love to show off their pets and talk to children about responsible pet ownership. In New York City we have the annual Meet the Breeds dog and cat show, but there are smaller local shows as well.
2. Volunteer to walk dogs at your local shelter or to help socialize the cats residing there.
3. Be a foster pet family. My local rescue group is always looking for host families for cats in need. I wrote about my experiences with my foster cat family last spring.
4. Head to your local library and check out some books on pet care. For the toddler set, try the series about “Sally,” a black Labrador retriever who visits the veterinarian, or for a comprehensive pet care overview, try the Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health.
5. Participate in your library’s reading program featuring certified therapy dogs to promote reading skills in children. Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) has local programs nationwide. Therapy Dogs International sponsors “Tail Wagging Tutors.” What could be better than helping your dog-loving child read better?
6. Volunteer to pet sit for a neighbor while they are on vacation.
7. Become a member of your local zoo. Many zoos have an area where children can pet the animals. In the New York metropolitan area the Wildlife Conservation Society, which includes the Bronx Zoo, the Queens Zoo, the Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo and the New York Aquarium, has hands-on programs for various age groups, as well as educational exhibits and free demonstrations daily. Some zoos even have sleepovers!
8. If your child is an electronic wizard, there are a variety of electronic games related to pet care. Games are available for multiple game platforms and on the Internet. Try Hamsterz, Dr. Daisy Pet Vet, Paws & Claws, Pet Vet, or Webkinz.
10. Volunteer at a pet outreach program at your local hospital, Ronald McDonald House, or senior citizens home. The program coordinator will know of a pet volunteer that you can “borrow” for the visits.
If your child is like Suri Cruise and wants an animal, but your inner Katie Holmes tells you a full-time pet is not right for your family, offer your pet-loving child one of these opportunities until the time is right for your family to love a pet of its very own.
Veterinarians request a lot of information from pet owners. We interrogate them: What does his cough sound like? We dictate to them: Give these pills three times a day. And we expect them to understand a foreign language — doctor talk. Mistranslated doctor talk results in communication gaps between veterinarians and pet owners. Here are some examples from last week’s patient visits at The Animal Medical Center.
Barfy is regurgitating twice a day.
This “lost in translation” example comes from the innocent misuse of the word regurgitate. Medically speaking, regurgitate is similar to vomiting, but there is an important difference. When a dog regurgitates, a forceful heave-ho and wretch are missing. The food or liquid comes back up without an increase in abdominal pressure. Picky, I know, but, as a veterinarian, this information is diagnostically critical. Dogs and cats that regurgitate have an esophageal problem, and those that vomit typically have a problem further down the digestive tract. This picky distinction directs my diagnostic evaluation, so I have to get it right or I bark up the wrong diagnostic tree, so to speak.
Is Fluffy urinating more than usual?
This translation gap was my fault. The poor cat owner didn’t know how to answer. Was I asking more in frequency or more in volume? I tried to avoid using doctor talk to ask what was really on my mind; was Fluffy pollakiuric or polyuric, the special words for increased frequency of urination or increased volume of urination. Increased volume of urination suggests diseases like diabetes, kidney failure or a kidney infection. Increased frequency of urination suggests a bladder infection, bladder stones or possibly a bladder tumor. Once again picky, but critical.
My cat, Peter, gets dialysis at home every other day.
This comment was made by a patient new to The AMC and it caught me off guard. The AMC is the only center for dialysis between Boston and Philadelphia and this cat was a local from 89th Street in Manhattan. Dialysis happens in the hospital and not at home. What really happened was the owner had been trained by her regular veterinarian to give fluids subcutaneously to her cat to help combat the effects of failing kidneys. Cats with kidney disease often become dehydrated as their failing kidneys waste water by producing excessive amounts of urine. Supplementing feline fluid intake with subcutaneous fluids keeps cats feeling and eating better because they are not dehydrated. Dialysis, also used to treat failing kidneys, filters the blood through a machine to remove waste product since the kidneys no longer perform this function. Same disease, different treatment.
If you are not sure what your pet’s veterinarian just told you or can’t understand the question you were just asked, don’t hesitate to ask for clarification. Don’t let your pet’s diagnosis get lost in translation.
On April 6, 2012, the United States Food and Drug Administration announced a voluntary recall of Diamond Naturals Lamb Meal and Rice dry dog food. Since the initial recall, several other brands of food manufactured in a South Carolina plant have been voluntarily recalled for possible Salmonella contamination. Voluntary recalls of pet food are not uncommon, but this recall is unusual. Illness in humans, not dogs, prompted the recall.
Outbreak investigation
Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control checked the genetic fingerprint of the Salmonella found in the dog food against a national database of foodborne infections and found people infected with an identical bacterium. Because the Salmonella isolated from the dog food and the people is a rare type, the humans were interviewed to determine if there was a common source of infection. These interviews revealed many of the infected people had been exposed to dogs and the brand of dog food included in the initial recall. Subsequent recalls have all involved food manufactured in the same facility.
Why did people get sick?
This medical mystery seemed backwards to me. I could understand if my dog and I both got sick from some food I slipped her at the table, but I would suspect hardly any of us grab a handful of tan nuggets from our dog’s bowl as a quick snack.
So to help me understand, I called my sister, Mary Hohenhaus, MD, FACP, who is also a board certified internist (but for people) with Brigham and Women’s Physicians Organization in Boston.
The other Dr. Hohenhaus says:
Salmonella bacteria are a leading cause of infectious gastroenteritis in humans – more than a million cases in the U.S. each year. Symptoms include diarrhea, cramping, and fever starting anywhere from 12 to 72 hours after exposure.
Catching Salmonella is easy only if the bacteria can find their way into your mouth. I use a scoop to measure out dry food for my cat, but I could just as easily grab a handful of kibble for Sam’s bowl – and if the next thing I did was grab a handful of grapes for my breakfast, I could be in trouble.
Food and water contaminated with animal feces are a common source of Salmonella infection. Outbreaks have been associated with meat, eggs, dairy products, and fresh produce, as well as processed foods. Pet birds and reptiles can carry Salmonella without appearing ill. Feces from infected humans are another source.
Many infections are mild and don’t come to medical attention. Most people get better within a week just with extra fluids and rest. Children, the elderly, and people whose immune systems don’t work well are more likely to have severe cases of Salmonella, where the bacteria enter the bloodstream. These people need intravenous fluids, antibiotics and close monitoring in a hospital.
This current outbreak is a good reminder that Salmonella can show up in some surprising and unexpected places. It also reminds us that contaminated foods look, smell, and taste perfectly normal. The best protection against Salmonella and many other infections is common sense: keep your hands clean (and out of your mouth) and practice food safety.
When should you wash? After using the toilet, before preparing food, and any time your hands are visibly soiled are a must. Don’t forget to wash after playing with pets, not just after poop-scooping. A pocket-sized bottle of hand sanitizer is a great addition to your daily walk with Fido.
In the kitchen, wash utensils and work surfaces thoroughly after handling raw meat and eggs and before preparing produce – especially important if fruits and vegetables will be served raw. Thoroughly cook meat and eggs, and be sure to serve hot foods hot and cold foods cold. For more information click here.
This Dr. Hohenhaus is worried about dogs
Although the Salmonella cases making the news are human, dogs can also contract Salmonella after eating tainted food. Veterinarians in New York City are required to report certain diseases to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene just like physicians are. We report zoonotic diseases, diseases transmitted between animal and humans, which include: Salmonellosis, tuberculosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and leptospirosis.
I contacted one of my colleagues at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Dr. Sally Slavinski, Assistant Director Zoonotic, Influenza and Vector-borne Disease Unit, and she says no canine cases associated with this recall have been reported to the DHMH. I do have veterinary colleagues out of state who have seen a smattering of dogs they believe contracted Salmonellosis from the recalled foods.
Prevention in pets
For tips on preventing foodborne infections in your pets, click here.
I saw a new patient last week; an older cat with many serious problems, including cancer. After we finished agreeing on a plan for her cat, the owner told me this would be her last cat. When I asked why, she cited her age as the major factor. She thought if she got a kitten at her age, it might outlive her and she worried how she would provide for the cat after her death.
This conversation prompted me to think about the options available for pet owners to plan for their pet’s future. So I recently sat down with one of The Animal Medical Center’s long-term clients and pet legal expert Debra Hamilton.
Below is the information I gathered from our conversation to help my readers understand the options open to them and their pets.
Q: What types of legal instruments can be used by pet owners to provide care for them in the event the pet owner dies before their pets do?
A: There are two types of legal instruments that can be used to make provision for pets: your will and a pet trust.
Q: Can I include my pet in my will?
A; Yes, plans for your pet can be specified in your will, but if you are too ill to care for your pet or to make decisions about your pet, provisions in your will do not help you provide for your pet until after your death. Moneys allocated to your pet in your will may not be available until after the will is probated. The lack of funds prior to probate may pose a problem for your pet’s new caretaker.
A: Trouble Helmsley did have a pet trust; although most pets do not require the $12 million dollars bequeathed to Trouble for his ongoing care. A pet trust is separate from and more flexible than your will. It can be set up to be used if you are disabled, unemployed, or die. Money allocated for pet care in a will can only be used if you die and many pets may need a care plan implemented before your death. If there is residual in the pet trust after your pet’s death, you can specify the recipient of those funds be the caretaker or your favorite charity.
Q: My will is already written and I don’t want the legal hassle of setting up a pet trust, is there anything else I can do?
A: A pet protection agreement does not require a lawyer and one can be found on the internet. This document allows you to specify a guardian and a successor with individual agreements for those who will be providing care to your pet. The money set aside by a pet protection agreement can be taken by your creditors or more easily challenged by family members since no attorney is involved in setting up a pet protection agreement. Even so, this type of document is better than having no agreement at all.
Q: Why do I need a document specifying my wishes? My children say they will keep my cat if anything happens to me.
A: Most people assume their family members will take over the care of their pets. Although your kids may want to keep your cat or dog or snake, sometimes the situation is beyond their control. For example, they may have children of their own who are allergic to cats, their own pets may not be accepting of yours, they may live in a “no pets” building, or their spouse maybe really squeamish about snakes. Advanced planning helps to provide options for your pet.
Q: Are there any pets advanced planning is more important for than others?
A: All pet owners should have a written plan for all their pets, but because large parrots and horses have such long lifespans compared to other pets and also because caring for horses is so expensive, advanced planning is critical for these particular pets.
Many thanks to Debra Hamilton for generously sharing her knowledge and for suggesting Petriarch, by Rachel Hirschfeld as a resource for readers of Fur the Love of Pets.
In 1984, The Animal Medical Center established one of the first Avian and Exotic Pet Services in a veterinary specialty hospital. At that time, the patients seen by the Avian and Exotic animal veterinarians reflected the most popular exotic pets such as ferrets, iguanas, and exotic cats. Over the years the popularity of various pets has waxed and waned, including the rise and fall of the hedgehog, sugar glider, prairie dog, and an occasional frog.
But the presence of birds in our waiting room has been a constant.
Raquel is a talkative blue and gold macaw that is at least 27 years old. She came to see Dr. Katherine Quesenberry for a dime-sized swelling in her axillary area (equivalent to our armpit) between the base of her wing and flank. Dr. Quesenberry suspected a ruptured air sac and scheduled a CT scan to investigate further.
Evolution made birds lightweight for flying. To lighten their bones, some bones contain air (pneumatic bones) as part of their respiratory system. Like reptiles and mammals, birds also have lungs, but bird lungs function differently than ours. With each breath, our lungs fill and empty with air due to movement of the diaphragm. Birds lack a diaphragm, and air moves through the lungs and into and out of the air sacs in two cycles as their sternum expands and contracts with each breath. While air is in the lungs, exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide occurs. The air sacs help keep birds “light as a feather” and buoyant for flight.
Even though The AMC’s 64-slice CT scan is lightning fast, general anesthesia is required for the procedure. The bird’s unusual respiratory system makes anesthesia a greater challenge than in dog and cat patients. While birds are under anesthesia, we assist their breathing to prevent a build up of anesthetic gases in their air sacs. The advantage that birds have over mammals is that because their respiratory cycle is so fast, they wake up from anesthesia rapidly once the anesthetic gas is discontinued.
On the right you see a reconstructed image of Raquel from her CT scan. Although you can’t see it, her head is at the top, legs at the bottom. The image clearly shows the abnormal air sac exactly as the examination described it, under the right wing. The image is reversed and the right side is shown on the left.
The cause of ruptured air sacs is unknown; even so, they can be successfully treated. A small stent was sutured into Raquel’s ruptured air sac to remove the accumulated air. A follow-up visit showed resolution of the swelling. Raquel is now doing well and hopefully will stay in good health for at least another 27 years!
Photo: Photo of Raquel courtesy of Lynne Freeman-Gassem
For over a century, The Animal Medical Center has been a national leader in animal health care, known for its expertise, innovation and success in providing routine, specialty and emergency medical care for companion animals. Thanks in part to the enduring generosity of donors, The AMC is also known for its outstanding teaching, research and compassionate community funds. Please help us to continue these efforts. Send your contribution to: The Animal Medical Center, 510 East 62nd Street, New York, NY 10065. For more information, visit www.amcny.org. To make an appointment, please call 212.838.7053.
I saw a nice new patient the other day. Angus Blue came to The Animal Medical Center for an evaluation of the tumor growing on the side of his chest.
When I tried to call his owner two days later with the biopsy results, the call would not go through. Fortunately, his family called me the next day and I was able to get their correct number. Turns out Angus’ owner was so upset and nervous about the tumor and about seeing an oncologist, she wrote down the wrong phone number on the registration papers.
Veterinary specialists are really nice people, but seeing one can be intimidating because you generally only consult a veterinary specialist when your pet has a big problem, and of course you are going to be upset.
The little snag in communication with Angus Blue’s family made me wonder how pet owners could make their consultation with a specialist go more smoothly. Here are my thoughts:
1. Find the right specialist. The Internet can help locate the specialists in your area since all the veterinary specialty websites have a search function, but your veterinarian is the best source to identify the best specialist for you and your pet. If you have seen a specialist previously with another pet or for another problem, call and ask them about the right specialist for the current problem.
2. Check the website of the specialty hospital. Like The AMC, many of them allow pre-registration online in advance of your scheduled appointment. Pre-registration removes one task from your list on the day of the specialist appointment. If you get lost or are running late, pre-registration will speed the check-in process along. The website may also have helpful information such as directions and parking information.
3. Ask your veterinarian or call the specialty hospital and determine what information about your pet should be sent in advance of the appointment. Most of the time, the specialist will want a copy of your pet’s complete medical record and copies of any diagnostic images. With computer radiography and electronic medical records, getting the information to the specialist may be as easy as sending an email or burning the images to a CD.
4. Bring a list or all the bottles of the prescription and non-prescription medications and supplements you administer to your pet. A list should include the name of the medication, the dose and frequency. Tablet color is not helpful to the specialist since not all brands of tablets are the same color.
5. Write down your questions for the specialist or your goals regarding your pet’s medical care. Putting your thoughts down on paper will help you focus on what is important to you during the consultation and you can refer to your notes to make sure all topics important to you have been covered during the appointment.
6. Take a friend. Having an extra pair of hands is invaluable when juggling papers, a pen and a leash or carrier. Two pairs of ears are better than one to help remember what was said and what the options are for your pet. Finally, having someone to get coffee or lunch with while you wait is priceless.
For over a century, The Animal Medical Center has been a national leader in animal health care, known for its expertise, innovation and success in providing routine, specialty and emergency medical care for companion animals. Thanks in part to the enduring generosity of donors, The AMC is also known for its outstanding teaching, research and compassionate community funds. Please help us to continue these efforts. Send your contribution to: The Animal Medical Center, 510 East 62nd Street, New York, NY 10065. For more information, visit www.amcny.org. To make an appointment, please call 212.838.7053.
Because of his firsthand experience with the skilled and devoted licensed veterinary technicians at the AMC, Jack Black the cat volunteered to give a report on the role of veterinary technicians as he sees it looking out from cage #3 in AMC’s ICU.
Jack Black: In His Own Words, Err…Meows
I have inflammatory bowel disease and diabetes. When I come to the AMC to have my weight monitored, my blood glucose measured and my fructosamine checked, technicians Sandy and Maria always draw my blood and weigh me while the doctors are talking to my family. Since I am on a special diet they don’t give me any treats, but I see them giving everyone else treats after their blood is drawn, which is a real bummer. They also give me my pills so my family gets a day off.
Christina and a patient in ICU
Recently, an AMC veterinarian diagnosed me with colon cancer using an endoscope. I saw the endoscope cabinet, and it is full of different scopes used to look at internal organs, such as the lungs and intestines. The Internal Medicine Service technician, Lori, is responsible for the care and maintenance of all the endoscopes, so they are always ready for emergency removal of something stuck inside a dog or cat or to diagnose inflammatory bowel disease or cancer. The technicians were very kind and caring towards me when I got my diagnosis, so I wasn’t worried at all!
Trish and a canine patient
My surgeon ordered a chest x-ray to evaluate my lungs and a CT scan of my abdomen to help with pre-surgery planning. In the diagnostic imaging suite, technicians Rafael and Corrado operate the AMC’s x-ray machine, CT scanner and MRI machine. The AMC’s CT scanner is so fast I didn’t have to stay overnight again, which made me and my family very happy.
Catherine placed an intravenous catheter and wrapped it with some tape that had paw prints on it. Next, the technicians administered an intravenous infusion of an anesthetic agent and, once I was asleep, placed a breathing tube in my windpipe. The tube delivered the anesthetic gas during the surgery. They also monitored my blood pressure, blood oxygen level and blood sugar during surgery. When I woke up after surgery, the technicians gave me pain medication and kept me toasty warm, using the Bair Hugger® in the recovery room. I wouldn’t mind taking that Bair Hugger home with me.
Alana bandaging a dog’s leg
After I recovered from anesthesia, I was moved to ICU. ICU is the AMC’s busiest ward, and I like it here because I have three technicians assigned to meet my every need — Lilia, Stephanie and Amy. I have three because they take care of me 24 hours a day, and even though I am their favorite patient, they need to go home and sleep so they are fresh and rested for their shift. When my family visits, the techs tell them all about what has happened to me that day, and my family feels better knowing how much they care about me.
Thanks, Jack!
Thanks to Jack Black the cat for highlighting the importance of veterinary technicians in animal healthcare. I hope his report helps our blog readers to understand pets need techs and so do veterinarians – not just during National Veterinary Technician Week, but every single day!
Photos: Courtesy of the AMC Veterinary Technicians
This may also be found in the “Tales from the Pet Clinic” blog on WebMD.com.
For over a century, The Animal Medical Center has been a national leader in animal health care, known for its expertise, innovation and success in providing routine, specialty and emergency medical care for companion animals. Thanks in part to the enduring generosity of donors, The AMC is also known for its outstanding teaching, research and compassionate community funds. Please help us to continue these efforts. Send your contribution to: The Animal Medical Center, 510 East 62nd Street, New York, NY 10065. For more information, visit www.amcny.org. To make an appointment, please call 212.838.7053.
As an Oncology specialist, I am frequently asked how cancer treatments will affect the quality of life for the dogs and cats in my care at The Animal Medical Center. I give these discussions with my clients as much time and attention as they need because I know my explanation will impact the pet owners’ decisions to treat their pets for cancer.
Quality of life is an important topic for most veterinarians and frequently discussed at meetings and professional seminars. It has been the topic of various research studies. For example, veterinary cardiologists studied quality of life in cats with heart disease as perceived by cat owners.
For the cat owners who took part in this study, appetite, litter box habits and sleep patterns were important markers of quality of life in their cat. And, these owners stated they would trade longevity for an improved quality of life for their pet with heart disease.
The study also showed that illness does not only impact the quality of life of the sick pet. Having a sick cat increased the owner’s stress with an increasing number of medications prescribed by the veterinarian.
Making the decision to amputate a pet’s limb, whether for an irreparable fracture or cancer, is another example of a wrenching experience for all pet owners and where the discussion of quality of life is inevitable. A recent study of cats undergoing amputation found a normal quality of life following amputation in nearly 90% of cats.
What, then, is the definition of quality of life for your pet? Is there a universal answer? Unfortunately not. Every pet owner has his or her own definition of quality of life for his or her pet. My clients have shown me through the love of their cats and dogs, the knowledge and understanding of their pets’ personalities how they have answered these difficult quality of life questions. The following video, photographs and one endearing text message illustrates how pet owners interpret their pets’ quality of life.
Dakota likes to fish. When his cancer relapsed, and he needed to start chemotherapy again, quality of life came up in our discussions. Here is a video of him fishing shortly after he restarted chemotherapy. As long as he can fish, his family knows he has a good quality of life.
Argos on a successful hunt.
Argos, like his mythical namesake, had superior tracking skills, especially for ducks. In this photo, Argos appears to be more successful at his chosen sport than Dakota! To maintain a high quality of life for Argos, his cancer treatments were scheduled around duck hunting season and, like Dakota, he could still have fun while being treated for cancer.
Penny accompanying her owner on a Maine bike ride.
Penny loves to romp in the Maine woods in the summer. It is her break from the heat and humidity we New Yorkers suffer from in the summer. This past summer, her cancer treatments were seamlessly transferred to a Maine-based veterinary specialist for her vacation in order to maintain both quality of life and remission.
And finally, a text message from an owner who was worried quality of life was waning:
“He played sock today and trotted around with a pair in his mouth. He’s back to himself.”
I think that is what quality of life is: being yourself and doing the things you love to do. I am sure this is true for both man and beast.
This may also be found in the “Tales from the Pet Clinic” blog on WebMD.com.
For over a century, The Animal Medical Center has been a national leader in animal health care, known for its expertise, innovation and success in providing routine, specialty and emergency medical care for companion animals. Thanks in part to the enduring generosity of donors, The AMC is also known for its outstanding teaching, research and compassionate community funds. Please help us to continue these efforts. Send your contribution to: The Animal Medical Center, 510 East 62nd Street, New York, NY 10065. For more information, visit http://www.amcny.org. To make an appointment, please call 212.838.7053.
Last Friday, July 15, 2011, was National Pet Fire Safety Day. When we hear about pets and fires in the home, we often think of the dog who awakens his owner, saving lives with a warning bark about a fire in the house.
But pets are also the victims of fire. According to Pet Safety Alert, 40,000 pets are killed in fires annually, most of them in residential fires.
Every year, The Animal Medical Center provides care to pets who have been trapped in burning buildings and rescued by New York’s bravest, our friends at the NYC Fire Department.
As a pet lover, you can take action to prevent pet-related fires and to protect your pet if there is a fire.
To help firefighters find all of your pets, the folks at ADT Home Security Systems offer a free window cling to alert firefighters to the presence of pets in the home. You can request one through their website.
Firefighters want to help pets suffering from smoke inhalation, but the oxygen masks designed for humans are not shaped to fit a pet’s nose. If you are feeling philanthropic, donate a pet oxygen mask to your local firefighting team.
Pet proofing your home can help to prevent a catastrophic fire. Candles are a huge danger for pets. A wagging tail can knock a candle off the coffee table and into a pile of flammable papers. My own cat, who had a big puffy tail, swished it over a lit candle and nearly went up in flames! Space heaters and backyard grills present a hazard, as they can easily be knocked over by a pet and start a fire.
To protect the entire family, make sure your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors have their batteries changed twice a year. A good time to change the batteries is when you change the clocks for daylight savings time in the spring and fall.
Like people, pets can suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning. If everyone in the family is ill and your pet is exhibiting the following signs, see your veterinarian and mention you are concerned about carbon monoxide poisoning.
This may also be found in the “Tales from the Pet Clinic” blog on WebMD.com.
For over a century, The Animal Medical Center has been a national leader in animal health care, known for its expertise, innovation and success in providing routine, specialty and emergency medical care for companion animals. Thanks in part to the enduring generosity of donors, The AMC is also known for its outstanding teaching, research and compassionate community funds. Please help us to continue these efforts. Send your contribution to: The Animal Medical Center, 510 East 62nd Street, New York, NY 10065. For more information, visit http://www.amcny.org. To make an appointment, please call 212.838.7053.
On May 26th I participated in a career fair at IS 204 in Long Island City, Queens. In case there are any aspiring veterinarians reading this, I thought I would give a review of what I talked about at the career fair with these middle school students.
Most middle school students in New York City are exposed to veterinary medicine through the care a neighborhood veterinarian provides to a family pet such as a cat, dog or other companion animal, but the opportunities the profession offers are much wider.
Nearly 100,000 veterinarians in the United States provide healthcare to animals who supply us with food, such as cattle and fish, produce fiber for clothing, such as sheep and alpacas, and protect the public health though their efforts on behalf of local, state and federal agencies. Veterinarians care for animals in research laboratories, wildlife parks, zoos and classrooms. Other veterinarians become professors, training the next generation of animal caregivers.
Neighborhood veterinarians are typically generalists, providing preventive and general healthcare to their patients. Some veterinarians, like me, are specialists, with additional training. My training is in treating pets with cancer.
For middle school students interested in a career in veterinary medicine, choose a high school with a strong college preparatory program, especially in science and mathematics. Use your summers to explore veterinary medicine by volunteering at an animal shelter or veterinarian’s office. Participate in an animal related summer program. One such program is sponsored by the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo.
Colleges of veterinary medicine offer summer programs for high school juniors and seniors. My alma mater, Cornell University, offers four programs for high school students. Michigan State University, Tufts University and the University of Pennsylvania, among others, host similar programs.
When choosing a college major, it is not essential to choose biology or animal science. I went to veterinary school with someone who had majored in Russian literature, but she completed all the science and math prerequisites required to apply to veterinary school. Keep in mind, grades matter. The University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine offers a college level summer “camp” for preveterinary students.
If the four years of college and four years of veterinary school are not for you, but you are interested in being part of an animal healthcare team, you might want to consider becoming a Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT). Multiple programs throughout the country offer associate degrees in veterinary technology. The closest program to both The AMC and IS204 is at LaGuardia Community College, also in Long Island City, Queens.
Veterinary medicine offers great diversity in career options for the student interested in biology, zoology and mathematics. Additional information on pursing a career in veterinary medicine and veterinary technology can be found at the American Veterinary Medical Association website.
This may also be found in the “Tales from the Pet Clinic” blog on WebMD.com.
For over a century, The Animal Medical Center has been a national leader in animal health care, known for its expertise, innovation and success in providing routine, specialty and emergency medical care for companion animals. Thanks in part to the enduring generosity of donors, The AMC is also known for its outstanding teaching, research and compassionate community funds. Please help us to continue these efforts. Send your contribution to: The Animal Medical Center, 510 East 62nd Street, New York, NY 10065. For more information, visit www.amcny.org. To make an appointment, please call 212.838.7053.
We have a pet frog. He is a South African clawed frog who we sometimes call Albus, after Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series. Albus is Latin for white, and Froggy, which is his other name, is an albino frog.
Albus Froggy’s first home was a 10 gallon fish tank with snails, tropical fish and one giant plecostomus, Platus. He was about the size of a quarter and he would eat bloodworms and shrimp pellets. I guess we didn’t recognize how big Albus Froggy was getting, but suddenly, fish were missing. We just thought they had died, but pretty soon Albus Froggy was looking very full and supporting himself on the leaves of the plants like he had a stomach ache. The next thing we knew, Albus Froggy was as big as your hand and he became the consummate predator, polishing off four neon tetras and a little school of fish we called the Police.
Albus Froggy moved to his own private Baby Biorb tank. Every week he would get 10 or so 19¢ feeder fish from the pet store who would be his friends — only long enough for him to eat them. Then one day, Albus Froggy had a bloody nose. On closer inspection, there was a swelling on his face on the same side as the bloody nose. In another day, both nostrils were bloody. Being an oncologist, I was sure Albus Froggy had a tumor, but an Animal Medical Center specialist veterinarian knew how to save his little frog life. Dr. Kathy Quesenberry suggested Albus Froggy might have an infection and recommended antibiotic therapy. She prescribed an injection of a powerful antibiotic, gentamicin.
So much to the delight of our Saturday night dinner guests, slippery Albus Froggy was captured, weighed in a Gladware box on the kitchen scale and given exactly the right dosage of antibiotic in the fanny. For several days after the injection, we stood around the Baby Biorb trying to convince ourselves he was better. And he was! First the bleeding stopped a couple of days after the injection and then the swelling decreased. And now Albus Froggy is back to eating and swimming around the Baby Biorb.
The successful treatment of Albus Froggy is a good example of how important it is to find the right specialist is for your pet. In this case, I was just a regular pet owner who could recognize my pet had a problem. Albus Froggy needed the exotic pet specialist to hone in on the correct diagnosis and treatment leading to a successful outcome.
For nearly a century, The Animal Medical Center has been a national leader in animal health care, known for its expertise, innovation and success in providing routine, specialty and emergency medical care for companion animals. Thanks in part to the enduring generosity of donors, The AMC is also known for its outstanding teaching, research and compassionate community funds. Please help us to continue these efforts. Send your contribution to: The Animal Medical Center, 510 East 62nd Street, New York, NY 10065. For more information, visit www.amcny.org. To make an appointment, please call 212.838.7053.
While I realize this story is not on par with O’Henry’s Gift of the Magi or Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, from a New Yorker’s perspective and a veterinarian’s viewpoint, it is a truly heartwarming story for the season.
The story starts with the daily 5:30 am email to AMC staff announcing the overnight admissions to the hospital. At first the list did not seem unusual, a coughing dog, a vomiting cat. But then I got to the ICU admission of a “stray” hedgehog. Stray didn’t seem quite right, since hedgehogs are clearly not indigenous to New York City. When I arrived in ICU for morning rounds, sure enough, there was a hedgehog, pictured here, eating cat food pellets from a paper plate.
The ICU staff reported the hedgehog had been found the night before on Third Avenue near Dylan’s Candy Bar and was brought to The Animal Medical Center by a Good Samaritan who kindly took a shopping break to help this poor creature reach a safe haven. The hedgehog was not your “typical hedgehog,” it had a bandage on one of its hind legs and when the ICU staff examined the hedgehog, they found the bandage covered a recent surgical site. The AMC’s Avian and Exotic Pet Service was contacted and they reported caring for a patient matching the description of the hedgehog in ICU. The phone-a-thon to locate the owner began immediately, but was unsuccessful in reaching the hedgehog’s family.
The hedgehog stayed in the Exotic Pet ward at AMC for the next couple of days. Her presence made all of us smile to see such a cute little critter in our midst. At the end of the day, a few days after the hedgehog arrived at AMC, Dr. Cazzolli of AMC’s Emergency Service was heading home on the subway. Posted in the Lexington Avenue subway station were lost pet flyers announcing, you guessed it, a missing hedgehog. Immediately, Dr. Cazzolli called the owner who was overjoyed to learn her hedgehog was safe at The AMC, where she was happily reunited with Madame, the formerly stray hedgehog.
Pretty incredible, a city of millions of people, wrapped up in their pre-Christmas frenzy, a kind stranger and now a 300 gram hedgehog is back with her family for the holidays. As Tiny Tim would say, “God bless us every one.”
For nearly a century, The Animal Medical Center has been a national leader in animal health care, known for its expertise, innovation and success in providing routine, specialty and emergency medical care for companion animals. Thanks in part to the enduring generosity of donors, The AMC is also known for its outstanding teaching, research and compassionate community funds. Please help us to continue these efforts. Send your contribution to: The Animal Medical Center, 510 East 62nd Street, New York, NY 10065. For more information, visit www.amcny.org. To make an appointment, please call 212.838.7053.
Medical professionals, veterinarians included, speak to each other in our own language, more difficult to understand than either ancient Latin or Greek. This language is confusing to pet owners and often results in question about medication administration.
This weekend was a case in point. An owner called while she was out of town on vacation. I had completely confused her with my instructions on how much medication to administer. She was hours away and unable to drop by The Animal Medical Center for a refresher course. In giving instructions, I forgot pet owners are not always well versed in scientific weights and measures and the sight of an oral dosing syringe can induce paralysis in even the most educated client. Here are the definitions for some of the most confusing terms.
Milliliter (ml) is a measure of volume and a liquid medication dose is commonly given in milliliters. A milliliter is the same as a cc (cubic centimeter). But a milliliter does not tell how much medication is being given. Medication is typically measured in milligrams (mg). For example, a tablet of the antibiotic amoxicillin contains a set number of milligrams, but the milligrams contained in a milliliter of amoxicillin depend on the particular antibiotic brand’s strength. In other words, all liquid medications are not created equal. Veterinarians will always talk about how many milligrams your pet needs when you want to know is how many milliliters to squirt down the throat of your dog who has its teeth clamped shut and has just slipped under your king sized bed.
A diabetic pet presents a special set of challenges, one of which is how much insulin to give. Based on the comments above, the careful reader would surmise insulin is given in milliliters – it is a liquid medication after all. But no, it is given in units and double no, 1 unit does not equal a milliliter. If you have U 100 insulin, 100 units = 1 milliliter. If you have U 40 insulin, 40 units = 1 milliliter. To complicate matters more, each insulin needs its own special syringe matched to the type of insulin, ie, U 100 syringes for U 100 insulin. Understanding these seemingly trivial differences means success or failure in treating your diabetic pet.
Decimal points are another prescription predicament. The numbers 5.0, 0.5 and .05 are 100 fold different and yet when they appear on a prescription label they can be confusing. Proper prescriptions use zeros to highlight a decimal point. Numbers should have a leading zero before any decimal point, ie 0.5 is correct. Numbers should not have a trailing zero, ie 5.0 is incorrect. These differences highlight how carefully pet owners should read a medication label before administering a new medication.
Finally, because of the obesity epidemic in pets, veterinarians are making pet owners more conscious of how much pets eat. One cup is easy to understand, but calories per cup vary dramatically. One cup of Eukanuba puppy food contains 503 kcal and one cup of their weight control product for large breed dogs contains 272 kcal. Some foods list kcal per kg (kilogram) of food. Converting kilograms (a measure of weight) to cups (a measure of volume) requires advanced math, or a scale from your local cookware shop.
So when it comes to medicating your pet, ask lots of questions and don’t be afraid to call your veterinarian’s office for clarification, because a microgram of prevention is worth a milligram of cure.
Have you ever encountered problems with your pet’s medication dosing? Tell us your story by commenting below!
For nearly a century, The Animal Medical Center has been a national leader in animal health care, known for its expertise, innovation and success in providing routine, specialty and emergency medical care for companion animals. Thanks in part to the enduring generosity of donors, The AMC is also known for its outstanding teaching, research and compassionate community funds. Please help us to continue these efforts. Send your contribution to: The Animal Medical Center, 510 East 62nd Street, New York, NY 10065. For more information, visit www.amcny.org. To make an appointment, please call 212.838.7053.
On June 15th the AMC will hold its annual white coat ceremony welcoming a new group of young veterinarians to AMC. These veterinarians were selected from a pool of hundreds of the brightest and best young veterinarians in the country. For the next 13 months, these 18 veterinarians will rotate though the various specialties at The AMC, guided by The AMC’s experienced staff. Their experiences at The AMC will expand upon the knowledge they gained during four years of veterinary college. This coming year embodies the final line of the Veterinarian’s Oath, taken at graduation from veterinary college, “I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my professional knowledge and competence.”
This week’s white coat ceremony marks the transition from veterinary student to veterinary medical professional. Medical colleges, schools of pharmacy and colleges of veterinary medicine are all adding the white coat ceremony to their annual calendars. Initiated in 1993, at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, the white coat ceremony was developed to realign the balance between scientifically based medical care and compassionate patient care. Veterinarians carry the additional responsibility of preserving the human-companion animal bond and in their oath, veterinarians promise to “benefit of society through the protection of animal health, the relief of animal suffering, the conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge.”
Medical professionals adopted the white coat, because it was considered to be pure and hygienic. Scientists also wore the white coat. With the coming of the 19th century, medicine moved into the world of science and away from the medieval practices such as exorcism, incantations and blood letting. With the change in emphasis in the practice of medicine, the members of the profession needed to look their part. And thus, the white coat was chosen to represent responsibility, empathy, knowledge, skill and integrity and as is recited in the Veterinarian’s Oath, “I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity, and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics.
These are good words to live by and now you know why we wear those white coats. They are a constant reminder of our promise to those animals and their families we have the privilege of caring for daily.
The Animal Medical Center
For 100 years, The Animal Medical Center has been a national leader in animal health care, known for its expertise, innovation and success in providing routine, specialty and emergency medical care for companion animals. Thanks in part to the enduring generosity of donors, The AMC is also known for its outstanding teaching, research and compassionate community funds. Please help us to continue these efforts. Send your contribution to: The Animal Medical Center, 510 East 62nd Street, New York, NY 10065. For more information, visit http://www.amcny.org. To make an appointment, please call 212.838.7053.
What is acupuncture? Developed in China over 3,000 years ago, acupuncture uses small needles inserted into specific points on the body to achieve a desired healing effect. This technique has been used in both human and veterinary patients to treat existing conditions and also to prevent new problems from arising. According to Chinese medical philosophy, disease is a result of imbalance of energy in the body. Acupuncture is believed to balance this energy and assist the body in the healing process. In Western terms, acupuncture stimulates nerves, increases blood circulation, relieves muscle spasm and releases hormones such as endorphins that aid in pain control. Further research is needed to uncover all of acupuncture’s effects and for science to fully understand how this ancient art of healing truly works.
What conditions can acupuncture treat? In veterinary medicine, acupuncture has been most successful in treating musculoskeletal disorders, such as:
• Arthritis
• Intervertebral disc disease
• Hip dysplasia
Acupuncture may be a successful therapy for other diseases in conjunction with traditional Western medicine to treat:
• Skin problems such as allergies and lick granulomas
• Gastrointestinal problems such as inflammatory bowel disease, diarrhea and constipation
• Genitourinary problems such as chronic renal failure and urinary incontinence
• Respiratory problems such as feline asthma
• Endocrine problems such as diabetes mellitus and hyperthyroidism
• Neurological problems such as seizures
• Neoplasia such as lymphoma, mammary cancer and mast cell tumors
Is acupuncture painful? During acupuncture treatments, your pet lies comfortably on a padded mat. The insertion of acupuncture needles is virtually painless, and once the needles are in place there should be no discomfort to your pet. Most animals will become relaxed or even sleepy during their treatment. Sensation varies from animal to animal and some points on the body may be more sensitive than others. Human patients describe feelings similar to tingles, cramps or numbness, which may translate to mild discomfort in some pets.
Is acupuncture safe for my pet?
Acupuncture is one of the safest forms of medical treatment when performed by a trained veterinarian. Side effects are rare but do exist. In the first 24-48 hours following a treatment, some animals may appear sleepy or lethargic and the condition may appear to be worse. These symptoms reflect a physiologic change brought about by the treatment and are most often followed by an improvement in your pet’s condition.
How long do treatments last and how often must they be given? The length and frequency of treatments depends on the condition of the patient and the technique used by the veterinary acupuncturist. Stimulation of a single point may take as little as 10 seconds or as much as 30 minutes. A simple, acute injury such as a sprain may take one treatment, while a more severe or chronic disease can take multiple treatments.
When multiple visits are necessary, they usually begin intensely and are tapered to maximum efficiency. A positive response is usually seen after the first to third treatment. Once a maximum positive response is achieved (usually after 4-8 treatments), sessions are tapered off so the greatest amount of symptom-free time elapses between them. Many animals with chronic conditions can taper off to 2-4 treatments per year.
To learn more about acupuncture treatments and The AMC’s Rehabilitation and Fitness Service, join us at AMC’s PAW Day 2010, a day of pet and wellness fun for families and their furry companions, on Saturday, June 5 from 9am-12pm in Carl Schurz Park in Manhattan.
Acupuncture at The AMC Dr. Steven Chiros graduated from Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in 1998 and completed an internship in 1999 at The Animal Medical Center. He is a certified veterinary acupuncturist through the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society and has received extensive instruction in Chinese herbal medicine. To schedule an acupuncture consultation or to make an appointment with Dr. Chiros, please call 212.329.8610.
___________________ The Tina Santi Flaherty Rehabilitation and Fitness Service at The AMC
The only facility of its kind in New York City, The AMC’s Rehabilitation and Fitness Service provides innovative and state-of-the-art therapies for cats, dogs, birds and exotic animals. The Service specializes in non-invasive therapies to prevent the need for surgery, and in cases where surgery has been performed, it helps to accelerate and achieve a more complete recovery. Therapies offered include hydrotherapy, treadmills and deep-tissue ultrasound, as well as holistic therapies such as Reiki, Acupuncture and Acupressure.
The Service is directed by a team of professionals who are experts in the rehabilitative care of companion animals, including New York City’s only Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioners and Therapists.
The Animal Medical Center
For 100 years, The Animal Medical Center has been a national leader in animal health care, known for its expertise, innovation and success in providing routine, specialty and emergency medical care for companion animals. Thanks in part to the enduring generosity of donors, The AMC is also known for its outstanding teaching, research and compassionate community funds. Please help us to continue these efforts. Send your contribution to: The Animal Medical Center, 510 East 62nd Street, New York, NY 10065. For more information, visit www.amcny.org. To make an appointment, please call 212.838.7053.
Posted by Fur the Love of Pets 
