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About 2 weeks ago a little girl and her father came into the hospital with a couple day old black kitten they found on the side of the road. Part of her left rear leg had been chewed (most likely from it’s mom) to just below the knee. They couldn’t keep her so they brought her here, not knowing what we would do with her but figuring we would most likely put her to sleep. Well, my receptionist Ashly comes back with this pathetic black kitten in her hands and asks me what can we do. She really looked so helpless in Ashly’s hands, her poor little leg chewed. So I thought, what the heck, let’s see if we can save this little kitty. So that afternoon, we put Delores under anesthesia and amputated her leg at the mid thigh. We honestly didn’t think she would make it through the surgery, being so young and going through quite a bit of trauma in such a short period of time in her very short life. But Delores came through surgery like a trooper! She handled anesthesia like a pro and recovered very well. I was really worried about her being in pain afterwards but as soon as she was awake, we offered her a bottle and she was completely content.

Delores just had her sutures removed yesterday and has been doing great. Ashly has decided that Delores is going to stay with her. She’s become quite attached to Delores since she has had to bottle feed her since she came here. She is growing every day and is getting more and more active and more and more demanding for her food! We expect her to have no problem getting around on 3 legs since that will be all she has ever known. We all have enjoying watching Delores grow and having the opportunity to give her a chance at life!

Every once in a while, we’ll get a client that will get upset with us for recommending too many services for their pet. Why are we recommending all of these things? Because we want your pet to live a long and healthy life. It is our job to recommend things that are necessary to ensure that they stay healthy. If we aren’t doing that, then we aren’t doing our job properly and your pet may not stay as healthy as he or she can be nor live as long as they can. What kinds of things might we be recommending? Weight loss so your pet has a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, arthritis. Teeth cleanings so they don’t lose teeth or get infections in their mouth that can spread to their heart, liver, and kidneys. Fecal examinations to check for intestinal parasites, some of which can be transmitted to you and your family. Heartworm tests that check for heartworm disease, ehrlichia, and lyme disease. We have treated cases of heartworm disease in our hospital and ehrlichia is a tick disease that is very prevalent in Arizona. There are also cases of lyme disease that are diagnosed in Arizona too. Check out dogsandticks.com for more about hearworm, ehrlichia, and lyme disease. Now, if you went to your doctor and they didn’t recommend things to you that would help extend your life, wouldn’t you be upset? So, please don’t get upset or irritated if we recommend these or other services for your pet. We just want to recommend what is best for them because we know they are a part of your family.

Right now allergies are in full swing for pets and for people. But some owners have something worse than seasonal allergies, they are allergic to their pets. This can be pretty devastating to find out you are allergic to your beloved friends. Here are some helpful tips to try and help minimize allergies to your furry friends.

1. Visit a reputable allergist
-insist on thorough testing
-remove all “other” allergens in home
-desensitizing shots (immunotherapy) can be very effective

2. Clear the air
-have at least one good air purifier with HEPA filter
-keep pets out of bedroom

3. Allergy-proof your home
-have as many washable surfaces as possible (ie wood floors, blinds, roll-up shades)
-desensitize sleeping area at minimum (ie non-allergenic bedding, waterbed)
-let someone else vacuum

4. Manage the pet
-groom/brush daily (preferable someone without allergies); wipe down cats with barely damp cloth once daily
-feed a complete, balanced diet
-let someone else care for the litterbox and the dust that comes with it

Spring is here and the winter rains have nourished the land bringing lots of green living things to Arizona! But in with all that beautiful green is something that can be dangerous to your pet…foxtails. Foxtails are a weed that seem to grow everywhere in the spring time. Chances are good that you have foxtails growing in your back yard right now. Once they dry out, each individual piece blows away and they get everywhere! They have little barbs on them and stick to your pets fur. They can get into their ears, in their eyes causing ulcers, in between their toes causing festering sores, in to their tonsils, on females they can get into their vulva when they urinate and I’ve even seen one get inside the penis of a male cat. Foxtails, once they enter the body, will migrate further in because of their barbs, and cause irritation, sores, festering tracks, and a lot of pain and discomfort to your pet. If you suspect your pet has a foxtail, it is important to bring him or her to see us as soon as possible so it can be removed. Things you can do to try and prevent foxtails from being a problem in your pet include ridding your yard of weeds, checking your pet for foxtails each time they go outside, and for long haired pets, keeping them trimmed, especially around the toes and ears to try and prevent foxtails from getting tangled in their fur. Foxtails can be quite a nuisance so we hope this helps you to keep your pet foxtail free this spring!

We take every possible step to ensure that our patients receive the very best pharmaceutical products available. This is especially important with life threatening illnesses. However, we understand and empathize with the desire to find veterinary products cheaper. We know that .com sites appear to present these products cheaper than we are able to. If you wish, we will indeed write prescriptions for your pet for these products in lieu of selling them here. We do, however, wish for your decision to be an informed decision and we want you to know several things regarding.com/discount sales:

1. All major manufacturers maintain a strict policy of sales exclusively to licensed veterinarians for the purpose of prescribing and selling these products for their patients. All .com/discount sales are through non-approved (bootleg) channels.

2. Most guarantees that manufacturers make regarding their products are null and void if their products are purchased through non approved channels. This includes the guarantee reimbursement programs for Heartgard heartworm preventative, as well as all flea and intestinal parasite claims and coupon discounts we offer.

3. Some pharmaceuticals manufactured and labeled for use in other countries have been know to be illegally diverted and sold through these discount houses in the U. S.

4. Discount houses have been cited by the FDA and State Boards of Pharmacy for violating prescription procedures. One was fined over $100,000 by the FDA and Florida Department of Health. This particular .com site has also been sued for the same by the Texas Board of Veterinary Examiners and the Texas Pharmacy Board.

5. Our products come with a person to help you utilize them in the most efficient manner. For example, we welcome and immeciately address questions regarding a product that was purchased here.

6. Shipping charges, delays, and mis-shipments aling with damaged/counterfeit products are several of the reasons that many clients feel that the hassles of dealing with the discount houses are not worth the savings.

7. Understand that the sales of many of our retail products help subsidize the cost of other services at the hospital, namely emergency and rarely used drugs.

I had dogs as a child but after the age of maybe 8 or 10, all of our dogs had passed away from one thing or another. After that, we always had cats. It wasn’t until 5 years ago that I got another dog. I was very hesitant to do so as I had become so accustomed to cats. They are very independent, they use a litter box, you can leave them for a weekend with plenty of food and water and they do very well. However, I made the decision to get a dog…but not just any dog…a female black pug. I had fallen in love with pugs some time ago and would say if I ever got a dog it would be a pug and it would have to be a girl. And I really liked the black coloring as it is not as common as the faun. So my quest for a female black pug puppy began. It took me about 6 months to finally find one but I found one from a breeder in Tucson. She was born on December 28th and 5 weeks later I got to see her for the first time. She was small enough to fit in my hand. The next trip to see her was at 12 weeks of age when I finally got to bring her home. I was still very hesitant going down to get her as to whether or not I wanted a dog. However, on the way back home, she and I bonded and I’ve been in love ever since.

Dogs are really amazing creatures. I guess I had forgotten or maybe I never really knew it as a kid because all we ever had were outdoor dogs so they were just “dogs” and not really part of the family. My dog is always happy to see me. Even though she sees me every morning, she is still just as happy today as she was yesterday. Same goes for meal time- she is always appreciative of her meals, even though I have fed her every day for the past 5 years. She is my shadow, following me around at work and around at home. She listens to my troubles, she let’s me hold her tightly when I am upset. She gives me kisses every morning on the way to work. She makes me smile when she tilts her head. She makes me laugh with the sounds that she makes. She warms my heart with the looks that she gives. My life is better because of my dog. I am very blessed to have her in my life and to be her mom.