Pets help us reflect on the chapters of our life

Isn't it amazing about our pets.

My favorite picture is of my daughter Elyse with our dog Zin as she is holding him with her goofy glasses on. If you are a subscriber to our email newsletter, you see this picture often. If not, then do it right away, by clicking here - it's free!

But our pets, while being a part of our lives, also help to chronicle the chapters of our life. In our own case, Kelly and I had Tigger and Tiger since just before we were married. I have them to Kelly as a present one Christmas.

And they shared with us our first 14 years of married life. They saw us bring home our first 3 children. They moved with us from place to place to place from Schaumburg, to Milwaukee, to Clinton to Maroa. Then Oliver (now 5) came along and the kids were so excited because he was playing and chasing things 'Tiger never does this'. Kelly and I got all misty eyed " He used to do that." Kelly taught him to 'fetch' pearls, and he would chase them in circles until he would fall over.

Lazarus was our first dog, and through an accident - even DVM's make the mistake of not keeping the dog on a leash while on the morning jog, he was killed. I got him from a rescue at one of the clinics when I was a relief Dr. We had him almost 1 year, and he was so skinny, he could only walk 10 feet before having to stop and pant and catch his breath. He went from 28 lbs to 39 lbs when we got them to the correct weight.

Next week some more stories. and chapters in Raymond Ramirez's life

What about Heartworm disease?

What do you know about heartworm disease in our pets?

Here is a Heartworm 101:
Dogs get it by being bitten by a mosquito
The dog does not have to be in contact with other dogs.
Inside dogs can still be bitten by a mosquito.
An arsenic based medicine is used to kill the heartworm if the dog has it (obviously a potential problem for the dog also)

Preventative is less than $0.30 per day for even the biggest dogs.

The heartworm preventative we recommend - Interceptor- also takes care of _three_ of the most common intestinal parasites, Roundworm, Hookworm and Whipworms. No other monthly Heartworm preventative also does this.

Make sure your dog is tested, then put on preventative.

Also, just like West Nile, people and cats can get this also.
the cycle is the same, except since the cat is not the natural host, the worm behaves differently.

Dental month and behavior information

As we complete February dental health month, we still have a few items that are approved by the Veterinary Oral Health Council.

To be honest, I did not know about this organization of dedicated veterinarians who scientifically test the different tartar control products.

Isn't it true that just about every other product you see on the dog and cat shelves claims to have 'tartar control' or 'tartar reduction'. But are the claims true?

According to the Veterinary Oral Health Council web site

They have a list of products that have been the approval of the VOHC. And interestingly, there are only 22 items. It sounds like a lot until you realize very few are in the 'treat' category, and only one is one of the water additives.

Check out the site to see what is a better food and treat for your dog and cat. And call us to pick up the T/D food for the $5.00 off that the manufacturer extended to us. As you look at the chart on the VOHC web site, you will notice that the T/D food was the first the receive the approval of the Veterinary Oral Health Council.

Mallory and Cherie attended the Mississippi Valley Veterinary Conference. Dr Rolan Tripp, a veterinary behaviorist, was the speaker, and they received a lot of great information. Look here and on our web site, and email newsletter and Facebook page for the expanding opportunities to teach your dog or cat new 'citizenship'.

You can check Dr Tripp's web site at animalBehavior.net.