Micro Chip for pet Rescue

Have you ever lost your pet? Your heart jumps into your throat as you think what may happen if you don't find our loved pet as soon as possible.

What do you do???? Put posters up, go around the neighborhood, call your veterinarian, notify your facebook and worry.

Let's do everything we can to help get your pet back home. The first and simplest to do, is be sure you keep a collar and ID tag on your pet. Anyone that finds your pet can then call the phone number on the ID tag to let you know your pet has been found. A very low tech and simple way to recover your pet.

But what if your pet loses its tag?

That is where microchipping comes in to help protect your pet. We use Home Again chips for that additional safety. When you have a simple injection of the microchip you have added an additional layer of protection to get your pet home again. If your pet is lost and then presented to a rescue group, shelter or veterinarian the scanning for the chip can occur and give quick identification of your lost pet.

We like Home Again chips because for the first year after chipping the chip fee at our clinic includes the chip, chip placement, a year of access to poison control, registered with the PetMicrochipLookup.org, lost pet notification to the surrounding area and a $3,000 insurance policy for medical care during the time the pet is lost.

If you have not microchipped your pets, let me encourage you to get your pets protected.

Have any of you ever had your pet lost and found with the aid of a microchip?

Dog Safety - Not in Hybrids

Dogs and Infants - I just want everyone who has babies, young children or even older infirmed individuals to please be aware that unfortunate events can occur with our pets (especially if they are wolf/coyote hybrids) in our homes. The incident here in Central Kentucky this past week is an example of this possibility.The Native American Indian Dog that carried a 3 day old infant from his crib and out to the woods behind the owners home could have been a much uglier outcome. Even with the skull fractures, broken ribs and collapsing lungs the child has improved to serious from critical. We pray for his continued healing. This could have been a predator/prey behavior or could have been a mothering instinct. No way to know for sure.

BUT let's think about what to do to prevent this from even happening.

First - don't have a "dog" that is a wolf hybrid, coyote hybrid or any other type of wild stock. These types of animals may prove to be unpredictable due to their wild heritage. There is NO approved rabies vaccine for them to afford protection for them or their owners. Select a breed that has a breed personality that is suited to your attitude and ability to train effectively.

Second - Be sure an extended introduction period of the dog or cat and the newborn is undertaken. This introduction period is not just a few days and could be over a period of years as the pet grows and the child grows.

Third - Obedience training helps to establish a dominance and pack order in which dogs are secure. By training you establish yourself as the alpha individual and places the dog in the subordinate position.

Vaccine Reactions

Just a reminder for everyone, vaccine reactions can occur after any vaccine is given. Unfortunately, the smaller the dog the more likely we are to have a vaccine if multiple vaccines injections are given at the same time. This risk can be reduced if you will spread the injections apart by 2 or 3 weeks.
Reactions can be as mild as a being a bit lethargic or as severe as an acute anaphylaxis. Delayed onset reactions like AutoImmune Hemolytic Anemia has also been associated as a vaccine reaction.
If you do a blood titer you may be able to reduce the number of vaccines you will be giving your pet and thereby reduce the risk of reaction.

Be sure to talk to you veterinarian or ask us at the clinic if you would like more information.

Overall pet care recommendations

We all want the best for our pets. The following information is given to our clients and their pets as a guideline to quality health care. These guidelines will help you know what care you should be looking for from your veterinarian.

The Animal Care Clinic's goal for each pet is for them to live a long and healthy life. To that end, there are several different areas of health care that the Animal Care Clinic doctors and staff can have a major influence along with you as an owner on your pet's quality and quantity of life. In order of importance these areas are:

Comprehensive Physical Exams: Comprehensive physical exams are the basis for optimal care. During each comprehensive physical exam the major systems are reviewed by history and hands on exam. From the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail, by visual exam, by palpation, and by measuring the basic parameters of weight, temperature and heart rate the exam gives us an initial assessment of the pet's health status.

Food Choice: As owners, the choice of food and the feeding of proper amounts is the most influential portion of health care you provide for your pet on a daily basis. There are many options available to us for consideration. We at the Animal Care Clinic recommend iVet as a food of choice for most of our patients that do not have special needs. However, other foods or even homemade formulas may be necessary for optimal health. Diet is part of the history taken at each comprehensive physical exam.

Laboratory testing: As the comprehensive physical exam provides a look into the externally available information, laboratory testing gives us a look at the inner workings of the body. A fecal exam should be performed every 6 months, blood testing and urinalysis should be performed every 6 to 12 months, heartworm testing every 12 months. As our pets age we may need to add blood pressure measurement, glaucoma testing, EKG, or more may be necessary to diagnose or monitor disease conditions.

Vaccinations: Because each animal is different, the Animal Care Clinic subscribes to the concept of risk factoring. Risk factoring allows us to help focus the need for which type of vaccine your pet should receive based upon their own lifestyle. Depending on the pet being an urban, rural, social, or an isolated pet points to the type of vaccine to be given. The Animal Care Clinic also subscribes to the idea of extended vaccine protocols to minimize vaccine side effect risk. In some instances, blood testing of protective titers can allow us to safely extend the period between vaccines.

Micro chipping: This simple injection can help protect your pet from being lost without an ability to be identified. The procedure can be performed at any office visit as no anesthesia is required to implant the chip.

Neutering: Spaying (ovariohysterectomy) or castration (orchidectomy) helps your pet to be a better member of the family. By neutering our pets we can help with pet population control. These procedures are normally performed at 6 months of age.

Emergency Care: We provide emergency service by having a doctor on call. Simply call the office at 223-8866.

For appointments or emergencies simply call (859)223-8866

Officer Don and Pilot

I went for my initial helicopter ride with Officer Don yesterday to check out how Pilot will do as Officer Don's copilot. We had a wonderful flight around the Lexington-Georgetown-Paris area. The weather was beautiful and the air was smooth.

As Pilot finishes his "flight school" we will look forward to his traveling with Officer Don on some of his flight duties. Pilot should do really well.

If anyone has an interest in learning to fly - plane or helicopter - be sure to contact Officer Don for his help.

Pip has been found after 5 years

A poodle/terrier that I micro-chipped as a young dog in Lexington, Kentucky was found in Palm Springs, CA after being missing for 5 years. The owners were at their resort home in Palm Springs when Pip got loose.

Read the story at the below link

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20090604/NEWS01/906040329/Missing+dog+found+5+years+later

This is a great story and shows the value of getting your pet micro-chipped.

Hootie's results

We received confirmation today from the pathologist about Hootie's pathology report. He has ostoesarcoma (bone cancer). We are currently working up his chemo therapy protocol now that we have confirmed the type of cancer.

The following link is to pictures taken during the surgery. These pictures may be a bit graphic - so if you have a weak stomach or young children please be forewarned.

If you have had similar experiences please feel free to share them with others through the blog thread.

http://animalcareclinic.net/member_content/292_amputation.html