As most of you know, our focus at Knollwood Hospital for Pets is preventative care - through wellness examinations, as well as client education. Dr. Papacek, Dr. Boudreaux, and I are continually learning - like most of you, our learning doesn't end once we graduate! Most of us know that in order to keep up with changes in our professions, you have to read and keep up - and medicine changes faster all the time. The piddly minimum that any state requires veterinarians to document in continuing education hours simply isn't enough to keep up with the leaping, bounding changes that are happening in medicine today. How do we learn? We learn through ongoing research, through seminars (those we attend and those we teach), through spending time on VIN - the electronic veterinary source for medical news - and through reading many veterinary journals and books each month.
Several of us have contributed to veterinary books, too, and Dr. Boudreaux is now in the process of writing another one. Dr. Papacek is our VIN expert - she can find complete, thorough answers to any question faster than we can look them up in a book! In fact, she provided the information that appears in this newsletter. Our awesome Webmistress, Kelly Ryan developed it into an article for our January paper newsletter - I'm just adding to Kelly's work in this article. Right now, Dr. Papacek is working to prepare a detailed list of client handouts on veterinary health care topics that we think will interest you - so be sure to talk to her when you visit the hospital next, to find out what is applicable to your pet. Meanwhile, I will be spreading the news to other veterinarians as I continue my lecture and teaching schedule for 2007 and 2008.
So why do we spend all this time, when we could be enjoying a good cup at Caribou Coffee or walking the dogs (Dr. P's favorites), or could be fishing (Dr. B's favorite) or could be deep into reading a good P.D. James novel or gardening (my favorites)? Between our Doctors and our dedicated staff, we share our lives with over twenty dogs and even more cats, many bunnies, and assorted birds, fish, and reptiles, too. So we have a real interest in finding out what is current - and then we can pass this information on to you, when we see you for visits at the hospital. We feel that by learning and applying the newest and most innovative, effective, and safe treatments, we can teach you to care for your pets in the same loving and healthy way that we care for their own.
Recently, it has come to all of our Doctors’ attention that the guidelines for parasite control have changed. The Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC), an independent council of respected veterinary professionals, has found that even though heartworm disease is completely preventable, nearly a quarter of a million dogs are diagnosed with it every year. Every three years, the American Heartworm Society publishes a map showing the spread of the disease – and every three years, the areas become larger and larger. This is unacceptable.
Would you ever put your pet in harm's way? Knowingly expose them to an infection that could potentially be fatal? Never! Yet there are millions of pet owners who do not give their pets heartworm preventative every month. The CAPC has released new guidelines for the protection of your pets from parasites, including, but not limited to, heartworm. It is now recommended to give heartworm prevention year-round. Dr. Papecek started doing this in her former practice several years ago. Now, most of you know that I am not one to jump on new trends until they have been proven. But after holding Dr. Papecek's toes to the fire on this issue, and listening to her rationale for year-round prevention, and reading the reams of data she produced - guess what - she is 100% correct. And, after our scarily warm late fall and early winter (the past few weeks notwithstanding), you'd have to be living with your head under a rock to not see that parasites are definitely a year-round issue. So, as we speak, my Lizzie and Sofia are now on year round Heartgard.
Year-round heartworm preventative will also provide better protection for other parasites, such as roundworms and hookworms, which are known as zoonotic agents. “Zoonotic” means that the disease is communicable from animals to adults and children. Roundworms more commonly affect children, and can cause vision loss, pulmonary disease, and even neurological disease. Hookworms can penetrate the skin of anyone that walks barefoot (or sits) in the areas where a pet defecates. Have you ever walked through your backyard on a warm summer day with no shoes on? Ever sat on a nice warm beach or a nice grassy meadow and watched dogs frolic in the water or in the grass? Well, as you're watching, hookworms are invading your body through any surface that is touching the ground. Ever felt a little itchy after sitting there? I thought so!
Treating your pets and their environments for the control of fleas and ticks will also prevent the transmission of illnesses, as well. Did you know that fleas are a host for tapeworms, which can infect not only your pets, but you and your family? That tick-borne diseases can affect people, too? That some of the parasites that affect raccoons, foxes, squirrels, and other wild animals that trek through our yards - regardless of whether we have fences or not - can infect our families? Think about that when a family member walks barefoot in the yard....or works in heavily landscaped areas where ticks and fleas hang out...ewwww! That's why, thanks to Dr. Papacek's carefully researched data, I've stepped up my use of Frontline, too, because I still think that this is the best way to protect against diseases carried by fleas and ticks.
We're not passing along this information so that you can walk in fear (with shoes, of course) that you're surrounded by parasites. Parasites are a fact of life - but having your health affected by them doesn't have to be! We want to educate you so that you can take the necessary precautions to protect your pets and, in turn, your families from zoonotic agents and unnecessary infections. As medical professionals, my staff and I are concerned for your and your pets’ safety.
That's why we hammer at you about the need for heartworm testing and prevention. And why we talk to you about the months of the year that you need Frontline. And that's why we require that fecal samples be brought in at least once a year for testing. And, why, if you forget to bring a sample, we send you home with a pre-paid container for sample collection and return to the hospital at your earliest convenience. If your pets frequent areas that other animals are defecating near, such as doggie day cares, dog parks, or ponds where geese inhabit, or if you use a common area to walk your pet (as most condominiums and smaller subdivisions have), or you have wild creatures trooping though your yard, it is recommended that a fecal sample be brought in at least twice a year.
To learn more about parasite control, you can visit the CAPC website at www.petsandparasites.org.
