Thank all of you who have expressed concern and well wishes for Dr. Henderson's Irish Setter, Robbie. In case you missed the last newsletter, Robbie was diagnosed with nasal cancer a few months ago. He completed a rather intensive 20 day program of radiation therapy about 6 weeks ago and he appears to be improving daily. The radiation caused him to lose the hair on most of his face, and, initially, the skin turned a bright pink. With time, the skin has been repigmenting and he is looking more like his old self.
We recently took x-rays of Robbie's skull and for now, Robbie is symptom free and doing very well. We hope this remission lasts for a long time, however the oncologists are hoping for about a year before the cancer rears its ugly head again. If, and when that happens, we will have to deal with it, but for now we are all enjoying seeing our "house dog" back to his old self.

Dental disease is the most common ailment facing our pet populations today! Studies show that 80% of pets over the age of 3 years have significant periodontal (gums) and dental disease. Left untreated, dental disease can lead to premature loss of teeth, infected gums, halitosis, and frequently may cause systemic infections in the liver, lungs and heart!
National Pet Dental Awareness month has been developed to help educate owners about the importance of dental hygiene in the overall health of your pets. We have put together a number of promotions for this coming month, which should help you evaluate and treat your pet's dental conditions:
 

• Free Dental Evaluations: You can schedule a free dental health evaluation to be performed by our trained technicians daily during our normal office hours. The technician will evaluate your pet's dental health and give you recommendations regarding any necessary treatments, home care products and techniques and nutritional counseling
• 20% Discount: In order to make dental hygiene more affordable, all Dental services will be discounted 20% during the month with the mention of this newsletter (you can clip the coupon below)
• Free small bag of T/D diet with all comprehensive dental cleanings.

So many of our mixed breed owners ask us, "which breeds do you think my dog comes from?" This age old question has, to this point been a best guess on our parts based on certain breed specific characteristics. Unfortunately, it has never been particularly accurate despite our best intentions.
With the advent of sophisticated DNA testing, a new test has been developed which can give owners the answers they have been yearning for for years. Wisdom Panel MX is a new test offered by Mars Veterinary Inc. which will give you a detailed analysis of your pet's genetic ancestry. A small blood sample is all that is needed to find out which of 130 AKC recognized breeds participated in the creation of your beloved pet. The test is painless and results are returned to us in a few weeks along with a detailed report for you indicating the breed ancestry and their specific traits.
If you look at your pet and ask "Who's your daddy?", the answer is just a blood test away. Call us today for more information.

Maggie is a beautiful 4 year old Australian Shepard who presented to us last summer with a vague history of "not being herself". According to the owners, Maggie had been listless and not willing to play as she usually does for about a week prior to coming in. Her appetite was decreased and it appeared as if her thirst had increased. She had been vomiting after drinking for the past few days as well. On Presentation, Maggie was subdued but responsive. Her physical exam revealed mild dental tartar, slightly enlarged sub mandibular lymph nodes and no other gross abnormalities. With this history, almost anything could be wrong with Maggie. We began our diagnostics with a comprehensive blood profile and urinaylsis. The blood tests were essentially normal with the exception of an elevated calcium level. Urine tests were normal as well. Elevated calcium levels can be associated with exposure to certain rodent baits (those containing vitamin D3 or Cholecalcipherol), kidney failure, parathyroid tumors and certain types of cancer including perianal gland adenocarcinoma and lymphosarcoma. Based on these findings, we decided to submit an aspirate from the enlarged lymph node (looking for cancer) as well as take radiographs of the chest and belly (looking for other sources of cancer). The cytology would not return for 24 hours, but we did not want to leave Maggie with the high levels of circulating calcium as they can be toxic to the kidneys and lead to kidney failure.