Itching and skin disease are one of the major complaints we attend to, particularly throughout the summer. Many of these pets are suffering from inhalant allergies. Their bodies become itchy when they are exposed to various pollens, weeds and other airborne allergens. The itchiness leads to constant licking and scratching which then leads to secondary problems such as infections, skin thickening, bad odors and sores.
We can diagnose inhalant allergies with the aid of blood testing. Ideally, an allergic pet's body can be taught to be less reactive to the offending allergens through a process called desensitization. This involves a long term process of injecting a personalized "vaccine" under the skin of your pet. The process is very effective, but it takes 12 to 20 months to be successful.
While we are waiting for the desensitization to occur, we can frequently relieve the symptoms with a new drug called Cyclosporine. This drug was originally developed to help transplant patients not reject their new organs. Research has shown that at lower doses, Cyclosporine is very effective in reducing the itchiness associated with inhalant allergies with a minimum of side effects.
If you have a pet with chronic skin problems, ask one of our doctors if cyclosporine therapy might be appropriate for him/her.

Intestinal parasitism is a common problem in dogs and cats. Worms and cellular parasites rob nutrients from our pets. They can cause diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss and unthriftiness. Unfortunately, you can not see most of these invaders because they live their life in the intestines. Moreover, most of them are microscopic and can not be seen by the naked eye.
Parasites are most commonly transmitted by ingestion of the microscopic eggs which your pet might get on their paws when stepping in another pet's stool, or from grooming another pet. Some parasites, like Giardia are found in untreated water which a pet might ingest while hiking. Some, like tapeworms are gotten by ingesting infected fleas.
Many parasites of pets are communicable to humans and are particularly risky for young children and pregnant women. Fortunately, most parasites are easily detected by laboratory examination of the feces. Routine dewormings and use of monthly preventive drugs can greatly reduce the chances of your pet getting intestinal parasites.
We recommend that all pets have a stool examination at least once yearly (twice yearly for outdoor pets). You can bring in a fresh sample of stool in a plastic bag, or we can obtain a sample directly from your pet. The results are known in 15 minutes and treatment can be initiated immediately if parasites are found.

Mr. Jinx is a 5 year old neutered male cat. He was brought in last week with a complaint of going to the cat box frequently and crying. The owner noted spots of bloody urine dribbling around the house.
On presentation, Mr. Jinx was somewhat depressed. His was breathing rapidly and his heart rate was elevated. When we palpated his belly, his bladder was large, firm and painful.
We ran blood tests, urinalysis and radiographs of Mr. Jinx's abdomen. The blood tests were normal. The urinalysis revealed large amounts of blood and white blood cells along with crystals known as struvite. X-rays showed a large bladder with no gross evidence of stones.
We diagnosed Mr. Jinx with urethral obstruction caused by accumulation of crystals and debris in the penis. This is a life threatening disease because if an animal can't urinate, the pressure backs up into the kidney and causes them to go into renal failure. Mr. Jinx was fortunate, in that his owners caught the problem early. Click on the link below to find out what we did to help this poor kitty.

Reina is a beautiful 7 year old Great Pyranees dog who has lived her entire life in this area. She came in last week for a routine geriatric examination. According to the owner, she has some issues with arthritis, but is otherwise healthy.
Reina's owners were concerned about her general health and some issues with arthritis. Because she is getting older (particularly for a giant breed dog) we recommended a full geriatric workup for her which included, a Complete Blood Count (CBC), Chemistry Profile, Thyroid evaluation, Heartworm test, fecal parasite test, urinalysis, along with radiographs of the chest, belly and hips. When we got the bloodwork back from the lab, we were all surprised to find that she tested positive for heartworm disease!
We've covered this subject in a recent newsletter, so you can click the link below for the details about this disease. Reina had never been on heartworm preventive medication, and the owners, who live in Wrightwood were under the assumption that they had no mosquitos (who carry the heartworm disease) in their area. Fortunately, Reina's infection was detected before the heartworms had time to inflict any significant damage and she is expected to make a full recovery with treatment.
This is a perfect example how routine preventive medical testing can help us detect and treat problems before they become major issues. I encourage you to have all your dogs tested for heartworm disease and placed on monthly preventive medication as soon as possible.