Jake is an 8 year old chocolate labrador retriever who took a nap in the wrong place! Last week, Jake decided to find a bit of shade under his owner's truck and fell asleep. The owner started up the truck and ran over Jake as he headed off. Fortunately, he felt the bump and heard the dog scream and backed off of him quickly. They scooped Jake up in a blanket and rushed him into the clinic. When they arrived, they relayed what had happened. The owners reported that he had been able to stand on 3 legs prior to their transporting him in. He was unable to use his right hind leg however.
When they arrived, Jake was shocky, his gums were pale and he was panting in pain. After a thorough physical exam, it was clear that the right thigh bone was fractured. We admitted Jake to the hospital and did a series of tests (blood tests, x-rays, and electrocardiogram) to determine the extent of his injuries. We administered IV fluids and drugs to fight against the shock and pain. Within a few hours Jake was resting more comfortably and we were sure that his only major injury was the broken femur.

Recently, the California state legislature was considering a bill (AB 1634) which would require all dogs in California to be sterilized by the age of 4 months. Failure to adhere to this mandate would result in a $500.00 fine to the owners for each pet not sterilized. The bill was brought to the floor with the concept of helping to reduce the number of pets flooding into the shelters and subsequently be euthanized.
There is no question that we have a severe problem with pet overpopulation and we are strongly supportive of responsible pet ownership and breeding. However, this bill did not seem to have been thought out well enough to really fix the situation and places severe penalties on well meaning pet owners. The bill was tabled in committee after an overwhelming response by pet owners put pressure on legislators to defeat the bill.
There is a good chance that this bill will reemerge in the coming months. I encourage you to review this bill at http://www.legisweb.net/v2/public/calm/Retrieve.asp?ref=urn%3Acalm%3A2007%3Aab1634%3Adoc and let your legislators know your thoughts about it. Click below for a website with references to your legislators.

Our diagnostic imaging department has always boasted up to date ultrasound and x-ray imaging. We have made major investments in updating these modalities to bring us the best images of your pets possible. Last winter we have installed a cutting edge digital x-ray machine. This machine enables us to ultra-high detail radiographs in literally seconds. Moreover, because the digital sensor is more sensitive than film, we can use less radiation to create the image, keeping your pets and our staff safer.
In our ultrasound department, we replaced our aging Accuson unit to a high resolution GE Logiq unit which is commonly used by our physician counterparts. The detail we are able to see with this machine is much greater than our older one and hence, we can be more accurate in our diagnostics.
Keeping our equipment on the cutting edge is just another way in which we try to fulfill our commitment to bringing you the finest veterinary medical services in the Inland Empire. If you would like to take a look at our new machines, ask the staff the next time you are in!

This spring pet owners across the country were alarmed about tainted pet food which was causing kidney failure in a number of animals. The source of the contamination was traced back to a Chinese food additive. The exact mechanism of toxicity is still under debate. Fortunately, the companies involved have responded quickly and recalled the bulk of the potentially contaminated feed. For the latest update and various links related to the recall, click the link below.