April is a Popular Month…
There are a lot of observances happening this month. Stay tuned for more articles and information as we recognize that:
April is…
…Heartworm Prevention Month (Mosquito Season opens in much of the country)
…Pet First Aid Awareness Month (American Red Cross)
…ASPCA’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month
Please share how you plan to participate in any of the above observances. Your ideas and plans might spark someone else’s creativity.
March is Poison Prevention Month – Part 2
So what do you do if you think your pet may have ingested or come into contact with a potentially harmful substance?
1. Stay calm!
2. If your pet is not showing any signs or symptoms of illness it is still a good idea to contact your veterinarian and discuss whether or not your pet should receive medical attention.
3. If your pet is showing any signs or symptoms of illness, you should take them to a veterinarian immediately.
One thing to remember is to please try to provide as much of the following information as possible when you contact the veterinary hospital or bring your pet in to the veterinary hospital:
1. What the ingested substance is ( including all active ingredients ).
2. Keep and bring any remaining packaging material that the agent was in.
3. Approximate amount that the pet ingested or was exposed to the agent.
4. Time ( or best approximation ) of ingestion/ exposure.
All of this information will serve to better help your veterinarian provide the best medical care and treatment course for your pet.
Of course, the best way to prevent accidental poisoning of your pets is to prevent your pet from having access to the agents and knowing which items can pose a threat to them. Some helpful tips include keeping harmful agents in cabinets that are secure and/ or above a height that your pet can not reach, use trash cans with locking lids and keeping compost piles enclosed or protected from access by you pets. Always read and follow the directions on the labels regarding lawn and garden products as well as flea and tick products. Do not give your pet any medications unless approved or recommended by your veterinarian. Keep toxic plants out of your home and yard or at least out of reach from your pets.
There are two Animal Poison Control helplines, one through the ASPCA, 1-888-426-4435, and one via the PetPoison Helpline, 1-800-213-6680. Charges may apply for either service, so have a credit card handy.
Heather B., CVT
March is Poison Prevention Month – Part One
1. Foods - alcoholic beverages, chocolate ( especially dark or bakers chocolate ), coffee, onions, grapes or raisins, avocado, macadamia nuts and gums containing xylitol.
For a household pet safety checklist please visit the ASPCA Poison Control website. For a more comprehensive list of potential toxins, please check out the Pet Poison Hotline website.
Bold Black Ink
It was windy and cold that day. A small brown box was blowing around in the clinic’s parking lot. Closer inspection showed excessive tape and some writing on the box in bold black ink.
There were random pencil sized holes…
…but for what?
…maybe air holes…
What was in the box?
A Good Samaritan carried the box into the clinic and said, “Don’t know what this is, but it sounds like a small animal is in there. It was blowing around the lot and I scooped it up from behind someone’s rear wheel just before they backed up!”
What ever was in there was lucky to be alive. The bold ink on the box said, “my name is Tye.” Other parts of the box said things like “I need help” and “Please don’t kill me!!!” The small brown box was almost entirely covered in these few phrases over and over again on all six sides.
The reception desk phoned back to the treatment area and said a small package was brought in from outside. Someone brought the box back we all stared at it for a minute or two and read the bold inscriptions on it. I volunteered to open it expecting a small rodent inside. Peeling the tape took what seemed like forever and I tried to peek inside. It was too dark to see without opening the box. Eventually one box flap opened and crouching inside was a small bird in less than a 10th of a second she had burst into flight heading towards our large windows.
It must have been reflex to grab her out of the air and the thought that she would certainly get hurt if she flew into the solid glass windows. She was in my hand now the way one would hold a pigeon. At that point I had limited experience with birds and most of the avian work had been with my uncle and his racing pigeons. She was breathing hard and looked scared but she never tried to bite.
She was not in good shape; one of her wings was very raw and irritated underneath. This was a job for Dr. Weinstein. After an exam and several tests it was determined she had some sort of follicle problem that made her itchy and that is why she was in bad shape. The staff here decided she was a good fit for the hospital and decided she should stay. With her medical condition she would be difficult to re-home and she seemed very happy here. Dr. Weinstein agreed to treat her condition and other medical needs as they arise and she has lived here ever since. The main solution to her problem…a special made tiny e-collar and some ointment for her wing.
The e-collar has been a work in progress for several years. The first one was hard plastic with two metal snaps. It weighted her down and made her clumsy. The next one was a scrunchy type thing that was lighter but she figured out how to pick at herself so we had to do something different. Next was an e-collar made out of x-ray film which was lighter but somewhat pokey and with all the padding still somewhat heavy (6 grams is heavy for a bird to wear around their neck). I was determined to make a lighter one and modified the x-ray film collar until it was only 5 grams. The one she wears now is made from IV fluid bag plastic, and cast padding it only weighs 4 grams. What will we come up with next? Maybe it’s time to have a contest to see who can build an effective bird e-collar that weighs 3 grams or less.
Tye is lucky to say the least. She survived the parking lot, and found a home with us at the hospital. Though she has a medical condition that prevents her from being without her e-collar she can do many of the same things a normal bird can do. She has everything she needs here: people who love her, place to stay, and the medical care she needs to thrive. I will never forget the day I opened that box.
-by Leslie Dempsey CVT
IQ testing for cats
There is an 8th grade student, at the Beaverton School District’s gifted middle school program, who is collecting data on cat intelligence for a science project. The goal is to create an IQ scale for cats.
Intelligence Quotient, or IQ, scoring has similar flaws across species, particularly when it comes to examiner bias and interpretation of results. But it is still a fun thing to think about!
If you have the time, and a feline subject who is able to complete the test, you should check this out and participate.
What Do Coffee Creek Correctional Facility and Canine Companions for Independence Have in Common?
Compassion.
Companionship.
Healing.
Socialization and training.
And receiving the gift of unconditional love – from our four legged friends.
We’re all well aware that our furry companions can perform amazing feats of intelligence, whether it’s responding to a simple request to “roll over” or “sit”, or being taught to use the toilet instead of a litterbox. There are some companion animals, however, that go above and beyond the normal limits of intellect. They are the animal equivalent of a rocket scientist and a superhero all rolled into one. Who are these astounding creatures? They are the animals that are called upon to be companions to people with disabilities.
Canine Companions for Independence, or CCI, is a national non-profit organization that places dogs with people that have various cognitive, developmental, and physical disabilities. To become CCI canines, the dogs have to graduate from a demanding training program, are taught up to 50 verbal commands, and can perform such tasks as opening doors, turning lights on and off, and providing emotional support to their people. To this end, CCI hit upon an ingenious way of helping their puppies to be trained while also providing an invaluable experience to those people doing the training.
At around 4 months of age, some CCI candidate puppies get to live with inmates of the women’s Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville, which has partnered with CCI since 1995. Each puppy lives 24 hours a day with his/her particular inmate, and over the course of about a year, is taught some of the various skills that will be needed to graduate from the CCI program. The puppy then gets some polishing touches at one of a number of CCI training facilities across the country before finally being given free of charge to a person in need.
While helping to train the puppies, the women of Coffee Creek gain some real life skills which aid them in maintaing a crime-free life after they’ve been released. Their success rate with the puppies is around 45%, compared to the national average of 30-35%. Also, since 2001, none of the women who have participated in the puppy training program have returned to prison.
We at North Portland Veterinary Hospital think it’s one of our most important missions to help the community in which we live, and so we have partnered with the Portland Veterinary Medical Association to provide medical care to one of the puppies in each Coffee Creek class. We provide free exams, vaccines, spay or neuter, as well as any medical care should the puppy become ill.
Our latest puppy patient who just graduated from the program is a cutie named Reddy. We’re thrilled that this great little guy will go on to provide some lucky person with not only companionship, but a means to live a more productive life than they might otherwise have been able. Good luck, Reddy! We wish you the very best!
