Kingsbrook Animal Hospital's Blog: May 2008

Saturday, May 31, 2008

My Pearly Whites!



My name is Tickle and I am a 13 year old maltese dog.  I recently had my semi-annual exam at Kingsbrook and when Dr. Cook and technicians examined my teeth, they were very impressed!  They said I have the most beautifully clean teeth and no signs of any gum disease!

I owe my pearly whites and healthy gums to my Mommy.  She has been so diligent at brushing my teeth every day since my last dental cleaning.  Previously, I have needed to go under anesthesia every year because of my periodontal disease but because my Mommy has been so good at caring for my teeth at home, this year I don't have too!  Thank you Mommy for taking such good care of me.


Thursday, May 29, 2008

Achoo!


HI! My name is Popeye, and I'm one of the nicest (and best looking, if I do say so myself) Pekingese dogs you will every meet.  Last week, my Mommy took me to the vet because I had started sneezing.  The doctor examined me and sent me home on some medicine.  He said he hoped it was just allergies, but told my Mommy to watch me closely and let him know if I kept sneezing.

After a few days,  I really started to feel uncomfortable, like there was something tickling my nose all of the time.  I started to get bloody noses after sneezing.  That really scared my Mommy & she rushed me back to Kingsbrook.  They seemed worried too!  They took some blood to run some tests, and then they gave me some medicine that made me sleepy.  When I woke up, I felt much better! 

One of the nice technicians told me that when I was asleep, they took a small scope and looked up my nose.  At first they couldn't find anything, but eventually, they saw something that didn't belong in my nose.  She said they used a special tool that could fit up my tiny nose that was able to grab whatever the strange object & pull it out.  It turns out it was a piece of a pine tree branch almost 1 inch long!  Ouch!   It must have gone up my nose while  I was sniffing around a tree!  Boy am I glad they found it & got it out of my poor nose!  I guess I need to be more careful when I go out to sniff.

 


Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Fishing for Chihuahuas


My name is Rock Star and this morning I caused my Mommy some undue stress.  I climbed into my kennel last night at bedtime. My Mommy brought me a nice fleece blankie to snuggle up in and I arranged it just so before I lay down to sleep.  Over the course of the night, I awoke & started chewing on the edge of my blankie.  The string edging began to unravel and it looked so much like spaghetti that I decided to eat it!  It didn't taste like spaghetti and was much longer at 100 inches.  

When my mommy awoke, she found me with the string hanging out of my mouth and she rushed me to Kingsbrook.  When I arrived, the technicians placed an IV catheter and sedated me while Dr. Cook held the string so I couldn't ingest any more of it.  Dr. Cook said it looked like he was fishing for Chihuahuas.  I wasn't amused.  Once I was relaxed, Dr. Kim was able to gently pull the string out since it was only in my stomach (Do not try this at home) and hadn't traveled to my intestines.  If the string had entered my intestines, I would have needed surgery to remove it! I am feeling much better now.  My Mommy picked me up and I am going home to take a nap........without my blankie.


Saturday, May 24, 2008

Randy's Itchy Skin


Hi, my name is Randy.  Recently, I developed a rash on my belly, and boy does it itch!  The only way I can find relief is by scratching & chewing at it.  My mommy brought me to Kingsbrook so the doctor could figure out why I keep having skin problems.  The doctor gently scraped my skin and looked at some cells under the microcsope.  He told my mommy that I had a skin infection caused by bacteria.  He also said that reason I have had more than one skin infection in the past is probably because I suffer from allergies.  

It seems that there are several types of allergies that dogs (and cats, but who cares about them!) can get.  We can be allergic to some of the ingredients in our food, we can have a very itchy reaction if we are allergic to flea saliva & get bitten by them, and we can also be allergic to the same things that cause our people to sneeze & get itchy, runny eyes.  

Dr. Davis said that because of the time of year, right in the middle of Spring, it's most likely that I'm allergic to something in the air, but unlike people, who sneeze from allergies, dogs get itchy skin!  He put me on an antibiotic to fight my skin infection which should help with a lot of my itching, and also he's also giving me some antihistamines and fatty acid supplements.  If those medications don't give me relief, we may have to try another type of newer medicine for hard to treat allergies, or he may send me to a doggy dermatologist to find out exactly what's causing my allergies & start me on allergy shots that help most dogs feel much better (he promised me that if I need shots, they will use a tiny needle & give lots of treats!). 

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Our Mommy's Walk for the Arthritis Foundation


Did you know that 1 in 5 Americans will get some form of arthritis?  Our Mommy, Ranee, one of the registered veterinary technicians at Kingsbrook Animal Hospital, suffers from a form of arthritis called Ankylosing Spondylitis.  It is a chronic, painful, degenerative inflammatory arthritis primarily affecting the spine, sacroiliac joints, and the lower limbs.  It can even cause fusion of the spine.  This type of arthritis is an autoimmune spondyloarthropathy and has a probable genetic link.

We will be taking our Mommy to participate in the Arthritis Foundation's 2008 Arthritis Walk in Hagerstown, MD on June 28th.  Please click here to visit her website to learn more, join her team or perhaps even make a contribution to this worthy cause.  Your generosity will ensure that the Arthritis Foundation will continue to lead the way toward prevention, control and cure of the number one cause of disability.

Thank you for your support!

Kylie & Cricket Baker

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Heartfelt Impressions


Recently, we received the nicest card from bichon frise, Tommy Burke.  His "mother" is a great artist who paints the originals and then turns them in to greeting cards, checks and gifts.  Check them out at HeartfeltImpressions.com.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Calling All Pets


We wanted to share with you a great program which Dr. Cardella discovered on NPR.  Its called Calling All Pets and it produced by Wisconsin Public Radio.  The host, Patricia McConnell is a zooligist who has very good advice about all types of pets and wildlife.  Ms. McConnel handles  a lot of behavior issues.  Each week she also hosts a guest who highlights an animal related event, concern or issue.  All previous issues are archived on line here.  We hope you enjoy them as much as we have.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008


A big thanks to the Buzby family.  Over the last two years, they successfully raised a yellow labrador retriever named Godiva for the Guiding Eyes for the Blind.  Godiva graduated from this program this spring and is now living in Virginia assisting Bill Hadden.  Thanks for doing something so wonderful in order to help others!  If you would like to know more about raising guide dogs, click here!  

My Knees Feel Great Now, Thanks!


Hi! My name is Miss Mellow and I'm a loveable 5 year old rottweiler. In 2005 my mom took me to the vet's office because I was lame on my left hind leg. Dr. Cook felt my leg and took radiographs and diagnosed me with a cranial (anterior) curciate ligament injury. This may sound familiar to you because it is the same injury that human athletes get (ACL injury in people, CCL in dogs) in their knees. This ligament is a major stabalizer of the stifle (what I call my knee) joint. Because of this instability, my stifle was very inflammed and painful. 

Dr. Cook told my mom that without treatment there could be damage to the surrounding cartilage in my knee and degenerative joint disease (osteoarthritis) could progress very quickly. The doctor told my mom in order for me to painlessly use my stifle properly again, it would need to be repaired surgically. Afterward mom had to restrict my activity and do physical therapy exercises with my leg for several weeks. 

Unfortunately, shortly after my left CCL tore, my right one did also! Dr. Cook said that happens in 30-50% of the dogs with these injuries. My mom loves me so much that she had my right knee surgically repaired AND did my physical therapy all over again. Because she took care of me so well Dr.Cook said at my last yearly check-up that BOTH of my knees are doing great.

Thanks mom and Dr. Cook -Miss Mellow

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Attention All High School & Veterinary Technology Students


Here at Kingsbrook Animal Hospital, we welcome student interns.  If you find that you need to fill an internship requirement at school and are interested in the veterinary field, this could be a great experience for you.  Positions fill up quickly and we now have Autumn positions available.  If you are interested, feel free to call us and ask for Melissa Sasu or Ann Carlson.