Understanding Heartworm Disease

source: stone ridge

If there was tagline for heartworm disease, it would be: “It only takes one bite.”

Unfortunately, many pet owners take a risk when it comes to heartworm. In addition, Texas ranks among the top 10 states where heartworm disease is most prevalent. Since heartworm can predispose your pet to life-threatening health issues, prevention is something that should be on the mind of every pet owner.

Understanding Heartworm Disease

Heartworms are thin, spaghetti-like organisms that invade the heart, lungs, and arteries. Although commonly viewed as a canine-specific disease, heartworm can infect cats and other animals. It just happens that domestic dogs and their wild cousins (coyotes) are more susceptible to infection.

Heartworm disease is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. The mosquito transfers tiny parasites, known as microfilariae, to the host animal. As the disease progresses, these microscopic worms develop into larvae, which mature into heartworms. Once grown, adults continue to reproduce and create more microfilariae, sometimes for years if the disease remains undetected.

Symptoms of Heartworm Disease

Clinical symptoms often do not catch the eye of pet owners until the disease is quite severe. Symptoms associated with heartworm can include:

• Coughing
• Decreased interest in exercise
• Lethargy
• Labored breathing
• Lack of appetite and weight loss

When left untreated, heartworms can compromise the circulatory and respiratory systems. This can eventually lead to cardiac arrest, liver failure, kidney failure, blood clots, and numerous other emergencies.

Preventing Heartworm in Your Pet

Some owners opt out of parasite preventives hoping to save a little money. However, prevention is far more cost effective (not to mention, safer for your pet). Treating heartworm disease is a complex process that may involve surgery, which would exceed the cost of regular preventives. To assist pet owners, our team always tries to source the best prices on these important monthly medications.

In addition to a monthly preventive, it’s important that your pet be screened and examined each year for heartworm and other parasites. This not only protects your pet, it also protects you and your family from zoonotic diseases (illnesses that can be transmitted to humans).

Other ways to combat pests this spring include:

• Removing standing water from your yard, including bird baths and plastic pools
• Avoiding active pest hours, which generally occur around dawn and dusk
• Checking your pet’s skin daily for fleas and ticks
• Cutting back tall grasses and weeds  
• Keeping trash bins in a garage to deter wildlife (which carry parasites)

Although we live in a region rife with mosquitoes, there are ways to protect your pet and keep him or her safe. Please contact us with any questions or concerns.

Source: Stone Ridge

Texas Winter Weather Tips

WINTER WEATHER TIPS FOR YOUR PET

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, so bring your pets inside by nightfall! Now that winter weather is finally here, please remember these important cold weather safety tips for your furry family members.

• During times of extreme low temperatures, all pets should be brought inside. A good rule of thumb is that if you're cold outside, your pet will be, too. Wet and cold weather can lead to hypothermia or pneumonia in animals. Be especially cautious with very young or very old animals, because they are more susceptible to suffering medical issues due to the cold.
• The SPCA of Texas never recommends leaving pets outside full time; however, if pets must stay outside for extended periods of time, always weatherproof their living quarters. A dog's house should be dry, well insulated and retain heat. It should also be made up of three sides, a roof and a floor. The house should be elevated and the entrance pointed away from wind.
• Pet owners often innocently assume their pets can withstand the cold weather with the aid of their thick coats; however, this is not always the case. Indoor dogs shed their undercoats and should never be made to stay outside for extended periods of time. Never shave your pets down to the skin in the winter; leave their coats long for more warmth. And when you bathe your pets, completely dry their coats before letting them go outdoors.
• Monitor the time your pets spend outdoors and be sure they always have fresh water to drink. Outdoor dogs need more calories in the winter to produce body heat, so increase the amount you feed your pets if they stay outdoors for long periods of time.
• Salt, antifreeze and other chemicals could hurt your pets if they ingest them while licking their paws, so be sure to wipe your pets' paws and legs clean with a wet cloth after an outing. Chemicals used to melt snow and ice can irritate paws and could potentially lead to frostbite, cuts or cracks.
• Before starting your car, check to make sure there are no animals hiding in the exhaust pipe or under your tires. Cats and small animals may seek shelter near or under your car so be sure to look carefully and honk the horn before turning on the engine.
• Never leave your dog or cat alone in a car during cold weather. A car can act as a refrigerator in the winter, holding in the cold, and the animal could freeze to death.
• Keep your pets happy and healthy all year 'round by having them spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped, and keep a collar with updated tags on them at all times. 
• Source: https://www.spca.org/winterweather

Notes from Dr T’s Office

Ok.  "Man! I just can't keep my eyes' open! It's cool, this mat is soft, had my belly rubbed, nails trimmed...geeeez! This vet visit thing is a no brainer! Everything I heard about vet clinics was a bald faced lie!! I'll be back...no  problem...and that Dr.T?? He ain't right! JK Doc." You guys quit looking at this post so I can go back to sleep...I have some Z's that have my name on them!   Enjoy.   TVS.

What happens to deer in the winter?

What do deer do in the cold?

Texas deer move more to warmer temperatures when the seasons start to change.                                              Deer move less during frigid temperatures so they can conserve much needed calories. Doing this can be the difference between survival and starvation. Nutritious food is scarce during the winter and the deer's metabolism actually slows down significantly to help retain energy needed to keep the body warm. 

They usually move around a bit in the winter, but when it is windy they bare down.        The wind decreases they natural ability to to hear and smell.  

Deer tend to "hunker down" and remain until the winter ends.                                    Avoiding deep snows and high winds, they will preserve their energy and bed near the sun. 

September is coming

 Source

There are an estimated four million white-tailed deer living in Texas. They are often solitary animals but can be found in herds ranging in various sizes. White-tails eat mostly forbs (weedy plants) and shrubs, and can be found in wooded and brushy areas of the state. Deer do not migrate, but remain in an area around one square kilometer in size (about 7 square city blocks) year round.

White-tailed deer can be seen in many urban areas where deer overpopulation is a problem. Many homeowners feed the deer because they enjoy watching these browsers from their windows. The problem with feeding deer is that they can become a nuisance. Once they get comfortable eating the corn provided for them, they have less fear of humans and will eat landscape plants and garden vegetables. Deer love to eat the tender new growth of plants,often eating roses, and other favorite landscape plants. Feeding deer also leads to more fawns being born, and while that may sound desirable, it can lead to an overpopulation which usually means starvation for many animals. This is an issue many urban areas are dealing with today.

Read More at the Texas Parks & Wildlife