Vaccine prevents fatal parvo
The little 3-month-old shepherd-mix puppy was flat on the table with a fever of 105 degrees. Just the day before, he had been playing and acting like a normal puppy, but in the evening he had started vomiting and this morning he had started with some red-tinged diarrhea. He wouldn't eat, he wouldn't play, he wouldn't even lift his head off the floor.

Lameness may be serious trouble
Mr. Jones seemed a little chagrined in the exam room. His new Yorkshire terrier puppy was happily wandering around on the floor, sniffing the corners of the table, then jumping up for attention as if it were just another day at the office.

Cats' hacking may signal asthma
Barney was none too happy to be at the office. His plans for the day had clearly revolved around eating some cat food, curling up in the sun by the window, and then going back for some more cat food later.

Microchipping surefire way to ID lost pets
Not long ago, I had a very nice couple come in with one of the most beautiful Australian shepherds I had ever seen. He was as well mannered and pleasant as he was good looking. The people said they had been camping and this dog just showed up at their campsite and hung around the whole time they were there.

Springtime is season for bee stings in dogs
Along with flowers and sunshine we are starting to notice an increase in one of my favorite clinical entities: the dog who was perfectly normal when he went outside in the morning and came back in with an incredibly swollen face and itchy bumps all over his body.

Pet shaving best left to expert
As the drifts of snow recede, the piles of pet hair just get deeper. With daytime temperatures stretching into the 70s, our furry friends are saying goodbye to their winter coats in preparation for summer. And we may look to our pets and ask ourselves the annual question: To shave or not to shave.

Diabetes in pets no longer a death sentence
Not so long ago, a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus was an automatic death sentence for a dog or a cat. But veterinary medicine has come a long way, and excellent treatments are available, often allowing pets with diabetes to comfortably live the rest of their natural lives in spite of the disease.

Hop to it: Have vet spay, neuter pet rabbits
A while ago, a new rabbit owner mentioned that the animal's breeder told her never to let a veterinarian perform surgery on her pet because vets kill all rabbits with anesthesia when they perform surgery.

Grapes toxic to some dogs, regardless of breed
Murphy's owners thought they were paying another minor installment on their dog tax when they caught him gulping down the container of table grapes they had just gotten for their lunch that day.

Grass hay, not junk, will keep a rabbit healthy
I treat a lot of beloved rabbits as patients, mostly for problems associated with their gastrointestinal tracts. The problems are usually caused by well-meaning owners who think they're giving their pet the equivalent of a five-star dining experience when, in fact, they're loading it up on junk food.

Watch big dogs for fast-hitting, deadly stomach ailment
There is one condition that all owners of large-breed dogs should know about so they can be prepared to take action at the first sign of trouble.

Hip dysplasia a common pain for large dogs
It's a term that lots of people have heard, but not everyone knows what it means. Unfortunately, many owners of large-breed dogs have learned about hip dysplasia the hard way.

Hyperthyroidism can make kitties insatiable
Mr. Smith had bags under his eyes, making it clear that he hadn't been getting much sleep recently. "It's this cat," he told me. "Muffin has always been a nice, easygoing companion, but recently she has been getting me up every hour or so with the most obnoxious and insistent yowling."

Good breeders are responsible bunch
The couple in front of me had dollar signs in their eyes. They had bought a golden retriever puppy from the back of a pickup truck along Woodmen Road, plucking it from a litter of 10.

FIDO'S, OWNER'S HOLIDAYS HAPPIER SANS TABLE SCRAPS
'Tis the season to gather round the table with family and friends to share feasts. Invariably, the day after a holiday, my office is filled with pets who are creating what we call "carpet emergencies" because of gastrointestinal disturbances.