• Anal Glands & Impaction – Don’t Make Things Worse

    Inevitably at least once during a typical clinical day, I’m asked to express a patient’s anal glands. More often than not, however, there is no real reason to do so. Perhaps perpetuated by the grooming industry or by incorrect information shared on the internet, many pet parents believe an animal’s…

  • Copper Storage Disease in Dogs – A Toxic Situation!

    The liver is a vital organ charged with many important functions, including removing toxic substances from the bloodstream. One of those toxins is copper. Unfortunately, some dogs have changes in their livers that traps copper inside individual liver cells, gradually resulting in toxicity. This week I spend time discussing this…

  • Low Blood Sugar in Dogs & Cats – Figuring Out Hypoglycemia

    Low blood sugar, also known as hypoglycemia, is a relatively common biochemical abnormality documented in sick dogs and cats presented to the emergency room, as well as those hospitalized in Intensive Care Units for various illnesses. This week I spend some time discussing hypoglycemia so pet parents can be aware…

  • Lymphoma in Dogs – What You Need to Know

    The word cancer elicits many different feelings for people – fear, helplessness, and uncertainty just to name a few. Sadly, our fur babies aren’t immune from the grips of “the big C” but everyday we are learning more thanks to the efforts of researchers and board-certified veterinary oncologists. One of…

  • Luxating Patellas – Trick Knees in Our Dogs

    Many pet parents have heard of cruciate ligament injuries in pets. Yet few know about another common knee disorder afflicting our furry companions – luxating patellas. The patella, more commonly known as the knee cap, can slip out of its normal groove (aka dislocate or luxate) to cause lameness, discomfort,…

  • Immune Mediated Polyarthropathy – A Joint Attack

    My favorite aspect of practicing medicine is treating diseases caused by dysfunction of the immune system. In previous blogs, I reviewed two common immune-mediated diseases – immune-mediated hemolytic anemia and immune-mediated thrombocytopenia. A less commonly appreciated condition of immune system dysfunction is immune-mediated polyarthropathy or IMPA, a disease where the immune…

  • Acute Pancreatitis – A Disease That Should Not Be Ignored!

    Last week I reviewed a relatively unknown household threat to dogs and cats – bread dough intoxication. More commonly around the holidays emergency rooms see a spike in a specific type of illness in our furry companions – acute pancreatitis. This illness can manifest at any time of year, but incidence around…

  • Bread Dough Intoxication – A Not-So-Yummy Treat

    It’s official. With the recent celebration of Thanksgiving, the holiday season is undoubtedly upon us in the United States. The seasonal festivities bring a lot of merriment and delicious foods to our tables. Sometimes our fur babies decide to celebrate with us, sneakily feasting upon the goodies on counters and…

  • GI Foreign Objects – A Big Pain in the Gut

    Dogs and cats like to chew on things. That fact won’t come as a shock to any pet parent. Unfortunately, they also like to swallow some of those foreign items on which they nibble. This week I spend some time discussing how to help your fur baby should you find…