• Icterus / Jaundice – Why is My Pet Yellow?

    Attentive pet parents perpetually look over the pets for signs of problems. Does their pet have any new lumps and bumps? Does their fur baby resent being petted at a certain location? Are the gums pink and moist? Occasionally families note a yellowing of a pet’s skin, their gums, and/or…

  • 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…

  • Pre-Anesthetic Testing – Is It Really Necessary?

    Inevitably at some point in a pet’s life, anesthesia and surgery will be necessary. For example, spaying (called an ovariohysterectomy) and neutering (called and orchiectomy) are very common surgical procedures recommended for non-breeding dogs and cats. Both surgeries are performed while a patient is under anesthesia. Prior to anesthesia veterinarians…

  • Laboratory Tests for Pets – Where Are They Performed?

    Evaluating blood, urine and feces (as well as other bodily fluids) to screen for and monitor disease processes is an essential component of animal healthcare. Samples can be submitted to any number of veterinary reference laboratories, gold-standard facilities with board-certified veterinary clinical pathologists and well-trained medical technologists who work with…