 Cancer does not discriminate between the species that it invades; dogs and cats are just as much at risk for developing cancers as people. Maggie, an eight year old Labrador retriever, was one of our patients to be diagnosed with a high grade Mast Cell tumor. Because of the aggressive nature of her tumor, she was seen by the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine surgical team for surgery to remove as much of her tumor tissue as possible. At that time, it was recommended that Maggie undergo a three month course of chemotherapy for the best chances at remission. Chemotherapy in people often makes them tired, nauseous, possibly lose hair or weight, as well as a whole host of other unpleasant side effects. Luckily for our pets, they do not often have these side effects. Most dogs and cats never lose large patches of hair and with the new anti-nausea medications vomiting is quite rare. The type of chemotherapy that Maggie was to undergo required a half day stay at the hospital once a week for four weeks, and then every other week for four additional treatments. Maggie’s trips to us involved spending the morning getting her blood drawn, rechecking the previous incision sites and lymph nodes for any changes as well as getting lots of pets and love from doctors and staff. During her stays, she received an anti-nausea medication which helped Maggie not get sick from any of her treatments! With each visit, Maggie had an intravenous catheter placed into her front leg and received her chemotherapy right in our exam room with all of us gathered around on a large fluffy blanket. She always sat so nicely, typically cuddling in and resting her head on Katie’s leg. She knew that following the treatment there would be more treats and pets. Maggie received all of her treatments on Fridays. When Maggie had progressed through her treatments and moved to every other week, she still wanted to come weekly for her visit. The owner stated that the days Maggie did not need to come, she sat ready and waiting to go! Maggie was able to finish her chemotherapy treatments the first part of June, 2018. She has had her six week follow-up at which time there was no evidence of disease! Maggie is currently in remission and hopefully will be for a very long time. 
1 Comment
 If you've ever lost your pet, you know that terrible feeling at the pit of your stomach that you'll never see them again. Microchipping is the best way to make sure your pet makes their way back home. If your pet is already microchipped, is it up to date? Have you moved or do you have a new cell phone number? August 15th is National Check the Chip Day. Please review our commonly asked questions on Microchipping your pet and if you have not had your pet Microchipped, call today to schedule! Take advantage of our Microchip special during the week of August 13-17th, for $34.99 (HomeAgain Microchip registration and enrollment included) Not sure where your pet’s chip is registered? Visit the AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup Tool at petmicrochiplookup.org. To update your pet’s registration, you’ll need your pet’s microchip number. If you haven’t already created an account with the manufacturer, you’ll need to do that as well so you can access the registration in the future to update the information. Make sure all of the information, particularly your phone number(s) and address, is correct. Can I track where my pet goes if they are microchipped? No, the microchip is not a tracking device. Only your veterinarian or a location with a universal scanner can scan your pet’s microchip. Learn more about what a Microchip is and how it can be the best way to make sure your pet makes their way back home. What is a Microchip? A microchip is a permanent identification that can be placed just under the skin of your pet. If your pet gets lost and is taken to an animal shelter or veterinarian, they will scan the microchip to read its unique dog or cat ID code. Each ID code is unique to their owner's name, address and contact information so you can easily be contacted when the pet is found. And the best part is, it's affordable! How is it implanted? It may sound "high-tech," but dog and cat microchipping is a simple procedure. A veterinarian simply injects the microchip (which is about the size of a grain of rice) beneath the surface of your pet's skin between the shoulder blades. The process only takes a few seconds and is similar to a routine shot. Bonus: No anesthetic is required!  Is your dog scared or resistant to getting into the car? Talk to us about your pup’s most recent road trip experience. There may be an easy solution to getting you and your pup on the road. Whether you're at home or away, your life would not be complete without your dog and your dog feels the same way about you. That’s why it’s so hard to leave a dog behind at home or at a kennel. It’s really sad when the only thing preventing you from taking a trip together is something as common as your dog getting carsick. As many as 1 in 5 dogs suffer from canine motion sickness. Sometimes the vomiting may discourage dog owners like you from taking their dogs on trips or to receive necessary grooming, training or even medical care. CERENIA® (maropitant citrate) Tablets
 |
RSS Feed
