Today is the full moon.
Give your monthly preventatives!
Note: If you have another way to remember to give your preventatives, that’s okay too! Do what works for you. I thought it might be fun for us to all give it together.
We do a great job helping pets! Help us help people!
Thanks to everyone who donated to AMOS HOUSE this season and to all who participated in the RICAN polar plunge on New Year’s Day.
Thanks for supporting our neighbors!
Did you make a New Year’s Resolution? I was thinking this morning how much our New Year’s resolutions often have to do with health and thinking about how to keep my patients healthy. Many times it is the boring routine stuff that keeps us and our pets healthy.
Kind of like flossing and eating salads. Not that fun, but if you practice over time you get to keep (most of) your teeth and your pants still (mostly) fit.
That part is kind of fun. Heartworm and flea/tick prevention, vaccinations and bringing yearly stool samples are kind of like flossing and eating salads. Not that exciting, but they keep dogs and cats healthy. When I see a sick patient, among the first things I want to know is its vaccination status and whether it is on monthly prevention. I also want to know if it has had a recent negative fecal sample. It is amazing how many problems we can avoid with vaccinations and good parasite prevention. I thought I would dedicate this newsletter to the routine, kind of boring part of healthcare, the wellness visit.
Assessment of general health: How does the pet greet me? Is it frightened here? Does it need some premedication for the next visit? Will it eat treats? Does it look healthy? This assessment is something I can do almost immediately when I walk into a room. Is my “spidey sense” telling me that the pet is healthy or that we need to investigate a little more? I think this assessment is the most valuable part of a yearly exam.
Weight check: Has your pet lost or gained weight? Pets that maintain or gain weight are rarely sick. Significant weight loss can prompt me to look for more serious diseases.
Significant weight gain can be tough on the joints and mobility, particularly as pets age.
I evaluate weight at each visit and advise pet parents on their pet’s ideal body weight and make food recommendations to help meet their weight goals.
Teeth check: Upper fourth premolar teeth love to get slab fractures. If the pulp is exposed, these are painful and often owners don’t realize a tooth has been fractured because it is pretty far back in the pet’s mouth. I look for tartar and gingivitis and recommend a professional dental cleaning if it is needed.
Evaluation of eyes and ears: I look for abnormalities of the cornea and the eyelids. I look for any discharge, redness or odor of the eyes or ears.
Feeling lymph nodes. I feel the submandibular, prescapular, and popliteal lymph nodes. Enlarged lymph nodes can drain areas of the body that are infected or inflamed. Rarely enlarged lymph nodes are cancerous.
- Listening to the heart. I listen for both murmurs and arrhythmias.
- Looking at and feeling the skin for any new growths or masses.
- Palpation of the abdomen for any pain or tension.
- Recommendation for vaccinations.
Evaluation of a yearly stool sample. We are looking for the eggs of these parasites, which are microscopic, not the worms themselves. The stool is mixed with a salt solution and then centrifuged. Worm eggs weigh less than the salt solution and float to the top of the test tube where they stick to a cover slip and can be seen under the microscope.
A yearly test for heartworm and tick borne diseases. All dogs should be on heartworm and flea and tick prevention. This prevents intestinal worms as well. We recommend monthly Simparica Trio which deworms for heartworm, fleas, ticks, and intestinal parasites. It also prevents skin mites such as demodex and scabies.
All outdoor cats should be on topical Revolution once a month. Indoor cats will also need to be on monthly Revolution if they are experiencing a flea or parasite problem. I will share a story about my mostly indoor cat. One night I was up in the wee hours and Monroe was sitting on my lap. He heard something under the radiator and two seconds later was holding a small mouse in his mouth. My thought was, “Great, It’s 2 am and now I have to deal with this mouse!” But, no, because Monroe flicked his head back and swallowed the entire thing live and whole!!! If I had not been sitting there watching it… I would never have believed it. Mice, as cute as they are, carry both fleas and intestinal parasites that they can share with your pets. Some of these parasites can in turn be shared with humans (so, so rarely). But it might behoove me (and you) to have that indoor cat on prevention just in case they are a stealth mouse eater. You never know. Because of this story I will often deworm indoor cats at their annual visit with topical Revolution which treats fleas, ticks, ear mites, and deworms for intestinal parasites at their annual visit. I leave monthly prevention for entirely indoor cats up to their pet parent, but having them on prevention can prevent an unexpected flea invasion.
As many of you know I went to seminary as I was opening the hospital. In my class on spiritual companioning I learned a new prayer. It is “This. Or something better.” That’s the prayer. I often prayed, “Please get me out of this mess.” The old atheist in a foxhole idea. But it never occurred to me to pray both “thank you” I like how it is RIGHT NOW, and how can it be EVEN BETTER? So that’s my New Year’s Resolution. Asking myself, how can I take good care of myself so I can be solidly “there” for my family, friends, pet parents, patients and staff? And then being thankful for what I have and asking how I can make this even better.
Wishing you and yours an EVEN BETTER 2026!
Dr Mo is seeing exotic pets!
appy New Year!
Happy full moon gazing!
Remember your monthly heartworm and/or flea and tick prevention!
– Dana
