Central Coast Pet Health, Issue 1
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Transcript of Central Coast Pet Health, Issue 1
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8/13/2019 Central Coast Pet Health, Issue 1
1/12
Central Coast
Pet Health
EYE SPY!The Genetics OfHeterochromia
Central Coast Pet Hospital and Emergency
When ItCan't Wait
The top 5 petEmergencies
The PowerOf Clean
Teeth
Plus:Acupuncture
For Pets!
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Everyone has heard the warnings about chocolatetoxicity. But did you know that some types o chocolatethat are more toxic than others? Te darker the
chocolate, the more dangerous it is or your pet. In mostchocolate, a chemical compound called theobromineis the primary toxic ingredient. Teobromine is ina class o chemicals called methylxanthines. Milkchocolate contains very little methylxanthines,whereas dark chocolate and semi-sweet chocolatecontain over 500 times more methylxanthines thanwhite chocolate. However, that's not to say that whitechocolate isn't bad or your pet; the high at contento white chocolate can lead to diarrhea and vomiting,
especially in smaller dogs.In regards to milk, dark, and semi-sweet chocolate,
the toxicity increases the darker the chocolate is. Milk
chocolate contains about 58 mg/oz o theobromine.Dark and semi-sweet chocolate, however, containover twice that amount o theobromine, with dark
chocolate at 130 mg/oz and semi-sweet chocolatechips at 138 mg/oz. Considerably more dangerousare bakers chocolate (393 mg/oz) and dry cocoapowder (737 mg/oz). In addition, the caffeine levelsin chocolate increase as theobromine which urtherincreases risks o serious reactions.
Te clinical signs o chocolate toxicity range romgastrointestinal distress, vomiting, and diarrhea topanting, excessive thirst and urination, abnormalheart rate, tremors, seizures, and even death in
severe cases. I your pet has ingested chocolate, calla veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison ControlCenter to determine the severity o the toxicity.
Rather Sae Tan SorryWith any chocolate intoxication, it's always a good idea to
call the ER. We will tell you i you should bring your pet in.
Not all chocolate
is created equal.
Depending on thetype o chocolate, the
amount ingested, and
the size o your pet,
chocolate will have a
varying affect on your
pet. Learn the varying
levels o chocolate
intoxications below.
Light to Dark
Reerence: Gwaltney-Brant, S. "Chocolate Intoxication." Veterinary Medicine, 96.2 (2001): 108.
Te Variation In Chocolate oxicity
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Te op Five Pet Emergencies TatShould Be Seen Immediately
When ItCan't Wait:
It's 11pm on a Tuesday night and something is wrong with your pet. You know he or she needs tobe seen by a veterinarian. But then comes the difficult question - can it wait until morning? Whilewe will do our best to help you decide when you call our clinic, there are some situations where wehould see your pet immediately. Whether it's the middle o the night on a weekday or a hot Sunday
afernoon, the ollowing five emergencies should never wait.
Heatstrokefen seen in large, overweight, or overworked dogs, heatstroke is
n extremely severe and deadly condition that must immediately be
eated by a veterinarian. When a dogs body is heated to over 105
r long periods o time, the dog may suffer rom DIC - disseminated
travascular coagulopathy. Tis syndrome causes disturbances inow proteins work and causes small clots to orm in blood vessels.
ventually, the body runs out o clotting actors and is unable to clot
all. In the emergency room, we slowly cool the dogs body and
dminister oxygen, IV fluids or cooling and shock, and resh rozen
asma transusions as needed.
What to look or: Fever (102.5or over)
Heavy Panting
Weakness or sudden collapse
Dark red/purple mucous membranes (such as the gums)
Prouse Diarrhea
I you suspect your dog has heatstroke, your dog mustbe treated
by a veterinarian. Slowcooling o the legs and belly with cold watercan help begin to lower body temperature, but heatstroke requires
extreme measures rom a veterinary clinic.
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Urinary Obstructionn Male Catsommonly reerred to as a blocked cat,
inary obstruction in male cats is a very
mmon and very serious medical emergency.
hen a cat is blocked, his urethra is plugged
d he is unable to urinate, preventing the
moval o waste products rom the body.
Tis causes severe electrolyte disturbances
at can affect heart rate and rhythm, as well
cause kidney damage rom the back-up oaste products. In the worst cases, the bladder
urethra may even rupture. When the cat
rives at our clinic, we sedate him and remove
e obstruction. We then careully monitor
s kidney values and urine production, as
ell as treat any secondary issues such as the
ectrolyte imbalances and heart arrhythmias.
What to look or:Uncomortable/painul abdomenExcessive vocalizing (especially in the
itter box)
Straining to urinate
In and out o the litter box with no urine
produced
Urinating outside o the litter box
Lethargy and/or unusual hiding
Collapse
Snail Bait oxicitySeen almost exclusively in dogs, snail bait
toxicity is a highly dangerous and quick-
acting toxicity, with symptoms that maniest
themselves within an hour. Te toxicity is
dose dependant and will have different effects
depending on the amount ingested per body
weight o the animal; however, every snail baitingestion must be seen by a veterinarian.
In the less severe cases, we detoxiy the pet by
inducing vomiting, giving activated charcoal,
monitoring blood work, and administering
IV fluids. In severe cases, however, we usually
cannot induce vomiting and may have to
anesthetize the pet to pump their stomach
and administer enemas. At this high level
o intoxication, snail bait can eventuallyinduce seizures. When this occurs, the bodys
temperature will commonly rise above 105
and the dog can exhibit the signs and effects o
heatstroke. As such, it is crucial to treat the pet
as soon as possible afer ingestion.
What to look or: Heavy Panting
Drooling
Whole body tremors
Seizures
Stiff Limbs
Inability to walk
Ataxia (walking drunkenly)
Red/purple mucous membranes
Dilated Pupils
Sensitivity to light/sound/movement
Rat Bait oxicityUnlike snail bait, the symptoms o rat bait take
much longer to develop. Rat bait works by
removing Vitamin K, a necessary part o the
blood clotting process. Tis effect is slow to
occur because the body has circulating vitamin
K and clotting acts that were not initially
affected by poison. It isnt typically until 24-48hours afer ingestion that all the clotting actors
are out o the game and no more can be made.
At this point, any small, imperceptible tear in
a blood vessel will not clot and the pet will not
stop bleeding. Te pet can literally bleed rom
anywhere, including the nose, eyes, into the
chest or abdomen, into the muscles, into the
lungs, and even the brain.
reatment is aimed at restoring clotting actorsand detoxification, i possible. I the patient
has eaten the poison recently, we will induce
vomiting, give activated charcoal, and start
them on 3 weeks o the antidote vitamin K.
However, i ingestion was not recent and the
patient is actively bleeding, it is likely that too
much time has passed to induce vomiting. We
will then run bloodwork, check clotting times,
give vitamin K, give a resh rozen plasma
transusion to replace clotting actors, and
ofen give a blood transusion i the patient
is anemic (suffering rom a lack o red blood
cells) rom bleeding.
While the effects o rat bait are dose dependant,
all pets who ingest it should receive emergency
care immediately.
Always try to bring in (or take a picture o) the
label o the rat bait your pet ingested. Tis will
help the veterinarian determine the correct active
ingredient and treatment or your pet.
Lacerationsommon in both dogs and cats, lacerations
re ofen caused by fighting between animals
although some wounds happen by accident,
pecially with cats). Some lacerations can
e lie-threatening i lef untreated, so it is
mportant to have a veterinarian physically
ssess the wound to determine the severity
the injury. reating a laceration soonerather than later helps avoid the possibility
inection, as well as decreases the healing
me and cost in the long run.
Te normal bodytemperature o
cats and dogs is
between 100-102.5.
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Above: Buffy stayed warm and cozy in her cage during her highly monitored hospital stay.
Opposite top: A bright eyed Buffy, only 3 weeks afer her ordeal.
For thousands o years, supersti-
tions have surrounded black cats,
heralding them as bringers o stormsand bad luck. While we dont believe
in superstition, on Halloween night
2013, Buffy the black cat was certain-
ly having the worst o luck.
Diagnosed with septic peritonitis by
her primary veterinarian, Buffy was
transerred to our hospital or con-
tinued emergency treatment. Buffy
was very sweet when she first came to
the hospital and, although she was an
extremely sick little cat, she was still
purring up a storm.
Septic peritonitis is an extremely seri-
ous condition that many pets do not
survive. Peritonitis is inflammation
o the abdominal cavity; this is ofen
caused by bacteria that have escaped
rom the gastrointestinal tract or by
wounds that have penetrated the ab-
dominal wall and deposited bacteria
into the abdomen. A airly common
condition seen in the ER, most pa-
tients have developed peritonitis
rom trauma (wounds or rupture o
the intestines or stomach) or eating
oreign objects that have lodged in
the intestine and caused intestinal
or stomach ulcers. Ofen, peritoni-
tis leads to sepsis, an overwhelming
system-wide inection that can cause
severe problems in the body. Untilthe source o the inection is ound,
we may not be able to manage the in-
ection through antibiotics alone.
As such, it is crucial to find the area con-
tamination in order to stop the contin-
ued leakage o bacteria. In Buffys case,there were no obvious wounds ound on
her body, so we assumed that there was a
breach in her gastrointestinal tract caus-
ing the problem. Tis meant putting Buffy
under anesthesia and perorming surgery
to try to find the source o the inection.
Keeping Buffy stable under anesthesia,
however, would be tricky because her
blood pressure and blood sugar were low
due to the massive inection. Afer dis-
cussing the risks with the owner, we de-
cided to get Buffy into surgery to see what
was going on. Inside her abdomen, we
ound a greenish, chunky, oul smelling,and generally disgusting fluid. Keeping
Buffy stable under anesthesia was difficult
and although we were able to suction and
clean out her abdomen, we could not find
the source o the bacteria. Tere were no
obvious ulcerations, wounds or breaches
in her gastrointestinal tract so afer a thor-
ough flushing o her abdominal cavity, we
closed her up and woke her. She slowly re-
covered rom the anesthesia and was care-
ully monitored by our attentive staff.
Buffy the cat arrived at our emergency clinic suffering rom severe septic peritonitis.
Four days and two surgeries later, she was recovering back home with her amily.
Case Study:Buffy, Te Lucky Black Cat
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On day 2, Buffy did not look much bet-
ter. She still had low blood sugar and blood
pressure and her progress was not what we
were hoping. On urther examination, our
veterinarian ound more fluid in the ab-
domen. Although this fluid was less thick
and chunky, it was still very oul-smelling.
Tereore, we decided to go back into sur-
gery to look or the source o inection.
Unortunately, this second surgery proved
as unlucky as the first and we were unable
to locate the source o the inection. Tis
time, however, our veterinarian decided to
place an abdominal drain called a Jackson-
Pratt. Tis drain is placed in her abdomen
around the stomach and intestines, leads
out through the body wall, and is attached
to a suction device. Tis allows us to con-
tinue flushing her abdomen in a sterile
way and to collect any fluid that accumu-
lates within her abdominal cavity.
Te results o the drain were astound-
ing. Afer the second surgery, Buffys vitalsigns started improving, her blood sugar
and blood pressure normalized, and she
actually started to show interest in ood.
During this time, her owners visited twice
daily to give her love and affection. By day
three, Buffy had greatly improved and was
starting to eat on her own - she was even
starting to be sassy with the staff! Four
days afer entering the hospital, Buffy was
discharged into her owners care. Since her
return home, Buffy has improved drastical-
ly, returning to playing orm and eating as
much as her owners will eed her. While we
still do not know exactly what caused the
initial inection, the aggressive surgical and
supportive care o our doctors and staff,
along with the incredible love and support
o her wonderul amily, helped Buffy sur-
vive this potentially atal inection.
BELOW: Buffy is ull o lie and energy play-
ing with a peacock eather at her home in
San Luis Obispo. Te bare patch on her neck
was shaved to allow the ER staff better access
to draw blood or crucial bloodwork.
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Complete vs Partial HeterochromiaNero (lef) possesses complete heterochromia, maniesting itsel as two di-erent colored eyes, whereas ido (below ) shows partial heterochromia, with
each eye containing both blue and yellow coloration.Photos by Amy Hypnarowski (lef) and Raven Lukehart (below).
Eye Spy... Different Colored Eyes!Te Basic Genetics Behind Heterochromia
Heterochromia, or the presence o
different colored eyes, is ofen considered
one o the most ascinating and beautiul o
genetic abnormalities. Relatively common
in both cats and dogs, heterochromia
(technically 'heterochromia iridum')
exists due to the lack o or excess o thepigment melanin in the iris. Tere are two
orms o heterochromia: complete and
partial. Complete heterochromia results
in two completely different colored eyes,
whereas partial heterochromia occurs in
the same eye, giving the appearance o
multiple colors in a single eye. In the case
o most complete heterochromia, there is a
decisive lack o melanin in one eye, causing
that eye to appear blue. A pet with partial
heterochromia can have varying levels
o melanin in the same eye, sometimes
appearing as a mix between blue and
brown, but can appear as a mix o green,
yellow, or brown.
While heterochromia can be the result
o injury or disease, the trait is generally
inherited rom one or both o the pet's
parents. Heterochromia is known as anautosomal dominant trait. Autosomal
reers to a gene that is located on one o
the non-sex chromosomes. Dominance
indicates that the phenotype (the physical
maniestation o the gene, in this case, the
color) will express itsel in the offspring
i they receive the gene. Tereore, in
autosomal dominance, the pet need only
receive the affected gene rom one parent.
When that occurs, the phenotype will
always show itsel.
Say, or instance, a male dog with
heterochromia mates with a emale dog
without heterochromia. Te offspring o
this pair will each have a 50/50 chance
o receiving the heterochromia gene
rom the ather. I the offspring receives
the heterochromia gene, it will show the
physical phenotype associated with thegene - different colored eyes. However,
there is an equal chance that the offspring
will not receive the affected gene and will
not show the heterochromia phenotype.
Due to it's dominance, heterochromia is
relatively simple to track in breeding lines.
Although there is no way to guarantee
the degree o heterochromia (complete
or partial) until the offspring is born,
the results o the heterochromia gene are
astoundingly and mesmerizing.
We dare you to look away!
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Beore and afer magic.
Tere's no denying the results oa good dental cleaning!
Brushing our teeth is one o the most
routine parts o our day. We take greatcare or a white smile and resh breath.
At the same time, were also prevent-
ing dental disease in our mouth. Yet
or all the care we spend on keeping
our mouth ree o disease, we ofen
neglect to give the same attention to
our pets. Tereore, its not surprising
that studies have shown that 70% o
cats and 80% o dogs have periodontal
(gum) disease by the time they are 3years old.
Periodontal disease occurs rom an
accumulation o plaque (bacterial
film) over the tooth. Eventually, this
plaque hardens into tartar, the vis-
ible thick yellow and brown layer you
can see on your pets tooth. artar ir-
ritates the gums, creating pockets un-
der the gumline where bacteria grow
and thrive. Tis not only leads to pain,
redness, and swelling at the gum line,but the pockets can also provide bac-
teria with access to the bloodstream,
where they can spread to and affect
other organs, such as the heart and the
kidneys. Periodontal disease can also
be responsible or tooth loss and bad
breath.
Te easiest way to avoid this poten-
tially devastating disease in your petsmouth is with early and routine check-
ups with your veterinarian. At Central
Coast Pet Hospital and Emergency, a
thorough dental exam is part o every
general checkup. I indicated, our vet-
erinarians may recommend a routine
dental cleaning. Tis is perormed
under anesthesia, to allow us to look
at every nook and cranny inside your
pets mouth. Routine dental cleanings
can help prevent serious systemic dis-
eases, tooth loss, bad breath, and more
throughout your pet's lie.
Tere are steps you, as an owner, can
take to help prevent plaque and tartar
buildup between regular dental clean-
ings. Just as we brush our teeth, we can
also brush our pets! Using toothpaste
and a toothbrush designed specifically
or pets (human toothpaste can cause
an upset stomach), run the toothbrush
along your pets gum line and teeth,
spending about 30 seconds on each
side o the mouth. In addition, special
plaque-reducing oods, treats, rinses,
and toys can help prevent periodontal
disease.
o schedule a dental exam or clean-
ing with our highly skilled team, makean appointment or an exam by call-
ing 805-489-6573 during our general
practice hours (Monday-Friday rom
8am-6pm).
Show Off Your Pet's Pearly Whites!Learn About Te Importance O Dental Health
Did You Know?February is Veterinary
Dental Month!
All month long, Central Coast Pet
Hospital and Emergency is
offering our dental package
starting at a remarkable $275,
which includes an exam, pre-
anesthetic blood work, IV catheter
and fluids, polish, and cleaning.
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Dear Dr. Jermaine,Ive seen this new flea medication calledrifexis. It also says it protects against
heartworm. Whats heartworm disease?Ive never heard of a dog getting it. Doesmy dog really need protection against it?Tanks!
-Kevin R, Arroyo Grande
Hi Kevin! Tis is a question
I get quite a lot during check-
ups. Heartworm disease is a
lie-threatening condition inwhich parasitic nematodes
(worms) inhabit the arteries
within the lungs and some-
times the heart in dogs, cats,
and other susceptible mam-
mals. It is spread by mosquitoes which inject the
heartworm larvae into the bloodstream during
a bite. It takes over 6 months or the larvae to
develop into the adult worms which inhabit the
heart and lungs in dogs. Adult worms produce
their young called microfilariae which are then
picked up by mosquitos and the cycle can start
over again. Clinical signs o heartworm disease
can include coughing, exercise intolerance/a-
tigue, decreased appetite, and weight loss. Heart-
worm is best controlled by prevention, which is
sae, inexpensive, and quite effective. We com-
monly use riexis and Heartguard administered
monthly or prevention, although other options
are available. Although we are not considered a
"hot spot" here on the Central Coast, mosquitoes
are present and heartworm disease is possible.
We recommend year-round prevention or dogs
and annual heartworm screening tests, especially
i you travel with your dog. Prevention is much
easier than treatment which can take weeks to
accomplish, be costly, and cause unwanted side-
effects. I'd be happy to discuss what is best or
your dog, just come on in!
Sincerely,
Dr. Kathy Jermaine
Ask TeVet
Have a question for Dr. Jermaine? Send it to
[email protected] for a chance to be fea-
tured in our next issue!
Acupuncture...For pets?You bet! For many pets, acupuncture can provide relie or
a variety o musculoskeletal, neurological, and gastrointes-
tinal conditions including muscle soreness, back pain, disc
problems, osteoarthritis, seizures, radial nerve paralysis, di-
arrhea, gastric ulcers, colic, vomiting and more. In addition,
acupuncture therapy can be effective in treating asthma, be-havioral problems, hypothyroidism, inertility, renal ailure,
geriatric weakness, and skin problems.
But just what is acupuncture? In short, acupuncture is the
stimulation o a specific point on the body with a specific
method, resulting in a therapeutic homeostatic effect. Us-
ing a variety o methods including dry needling, aqua-acu-
puncture, and electro-stimulation, the goal is to restore the
natural balance in the body and allow homeostasis to return
(homeostasis is the internal equilibrium between all the body
systems). And it doesn't hurt! In act, many animals are sorelaxed during the procedures, they will all asleep during
treatments.
At Central Coast Pet Hospital and Emergency, we have two
certified veterinary acupuncturists, Dr. McKenna and Dr.
Lilly. I you think your pet would benefit rom veterinary acu-
puncture, call 805-489-6574 to schedule a consultation.
WITH DR. JERMAINE
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Central Coast Pet Hospital and Emergency805-489-6573
1558 West Branch Street
Arroyo Grande, CAwww.centralcoastpetemergency.com
Open 24 Hours!
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