Pet euthanasia. What does it euthanasia mean? And how is it performed? We often use the euphemisms “put to sleep,” “put down” and “put out of his misery,” among others, but the term is actually very specific. It was first coined in the 1600s by the Greeks and means “an easy or happy death.” The [...]
Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy (HOD) is a condition of young dogs. The cause of HOD is unknown. It has been reported in young, rapidly-growing dogs since the 1930s. Signs can range from local pain near the growth plate of a long bone to disabling illness that affects multiple organ systems. In some patients episodes occur over and [...]
Drug resistance. You hear about it on the television news. You read about it in the newspaper. How does it happen? Drug-resistant bacteria are produced by many, many factors. People, and our misbehavior, are the cause of most resistance. One of the ways people create drug-resistant strains of bacteria is by not following directions. For [...]
Mrs. Smith called about Smoky. She said Smoky’s ears started acting up again like they did in 2008, and since it was the same thing she used his old medicine to start treating them again. But they aren’t getting better and she wanted to know if Smoky could be seen today. I asked when she [...]
Our client said, “Dr. Randolph, while we are here with Jimbo, would you look at his ears? I think he has ear mites again, like last time.” I was puzzled, because I didn’t remember diagnosing ear mites at Jimbo’s last visit. And, Jimbo didn’t fit the profile of pets who get ear mites. “Ah! Here [...]
Small animal practice is a term that has nothing to do with the size of dogs and cats we veterinarians will see as patients. In this case, “small” separates practices that serve dogs, cats, rabbits, mice, rats, ferrets, sugar gliders, guinea pigs and other pets from “large animal practice,” which primarily focuses on farm animals [...]
A reader from Seattle writes, “My veterinarian examines my new puppy thoroughly from ‘head to toe” every three weeks when he goes in for his puppy series of vaccinations. My friend says his veterinarian examined his puppy only on the first visit, and just vaccinates every three weeks without an exam. Should I change doctors [...]
Do your cats scatter for the hills when you drag out the cat carrier? What if they no longer associated the carrier with travel, but considered it to be an everyday household item? That’s what we have turned our Maxx’s carrier into. Essentially it is a piece of furniture to him. His bed. When Maxx [...]
Methemoglobinemia and methemoglobinuria. If your pet demonstrates either or both of these conditions, pray for the best and prepare for the worst. Methemoglobin is not a disease, but a result of a toxin exposure. Often, this evidence of damage to the oxygen-carrying molecule in red blood cells (RBCs) is a difficult medical condition to overcome. [...]
There are a lot of things you can do to prepare for a disaster, and some of them are important even if a disaster never hits. As representatives of the Mississippi Animal Disaster Relief Fund (MADRF), the members are charged with deciding which disaster-affected Mississippians gets reimbursement for disaster-related expenses. All of the committee members [...]
Cat Scratch Fever. While it may be a catchy song title, the “real thing” is incredibly scary. Ted Nugent will want to stick to singing the song, and leave the disease alone. Cat Scratch Fever is also known as Cat Scratch Disease (CSD) and Bartonellosis, after the genus of the causative organism, Bartonella. Most cases [...]
Laddering. That’s what financial experts call the process of purchasing investments with maturity dates from six months to a few years apart. The concept is supposed to trigger a visual of rungs on a ladder, with each investment representing a different rung. “Payoff” from the maturing CDs or bonds provide an income that arrives on [...]
In an ongoing series about people who have been heroes to me in veterinary medicine, today I will tell the story of how Dr. Henry Jones of Kosciusko, MS, showed his heroic side. I was a student at Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, out on Christmas break in December of 1976. I spent [...]
Cancer. Whether human or animal it is one of the most dreaded diseases known. Dr. Rodney Page hopes to put a dent in cancer, at least in dog cancer. He is the lead investigator at the prestigious Robert H. and Mary G. Flint Animal Cancer Center (FACC), Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and [...]
Skunks stink. And, the only thing worse than smelling a skunk is smelling your dog or cat sprayed by a skunk. We don’t see many skunks here in Long Beach, MS. Which is not to say they are not here, because we have plenty of wildlife right here in town. Among them we smell [...]
Fibrosarcoma in cats is generally considered by veterinarians to be one of our most frustrating cancerous conditions. Fibrosarcoma (FSA) falls into a category of soft tissue sarcomas (STSs). STSs are cancerous growths that arise from the skin or subcutaneous (under the skin) tissues. Triggers for soft tissue sarcomas are poorly understood (as is the case [...]
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