Vet Talks

Obesity is a growing problem in the veterinary world. In a clinical survey conducted by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP), “56% of dogs and 60% of cats were classified as clinically overweight. That equals an estimated 50.2 million dogs and 56.5 million cats are too heavy.” Unfortunately, because of this, many pet owners...

My experience with heart disease in dogs started out personally before it became professional. What most people don`t know is that heart disease in dogs is almost as common as it is in humans. I rescued Nico from the streets of Brazil. He was a beautiful black Labrador mix. When I found him, his belly was...

Cruciate Ligament Tears in Dogs Just like humans, dogs have two ligaments that help to stabilize the stifle (knee) joint. In pets, these ligaments are called the cranial cruciate ligament and the caudal cruciate ligament. The word ‘cruciate’ means ‘to cross’. These ligaments cross over one another between the bones that form the stifle joint...

The Icky Tick Ticks are tiny parasitic arachnids, which means just like spiders, they have 8 legs. Many different species of ticks are found across the world. The diet of ticks is blood. In order to get a meal, the tick will bite and attach itself to the ‘host’, either a person or animal. When...

Caring for Senior Pets During my veterinary practice, I have had many experiences taking care of senior pets. More than half of my patients were elderly. But for this blog, I would like to talk about my personal experience as a guardian of older animals. As I’ve reported in one of my previous blogs, I...

Ingrown Toenails A common but relatively simple condition I’ve seen in my clinical experience is ingrown toenails. Just like our own finger and toenails, pets’ nails or ‘claws’ are constantly growing. Due to the generally curved shape of dog or cat nails, when they grow too long the nails tend to damage the skin and...

My own dog, Sugar; the love of my life through many years and vet school, succumbed to bone cancer. Unfortunately, it involved her hip and was completely inoperable. She had had many surgeries – both elbows, both knees, for other reasons, and I couldn’t fix this one. She lived only 4 months past diagnosis, but...

In the neighborhood, my passion for animals was common knowledge. I would often find animals in need left in front of my house or at my clinic. Sadly, these animals would often be abandoned or chronically ill pets. Often they would be unhealthy, starving, helpless, and on some occasions pregnant with litter. During my veterinary practice, I had many opportunities...

Our pets share our lives with us and therefore they can experience a lot of the same stresses that we do. Many new situations, life changes, and habits can end up causing your pet high levels of stress. Not only can stress harm their health, but it also aggravates any illness and can make their treatment more complicated. How can stress harm...

Since I was a little kid, growing up in Brazil, I was always passionate about animals. This passion was influenced by my family’s love for animals. My grandfather had more than 15 cats, dogs, and horses at one time. Unfortunately, Brazil has many street animals. So, it is very easy to find pets in need...