Diamond Pet Foods link

Solid Gold link

Food Safety News link

Here’s a great little product in general and for when you’ll be taking your dog along for the ride – Too Hot for Spot is a static cling thermometer placed on the interior of a car window.  This You Tube video review by Fido Friendly demonstrates how it works. Why such a good idea? Because even with the windows cracked, the interior of a car heats up quickly, reaching temperatures much greater than outside the car and leading to life threatening heat stroke for a pet.

We will soon be stocking the Too Hot for Spot Thermometers or if you can’t wait, go directly to their website to order.

And, the discussion following the article talks about how to do therapy work with your kitty – if they have the right personality, maybe they could be a hero too. Enjoy!

Link here for a great article of tips on selecting your next veterinarian to help you take the best care of your furry family members.

Major Career Move for Thomas   From the DFL CloserView Newsletter, Spring 2012

For seven years, Thomas was a mere household companion. But everything changed when he came to our shelter. We saw his potential – 17 pounds of Maine Coon sophistication and charm. Now, Thomas has a job! He has a schedule. He has responsibilities, people to meet, appointments to keep.

Above average in intelligence, Maine Coon cats are bound to be happier when occupied. So when we learned that Dr. Margot Vahrenwald of the Park Hill Veterinary Medical Center was filling a Clinic Greeter position, we helped Thomas apply.

Dr. Vahrenwald and Thomas might not have met if it weren’t for a presentation at her Denver clinic about Direct Pet Connect, our program to help veterinarians match pets with their clients. Dr. Vahrenwald mentioned her desire for an office cat, and the next thing you know, Thomas was on board.

Park Hill Veterinary Medical Center is among 45 clinics participating in the fledgling Direct Pet Connect program and the third to adopt a clinic cat.

To learn more about Direct Pet Connect, visit ddfl.org/DirectPetConnect or call (720)252-8884

How do you as a pet owner protect your pets when choosing food and treats? Here’s a few tips:

1. For pet food, read labels and select products from a known and reputable company. Consult your veterinarian for their recommendations.

2. On foods and particularly on treats, read the label to know the country of origin.

3. Limit treats to those that have an added benefit for your pet, such as Greenies or other dental treats that help to clean teeth and freshen the breath.

4. Contact your veterinarian if you have concerns about how your pet is acting or treats that you have been using.

This is Zulu’s story…and it has a happy ending with happy owners.

Zulu was referred to us by a house call veterinarian colleague after several days of vomiting and not feeling well in early February. There was a suspicion that she might have eaten something she shouldn’t have and that it was stuck in her intestines. As is typical for these kinds of emergencies, Zulu came in on a late Friday appointment.  Her belly wasn’t painful, but she had not been eating, had been vomiting and was getting steadily worse. We started our post-exam work up with x-rays of her belly and they looked suspicious for an intestinal foreign body (click here to see). After discussion, the owners elected for Zulu to go into surgery for an abdominal exploratory that evening.

As soon as I entered her belly at surgery, it was obvious that we had a foreign body and we had some really unhappy intestines. Out came the foreign body – very likely a thick wool ski sock, but unrecognizable after several days in Zulu’s GI tract (click here to see). Then there was a little wait and see time to see how our intestine was going to respond to the removal of the sock. It became clear that there was an area of intestine where the sock had been lodged that was not healthy. An eight inch section of her intestine was removed and the healthy intestine was sewn back together – a procedure called a resection and anastimosis or R-n-A.

It’s always a little nerve-wracking to perform an R-n-A because there can be failure or breakdown of the site, leading to leakage of intestinal contents into the belly which causes a whole horrible set of complications. But Zulu bounced back and never had any complications.  She is back to being a playful, happy two year old pup – and Mom & Dad make sure that the socks are all out of Zulu’s reach!  And Mom sent this great homemade thank you card.