Category Archives: Pets and Family

66% of households in the United States have one or more pets. Many more families would like to add a pet to their family, but allergies prevent the addition of a furry family member. In this situation families often ask, “Is there a hypoallergenic dog or cat breed that won’t irritate our families’ allergies?” I find this terminology strange because hypo- means less than normal but possibly still present. What someone with a pet allergy wants is a non-allergenic dog or cat, and no – there are no non-allergenic dogs and cats. However, some may be less allergenic than others, that is, hypoallergenic. I’ll discuss in today’s blogpost.

Leap Year rolls around every four years. For those born on February 29, they age (numerically) 75% slower than the rest of us because their birthday happens only every four years. The chances of having a “leapling” pet are about one in 1,461. Since the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center sees 50,000+ patient visits each year, I thought there must be some leapling patients in our system and, sure enough, when I queried our medical records, there were a number of them. To celebrate Leap Year 2024, here are their stories in order of their birth!

November is National Pet Cancer Awareness Month and, for the rest of the month, my blogposts will focus on cancer and cancer treatment in pets. Last week, I provided a cancer care roadmap for pet owners following the diagnosis of cancer in their favorite fur person. Today, I am taking a bit of a different approach to cancer and pets. I am looking at some recent studies of how important pets are to people with cancer.

We love pets for the enjoyment and companionship they bring to our lives. Their antics brighten our day, and their presence in our beds at night is reassuring, even if a bit crowded. But pets are more than just companions or entertainers – they make us healthier. Let’s take a look at the different ways pets improve our health.

National Fire Prevention Week, sponsored by the National Fire Prevention Association, is October 8-14. This year’s theme is “Cooking Safety Starts with You.” While pets don’t cook, they can start kitchen fires and are sadly victims of housefires. In 2021, CNN reported on cats causing kitchen fires by jumping on stoves with touch sensitive buttons. Once the cats turned the stove on, it overheated and caught fire. In this blogpost, I’ll discuss the pet health hazards of house and apartment fires and what you can do to keep your family safe.