Tag Archives: dog

Can a Pet Have More Than One Cancer at a Time?

Slim at AMC's Cancer Institute

Last winter, Martina Navratilova announced she had been diagnosed with both breast cancer and throat cancer. Unfortunately, the simultaneous occurrence of two different types of cancers in a person is not a rare occurrence, with 2% to 17% percent of people with cancer developing multiple types.

The same situation occurs in both dogs and cats, and I have detailed some specific patients in prior blogposts. In this blogpost, I’ll expand on the occurrence of more than one cancer at a time in veterinary patients.

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Chihuahuas to Great Dane: The Medical Impact of Dog Size

Chihuahua with a veterinarian and a great dane with a veterinary assistant

The dog is the first animal domesticated by humans, and we have done a brilliant job creating a variety of dog breeds to meet our needs. Selective breeding, which began roughly 9,000 years ago and expanded dramatically during the Victorian era, has resulted in dogs specialized for herding, hunting, retrieving, ratting and companionship. We also created a single species ranging in size from two to 200 pounds. While veterinarians love the variety of dogs we care for, the challenge for us is to understand all the variations that make up normal dogs in order to provide excellent veterinary care. Here are a few of the issues in medical care for species with a 100x range in size.

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Halloween: Fun for You, But a Horror for Your Pet

A dog in a Halloween costume

Bags of sugary candy, a doorbell rung by jubilant children wearing clever costumes, and creative jack-o-lanterns illuminating the night. Halloween may be America’s favorite holiday and the national average for spending on candy, costumes and carved pumpkins is $74 per person. However, Halloween may not be your pet’s favorite holiday and if you don’t take

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