Tag Archives: dogs

Many of my readers might be surprised by the title of this blogpost. Usually, the question is posed in reverse, i.e. “Does my pet pose a risk to my baby?” True, pets do pose some risks to children, but the benefits of pets in teaching responsibility to children, providing companionship and preventing allergies are well known. In most cases, you can mitigate the risks to children from cats and dog bites. So, in today’s blogpost, I will focus on the flipside of this question and discuss the risks your baby or toddler poses to your pets and how to make your child-friendly household pet-friendly as well.

The second Sunday in September is National Pet Memorial Day, a day to remember those pets who are no longer with us in person but remain in our hearts forever. For those who have recently lost their favorite fur person, I want to take this opportunity to recommend some books that might be helpful during the grieving process.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have great information on their website to help all of us stay healthy. The site contains information on travel health, foodborne illnesses and descriptions of every disease you can imagine in their Health Topics A-Z. They even have section called Healthy Pets, Healthy People with information about pet care and pet diseases. In today’s blogpost, I’ll be discussing tick bites and tickborne diseases, an issue that concerns humans and our companion animals alike.

Pyometra is one of those medical words veterinarians use that often require translation for pet families. Pyo- is from the Latin word for pus, and metra is Greek for uterus. Once you know this etymology then you can understand why pyometra is an emergency. The pus in the uterus is the result of a bacterial infection, and dogs with pyometra become seriously ill. I’ll discuss risk factors, clinical signs and treatment options for pyometra in this week’s blogpost.

The decision to euthanize a beloved pet is one of the most heart wrenching decisions pet lovers have to make. I am quite certain every pet family with an ill or aging pet hopes their pet will die peacefully in their sleep. I am also certain pets rarely die peacefully in their sleep, forcing most pet families to decide to euthanize their favorite fur person. Not only do they have to decide when, but also where. I frequently talk with pet families about the pros and cons of home euthanasia.