Weare Animal Hospital Blog

New Senior Cat guidelines published

The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) has published new guidelines for senior cats. Over the next few weeks, Dr. Barlow and myself will review these and incorporate them into the practice.

Dr. Dutton

Continuing Education in Austin

As I write this, I'm in Austin Texas at a Continuing Education (CE) seminar. The weather is 80 and raining.

CE is an important part of a veterinarian's commitment to pets. New diagnostic and treatment options are always happening. CE is one place where Dr. Barlow and I learn about those things.

CE seminars also allow us to obtain new skills in areas that interest us. For myself, that typically means wet labs (lectures where we get hands-on training with equipment) with minimal invasive surgery techniques.

Other lectures can include non-medical topics. For example, I'm typing this during a break on a 4 hour lecture on animal welfare.

Mike Dutton, DVM

Doggy Daycare

We are now offering Doggy Daycare. As many of you know, we have a large fenced in area behind the Animal Hospital. That will be the doggy daycare area.

If you want to know more, please call the Hospital at 603-529-4999.

I hope to have a webcam working out there shortly.

Cat Playroom in now streaming on the web.

We now have our Cat Playroom Webcam online and streaming. Go to http://www.weareanimalhospital.com/boarding.htm and click Cat Boarding Webcam. It will ask you to download an ActiveX control from AXIS. This control allows you to view the webcam.

This ActiveX control download does require Administrator privileges and we have found some client's machines at work won't download due to security settings set up by their company. We have not had a problem with client's machines at their house.

Technician obtains certification

One of our techs, Audra, just passed her Certified Veterinary Technician test.

This is a great achievement and shows Audra dedication to performing her job well.

Congratulations from all the Staff.

Capital Area Veterinary Emergency Service (CAVES) Open House

 

 

You’re invited to the

 

Capital Area Veterinary Emergency Service (CAVES)

 

Open House

 

February 7 (Saturday)

 

1 to 3 p.m.

 

Come visit us at our new facility at

1 Interval Road,

Concord

 

From the East: Take Exit 1 on I 393 and bear right at the stop sign, left at the next traffic light onto Intervale Road.

From the North: Take Exit 15 E on to I 393 to Exit 1, go straight at the light.

From the West & South: I 93 to Exit 15 E I 393, Immediate right on Exit 1, go straight at the light.

Dr. Dutton is now an Avian Specialist

As many of you know, I do a ton of exotic pets.

I am now very happy to announce that I completed my Avian Specialty work and passed the examination. So in addition to being a Canine/Feline Specialist, I can now state that I am an Avian Specialist.

Mike Dutton

Local source for reptile supplies

As most of you know, we do a fair amount of exotic pets here at the hospital. It's a niche group of animals that's fun and interesting to work with.

A new client of ours owns a reptile store in Pinardville and my son and I had the occasion to visit him last week. It's Dave's Dragons (679 Mast Road, Manchester, NH 03102. 606-2120). He has a varied assortment of reptiles, frogs and pocket pet mammals along with a good assortment of quality supplies.

So if you are in the market for a reptile or supplies, check him out. He is close by, just 15.8 miles south of the hospital.

Dr. Barlow's New Puppy

I have some exciting news!!!!  Last weekend I welcomed a new member to the Barlow family, a little yellow lab puppy!  Adam (my boyfriend) and I named him Cannon, after the ski resort in northern New Hampshire.  He comes to the Weare Animal Hospital every day that I am working. If you come in, I'd be more than happy to introduce you! Cannon's a very smart pup and is a great addition to the Weare Animal Hospital family. 

 

Halloween and chocolate

Here's a great piece excerpted from veterinarypartner.com

Chocolate Toxicity

Chocolate may be America’s favorite flavor. We like chocolate candy, ice cream, chocolate drinks, chocolate cakes, just about anything with chocolate. We may want to share our favorite treat with an eager pet but it is best to think twice and reach for the dog biscuits instead.

Different Types of Chocolate

Everyone who has ever eaten candy knows there are many types of chocolate. Let’s go back to how chocolate is made. Cacao trees are farmed as any other crop, though they grow in tropical regions. The fruit of the cacao tree (called a cacao pod) is sweet and attracts monkeys or other wildlife who eat the fruit but not the bitter seeds. The seeds are discarded in the natural setting, thus allowing new trees to grow.

The seeds cannot be released from the fruit unless some type of animal actually breaks the fruit open. Ironically, it is the bitter seeds, packed with theobromine and caffeine, which are used to make chocolate. The pods grow directly off the trunk of the cacao tree and must be harvested by hand so as not to damage the tree. The pods are split, and the seeds are scooped out and left to ferment under banana leaves for about a week. This turns the cacao seeds a rich brown and creates the chocolate flavor we crave. The seeds are then dried out for another week, packed in sacks, and shipped to chocolate manufacturers.

The seeds must be roasted, ground, pressed (which removes the oil of the seed, the “cocoa butter” that is used in sunscreens, white chocolate, and cosmetics, among other things), and tempered to create the exact consistency.

• Chocolate liquor is the liquid that results from grinding the hulled cacao beans.
• Cocoa butter is the fat that is extracted from the chocolate liquor.
• Cocoa powder is the solid that remains after the cocoa butter is removed from the chocolate liquor. The powder can be treated with alkali in a process called “Dutching” or it can be left alone. Note the low-fat nature of cocoa powder, hence its use in low-fat baking.
• Unsweetened chocolate is chocolate liquor that is 50% to 60% cocoa butter
• Semisweet chocolate is chocolate that is 35% chocolate liquor (the rest being sugar, vanilla, or lecithin).
• Milk chocolate is chocolate that is at least 10% chocolate liquor, the rest being milk solids, vanilla or lecithin.

Why Is Chocolate Bad?

Sometimes we eat chocolate plain. Sometimes we eat it baked into cakes, mixed into ice cream, etc. The first problem with these sweets is the fat. A sudden high fat meal (such as demolishing a bag of chocolate bars left accessible at Halloween time) can create a lethal metabolic disease in pets called pancreatitis. Vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain are just the beginning of this disaster. Remember, in the case of pancreatitis, it is the fat that causes the problem more than the chocolate itself.

The fat and sugar in the chocolate can create an unpleasant but temporary upset stomach. This is what happens in most chocolate ingestion cases.

Chocolate is, however, directly toxic because of the theobromine. The more chocolate liquor there is in a product, the more theobromine is present. This makes baking chocolate the worst for pets, followed by semisweet and dark chocolate, followed by milk chocolate, followed by chocolate flavored cakes or cookies. Theobromine causes:

• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Hyperactivity
• Tremors
• Seizures
• Racing heart rhythm progressing to abnormal rhythms
• Death in severe cases

Toxic doses of theobromine are 9 mg per pound of dog for mild signs, up to 18 mg per pound of dog for severe signs. Milk chocolate contains 44 mg / ounce of theobromine while semisweet chocolate contains 150 mg per ounce, and baking chocolate contains 390 mg per ounce.

It takes nearly 4 days for the effects of chocolate to work its way out of a dog’s system. If the chocolate was only just eaten, it is possible to induce vomiting; otherwise, hospitalization and support are needed until the chocolate has worked its way out of the system.