The doctors and medical team of my hospital, Maybeck Animal Hospital, have made the decision to offer free vaccines for the life of your pet.  While this is the main point of this blog post, it is important for pet owners and clients of Maybeck to understand what factors brought us to this decision.

I was inspired to write this blog post after I was informed this week of our reference laboratory’s across the board fee increase of 5%. The stated reference laboratory, Antech, is the lab to which we send out of house laboratory diagnostics, from blood work profiles, biopsies, and EKGs, to x-ray imaging consultations. Antech offers the most competitive pricing for these services in the veterinary industry and yet, even they are posting a rather significant fee increase this year.

I got a text from my neighbor this morning, asking me if I could get her into the clinic later today, as she suspected her kitten has worms.  My neighbor has a wonderful family, doting husband, 4 great children, 2 of which are toddlers.  She also is a responsible and loving pet owner to a one year old cat.

There are more joint chew supplements on the market for dogs and cats then we can count, but the big question remains, do they actually work?  The short answer is, maybe, but the real answer like most things I write about, is a bit more complex.  Okay, more than a bit. 

First, let’s discuss the major ingredients that go into high quality joint chews for pets, glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, and omega-3-fatty acids.

Glucosamine

It may seem strange that I choose to write a flea article just as most of the nation is being hit with winter storms.  However, those snowstorms can lull pet owners into a sense of false security when it comes to fleas.  While those fleas may be effectively killed outside, they are doing just fine in their nice and cozy, warm homes, happily feeding on dogs and cats and making lots of babies.

I don’t know what it is about the psyche of certain people. They yearn to choose conspiracy over the obvious, somehow garner security from their own distrust of everyone and live their lives looking for the next professional expert to expose as incompetent, unscrupulous and in league against them. In the face of difficult circumstances, these same people often feel the need to blame someone or something for their misfortune, that somehow pinpointing and targeting the reason for their problems, makes tough situations more easily accepted.

An unknown respiratory virus has been plaguing dogs in the Midwest, predominantly in the greater Chicago area, but rapidly spreading.  While at first it was a mystery, early data from isolated samples indicate that it is a strain of influenza, reminiscent of the Canine Influenza outbreak in 2007/2008.  Early signs of illness include cough, lethargy, nasal discharge, loss of appetite, and fever.  In many cases, signs progress to pneumonia, a condition that can be life threatening.  Early data also indicates that this may be a mutated avian or horse flu that is particularly virulent to canine