Hippocrates said, “Let medicine be your food and food be your medicine.”

Food therapy is the practice of using different foods and herbs to treat pets based on genetic tendencies, age, species, environment, personality, stress level and disease patterns.

While most pet owners agree it is better to have loved and lost a furry friend than never to have loved at all, coping with the impending death of a beloved pet is never easy. Fortunately, this process does not have to be navigated alone.

Working together with your veterinarian, you can make the most of your pet’s final days and guide him/her through the end of life peacefully.

Quality of life

One of the most important things to consider during the gradual decline of a pet’s health is his/her quality of life.

Toxoplasmosis, a disease caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, has been scaring pregnant women and families for years—and cats have a bad reputation of being the source! The truth is, despite the feline’s connection to this parasite, family pets are likely not the cause of this disease in human cases. Most commonly, human infection occurs as a result of gardening in contaminated soil or handling raw meat.

Congratulations on the adoption of your new pet!  We are thrilled that you decided to adopt a pet from the shelter and save a life! 

When a dog or cat is adopted from the shelter, he/she is most likely current on vaccines, has been spayed or neutered and has been microchipped.  The shelters work hard to make adopting a pet as easy as possible.  However, it is still very important to follow up with your veterinarian soon after adoption. 

Cats are typically fastidious groomers and therefore ingest a significant amount of hair. Hair is undigestible and usually sits in the stomach until enough hair is accumulated to produce a signal that induces vomiting. Even though people often say their cat is “coughing up a hairball,” this is not the correct terminology. The hair is coming from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, not the respiratory tract (lungs).

Skin disease is frustrating no matter which system of medicine is used to treat it. It almost always requires a multimodal approach, meaning it needs to be attacked from several different angles. This is especially true when pet owners want to keep long-term medication to a minimum.

Have you taken a look inside your pet’s mouth lately? If not, you could be missing some serious clues into Fluffy or Fido’s well-being.

Periodontal disease affects nearly 85 percent of all cats and dogs over three years of age. In addition to association with liver, kidney and heart disorders, this disease is a frequent source of pain and often leads to poor general health. 

Did you know that dental disease affects nearly 85 percent of dogs and cats over three years of age? Imagine the equivalent—a human not brushing his/her teeth for 20 years—and you can easily understand why! Fortunately, dental disease is a treatable and preventable problem in most pets.

Need an additional incentive or two to make an appointment for your pet? Here are five great reasons to consider a professional dental cleaning: