Back to School
A letter from Dr. Goodman...

Zoey in the Deschutes River For the Goodman family, it was an eventful summer. I took a 6 week sabbatical from the hospital to try to slow life down a bit, spend time with my family and "sharpen the saw" as Stephen Covey would say. Jenny, our oldest daugher, was home from college and had a summer job at Eagle Crest and that allowed Zoey, our golden retriever, and the rest of the family to spend most of our time hiking, biking, and fishing in Central Oregon. A trip to Minnesota for Pam's high school and my family reunion capped off a great summer, despite a mountain bike crash that now has me typing one handed, following surgery last week to repair a torn rotator cuff!

I'm not sure if it's all those years in school, but fall always feels like the beginning of the year in many ways. Summer is over and it's time to send the kids back to school and start a "regular" schedule again. We've sent Jenny back to college in Colorado and our youngest daughter, Sarah started her junior year at Tigard High School. Back to school means back to learning. But for the Murrayhill team, learning goes on all year. Because of our commitment to be the best, every year each of our doctors attends a major veterinary conference and brings back the latest information and advances in medical, surgical, and dental care. Last February, Dr. Zawadzki attended the Western Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas. In March, I attended the American Animal Hospital Association meeting in Denver. Dr. Zambelli took a short trip to Seattle in June to attend the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine conference. In July, Dr. Hall headed to Washington D.C. where she not only attended scientific presentations, but also represented our profession & her delegation on the Strategic Planning Committee with the American Veterinary Medical Association. And in November, Dr. Sulis will be attending the annual American Association of Feline Practitioners meeting in Austin, Texas.

And it's not only the doctors who keep up to date with continuing education. Our entire support team is continually learning by attending various local and national meetings, as well as our biweekly onsite training meetings. In March, Candace, Heather, and Loni attended the AAHA conference in Denver, Colorado. This month, Melissa, Virginia, Mandi, and Lindsey will join me as I attend the OVMA board meeting at the Wild West Veterinary Conference in Reno, Nevada. And Christy Lee, our certified veterinary technician of 7 years, is taking her continuing education to a whole new level as she begins her first year of vet school at Oregon State University! But of course, learning doesn't just occur at specific times or at scheduled conferences. Learning occurs each and every day in practice through less exciting, though no less important, means. We learn from our cases and the ensuing research we do on VIN (the Veterinary Information Network), and through consultations with specialists. The doctors and technicians perform daily rounds and we learn from these as well as from reading veterinary journals and textbooks. And we learn every day from you and your pets. In short, learning is a continual, lifelong process for us. As a mentor once said to me: "There is never an endpoint to learning!"

So why is all of this learning important? For us, learning and attending conferences allows us to grow and to challenge ourselves. We take pride in diagnosing and effectively treating difficult cases. For you and your pet(s), it enables us to offer the very best medical, dental & surgical care. We want your pets to live longer, be healthier, and be more comfortable. Staying up to date with the education boom allows us to do just that. We take pride in our facility and in our staff, but ultimately it's the commitment to be cutting edge that sets us apart.

In the spirit of this learning theme, we'd like to invite you to join us in learning more about your pet's health care while celebrating National Pet Wellness Month in October! Most of us are aware of the importance of wellness care in keeping ourselves and our pets healthy. But because pets age more quickly than people, and because they tend to hide signs of illness, the AVMA has established National Pet Wellness Month to encourage people to have their pets examined every 6 months for life. Please read the articles below to become more aware of how you can actively participate in your pets' wellness care. We hope that through this newsletter (and our website), you too can educate yourselves to make better decisions about your pets' health care.

Sincerely,
Dr. Laird Goodman

Dr. Goodman is the Medical Director and Practice Owner of Murrayhill Veterinary Hospital. He lives in Beaverton with his family and enjoys spending time with his Golden Retriever, Zoey and his three cats, Lilly, Eileen, and Annie

Dr. Goodman's Bio

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National Pet Wellness Month
"Twice A Year for Life"


National Pet Wellness Month is an educational initiative designed to raise awareness about the pet aging process, disease prevention, and the importance of twice-a-year wellness exams for all cats and dogs. Sponsored by the American Veterinary Medical Association and Fort Dodge Animal Health, National Pet Wellness Month began in October 2004 and is a year-round campaign where pet owners can receive important information, tailored specifically to their pets, from their personal veterinarians.

How can six-month wellness exams help your pet live a longer, healthier life? Pets age seven times faster, on average, than people. By age two, most pets have already reached adulthood. At age four, many are entering middle age. And by age seven, many dogs, particularly larger breeds, are considered "senior".

What does this mean for your pet? First, because dogs and cats age more rapidly, dramatic health changes can occur in a very short amount of time. Second, as they age, pets can experience the same aches, pains and other health problems associated with aging in humans. Older dogs and cats are at higher risk for diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, kidney disease, cancer and other serious conditions.

Many of these health problems are treatable if diagnosed in time but, unfortunately, many pets don't see their veterinarian as often as they should. Taking your dog or cat to the veterinarian once a year is the same as a person seeing a doctor or dentist just once every seven years! You wouldn't wait seven years to see your doctor for a checkup. So why wait a whole year to have your pet examined by a veterinarian?

Twice-a-year wellness exams allow your veterinarian to detect, treat or, ideally, prevent problems before they become life-threatening. They also provide you with the opportunity to ask your veterinarian questions about nutrition, behavior, dental health or other issues. Research shows that more than half of pet owners consider their pets family members. And, nearly 70 percent think their pets' healthcare is just as important as their own. If you feel the same, make time now to schedule a six-month wellness exam for your best friend.

National Pet Wellness Month

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Junior Wellness Care - Pets Under 7
by Melissa Guila, V.A.

Our Mission Statement: Murrayhill Veterinary Hospital is committed to celebrating and protecting the human animal bond through progressive quality veterinary care in an atmosphere that fosters compassion. We emphasize preventative health care and client education. Wellness care is preventative health care. It is sometimes difficult to determine if our animal friend is suffering from a disease or illness that has not surfaced. Could your tail-wagging, happily-panting Labrador Retriever tell us if he has painful hips? Could your very shy kitty tell us if she's hiding because she has an ear infection?

Although veterinary medicine is progressing, many people still believe that routine visits are solely for an annual physical exam and vaccines. Our veterinarians and staff are well informed and continuously educated about what patients need to be monitored for to increase their longevity and quality of life. The preventative care we recommend for our young adult patients (ages 6 and younger) include an annual fecal parasite screening, annual deworming, annual heartworm testing, annual feline leukemia and FIV testing for kitties that venture outdoors, monthly flea and/or heartworm prevention, and annual blood testing. Only when it is determined that a patient's immune system is strong and healthy do we decide to give vaccines - tailoring them to each patient's lifestyle.

Cats:

• Complete physical exam semi annually
• Annual fecal testing
• Annual deworming
• Annual Junior Wellness blood testing
• Annual FeLV and FIV testing for outdoor cats
• Tailored vaccinations
• Monthly flea prevention

Dogs:

• Complete physical exam semi annually
• Annual fecal testing
• Annual deworming
• Annual Junior Wellness blood testing
• Annual heartworm testing
• Tailored vaccinations
• Monthly heartworm and flea prevention

The most commonly asked question about junior wellness care is why we recommend annual blood testing for our adult patients. "A blood test for Spike? But he's dong fine," we hear. Preventative or wellness care is not about a pet not doing well; We do annual testing for many reasons. Mainly we are checking to be sure that your pet is as healthy on the inside as they appear on the outside. We utilize annual testing as a baseline to compare to if ever your pet should become ill. And although we are happy to report that most junior wellness testing comes back within normal limits, for those minor changes we are able to make a plan so that we can follow up on the changes, and not wait for them to become a problem.

From a decreased appetite due to an abscessed tooth, to an alert-delayed food recall causing serious kidney failure, or an unknown infestation of fleas - one comprehensive annual exam may not catch all that is happening with your pet throughout a whole year. That is why the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recommends an exam twice a year to update any preventative care and detect early signs of diseases or illnesses. These twice a year for life exams may not only be beneficial to your pet but could also help you by distributing the cost of preventative care throughout the year.

Junior Wellness Profile Information

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Senior Wellness Care - Pets 7 and Older
by Katie Perales, C.V.T.

In honor of October's National Pet Wellness Month, we want to provide you with some information about the pet aging process. We understand how important it is for you and your pet to have many fulfilling years together. In order to give your pet every opportunity to live a long, healthy life it is important to stay one step ahead of your pet's aging process.

Currently, as well as regular wellness care including annual fecal testing, annual deworming, heartworm testing, FeLV/FIV testing for outdoor cats, and vaccines tailored to your pet, we recommend a senior wellness program for every dog and cat seven years of age or older. This program is designed to provide your doctor with the best and most appropriate information on your senior pet's overall health, while providing the best value to you, our client. When this testing is done together as a package, there is a discount on each service. Our senior patients receive a comprehensive physical exam, blood and urine testing, a blood pressure test, and for our older "super seniors" baseline radiographs and ECG annually. At the 6 month mark, our seniors receive a comprehensive physical exam and urine testing. These tests and diagnostics are important for two reasons. First, they can identify health problems early. This is especially beneficial for our senior patients because it can greatly influence the number of options your pet has for treatment and return to health. Second, these tests are also helpful in establishing your pet's baseline blood work. Baseline blood work is blood work done at a time of relative health in the patient's life. These results can then be compared to blood values taken in times of illness and will be an asset to your veterinarian when evaluating your pet's health in the future.

The senior wellness blood work includes a chemistry panel consisting of 25 chemistries including liver and kidney enzymes, a complete blood count where we evaluate the red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets, and two thyroid levels. We also send out a urinalysis on every senior patient every six months. This helps to evaluate many things about the patient, such as the potential for urine crystals or urinary tract infection, but perhaps most importantly in our seniors, this test helps to evaluate the patient's kidney function. In addition to the urinalysis, we run an early renal disease test to evaluate the kidneys, also called the microalbuminuria test. Baseline radiographs and ECG are also recommended for our older seniors, and the same rules apply to these tests as did to the blood work; by having radiographs and ECG readings, we may find a disease process early, or we may find that you have a healthy pet and these normal results will be very useful in the future.

Last, but certainly not least, we check a blood pressure on each senior patient. Truly, this test is not last but actually the first test we will perform during your pet's senior wellness exam. We have found that a patient's blood pressure results may be inaccurate due to their comfort level while being tested. The blood pressure will normally be taken in the room with you present in order to establish a peaceful environment for your pet. Also, at a recent continuing education seminar, Dr. Zambelli received some new information about blood pressure testing in the hospital setting. A more accurate blood pressure is obtained on patients who have had approximately 10 minutes to settle into their surroundings, and we will be using this technique while taking your patient's blood pressure.

We are grateful to serve as your pet's health care provider, and we look forward to seeing you both at your next visit. We encourage you to call our clinic with questions about senior wellness and to schedule your pet's next exam, and we wish you and yours a pleasant autumn.

Canine Senior Wellness Information

Feline Senior Wellness Information

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Microchipping
Potential to Cause Cancer?

The doctors and staff at Murrayhill are concerned about the recent AP/AOL story which links microchip implantation to cancer (primarily in mice but also in 2 dogs). Local news programs picked up the story and people are now worried that the microchips implanted in their pets are potential worry, rather than the piece of mind they were meant to be. The article was a stance against microchipping people, and used cancer as their main reason to be against it.

The American Veterinary Medical Association and the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association were quick to respond to the article, sharing with veterinarians and the public more information on the subject. In fact, there is a concern among veterinary medical researchers that the research into microchip inducing tumors may have been flawed, because the animals used were genetically predisposed to cancer. In addition, removal of the chip is a more invasive procedure and not without potential complications. Dr. Cheryl London, a veterinarian oncologist at Ohio State University, noted: "It's much easier to cause cancer in mice than it is in people. So it may be that what you're seeing in mice represents an exaggerated phenomenon of what may occur in people."

Tens of thousands of dogs have been chipped, she said, and veterinary pathologists haven't reported outbreaks of related sarcomas in the area of the neck, where canine implants are often done. (Published reports detailing malignant tumors in two chipped dogs turned up in AP's four-month examination of research on chips and health. In one dog, the researchers said cancer appeared linked to the presence of the embedded chip; in the other, the cancer's cause was uncertain.)

24 Hour Pet Watch Microchip Identification informs us that each year, millions of lost and abandoned animals are taken in by animal welfare organizations across North America; Of these animals, only 14% of the dogs and 4% of the cats (estimated figures) are ever returned home. The major reason for failing to reunite a lost pet with its owner is because the pets are unidentifiable. Microchipping offers pet owners the only truly permanent method of identifying their pet and linking the animal back to the owner. If you want to improve your pet's chances of getting home in a lost pet emergency - microchipping is still your best option. Other chip manufacturers has claimed to have their chip implanted in millions of dogs, cats, horses, birds and livestock. Considering how a large number of pets have been implanted with microchips, with a relatively small number of confirmed cases of tumors associated with microchips, the AVMA advises against a rush to judgment on the technology.

Nonetheless, London saw a need for a 20-year study of chipped canines "to see if you have a biological effect." Dr. Chand Khanna, a veterinary oncologist at the National Cancer Institute, also backed such a study, saying current evidence "does suggest some reason to be concerned about tumor formations." So as with any decisions you make about your pet, we want you to be informed so you are able to make the best decisions to give your pet the longest, happiest life possible. Murrayhill still recommends microchipping as the best source of permanent identification, and all of the doctors and staff would definitely microchip their pets all over again today.

 

24 Hour Pet Watch - Do Microchips Cause Cancer?

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Announcement
OHS Opens New Learning Center

Please join us in congratulating the Oregon Humane Society as they open their new Animal Medical & Learning Center.

Find out more...

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