Summer is here!
A letter from Dr. Goodman...

It was a busy spring in the Goodman household. Jenny graduated from Colorado University in May, and Sarah graduated from Tigard High in the beginning of June! With the hectic schedule of ceremonies, travel, and parties over with, Jenny and I took some time for a little fishing on the Deschutes River with our Golden Retriever, Zoey. We didn't catch any fish, but everyone had a great time - including Zoey who romped in the river, ran through the brush, and had her first encounter with a rattlesnake! Thankfully, both Zoey and the snake were cordial to each other and nothing more came of it.

After giving a sigh of relief having avoided a medical emergency, I reflected on how much our approach to medicine has changed since my own graduation from Vet school 26 years ago. In the past, our practice of medicine focused on "crisis care" - that is, wait for a problem to occur, and then try to "fix" it. Now our paradigm has shifted from waiting and fixing to one of prevention or wellness care.

My experience on the Deschutes underscored one of these important areas of preventative medicine - comprehensive parasite control. Zoey's adventure on the Deschutes River exposed her to a number of health hazards including: ticks, fleas, intestinal worms, heartworms, and rattlesnakes - all of which can be prevented (except rattlesnakes)! I was thankful that I had applied FRONTLINE to prevent tick problems. FRONTLINE is one of the many products that has helped usher us into this new paradigm of medicine. In the past, toxic dips and sprays would have been applied afterward to remove ticks, but probably not before Zoey was exposed to various tick- borne diseases including Lyme disease!

Likewise, because Zoey was on SENTINEL, she was safe from many other common, preventable diseases including intestinal worms, fleas, and heartworms. Arguably, intestinal parasite deworming is the most important aspect of Sentinel. Pet owners who have lived through a flea infestation might feel that the flea control is most important. But we shouldn't ignore the serious threat of heartworm disease. I was reminded of my early days in veterinary medicine as an assistant in a small animal practice in Duluth, MN. Heartworm disease was a problem in other states but we didn't have any cases in Minnesota. After a few years, a few cases started showing up in "pocket" areas. No one took the disease seriously and hence no one put their dogs on a heartworm preventative. Two years later, the state of Minnesota was in the midst of a heartworm epidemic and thousands of dogs were infected and died.

Fortunately, in Oregon, we have learned from these mistakes. We know that we can prevent any such epidemic in our area only if we continue to think in terms of prevention.

All of the doctors at Murrayhill Veterinary Hospital follow the American Heartworm Society's recommendation of monthly treatment with SENTINEL to prevent heartworm disease. The goal to prevent an epidemic is not a new concept. We prevent Parvovirus, Distemper and other deadly diseases only through a similar preventative program using vaccines.

Meanwhile, have a safe and enjoyable summer and continue to look for our Pet Health Alerts via email alerts on topics we think you should be aware of before our next issue!

As I close this letter, Zoey is at my feet; ready for a run, ready for a swim, and as always, ready to play! Enjoy the summer and remember, we are here when you need us!

Sincerely,
Dr. Laird Goodman

Dr. Goodman is the Medical Director and Practice Owner of Murrayhill Veterinary Hospital. He lives in Tigard 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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Safe Warm Weather Fun

We've already seen some warm weather and it is sure to return. Remember, hot weather does pose risks for our animal friends, so keep these helpful tips in mind:

1. Never leave your pet unattended in a vehicle during warm days. Even when outside temperatures are a moderate 70 degrees, the temperature inside a car can quickly climb to more than 110 degrees. Because dogs don't perspire (they pant to take in cooler air), the distress of a hot car can make them panic, which only aggravates the problem. Heatstroke is life- threatening for animals. If not treated in its earliest stages, heatstroke can be fatal.

2. Provide your pet with plenty of clean, cool drinking water, especially when outdoors or exercising. Bring along a container of clean water when hiking (like our photo of Poly Osborne, seen here drinking from a camelback while out hiking with the family). Adequate water intake is very important in order to avoid dehydration. However, do not let your dog drink too much water at one time before, during or after exercise because a condition called gastric torsion or bloat may result. A dog, especially deep-chested breeds like German Shepherds or Great Danes, can die from bloat if they eat or drink too soon and too much directly following exercise. Their stomach may swell and even rotate like a wringing towel, which cuts off blood supply through the stomach.

3. Avoid exercising your pet during the mid-day summer heat. Exercising your animal is important, but it is better to do so in the early morning or evening hours when the temperatures are lower. If you run with your dog, it is important to gradually build an exercise program that your dog can handle. Dogs can suffer from heatstroke if overworked.

4. Beware of exercising your dog on hot pavement. Because dogs don't have tennis shoes, they need pad protection. Your dog can get damaged or blistered feet if it doesn't have time to build up it's foot pads. Consider running on trails or use Booties available thru REI. to protect the pads.

5. Consider a kids play pool for the backyard. On hot days, dogs love to lie in the cool water just as much as we do!

Murrayhill Veterinary Hospital

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Murrayhill welcomes our new hospital manager
Nicole Papageorgiou, LVT, CVT

Murrayhill Veterinary Hospital is well known in our community for it's excellent preventative veterinary medical care, the state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment options available, pain management and extraordinary customer service. It is an honor for me to work on a team that focuses on this deep connection to our pets and who strive to strengthen the human-animal bond in the work we do on a daily basis. The doctors and staff at Murrayhill Veterinary Hospital are wonderful individuals who deeply care about the medicine, the pets and their families.

Nicole's Bio

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Obesity in Pets
by Dr. Michele Zawadzki

At Murrayhill Veterinary Hospital as part of our physical exam we assess each patient's body score. This is evaluated by observing the patient from above (looking down on their chest and back area) and from the side to see if they have a tapering "waist line" behind where the last rib ends and to palpate their body and feel for their ribcage. An ideal body score is approximately 5/9. An extremely thin cat would be given a score of 2/9 and an obese cat would be given a score of 8/9. The cat in our photo would be given a BCS of 9/9!

Overweight cats are generally more prone to diseases. These diseases include but are not limited to: diabetes, arthritis, pancreatitis and cardiovascular disease. Obese cats shockingly tend to live on average about 2 years less than slim cats. Since cats spend the majority of their time sleeping, they are even more prone to obesity than dogs.

In an effort to help promote healthy pets, the doctors at Murrayhill have been calculating an RER (resting energy requirement) or caloric need for each cat/dog that is considered either overweight or underweight. Based on this calculation and the type of food that is being fed, we can calculate the exact amount that should be fed to promote an ideal body weight. Since exercise is also an important part of any weight loss program we also have some tips to help clients exercise their cats. For example, try to get your cat up and moving by purchasing a laser pointer and have your kitty chase the beam. Buy a harness and walk you cat or split the daily feeding amongst small dishes (the tiny sushi dishes work great!) and place a small amount of food in each dish and then disperse them all around the house so the kitty is enticed to get up and go looking for their food.

When dogs are considered overweight, we also calculate an RER. It is generally easier for people to step up their dog's exercise plan. Now there is also a canine diet drug available to help promote weight loss (Slentrol) which works at the level of the brain to make dogs think they are full and satisfied during a meal often before they have emptied their food bowls. Unfortunately, for cats there are no weight loss drugs currently available so we are compelled to help them cut back their caloric intake and get them up and exercising.

At the end of the day we all love our pets. They are our buddies, best friends and family members. As many of us equate "food with love", please stop to think of those extra years you could have with your pet and how their quality of life would be better if they were trim and fit! If you are concerned about your pet's weight, please feel free to schedule an appointment with any of our doctors to discuss a weight loss program for your feline or canine friend!

Dr. Zawadzki's Bio

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Volunteerism at Murrayhill
Dr. Flacke travels to Peru

It was with great excitement and anticipation that I traveled to Lima, Peru, for one week in mid-June to volunteer with Humane Society International (HSI). Primarily, my role as a veterinarian was to oversee and evaluate the local non-profit spay/neuter clinic, help with surgeries and training, and report back to HSI regarding the quality of the program and suggestions for improvement. I have participated in many such volunteer trips to Latin America over the last 8 years with Rural Area Veterinary Services (RAVS, a part of HSUS - Humane Society of the United States), and each one proves to be a wonderful and rewarding yet unique experience. Peru was no different.

Grupo Caridad (www.grupocaridad.com) was started by Fernando Moreno when he was only 16 years old. His passion for animal welfare and reducing the population of street dogs in Lima led him to campaign for private and NGO donations, he managed to secure the volunteer services of several local private practice veterinarians, and also later established Grupo Caridad as a registered non-profit organization in Peru. Since they started their campaigns 3 years ago, over 1000 dogs and cats have been sterilized (spayed or neutered). This is just a drop in the bucket when considering the millions of street dogs (and cats) all over Peru, but it is an admirable and impressive start to something that I know will grow and prosper, thus benefiting animals all over the country. A program like this is more than necessary in a country where dogs are routinely still poisoned and shot and have to dig through heaps of garbage to find food.

Grupo Caridad campaigns only in the poorest communities of Lima, thus providing free spay/neuter services for people who would otherwise never see a veterinarian in their lifetime. The group operates under very basic conditions and has limited supplies, but is doing wonderful work for the underprivileged animals (and people!) of Lima. In addition to providing these free and very necessary services, Grupo Caridad also campaigns and educates the public through fliers, radio advertisements, and presentations in local schools, advocating adoption from a shelter instead of purchasing a pure bred animal.

It was an absolute pleasure to work with this group and to help train their veterinarians to improve their surgical procedures, as well as to work with the local people, volunteers and pet owners alike. It is always so very rewarding at the end of the day when you know you have done a good thing, not only for an animal, not only for a person, but also for a greater cause which is so important. HSI hopes to return to Peru in December for an additional teaching and training clinic, and I plan to participate again if they do.

I did also take a few extra days to visit some of the most famous parts of Peru, including Machu Picchu. It is an amazing country filled with friendly, kind, and genuine people, fascinating ancient cultures and customs, wonderful food, breath-taking landscapes, and so many dogs and cats that will hopefully have a better chance in life thanks to Grupo Caridad.

Dr. Flacke's Bio

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