A tragic decision was forced on a loving dog owner when her pet was bitten by a rabid skunk. Because the dog was only days overdue for its rabies booster vaccine, the owner, according to published news stories, was forced to choose between a lengthy period of quarantine for her pet or euthanizing it. In [...]
Optigen is offering a Winter Discount Days promotion for online entries starting January 3 through January 19, 2015. The code for this promotion is Winterdog15. Entries must be made during this specific time frame for the maximum discount of 25%. Clients then have up to thirty days from the date of entry to get the [...]
AVMA Press Release Across the country, some communities have attempted to reduce the incidence of dog bites by enacting breed-specific legislation that bans the ownership of certain types of dogs. Most recently, residents of Aurora, Colo., voted in November to uphold their nine-year ban on pit bull type dogs in the city. According to the [...]
[December 16, 2014; Philadelphia, PA] – Dr. Lisa Murphy, Penn Vet’s Assistant Professor of Toxicology, and Dr. Kenneth Drobatz, Chief of the Emergency Service at Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital, offer the following tips to keep pets healthy and out of the emergency room during the holidays. Poisonous Holiday Plants Poinsettias: Toxicity from poinsettias is often [...]
by Merry Buckley When canine parvovirus first emerged in 1978, it caused a global pandemic in which hundreds of thousands of dogs are thought to have died. Since then, the virus has occasionally shown up in wild animals, but these were considered a result of small-scale spillovers from dog populations. A new study by Andrew [...]
Dr. Kenneth Drobatz, Chief of the Emergency Service at Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital, offers the following tips to keep pets healthy and out of the emergency room this Thanksgiving: Festive Foods Maintain your pet’s regular diet. Treats of turkey, ham, gravy, cookies, and other goodies can lead to gastrointestinal upsets like diarrhea and vomiting. Dispose [...]
Following weeks of collaborating with public health agencies and experts from around the country, The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has issued guidance for health officials handling the pets of people exposed to the Ebola virus. The guidance has been in development since early October, when a dog in Spain was euthanized after its owner [...]
Periodontal disease is the most common clinical condition in adult dogs, and if left untreated could cause extreme gum damage, tooth loss and pain. By three years of age, most dogs have some evidence of periodontal disease and associated discomfort. In an effort to speed progress in prevention and effective treatment of canine periodontal disease, the [...]
Gene therapy for Canine Multifocal Retinopathy (CMR) is being planned at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. The following breeds are eligible for possible inclusion in these therapy trials are those for which Optigen offers CMR testing: Great Pyrenees English Mastiff; derived Mastiff breeds Coton de Tulear Lapponian Herder All dogs must have [...]
Almost anyone who has spent time in a hospital is familiar with the routine checks of blood pressure and oxygen levels that serve as signposts of a patient’s overall health. But these measures only reflect the pulsing of blood through the large vessels, arteries and veins, not the smaller arterioles, venules and capillaries, which directly [...]
