The central organ for so much in the body: the liver.

As long as the liver is happy, the body can continue to function without issues. Unfortunately, there are many reasons for the liver to become sick, so let's take a few moments to talk about some of the reasons why this can happen. In future posts, we will dive into these reasons a bit further.

The wildfires in California have been front and center in the news the last few weeks.  we wanted to share some important disaster preparedness info. 

The ASPCA has put together a comprehensive list of items to include in your disaster preparedness kit. Here is a list of recommendations:

• Rescue Alert Sticker like the one below to be placed in the window closest to your front door. If you are home and take your pets with you (which we recommend you do) write "EVACUATED" across the stickers if you have time. We like this set just in case you're not at home and something happens to you. 

The bad news? Any breed can be diagnosed at any age. Both dogs and cats can be diagnosed with IMHA. Cats are definitely not as common, but they can still get it.

Some risk factors reported include:

• Older, and middle aged dogs
• Breeds including Cocker Spaniels
• Female dogs 

Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA) is also known as Auto-Immune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA). Both names are for the same disease. It is when the body’s immune system sees erythrocytes, or red blood cells (RBCs), as a foreign invader needing to be destroyed. The immune system no longer recognizes the RBC’s as belonging to the animal and starts breaking down the cells. This causes severe anemia, or low red blood cell counts. 

As you can imagine RBC’s are essential for life. They are important for the body as they carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. That is why when a patient is anemic, they are weak and have exercise intolerance because the cells in the body are not getting the oxygen needed to perform their tasks. The term for decreased oxygen in the blood is hypoxemia.

In dogs and cats we check the packed cell volume, or PCV, to tell us how anemic the patient is. Normal for dogs and cats is typically between 35%-55% and 25%-45% respectively. What this means is of the blood circulating in the body, how much is RBC’s and how much is fluid. The body likes to have a normal percentage of RBC’s and fluid concentrations. 

To know what the PCV is, a small blood sample is place into tubes and spun down with a centrifuge. This can take anywhere from 8-12 minutes. After the sample has been centrifuged the blood has separated into solids (blood cells: predominantly RBC's) and the liquid, plasma, portion of the blood. See the pictures below.

We're looking for pet parents to share their insight on these immune mediated blood disorders:

• IMHA
• IMTP
• IMN
• Evans Syndrome

If your pet was diagnosed with any of these diseases we'd love to get your feedback on what information would be most valuable for pet parents newly diagnosed or currently fighting.

Our goal is to create a book for owners of pets diagnosed with these diseases to help navigate diagnosis, treatment, and living with the disease. 

We created a survey and would appreciate your input. Please follow the link below and be part of creating a road map for pet parents.

If you are a veterinary professional and would like to give us feedback, please go to this link for a survey geared more toward care givers.

When your veterinarian suspects an immune mediated disease it is important to screen for any underlying diseases that can stimulate the immune system. Common diseases that can trigger an auto-immune response is cancer, and tick borne diseases. 

Cancer screening include thoracic radiographs (chest x-rays), abdominal ultrasound, and full blood work including a chemistry and CBC. 

Tick borne disease testing looks for these common infections that can trigger an immune response:

• Anaplasma spp.
• Babesia spp.
• Bartonella spp.
• Canine Hemotropic Mycoplasma,
• Ehrlichia spp.
• Hepatozoon spp.
• Leishmania spp.
• Neorickettsia risticii
• Rocky Mountain spotted fever 
• Lyme​

Feline Specific:

• FeLV and FIV testing

Have you been tasked with monitoring at least one aspect of your pet's vitals?

Are you confused about where to start?

​Well, don’t panic... Here is how to accomplish it!!

Monitoring vitals is a crucial part of each and every visit to your Veterinarians' office. Occasionally, there are times where you will also need to keep an eye on your pet's vitals at home. So let us break this down to make this a manageable task, and therefore more likely to get accurate measurements to help your Veterinarian!

Technically, they are specific clinical measurements of one's temperature, pulse (heart rate) rate, respiratory (breathing) rate, and blood pressure. These clinical measurements are checked each time you bring your pet to see their doctor. We take these measurements so routinely that you may not even realize it is being done!

Over the last several years, the concepts of pain and pain management have become more widespread within the veterinary community.  There has been a growing need to understand the physiology of pain, identify the signs of pain, and be able to provide pain relief to our patient population, in order to enhance our patients’ comfort and overall quality of life. 
 
The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as, “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage”.  Pain starts through stimulation of pain receptors (called nociceptors) that are present within the central nervous system, and are responsible for causing a pain response.  Pain is a sensory process (nociception) that involves a series of electrical events, starting at the site of tissue injury, which then conveys signals to the brain, and results in the perception of pain (Figure 1).  Perception is how the animal feels pain and is a subjective experience.