This year was a fantastic sucess yet again.  Dr. Van Duin took photos of over 100 animals of all types.  Of course, we saw primarily dogs and cats, but we also enjoyed seeing the hamster and guinea pig, Fluffy and Gus.  Quincy, the rabbit also came for a photo op, for the second… or was it the third year, in a row.  It was wonderful to see how generous people were and how well the pets all cooperated with Santa and the photographer.  We raised about $1300 for our local animal shelters.  Half of the money collected was donated to the Richmond Animal Protection Society (RAPS) and the other half was donated to our local branch of the SPCA. 

Yet again, one of these lovely souls will have their photo chosen for the front of our IVH Christmas card.  It’s so hard to decide because we have so many beautiful photos!

We would like to thank ALL who participated in this event and EVERYONE for their generosity.  A big thanks goes out to Steve Van Duin, who kindly donated many, many hours of his time.  We couldn’t have done it without him.

Have a wonderful 2010!

When people bring their companions in to see us for annual exams, the most common problems we see are obesity and dental disease.  Notably, these are 2 problems that we, the client and the veterinarian, can actually influence.  Today, I will focus on the weight problems, what happens to pets because of obesity and some of the tools we have at our disposal to help manage weight.

First, we need to understand what a healthy body condition score is.  Purina has excellent charts that you may want to download and print off.  For dogs, go to http://www.purina.com/dogs/health/bodycondition.aspx and for cats go to http://www.purina.com/cats/health/bodycondition.aspx.  A dog/cat in good body condition should have a visible waist from the side-view and from the top looking down.  You should be able to feel the ribs somewhat.

The magnitude of the obesity epidemic is huge.  About 50% of the cats and dogs that we see are either overweight or obese.  That is a staggering number.  Overweight pets live on average 15% LESS than their leaner counterparts.  For a Labrador Retriever, that amounts to about 2 full years!  For a Toy Poodle, that’s more like 3 years.  Overweight pets also develop health problems at an earlier age (by about 2 years).  And we’re talking about preventable problems…with weight management ALONE. (Of course, there are a few health problems that contribute to weight issues, but they are they exception rather than the rule in overweight pets.)

Overweight pets are more prone to almost all diseases.  We see the obvious things like diabetes and  joint pain.  But that’s the tip of the iceberg.  We also see more skin disease, ear problems, liver, kidney and heart problems.  We see an increase in breathing problems for a variety of reasons, all linked to weight.  There is now even a correlation between being overweight and an increased risk of cancer.  You may wonder why this is.  In a nut shell, fat is actually a lot like an endocrine organ (like the thyroid for example) and it’s now known to produce more than 50 different compounds.  The more fat, the more of these compounds are produced.  Some of these compounds are pro-inflammatory (they enhance inflammation).  So, for example, the poor dog that’s overweight that has arthritis gets it from 2 sides.  Not only is the dog carrying around an extra unnecessary load of weight in the form of fat, but that fat is actually making the inflammation in the joints WORSE.  Yikes!  There are also compounds known to be pro-cancerous (so they increase the rate of genetic mutations that cause cancer).  I’m not an endocrinologist, but I’m sure you get the idea:  too much fat is not good.

So, what to do with those heavy pets?  First, we need to make sure that they do not have any hormonal reasons for being overweight, such as a thyroid problem.  Blood tests can sort that out.  Then, we need to make sure that the pet is getting the right food to loose weight.  Sometimes, it can be as simple as reducing the amount of food fed, but often, we need to change to a diet that’s designed for weight loss.  Weight loss diets have a different ratio of nutrients-to-calories and the better diets often have a higher level of protein to help maintain muscle mass and improve metabolism.  Of course, exercise plays a very significant role.  We also moderate treat consumption, but we don’t eliminate them completely.  Getting the weight off isn’t always easy, but its vital for a long and healthy life.  If your pet is overweight; PLEASE give us a call so we can help you get your pet healthy and keep him/her that way for a LONG time.

We had our first annual RAPS (Richmond Animal Protection Society) fund-raiser yard sale today and it was a fantastic success!  We had 19 tables of lightly used stuff for sale, and most of us sold the majority of our treasures.  The place was literally crawling with people for 3 hours in the morning and steady all afternoon.  The weather was perfect, which of course always helps.  Collectively, we raised $460 for RAPS, which can always use a helping hand…or funds.  Almost all of the left-over goods, went to the RAPS Thrift Store benefiting the shelter even more.  We want to thank everyone who was involved in this event.  We’ve already had many requests for the same event next year and it’s a promise; we’ll be having another yard sale next year.  In the mean time; don’t forget to help your local shelter whenever possible.  They do a lot of good with very little.

the hub of it all