Secret Santa Guelph (2014 Edition)

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The team here at GLVH are pleased to be able to contribute to the juggernaut that is the #SecretSantaGuelph project again this holiday season.

Secret Santa Guelph is charitable project run by the unstoppable Bang Ly, an east end Guelph resident who grew up nearby in the Brant Ave neighbourhood. Knowing there was a gap in funding for the food program at Brant Ave Public School, Bang started Secret Santa Guelph a few years ago as a way to raise some funds to help expand their program.

Last year, the $3000 raised by the 75 participants allowed the food program (provided in part by the Ontario government, and by the Children's Foundation of Guelph Wellington as well as Breakfast Club of Canada) to expand to 4 days a week until the end of the school year.

This year, Bang was dreaming big. The e-bar at the Bookshelf has been reserved for the evening of December 7th, and it is expected that over 160 participants will be exchanging gifts and bringing cash contributions to the food program at Brant Ave PS. The goal was to raise enough funds to help the program continue for 5 days a week from March (when funding would have run out) until the end of June. This means that not only will kids who need it be able to have a healthy breakfast each school morning, but there will also be healthy snacks available for them during the day.

We are so thrilled that with the help of so many generous Guelphites and corporate sponsors, that $5000 goal has already been surpassed by the commitments made so far! Now, the local food pantry in the neighbourhood will also be receiving a cash boost so that parents from those lower-income families can have options available to them to help send a healthy lunch to school for their kids.

How can you get in on the action? For just a $25 donation to the program and a $15 value gift for your #SecretSantaGuelph match, you're in, and you're helping.

(Why the hashtag before #SecretSantaGuelph, you might be asking? This project is Twitter-based, and you must have a Twitter account to sign up! You can follow the other participants, and everyone will be tweeting gift ideas for themselves... and maybe some for their friends, too!)

For more information, or to sign up for one of the remaining spots, visit the Secret Santa Guelph blog.

Hallowe'en Pet Safety

A Daschund dressed up as a hotdog?  Who can resist?!  For many people Halloween is a time to dress up not only themselves, but their dogs and even cats as well.  However, before you get Fido all dressed up for a night of trick or treating, keep in mind that the most important thing for Hallowe'en night is to have a safe and fun evening and to accomplish this your four legged friends might be better off at home. 

While wearing coats, dresses, sweaters and boots may be regular attire for some dogs, the vast majority of pets are not used to sporting duds of any kind.  If you are considering putting your pet in costume for Hallowe'en take the time to consider what your pet is used to when picking a costume out.  Those dogs that usually wear a coat, would likely be quite comfortable in a coat or onesie type costume.  An animal that never wears any clothing other than their collar is probably better off with a dressed up collar than a full body suit.  Once you have picked out a costume provide ample time to “test drive” the outfit before the big day.  Assess how your pet is acting when in costume.  Do they appear their normal selves?  Are they shying away from people?  Do they seem “embarrassed”?  Unless your pet is displaying their normal attitudes and behaviours, you should think twice about whether they should be in costume.  Even if your pet is super confident in their costume, be sure to provide lots of positive reinforcement – treats, pats and fun games.  Cats can be more difficult than dogs, but the same concepts apply; pick an appropriate costume, test drive it first and make sure to have lots of positive reinforcement. 

It's also important to always supervise your pet while they are wearing their costume. Cats and dogs are curious and may try to chew at their costume, or become tangled in it themselves or in their environment. 

Now that the costume is all sorted out, where to go?  While it may be enticing to think of trick or treating with your dog, it is usually a safer bet to keep them at home.  Even very well socialized dogs can become frightened or startled by children running around in costume in the dark.  Additionally, costumes often make it difficult for us to read our pets’ body language so we may miss vital clues that they are becoming anxious in the situation.  If you must bring your pet with you try to stay away from large crowds, have lots of treats available to reward good behavior and act as a distraction, use an appropriately sized leash and collar so that you have good control.  Remember, the safest place for your pet this Halloween is usually at home in their familiar environment.  

Keep in mind, also, that chocolate and artificial sweeteners can be harmful to your pets. If they decide to taste-test the candy stash and you are concerned, please don't hesitate to give us a call. We can help determine whether they have ingested enough to be toxic. The type and quantity of chocolate as well as the size of your pet will let us know if there's a reason to be worried. Artificial sweeteners like xylitol can cause reactions in your pet as well, and they should be monitored if they've eaten sugar-free candies.

Whether you end up leaving the furry family members at home or taking them along for the evening, we wish you and your pets a safe and happy Halloween!

P.S. Did you know that we now have a Facebook page? Find us at Guelph Lake Vet Hosp!

Thanksgiving Day fun in Guelph!

A few of our Guelph Lake Veterinary Hospital team and their family members joined up with friends at our affiliate hospital (Woodlawn Veterinary Hospital, also in Guelph) to run some of the Thanksgiving Day races at Exhibition Park.  An annual event put on by the Guelph Victors running club, the races range from a 100 m dash for the little kids to a qualified-time 10km run.

Our group covered all the bases - little Emily put forth a good effort in the 100m. Dr Gardiner, Sarah and Julia ran the 1.6 km Nicolas Lambden Memorial Mile with Dr. Cirinna. Then Dr. Cirinna, Dr. Waldron and the amazing Gayle (she's almost 70!) ran the 5km... before Dr. Cirinna did the 3km, too, to wrap up her day!

It was a chilly, gloomy wet day, but we all had a great time and left with smiles of pride and a job well done. Perhaps a new tradition has begun.

Meet Shanti and Mowgli - kittens, kittens, kittens!

As I type, I can hear Mowgli and Shanti chasing each other through our treatment area, wrestling over one of their toys. They aren't littermates, but they certainly act like it, playing and tumbling like brothers and sisters do.

Meet Mowgli:

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A 2 month old grey tabby, this guy is speedy and lots of fun! He loves to lay in your arms like a baby and have his belly rubbed. He has an instant purr when he is picked up!

And here's Shanti:

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A 3 month old grey female kitten with pretty amber eyes, she is playful but snuggly. She's a little quieter than Mowgli, but just as feisty when she's wrestling or protecting a toy! She has a perfect rumbly purr.

These kittens could be adopted separately or together. As mentioned, they aren't littermates, but they have been together since they've been with the Guelph Humane Society - first at the same foster home and now with us. They get along well, and are often found sleeping curled up together.

If you or someone you know might be interested in adopting either Shanti or Mowgli (or both, for double the fun and love!), just drop by GLVH during our regular business hours and we'd be happy to introduce you in person. Cats adopted through our partnership with the Guelph Humane Society will receive a $25 gift card to be used at GLVH for future pet care. 

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Gardening for you... and your pets!

Thanks to Dr. Mel Cirinna for sharing her tips for gardening safely with pets, and including them in your landscaping plan!

Growing up my family always had a vegetable garden as well as a number of flower gardens that my mother tended.  I always enjoyed seeing the cats relaxing under the bushes and sharing veggies with the dogs.  There is nothing tastier than a tomato fresh from your own garden!  However, while these are wonderful images from my childhood, I am now learning that there is some planning that goes into enjoying your garden with your pets.  The first time I planted my own tomato plants it became a race to see if I could get to them before our black lab Sadie did.  The same held true of the raspberry bushes. It was not uncommon to see the rear end of Sadie sticking out of a raspberry bush while she delicately removed all the berries with her front teeth.  It wasn’t just the vegetable garden that was at her mercy, Sadie loved to lay in the shaded areas of the flower gardens as well. Any flowers in her way just provided a soft green mattress or she would dig out a cool spot in the dirt below a bushy plant.  Thankfully our gardens were never frequented by the local cats, but this is a problem that many gardeners have as cats see our wonderfully tended gardens as giant litter boxes.  As the years have passed we have made some changes that allow us to enjoy our gardens and the pets to enjoy the backyard.  Hopefully these suggestions will help if you are also struggling to share garden space with furry family members.

Teaching your pets to respect garden boundaries is best done at a young age; however, even older dogs and cats can learn new tricks. For dogs, start by designating a certain area of the yard for elimination. In the beginning you will need to go out with them each time to show them where to go and provide lots of positive reinforcement when they use the appropriate area. With time they should automatically eliminate in the designated area. For cats it can be helpful to provide one sandy area for them to use as a litterbox. The remainder of the garden should be densely planted or mulched. To encourage your cats to use the designated kitty area, plant cat grass and catnip in that area of the yard. Be sure to keep children’s sandboxes covered when not in use! 

Once a designated washroom area has been allocated, the next step is to create visual boundaries to keep pets out of garden beds.  Fences work best, but can be less aesthetically pleasing than decorative garden edging such as stones and bricks.  Keep in mind that even a half foot fence can be enough to visually deter dogs from entering flower beds.  Plants can also be used as visual borders, try varieties such as barberries, roses, euphorbia, Joe pye weed or bamboo.  Coleus Canina (Scaredy-Cat) can be useful in deterring cats, as can lavender.  Also helpful is to create pathways through the garden with mulch, flagstone or pebbles.  By nature, pets will use a groomed path over forging their own way through the garden.

Cats often need more than a visual barrier to be convinced to stay out of gardens.  Try deterrents such as cayenne powder, crushed chili peppers and citrus rinds.  There are also motion activated products on the market that spray water or emit high pitched sound to deter cats. 

Another important thing to consider is the potential toxicity of some plants for our pets.  Many plants will cause gastric upset when ingested, but some can lead to liver and kidney failure.  An extensive list of potentially toxic plants can be found at www.icatcare.org/advice/keeping-your-cat-safe/cats-and-poisonous-plants. 

Taking the time to carefully plan out your garden so that it provides space for you and your pets is well worth it so that everyone can enjoy the space.  Hopefully with our newly fenced in vegetable garden I will be enjoying some tomatoes this year, although I will be sure to save a few for Sadie!  Happy gardening!

Internet Cat Film Festival coming to Guelph!

The Just For Cats Film Festival is coming to Guelph this week! We love the idea of this fun community event and fundraiser.

Thursday June 19th, starting with a VIP cocktail reception and screening starting at 5:30pm and a second general admission screening at 9pm, cat lovers of the Guelph area will be treated to an event for anyone who has clicked that "you have to see this cat video!" link in their email.

The Bookshelf Cinema is hosting this fabulous furry feline event, featuring the best of the internet's many cat videos (Grumpy Cat and NONONONO cat to name just two!), along with some feature appearances by local kitties.

The event is a fundraiser for the Guelph Humane Society, and tickets can be purchased online, or in person at the Humane Society. 

GLVH sponsors U16-18 Guelph Soccer teams

Guelph Lake Veterinary Hospital is proud to be sponsoring two Guelph Soccer house league teams! We'll be watching their progress as the U16-18 Girls Royal Blue team and the U16-18 Boys Kelly Green team work their way through the season. We're also looking forward to cheering them on in person at the Eastview Sports Park, just across from our location at Eastview Rd and Watson Pkwy N.

Goooooo, Team(s)!

Thunderstorms: Strategies to calm an anxious pet

It's that time of year in southern Ontario when warm humid days often mean evening thunderstorms. If you have a dog who shivers and quakes with anxiety each time thunder rumbles in the distance or someone in the neighbourhood sets off some holiday fireworks, spring and summer can be a stressful time.

There are a few things you can do to help your pet feel a little calmer.

Staying with your pet can help them feel more secure, but if that isn't enough there are prescription medications that can help. Reactions to thunder or loud noises are often very strong for animals, and being able to treat them in advance with a prescription medication can help reduce their stress levels once the storm sets in.

There is also a product on the market called the Thundershirt - a tight vest that goes around your pet's chest and uses constant pressure to help calm them. Swaddling babies to soothe them and using weighted blankets to calm people with anxiety is common practice and the same premise applies for dogs and cats. There are different sizes and styles to suit a range of pets.

If you have an anxious pet, be sure to mention it at your next appointment. Your veterinarian would be happy to discuss the options available and help determine which strategy would be best for your pet.  Maybe you and your pet can get a little more sleep the next time a thunderstorm rolls in!

What happens when your cat stops eating? Part 2

Thanks to Dr. Melissa Cirinna for sharing this story of her own cat, Galileo, and his recent health challenge. Our veterinarians approach each case individually, and even when it is their own pet, they often face many of the same challenges to care and diagnosis as with a client's pet. Read on to find out how Dr. Cirinna handled this rather tricky case from her own household.

Last post we met Galileo, Dr. Cirinna’s kitty who was suffering from anorexia. He had been sent home after 24 hours of intravenous fluids to see if his appetite would hold up with a new canned food.

Galileo, with his esophagostomy tube.

Unfortunately, Galileo showed a complete aversion to the new food once at home.  Galileo had now been anorexic for 72 hours and it was time to implement assisted feeding.  Assisted feeding comes in many forms, the simplest being syringe feeding a soft diet.  The downsides to syringe feeding are you need a cooperative patient and they often will develop a complete aversion to eating.  Much better options include nasoesophageal, esophagostomy and gastrostomy tube feeding.  Nasoesophageal tube feeding is the easiest to start with, it involves placing a tube through the nose into the esophagus.  Nasoesophageal tubes do not require sedation for placement, but can only remain in for a short period of time and require the feeding of a liquid diet.  Gastrostomy tubes are placed directly into the stomach and can stay in place for months; however, they require surgery to be placed safely.  The esophagostomy tube enters the esophagus through the neck and can be placed during a relatively short anesthetic procedure.  I decided to place an esophagostomy tube in Galileo as it can be left in for a prolonged period, requires minimal anesthetic time and allows for the feeding of canned food as well as the delivery of oral medications. 

Galileo with his esophagostomy tube bandaged behind his head.

Galileo enjoying his first meal after 2 days of assisted feeding.

Once at home, Galileo was fed a canned recovery diet 3 times daily - this was administered through his tube via a syringe in order to meet his caloric needs and water intake.  After 2 days of assisted feeding he began to show an interest when the can of food was opened and soon his appetite was back!  The best thing about feeding tubes is that the patients can eat normally even with the tube in.  For the next 2 days I carefully monitored how much Galileo ate on his own and topped up his caloric needs through the esophagostomy tube.  I also administered his medications through the tube as he is not a fan of oral meds.  After 7 days of eating his full caloric requirement on his own, Galileo’s esophagostomy tube was removed.  Further diagnostics will give us a definitive diagnosis and prognosis for Galileo, but in the meantime he is happily enjoying being back with our family rather than separated for nursing care. 

If you suspect that your cat has stopped eating, we recommend calling your veterinarian. As mentioned in our Part 1 post, cats who have stopped eating have a short window of opportunity to get them back on track before the situation can become dire. If your cat has access to food at all times, it can be hard to know if they have stopped eating. Watch for other signs of behaviour changes which could include hiding (perhaps in a place where they wouldn't normally go), lethargy or not wanting to interact with other pets or members of the family.

Dogs vs. Chocolate

Many pet owners are aware that chocolate is considered toxic to our pets; however, how much chocolate and how toxic it is are common questions that we in the veterinary profession answer.  Often we hear stories of the family Labrador getting into a whole box of chocolates and suffering no ill effects, so how bad can it be?  The answer lies in understanding the toxic component of chocolate, how the concentration differs depending on the type of chocolate and how the size of animal impacts the risk of toxicity. 

The ingredients of concern in chocolate are theobromine and caffeine.  Theobromine and caffeine belong to a family of compounds called methylxanines.  Methylxanines act as a central nervous system stimulant and cardiovascular stimulant.  Toxic levels of methylxanines cause nausea, vomiting, an increase in blood pressure, increased heart rate, restlessness, hyperactivity, tremors, seizures and possibly even death.  Theobromine is present in much higher amounts than caffeine in chocolate, therefore, it is the theobromine concentration that we consider when determining if chocolate toxicity has occurred.  The concentration of theobromine in chocolate is related to the percentage of cocoa, meaning that unsweetened baker’s chocolate has much more theobromine than a Kinder Surprise milk chocolate egg.  The chart below shows the average amount of theobromine in one gram of various common types of chocolate.

Let’s look at what all of this would mean to a 5kg Miniature Poodle that has just ate a 43g milk chocolate bar versus 43g of unsweetened baker’s chocolate.  In the first scenario signs of toxicity would be very mild and likely consist of nausea and vomiting.  However, the same volume of unsweetened baker’s chocolate would cause severe signs of toxicity including tremors, restlessness, vomiting and possibly seizures.  Conversely a 30kg Labrador Retriever that consumed the same 43g of baker’s chocolate would show little to no signs of intoxication.  How does this apply to your pet?  If your pet has ingested any chocolate it is important to contact your veterinarian.  Provide the veterinarian with the type of chocolate and volume of chocolate consumed, this will help them determine whether or not your pet requires medical attention as well as what level of treatment is required. 

Treatment for chocolate ingestion varies depending on the severity of intoxication.  Most cases of chocolate ingestion involve small quantities of milk chocolate with mild signs of vomiting and nausea.  In cases with mild signs and a small quantity of ingested theobromine, close monitoring is recommended, but no further treatment.   With larger volumes of cocoa ingestion the veterinarian will likely induce vomiting and administer a charcoal compound to decrease the amount of theobromine that enters the blood stream.  A complete blood test may be ran to assess kidney and liver function.  Dogs and cats suffering from toxicity may then be placed on intravenous fluid therapy to help flush their system of theobromine. 

The effects of chocolate vary significantly depending on the size of your pet and the type of chocolate ingested so please be sure to contact your veterinarian during any case of chocolate ingestion.  Remember, even dogs and cats have a sweet tooth, protect your pet by keeping all chocolate in closed cupboard.