Employee Q&As. Meet the VCA Hollywood Team !

To better get to know our team, we started the Employee Q&As! This is Mallory, one of our Vet Techs. She is an all-around fun person to be around. Read below for more. 

Q:  Are you an early bird? 

A: I'd like to think so, buy I enjoy sleeping in too much, so I am a night owl. 

Q: What is your ideal way to spend your time off? 

A: Probably finding a way to get a nap into my day (Going to Target and Trader Joe's). 

Q: What is your favorite season? 

A: Winter 

Q: What is the top travel destination on your must visit list? 

A:  Africa 

February- Patient of the Month- Sandy!!!

This month's patient of the month has a very interesting story to tell. Sandy, a 7 month old Rhodesian Ridgeback came in last month for a routine spay.   She received a full examination  by Dr. Carlos and blood-work for the procedure was discussed. In situations where a patients is young and (apparently) healthy, it is quite normal to not pursue pre-anesthetic blood-work before a routine surgical procedure.  This instance seemed no different and Sandy's owner elected to go forward with the procedure without blood-work. We will find that Sandy was not a "normal" patient.

Once in surgery, Dr. Carlos discovered that Sandy had a few anatomical abnormalities. Sandy's uterus and ovaries were severely underdeveloped making them difficult to locate. While looking for the left ovary, Dr. Carlos noticed that Sandy was born with only one kidney. 

Having only one kidney does not effect a spay procedure specifically. It does change anatomical development, as seen with Sandy, and makes everything more difficult but more importantly it directly effects the way the body metabolizes anesthesia.  Happily, this is where Sandy's story is somewhat uneventful. Sandy recovered from surgery quickly. She spent one evening with us on intravenous fluids and was soon home and healing well.

What continues to be interesting though was that Sandy's blood-work (done after surgery) was completely normal. Because she was born with this deviation, her kidney values were within normal limits. In fact, if not for this routine procedure, the awareness of her unique condition would not have manifested until a problem arose later in life due to the responsibility of functionality resting solely on the one kidney.

Now Sandy is home. Her incision is healed and she is frolicking like a Ridgeback does. Her family is prepared for future variations in her blood-work because of this visceral difference and can approach decisions well informed.

This routine procedure gave both Sandy and her family more than anticipated. Sandy is a lucky dog and we are happy to highlight her as our Patient of the Month for February!

Are Your Dog's Teeth Healthy?

So often we see patients that come in for an annual exam or even a dental and are surprised that their pet's teeth are badly effected by dental disease. Their pet is happy and eating and should animal breath really smell like roses?!?!?!?

It is hard to know all the things to look for. Like you, we rely on the expertise of our vets to help us navigate the healthcare of our four-legged friends and keep them happy and healthy.

Check out this interesting article on dental care that we think helps to demystify the mouth!

Your Dog's Teeth: Toothaches and Other Problems
 

If your dog had a toothache, would you know? If their gums were receding and painful, could you tell? Probably not.

To find out why, WebMD talked with veterinary dentists. They shared their thoughts on recognizing the early signs of oral problems in dogs and offered tips on what you can do today to help keep your four-legged friend's teeth in great shape.

1. Understand Your Pooch's Mouth
Just like people, dogs can break or fracture their teeth. And just like us, they can also get gum disease. Dogs are five times more likely to get gum disease than humans for a couple of reasons. First, dogs have a more alkaline mouth, which promotes plaque formation. Second, unlike humans, dogs usually don't have their teeth brushed daily.

"Plaque is made up of saliva, food debris, sloughed cells from the lining of the mouth, oral bacteria, and their by-products," says Colleen O'Morrow, DVM, a fellow of the Academy of Veterinary Dentistry and a veterinary dentist practicing in Manitoba, Canada. "As the plaque thickens from not being brushed away on a regular daily basis, the bacteria multiply."

Once the bacteria multiply, the problems do, too. As the bacteria increase, your dog’s mouth mobilizes cells to fight the invasion. Those mobilized cells and the bacteria combine to cause inflammation and tissue destruction in your dog's mouth. As the inflammation and tissue destruction progress, they destroy bone, which ultimately leads to tooth loss -- and a lot of pain for your pooch.

2. Be Aware: Dogs Rarely Show Signs of Dental Pain
Even with a cracked tooth or periodontal disease that damages gums around the teeth, your dog would probably eat normally, wiggle happily at your return home, and overall act like the same dog you know and love.

Your pet may be in chronic pain, but you wouldn't know it. Why? Dogs have evolved to hide such chronic pain. Their animal instinct is not to show signs of weakness.
"In my experience the No. 1 sign of periodontal disease is no signs at all," says Brett Beckman, DVM, FAVD, DAVDC, DAAPM, a veterinary dentist who practices in Florida and Georgia.

"The number of patients I see a year that come in because there is pain is less than 5%," says Beckman, while more than 80% of dogs have periodontal disease by the time they're 3 years old. "I really want to get that point across," says Beckman, "there are almost always no signs at all" of dental pain.

Source; WebMD Pet Health Feature
By Wendy C. Fries
Reviewed By Amy Flowers, DVM

January is National Blood Donor Month

January is National Blood Donor Month! Blood transfusion (including transfusion of blood products, like plasma) is a critically important service that can mean the difference between life and death for veterinary patients. In our continuing efforts to offer the highest quality medicine to all of our patients, we are pleased to offer blood transfusion services supervised by our expert health care team at Hollywood Animal Hospital. 

                              .

People often wonder how blood donations work in the world of our furry friends as compared to human blood donations. If you have personally donated blood, then you already know how important donating blood is to the human community. Almost every person you know can be a blood donor, regardless of their blood type. The same is nearly true for feline blood donors--almost every cat can be a blood donor. However, the canine blood donation situation is a little different. 

Only about 40 percent can be blood donors, because donations can only be taken from those dogs with the universal canine blood type. The Hollywood Animal Hospital is home to both a feline and canine in-house blood bank.

We use greyhounds as our canine blood donors since they have the universal canine blood type and domestic felines as our feline donors. Each week, we take blood from alternating groups of pets to stock our blood bank. The blood is then used to assist animals with different types of needs.

The donors are all adopted animals who receive a safe, caring place to live, plenty of food to eat, and lots of play time.

                     Below is Squirrel, one of our Adopted Blood Donors, who was adopted six years ago. 

This is Squirrel! 

Squirrel and Linda

Kris, Kennel Supervisor, and Joyce who adopted Squirrel

Finally, after our donors serve for 2-years, we find a permanent home for him/her to live out the rest of their life in comfort.

For further information, please contact us at (954) 920-3556

Source: http://www.hollywoodanimal.com/hah-blood-donors
http://hollywoodanimalhospital.blogspot.com/2013/11/squirrel-adopted-blood-donor.html 
http://www.hollywoodanimal.com/blood-transfusions 

Anxiety and Your Pet

Cats and dogs are creatures of habit, much like their owners.  Anxiety can be brought on by the introduction of new members to a family (four legged or two legged), hectic and changing owner schedules, moving house, loud noises (e.g. thunderstorm/fireworks), lack of stimulation, separation anxiety, as well as illness, discomfort, or disease.  Before trying to modify your pets’ behavior, take them to the vet and ensure that they are healthy and not stressed due to pain or illness.  After ruling out a physiological reason for your pets’ anxiety, behavior modification techniques can be implemented.  These can be as simple as creating a more regimented everyday schedule for your pet or positive reinforcement with small healthy treats. Behavior modification techniques are the cornerstone in treating anxious pets however they can be used in conjunction with psychopharmacology or behavioral medication.  Talking with your veterinarian or an animal behavior specialist about the unwanted behavior your pet is exhibiting is the best first step in figuring out the reason for their anxiety and the correct way to manage it. 
 

Lauren Diamant D.V.M.- HAH
University College of Dublin Ireland