Otterkill Animal Hospital
Newsletter Volume 7, July 2006

Meet our newest addition, Elizabeth F. Hardoon, D.V.M.

We are pleased to announce the addition of a new veterinarian to our staff! Dr. Elizabeth Hardoon is a May 2006 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. She received a Bachelor of Science Degree awarded Magna Cum Laude in Biology in 2002 from the State University of NY at Stony Brook. Dr. Liz is a long-time resident of Campbell Hall and is pleased to return to practice in her home town.

Dr. Hardoon shares her life with a large and varied menagerie of companion animals. You can meet them on her page of our website: . There will be pictures of them posted in the very near future. We are fortunate to have added another veterinarian experienced in treating reptiles, birds and other non-dog and cat animals. Dr. Liz performed some of her training at the Australia Zoo where she was fortunate to work under Steve Irwin, Animal Planet’s “The Crocodile Hunter”. And yes, she reports, he really is like that all the time.

When not at our hospital, you’ll find her in the outdoors hiking, horseback riding or even SCUBA diving. She’s just added a beautiful Belgian Tervuren puppy, Knight, to her family and is experiencing all of the joys of puppyhood.

Dr. Hardoon could have chosen to start her veterinary career anywhere, but we’re honored that she’s here with us. We know you will welcome her warmly and find her to be a wonderful addition to our health care team. She’s part of our pledge to always provide the best possible care for your companion animals here at Otterkill Animal Hospital. Having her expertise with us will allow us to expand our appointment hours and assist us in our goal of reducing waiting times. Welcome Dr. Liz!

BUT WAIT

Speaking of waiting times, we are always attempting to make your visit with us as timely and efficient as possible. We realize that your time is valuable, especially in today’s hectic, time-crunched world. Nobody wants to spend excessive time waiting in a doctor’s office especially our four (and two) legged friends.

We’re taking several steps to minimize our wait times. We recently lengthened our appointment slots to allow us more time with you and your animal. Our new computerized appointment scheduler allows us to fine tune the length of time needed for each appointment. The addition of another doctor will allow us to open up new appointment times as well.

Yet, we know that there will still be times where we fall behind. One of the exciting aspects of an animal hospital is that, to some extent, we don’t know what’s going to happen each day. There may be an emergency, such as an automobile accident, an animal altercation or poison ingestion that may need our immediate attention, but couldn’t be scheduled. If we’re not able to see you exactly on time, please understand that some animal is receiving the same wonderful care that we provide for your companions; it just needed it sooner. Your patience and understanding is always greatly appreciated. If time is tight for you, please let our front desk know at check-in. Please also feel free to call in prior to your appointment to see how the schedule is running. You may also drop off your animal for an appointment if that’s convenient for you. We’ll just need detailed info from you regarding the appointment. We want to help make your day as easy as possible.

HEARTWORM INFECTIONS ON THE RISE

We are seeing an increased number of dogs infected with heartworm disease. Last year after Hurricane Katrina devastated the south, many rescued dogs were transported to shelters around the country. A high proportion of these dogs were infected with heartworm due to a variety of factors. The end result is that many areas now have a higher population of heartworm carrying mosquitoes ready to infect unprotected dogs. If you discontinued your dog’s preventative medicine in the fall, he or she may be at risk and should definitely be tested this year.

We have always recommended continuing heartworm preventative medication year-round to protect your dog. It is especially important now that heartworm infections are on the rise in our area. We’ve made keeping up with your pet’s medications even easier for you. You can now order refills online through our website. We’ll even drop them in the mail for you if you like.

Can cats get heartworm infections? Yes, they can. However, the disease behaves differently in cats and is generally much less severe and life-threatening. There is a heartworm preventative available for cats, but we are not currently recommending routine use. This may change if we begin seeing the disease in the local cat population.

What about people? Technically humans can be infected with heartworms, but the worms behave differently in our bodies. Since we are not the regular host, the worms cannot develop in a human heart and cause heart disease as they do in dogs. They may however, encyst in a lung which can show up as a “spot on a lung” in a chest x-ray and become a cause for concern. There is no oral preventative in use in humans for this (although the same medication is used for other parasites in people). Your best defense is using good mosquito protection to avoid this and other mosquito born infections such as West Nile Virus.

How about wild animals? Yes, wild canids such as coyotes, wolves and foxes can be infected and develop fatal heartworm disease. In fact it was fatal heartworm disease that was ultimately responsible for the death of the coyote that was trapped in New York City’s Central Park last year. You may be surprised to learn that many zoo animals such as the wolves and even the sea lions receive the same heartworm preventative that your dog does.

LEAVE THOSE BABIES BE

This is the time of year when many baby birds are leaving their nest (fledging) and testing their wings for the first time. Until they really get the hang of it, they will spend some time resting on the ground or low branches. The parents will still come find them and feed them. While they may seem hurt and will let you approach (since they don’t yet know to be careful about humans), they’re fine. It’s best to leave them be, what they’re doing is perfectly natural. You may observe from a distance, if you like, to make sure the parents are around. Most of the time they will be.

This is also a good time to limit your cat’s time outdoors. Those baby birds are particularly vulnerable until they fully “get their wings”. We’d like to avoid them becoming tasty treats.

Summer is here!
Keep active, but make sure everyone stays hydrated!