I love peanut butter. Mojo and DeeDee love peanut butter too! In fact the Peanut Butter and Blueberry STAM treats are a favorite of theirs and many of our patients. And I am very relieved to inform you that STAM is NOT affected by the recent news that peanut butter and peanut butter products are being recalled due to possible Salmonella contamination. STAM Treats uses Adams All-Natural Peanut Butter  which is not affected by the recent recall. 

STAM peanut butter treats are safe and delicious

Other pet related products have not faired as well. PetSmart Inc, the largest U.S. pet-products and services retailer, recalled seven of its Great Choice Dog Biscuit products as a precaution against possible salmonella contamination because the peanut paste they use was produced by the Peanut Corp of America (PCA). Also on January 28th more treats were recalled - Happy Tails Multiflavored Biscuits sold through Albertson's (UPC#: 41163-42406 and UPC#: 41163-42403) and peanut butter hooves, beef shanks and rawhides made by Carolina Prime Pet (lots 081508 and 010909).

DeeDee loves peanut butter in her Kong

Many of you use peanut butter as a treat, Kong stuffing or even as a way to give medication to your pets. Although major brands of jarred of peanut butter appear to be exempt from the recall at this time, please monitor the FDA website for any new infomation and use caution when considering peanut butter as a treat. Of course, as we receive updates we will be sure to keep you informed.

If your pet develops vomiting and/or diarrhea (with or without blood) and has been consuming peanut butter treats please seek medical attention for them right away. Pets, just like people, can get very ill from Salmonella poisoning. Aside from vomiting and diarrhea some pets may only show symptoms of lethargy, fever and abdominal pain. Humans can get ill with Salmonella from thier pets or from handling contaminated pet treats. Our own public health veterinarian, Dr. Emilio DeBess is monitoring the outbreak in Oregon (8 human cases and 4 pending confirmation) and is encouraging reporting and testing of any pet cases meeting the description above.  

I will update recalled treats in the comments section below as new information arises. 

Last week Michael and his friend Dragan were riding home from work when they found a large yellow lab sauntering down the middle of Glisan St. Quick thinking they stopped and called him over, and being a friendly yellow lab he was happy to say hi. They called Sarah, Dragan's wife to come pick up the lab, named Framus to come give him a ride to the clinic. Michael called the number on the tag but there was no answer so he left a message.

Framus arrived at the clinic and was greeted with cookies and a cool bowl of water. He thought we were pretty cool. We pulled out our microchip scanner and got started on the phone calls. First we called the microchip company to give them the number and get Framus's family's information. The phone number from the tag was the primary contact so Katie left a message there and called the alternate contact number. It was Framus' aunt. She told us the story of her brother being new in town and living near where Framus was found. She was really nice and told us to call if we didn't hear from Framus' dad.

So, we took turns petting him and hanging out with Framus until the phone rang - it was Framus' dad! He got our address and came on down. Seems that someone left the gate open and Framus decided to take himself on an adventure. Framus was happy to see him and got a ride back home.

Microchipping is done by placing a small readable chip (the size of a grain of rice) under the skin. The chip is scanned and a number comes up on the reader. The person scanning calls the company that made the chip, gives the number and gets the information. The needle for microchipping is rather large so we prefer to microchip under anesthesia or sedation but many pets do well awake. We typically microchip pets when they are under anesthesia for their spay or neuter surgeries. We  did just microchip two cats heading to Amsterdam while they were awake. The brother cat did well but the sister had a difficult time. We had to use a Feliway covered towel to wrap her up in and microchip her quickly after a failed attempt. It was difficult for all involved but it was so fast.

The microchips we use are made by HomeAgain. They are a great microchip manufacturer that uses a patented technology so the microchips are less likely to migrate from where they are placed. They also have a wonderful program that gives a central place to call if your pet is lost. When you call, HomeAgain will blanket a 25 mile radius faxing the lost pet poster to all veterinary hospitals, shelters and pet stores in the area. The registration also includes $3000 in insurance that covers injuries while the pet is lost, calls to the ASPCA Poison Control, and a way to make lost pet posters to hang in the area. The program is free for the first year when your pet is microchipped at our practice and then is $14.95 a year. The fee for microchipping is $50.

 

Last night I heard, off in the distance, the unmistakable sound of firecrackers being set off in some kind of 10:32pm celebration. My first urge was to yell out the word "cookieworks"! You see, our old dog Seso (who passed away at 15 in October) had noise phobia and this time of year was difficult for her (until she started to lose her hearing). We tried various medications throughout the years but what seemed to work the best for her (and her cookie motivation) was treats whenever fireworks were let off. We would be out in the yard and firecrackers would boom - we'd yell "cookieworks" and hand her a tasty treat. It got to the point where she'd flinch at the noise, and then immediately look at one of us with her tail wagging - suddenly not so worried and definitely looking for her reward.

Fireworks - fun for people, scary for dogs

Noise phobia makes the 4th of July and the surrounding weekends (or weeks in our neighborhood) difficult for pets and pet owners alike. The panting, shaking, hiding, trying to climb on top of your head or hiding under the toilet makes us feel terrible for our best friends. And with hearing more acute than ours, they usually detect the issue long before we notice. The very best treatment for noise phobia is behavioral training. We're a little late in the year with the 4th only a few days away but we can consider this for next year. Please email me or comment if you'd like more information.

This year it is important to do what works best for your pet. If you can take a trip and camp or travel with your dog during the 4th of July weekend to somewhere quiet and fireworks free we can practice avoidance. If you and your dog will be staying in town there are some mild interventions to consider. DAP (Dog Appeasing Pheramone) collars and plug ins are a nice mild way to calm nervous dogs. This pheramone is the same one the nursing mother dog releases and it serves to give comfort. The collars are nice because your dog can wear it wherever they go - you never know when mid day firecrackers are going to go off. These collars and plug ins should be started now (or ideally 2 weeks before) for the best effects. Daily exercise can also help, tired dogs often times have less energy to be worried. For those loud and bright nights your pet should be placed in an interior room with no windows. Turn on the radio, but instead of soothing music, try some dance or rap music with a heavy baseline. This will cover the sound of the fireworks.

D.A.P. Collar

A few very important things to avoid with your noise phobic dog are:

1. Leaving them outside during the next few weeks - very fearful dogs can dig or climb fences and run away. 

2. Try to calm or soothe your dog while it is frightened. This actually rewards the unwanted behavior. The best thing is to talk in a quiet but confident voice and ignore the unwanted behavior.

If you know your dog is noise phobic, antianxiety medication or sedatives can be very helpful during this time of year. These need to be requested before the fearful event because prescriptions require a recent exam for dispensing. Alprazolam works great for phobic dogs and can really take away their anxiety. I have had reports from clients that it takes away some of their inhibitions as well. For example, closet counter surfers suddenly practice their craft out in the open. Acepromazine is a classic sedative used for 4th of July. Both medications need to be given an hour before desired effects and both have a pretty good dosage range. It's best to know your dog's ideal dose before the frightening event.

Seso loves her cookies

If you think your pet needs medication for the holiday, please call and schedule an appointment right away. Mt. Tabor Veterinary Care will be closing for the Independence Day Holiday. Our hours this week are: 

Monday - closed (as usual)

Tuesday - 10am - 8pm

Wednesday - 10am - 8pm

Thursday - closing EARLY 10am - 2pm

Friday (July 4th) - closed

Saturday - closed

Have a great holiday weekend! Enjoy friends, family, and fuzzy companions in celebration of this patriotic day.

 

 

 

In the process of planning for our Grand Opening Celebration (you do know about it, right? you're invited!) we were discussing showcasing all of the elements we incorporated which focused on sustainability, and environmental concerns. I'm reluctant to jump on the bandwagon and make a big fuss about how "green" we are (like every other company today) but then again, it truly is important to us, and I'm sure those of you who know us will recognize it as genuine concern.

1. No Commute
The clinic is deliberately located close to home so we can reduce our fuel consumption. Kristin's previous commute was about 30 miles round trip, now it's 1.4, and she almost always walks or rides her bike. So she'll now use about 3 gallons of gas per year commuting, if she drives once per week. She was using about 6 a week before!

2. Supporting Local Businesses
Keeping it in the neighborhood is also key to doing business locally - we know the businesses around here, and we're buying from them, recommending them, and giving out gift cards to them for our referral program. Keeping our business part of a neighborhood (instead of a metropolitan area) helps people keep their lives focused locally, which further reduces fuel consumption.

3. Natural Light
The space we chose has abundant natural light from skylights, and we struggled to use it as best we could, basing the whole design around it. Where we needed ceilings, we used relights (interior windows) to use whatever natural light we could get. During the greater part of the day, the whole hallway, treatment area, laundry, and kitchen need no additional light at all.

4. Compact Flourescents
We used them wherever possible - unfortunately there's a few fixtures where these still don't work (a couple due to size, a couple because they're dimmable) - but the majority of the lighting we *do* have to add to our natural light comes from compact flourescents.

5. 100% renewable
We've signed up for the "Green Source" option with PGE, which means 100 percent of our electricity usage is offset with renewable resources - about 85% wind, and 15% biomass.

6. Paper reduction
We're still in the process of going entirely paperless, but almost everything we do is digital (faxing, record storage, emails) with very little printed material.

7. Recycled Paper
When we do have to print, it's on 100% recycled paper. Our business cards, mailers, printer paper - everything.

8. Heating and Cooling
The building's orientation and construction (masonry) keep the temperature pretty moderate and stable, so we don't anticipate needing lots of energy for heating and cooling. The owner of the building also added a lot of additional insulation on the roof while remodeling. Actually, once in the winter while I was working in the space, it warmed up for a couple of days, but remained 10-15 degrees colder inside the space the whole time!
We also incorporated fans into the design of the space to keep pushing the heat down from the open area above - you can really feel the difference, even with the fans on just slightly.

9. Tankless Water Heater
We have a gas-powered tankless water heater, which means the water is heated on demand, instead of keeping a 75 gallon tank heated 24 hours a day. The only drawback appears to be that the water takes a bit longer to heat up, so I suppose we're using more water than we should in return for a reduction in fossil fuel consumption - so...

10. Dual-flush toilet
...hopefully we're offsetting that increase in water use with this - it's got two buttons, let's just call them button "number one" and button "number two". I'll let you figure out what they're used for, I don't have to spell it out for you do I? And button "number one" only uses a half-volume flush, which is what's used most of the time.

11. Fleece exam pads
For the exam rooms and kennels, we're using fleece pads instead of cotton, since they dry so quickly, and therefore require a lot less energy.

12. Humabuilt Doors
We really wanted wood doors to contribute to the warm feeling we were trying to achieve, but luckily found an option that we thought was the best of both worlds - Humabuilt Doors. They're made from wheat chaff - which is annually renewable - pressed into a particle board, and then covered with a thin, nicely engineered maple veneer. The result is a beautiful door that looks like solid wood, and is about halfway between the weight of a solid-core door and a hollow one.

13. Natural Finish
The doors are finished with a clear wood wax called "Osmo Polyx Oil" which is really beautiful and durable, and easy to repair when needed. It's made of ingredients like sunflower oil, Carnauba and Candelilla wax. It's got a very small amount of (benzene-free) mineral spirits in it, but other than that it's all natural.

14. PaperStone
This stuff is truly awesome - it's dense like hardwood, durable, beautiful, and it's made from recycled paper and natural resins. And when I say dense and durable, I'm serious - we went through 3 jigsaw blades just cutting the oval for the sink! One of them was embedded so tightly I thought it was going to have to become a permanent part of the countertop. A few stats:

A 1" by 60" by 144" (we used about twice this amount) slab of PaperStone Certified (versus a regular phenolic composite manufactured from virgin fiber and a regular, commercially available, solvent-based resin) saves:

• 1233 gallons of water
• 2.03 million BTU's of energy
• 131 pounds of solid waste
• 254 pounds of greenhouse gases
• 55 pounds of petroleum-based phenol
• 22 pounds of natural gas-based methanol

Plus it's dimensionally stable, and amazingly tough structurally - it has a compressive strength of 45,000 psi and you can cantilever it 4' with less than 1/16" deflection.

15. Salvaged Redwood
Our shelves up front are reclaimed railroad timbers from the great people at EcoPDX here in Portland on North Interstate. They typically reclaim Indonesian hardwoods and make furniture, but at the moment they have a huge pile of reclaimed California Redwood railroad ties from a dismantled goldrush-era railroad. They split them and glued them for us, and we built them into the design. You can still see holes from the railroad spikes, and staining from the oils that got into them.

16. Mango hardwood furniture
Yet another way we managed to get some really nice wood without cutting down trees in a tropical rainforest. Mango plantations are a great source for beautiful dark hardwood, since the oldest trees stop producing fruit, and are felled to be replaced by new ones.

17. Marmoleum Floors
In a couple areas we wanted floor covering (near the kennels) and went with Marmoleum - which is a "true" natural linoleum, as opposed to the PVC-based stuff that passes for linoleum these days. It looks cool, comes in a million colors and patterns, and it's made from linseed oil, jute, and rosin - no harmful chemicals are used, so there's no long "offgassing" period like there is with vinyl flooring. Plus when it eventually does wear out, it's completely biodegradable.

18. Low/No VOC paint
Most of our paints were extremely low VOC or no VOC paints - Benjamin Moore Aura, Yolo, and Devine Green. VOCs are emitted from traditional paints for years after they're dry, and some are known carcinogens.

Okay, enough already. That will teach you to get me started. If you're still here after all that, you deserve a drink on me. Come to the Open House and take me up on it! It's this Saturday, June 14th. General Public from 3-6, Industry/Friends/Family from 6-8, then from 8-midnight we've got space reserved at the Backstage (behind the Bagdad Theater) for food, pool, and beer.

This is a copy of my article I wrote for the June 2008 edition of the SE Examiner. Please post comments with questions, comments on how you keep your pets cool, and suggestions for upcoming articles! I look forward to hearing from you.

With that glimpse of summer we had I started to realize that once again we need to prepare our pets for the hot weather ahead and there are some very unique ways to help keep your pet cool this summer. 

Seso cooling off at Lake Takhlakh summer 2006

The obvious ways, of course, are to keep your house cool while your pet stays at home. Closing blinds and running fans, or, if you have it, keeping your air conditioning set to 74 degrees F are some good ways to keep your home cooled for your pets. Leave plenty of cool open floor space for your dog to lay on, or if your basement is safe, you could put your pets down there for the day as it’s often times much cooler down there. Or consider these great Canine Cooler beds that you can be special ordered from your local pet store or purchased on line. The unique water cooled system keeps your pet cool while giving a nice cushion to lay on rather than the hard floor. Be sure to fill the bed in the place you want to leave it – they get heavy when filled. I bet cats would even enjoy them (don’t tell them what they’re called). 

Kitty drinking from a Drinkwell fountain

Cats and dogs cool themselves by panting and less productively through their footpads. Leaving cold water to drink, with ice cubes in it can give pets the opportunity to drink cold water to help keep cool. Cats are more tricky than dogs and have very individual preferences on how they like their water. Some cats love water out of the tap if your cat fits this category, let the water get cold and offer your cat a drink. If your cat only likes her water in a full cup at the bathroom sink then be sure to fill it often with cold water (use the excess to water indoor plants) and you can even try adding an ice cube or two.

Yummy Peanut Butter Frosty Paws

Keeping pets hydrated and cool at the same time is important in hot weather. If your pet is doesn’t like to drink a lot of water, try flavoring it. Use low sodium chicken broth, clam juice, tuna water or your pet’s favorite flavor. You can even freeze the flavored water into ice cubes for a crunchy popsicle treat to help them cool down. If your pet doesn’t like the popsicles, there are other ways to add moisture to diets to keep them hydrated – you can water down the dry kibble food and this works well for dogs that meal feed or you can offer canned food which always has a higher moisture content. You could even add a little water to the canned food but be careful with cats, they are highly particular on the mouth feel of their food and may not eat a watered down version. If you want to get really gourmet, why not add the flavored water to the dry or canned food? One last idea about canned food is to fill a Kong toy with canned food and put it in the freezer to make a tasty cool treat that can also occupy your dog for awhile to take his mind off of the heat. For cats you can freeze canned food into small ice cube trays and try those as a treat. There are other commercially available “ice cream” treats available for dogs (but I bet cats would enjoy them too) called Frosty Paws. They come in small containers like the sundaes that we used to get as kids. You pull off of the top and give it to your dog, maybe take a small scoop out for the cat first, and let them lick it out of the container. If your dog is the type that would EAT the container, you may want to scoop it into a bowl first. My dog loves these and they are available right in our neighborhood at Zupans and New Seasons.  

Easter is a time of year when I get to eat one of my favorite seasonal foods - Peeps. I always stick with the original yellow Peeps - they taste best. I always buy them in the single packs because I prefer them soft and fresh. I know that I have fellow Peep lovers out that prefer them dried out with a little give but for me there's nothing like a fresh yellow Peep right out of the package on a spring day.

Yummy peeps picture from www.citykelly.com

And although Peeps may not have much to do with veterinary medicine - Easter time certainly does and when I was at the grocery store purchasing some "on sale" end of season Peeps I once again witnessed the horror of the wall of Easter lilies. My heart sinks whenever I see those lovely fragrant flowers and every year I break my vow to commit Guerilla warfare in the supermarkets and clandestinely place signs on the festive plants that say CAT POISON! These flowers are so dangerous to cats. They can cause irreversible kidney failure and death in cats. The sad thing is many people aren't aware of this and many buy these as gifts for friends or to liven up their house for the holiday and what do cats love to do but chew on new plants and flowers brought into the house. Within an hour after ingesting the plant the cat will begin to vomit. Within 12 hours they will become depressed and within 48-96 hours they show signs of kidney failure such as urinating more, depression, gastrointestinal upset and dehydration. If untreated within 18 hours most cats do not survive! So please help me spread the word - if you have a cat, know someone who has a cat, or know someone who knows someone who has a cat - please let them know the dangers of this beautiful and festive plant.

And don't forget that plastic grass or anything stringy can be a danger to cats too - for some reason there are cats out there that love to eat stringy objects! I knew one cat that loved to eat stringy objects and had 4 surgeries for obstruction. For his last one he was turned over to the hospital I was working at and we took care of him. One of the doctors adopted him and one day they saw him running down the hall with a balloon chasing him! He had swallowed 1/2 of the balloon string! Luckily they were able to gently remove about 2 foot of ribbon and free the cat from the balloon monster! Plastic grass can cause obstruction in the intestines if ingested which could mean surgery to remove the offending object and hospitalization for the recovery. 

Easter lillies - help spread the word! photo by Andrew Dunn from the Wikipedia entry

Not to leave dogs out of this informative but depressing holiday talk, they have some dangers too. The most serious are holiday chocolates, candy and tablefood sharing. Dogs have a much better ability to find hidden treats than children do so please keep your dog away from the Easter egg hunt area. You should take an inventory at the end of the hunt to make sure everything was collected and maybe even make a map ahead of time so you can find all of the goodies in the end. I did have a case of chocolate toxicity in a small dog 3 days after Easter. The family came home and found pieces of plastic Easter eggs and vomited up chocolate. The dog did fine but he was hospitalized for 2 days. Chocolate really is toxic to dogs but there are many types of chocolate and many sizes of dogs so not every chocolate ingestion is treated equally. A 90 pound Lab that eats one M&M is going to be fine - probably won't even show any vomiting or diarrhea side effects. A 7 pound Chihuahua that eats 1/2 a pound of baker's chocolate is in a whole lot of trouble. For detailed information on how chocolate toxicity works in dogs take a look at the Purdue Veterinary School Wellness Center Website. 

Chocolate Easter eggs - remember where you hide them! photo from www.bbc.co.uk

Other dangers for dogs at Easter time include ingestion of candy and tablefood that they are not used to eating - in some dogs this can lead to a painful and potentially fatal condition called Pancreatitis. Pancreatitis symptoms include severe vomiting and diarrhea (often bloody) and severe abdominal pain, depression and dehydration. Dogs with pancreatitis must be hospitalized for days with intensive care and pain medication. The last danger is foreign body ingestion - those darn plastic eggs with the goodies inside can lead to obstruction in the intestines if they are eaten. If obstructions occurs the symptoms are vomiting and usually with a good appetite in the beginning which progresses to loss of appetite, dehydration and depression with continued vomiting. With all of these similar symptoms it can be tough to figure out what exactly we're dealing with but diagnostics and your careful history can be very helpful in ruling out obstruction from pancreatitis and other conditions that cause similar symptoms.

I hope this information has been helpful. It is not meant to scare you and ruin your holiday. It is meant to give you information to help keep your pets (and other pets) safe. Does anyone have any stories to share? Any questions? Please post comments!

Happy Easter everyone! Construction updates are coming soon!

 

 
 

Yesterday I stopped by the space to pick up a key to the front door! We have the key but the space has not been delivered yet. Still waiting for the pipe to be placed and concrete to be poured, and the HVAC and electrical panel to be put in. Oh yeah, and the back door to the space to be installed. So really, no progress since the last update except the key. The good news is that with the key in our hands we have access to the space and since the space isn't officially delivered yet...the rent countdown has not begun! It's a pretty good deal but we are running into some snags.

Hole for the scale and the bathroom pipe

This morning Michael and I went to the space and opened up the front door...ahhh what a sweet sound to hear that key turn and watch the door open! Michael was meeting the floor crew there to start work on the floors.  They were grinding the concrete that they could - had to work around the dirt pile where the pipe isn't in yet and they started cleaning the back space to prepare to epoxy the floor back there. Ok so here is one of those unexpected hang ups - they need to warm up the space in order for the sealant on the concrete and the epoxy to work! Who would have thought? And we can't heat the space without the HVAC and electricity - darn! We were starting to make progress! So we got one small work around and put a space heater in the back space so they can do the epoxy tomorrow but the rest of the grinding and sealing is on hold until the space delivery. Such is the story of the buildout. An April Fool's opening date is more and more appropriate. The good news is that the back area floors will be done by next week which is when we get our cabinetry delivered! So at least we'll have somewhere to store the stuff while the rest of the work gets done. 

My parents' dog Topper enjoying his Planet Dog "tennis" ball

My last post on tennis balls seemed helpful to people but a little dogcentric. What about kitties and dental health? Believe it or not there is a "chew toy" out there for cats - it's a small toy with cat nip stalks on the inside and it's called the Petstages Catnip Chew Ring. I've seen them online but never in action. If you have a cat that loves catnip it could be an option. There are also the famous Feline Greenies - a dental treat that most cats are crazy for. They come in a variety of flavors and reduce tartar and plaque buildup. The only trick is your cat must CHEW them - many cats get so excited they just swallow them which kind of defeats their purpose. The last great dental chew treat I've been suggesting is actually a dog chew but you can cut it down to cat size. The chicken jerky (made out of just chicken) and salmon skin rolls can be cut into cat size strips for your cat to chew on like a raw hide. The chewing action helps to "brush" the teeth. We have to get pretty innovative to find things to help cats - they are each individuals with their own tastes and preferences!

FORLs - notice the left most tooth - the left root and part of the right root is destroyed! The right most tooth only has part of the crown remaining.

The other thing that you should know about cats and their teeth is that they are prone to these awful cavities called Feline Odontoclastic Resorptive Lesions or FORLs. They are incredibly painful and ultimately destroy the teeth. They are aggressive lesions that can't be filled like human, or even dog, cavities. We don't know why they happen but if your cat has one, they are painful. The crazy thing about cats though, is that they won't tell you that they're hurting. They will continue to eat and act normal even with the pain. Since cats are prey as well as predators they have developed a very good masking ability and act as though everything is ok. Or sometimes I think cats are just so dignified and so much braver than dogs and humans that they figure that's just life and they live with it. Either way, it's important to have your cat's teeth examined yearly and evaluated to see if they need a comprehensive exam and treatment under anesthesia. 

Please post if you guys have any other great ideas on how to keep your cat's teeth clean and healthy. I'll continue to post about pet's teeth for Dental Health Month. Any questions, feel free to ask! And comments are always welcome!

 

Not much has happened since we last spoke. Michael went to the space yesterday to meet a subcontractor and show him around. Nothing new - no pipe and, as suspected, no back door yet and no electrical panel. But we are really close. Closer than we've ever been now that the front door is on. So I am ever hopeful that they can get these things done EARLY in the upcoming week!

Article featuring our new scrubs - but in pink

As time has been slowly moving along I have been reading through all of my veterinary journals and industry magazines pulling out pages of interesting articles and clipping out ads for cool products. One article I came across recently was about professional attire in the veterinary workplace from Veterinary Practice News. They had this little sidebar about designer scrubs and they featured a picture of Katherine Heigl in her London line - the same scrubs we're getting but ours are in grey! Who knew that with Katie's good taste we would be ahead of our time?

New anti-lick gel called Yuk

This is what DeeDee thinks about Yuk (but she hasn't tried it yet)

I also found this great looking product called Yuk! Anti-Lick Gel. The packaging is so cute and it looks like they have perfected what is gross to dogs. We will definitely have to have this stuff on hand. It could be useful to protect bandages and catheters!

While looking online for Pinball Publishing's phone number a few weeks ago, I started surfing their site. They have a cool Graphic Culture Catalog on their website featuring various print work they've done. I scrolled through the different entries admiring their work and I came to the December 31st entry and saw our business cards! They described us as a "brand new veterinary clinic located in Portland's charming Mt. Tabor district". So nice.

One last product I'd like to tell you about is Planet Dog's "Tennis Balls".

Planet Dog's Tennis Ball

They are these great, tough rubber balls that look just like tennis balls but they are smooth. They even come in a 3 pack like regular tennis balls but, unlike tennis balls, they are not bad for your dog's teeth. With February being dental health month, veterinarians are educating clients about the importance of healthy teeth. Regular dental evaluations and treatments, at home care with brushing, and appropriate toys make for healthy teeth. Sadly, tennis balls are not part of the appropriate toys list. Tennis balls are extremely abrasive and have a texture similar to fine steel wool.

3 pack

As dogs carry and chew on tennis balls, they start to wear their teeth causing blunting and sculpting that can eventually lead to pulp exposure, pain and need for dental work. Now, I am not one to get between a dog with OBD (Obsessive Ball Disorder) and their tennis balls but now there is a better way! Planet Dog has solved all of our problems - dogs, their people and their veterinarians can be happy with this healthy alternative. Now if we could just teach the dogs to brush their teeth all by themselves before bed!

I hope to have building updates soon so watch your email for notification.  Katie's mom, Patti made a comment on the last post about my hats - funny there a quite a few pictures with me wearing different hats on this blog - I do have quite a collection. I think I am even wearing a disposable surgical cap in one picture! I'll be sure to change hats for any additional pictures of me in the space - yet another reason to stay tuned.