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Woof Wednesday

Dogs are great. Furry, warm, loyal, energetic, sometimes slobbery … It’s hard to find a more wonderful pet. So if you don’t have a furry friend in your life, what are you waiting for? Get on out there and adopt a dog today.

Still not convinced a dog will change your life for the better? Read on! PetMD has the top 5 reasons you should’ve adopted a dog ages ago.

#5 Great Companion

Dogs have been man’s (not to mention woman’s) companion for thousands of years. They are both friend and hard worker. They function as guide dogs, rescue dogs, farm dogs, and even therapy dogs for the old and infirmed. You just can’t go wrong with a dog, especially when you’re feeling down.

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Paramyxovirus Infection

The salivary glands consist of four sets of glands that make up the exocrine glands of the mouth in mammals. The parotid, submandibular, sublingual, and minor salivary glands make up this essential group that controls the production of saliva, which in turn breaks down starches into glucose for use by the body.

The parotid salivary gland is located just underneath each ear in the dog. When a dog is exposed to a person who is infected with a viral infection called the mumps, the dog may develop the same infection. This cross-over is very rare, but is known to occur occasionally. When a dog does acquire an infection, the parotid salivary glands will swell in response.

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Anemia in Cats

When the body is deficient in iron, red cells do not develop as they should. The lack of iron causes the cells that are produced by the bone marrow to be too small, and too low in oxygen-carrying features. In adult pets, this condition is usually caused by some kind of blood loss. It is important to recognize iron-deficiency anemia, because the underlying disease can be life-threatening.

The most common site of the blood loss is the gastrointestinal tract. About 50 percent of kittens from five to ten weeks of age will have transient iron-deficiency anemia. They will undergo spontaneous recovery and iron repletion beginning at five to six weeks of age, coinciding with intake of solid food. The incidence of this condition lessens with age, becoming increasingly rare.

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Hyperlipidemia in Cats

Hyperlipidemia is characterized by abnormally excessive amounts of fat, and/or fatty substances in the blood. Chylomicrons are micro particles of liquid fat, in the class of lipids, which include both triglycerides and cholesterol, and which are formed during the digestion of fats from food. After eating a meal, the nutrients in an animal’s body pass into the small intestine, from which chylomicrons are absorbed 30-60 minutes later. Normally, the absorption of chylomicrons increases serum triglycerides for 3-10 hours, but some animals will have high cholesterol and high triglyceride levels for more than twelve hours after a meal – one of the main indications of hyperlipidemia. The clear part of the blood, the serum, is referred to as being lipemic when it has levels of triglycerides measuring over 200 mg/dL. Sometimes, levels of triglycerides in an animal’s serum can be even greater than 1000 mg/dL, giving the serum a milky, opaque appearance. This is medically referred to as lactescence (literally, being milky).

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Cholecystitis and Choledochitis

The gallbladder rests in the abdomen, firmly affixed to the liver and serving as a storage receptacle for bile, a fluid that is essential for digesting food in the stomach and intestines. The bile duct transports bile from the liver into the gallbladder and into the small intestine, and the liver functions in the secretion of the bile. All of the components of this digestive system work in tandem, and if one fails to function properly, the result is that most of the body will suffer ill effects.

Inflammation of the gallbladder is sometimes associated with gallstones, and is often associated with obstruction and/or inflammation of the common bile duct and/or the liver/bile system. Severe cases can result in rupture of the gallbladder and subsequent severe inflammation of the bile duct (bile peritonitis), necessitating combined surgical and medical treatments.

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Baylisascariasis

Most commonly called “raccoon disease” because of its prevalence in the raccoon population, baylisascariasis comes from contact with raccoon feces, and from ingesting animal tissue that is infected with the Baylisascaris procyonis parasite. This parasite is commonly referred to as roundworm. The B. procyonis larvae is found in a large part of the animal population, including humans – making this a zoonotic disease, meaning that it can be spread from an infected animal to other animal species, as well as to humans. Raccoons are the optimal carriers of this worm, since the health of the raccoon is not adversely affected, making it the ideal host and disseminator of the parasite. The B. procyonis larvae is typically spread through the fecal material into the environment. Any contact with the feces, or with soil that has been used by an infected raccoon, may lead to systemic infection. Therefore, it is essential to practice methods of avoidance and caution in areas where raccoons are prevalent.

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Patellar Luxation in Cats

Patellar luxation occurs when the cat’s kneecap (patella) is dislocated from its normal anatomic position in the groove of the thigh bone (femur). When the kneecap is dislocated from the groove of the thigh bone, it can only be returned to its normal position once the quadriceps muscles in the cat’s hind legs relax and lengthen. Cats feel pain as the kneecap slides out of the thigh bone ridges, but do not feel any pain or discomfort once the kneecap has come to a rest out of the normal position.

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Ticks, Mites, and Fly Larvae

External parasites not only annoy pet reptiles, but they can also transmit disease and be very debilitating, even causing death in extreme cases. Preventing and/or dealing with their introduction and spread through a reptile collection is a very important aspect of keeping reptiles healthy and happy.

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Pulmonary Thromboembolism in Cats

A pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) occurs when a blood clot blocks the flow of blood to an important artery that feeds into the cat’s lungs. Slow-flowing blood and blood vessel damage, in addition to blood which clots too easily, can predispose a cat to thrombus formation. Most of the time, PTE is caused by another underlying disease.

Pulmonary thromboemboli (blood clots) can originate in the right atrium of the heart, or in many of the major veins throughout the body. As the cat’s body makes oxygenated blood to deliver to the heart and lungs, this clump of blood cells is carried through the bloodstream toward the lungs, where it gets caught in a narrow portion of one of the passages of the arterial network that feeds oxygenated blood to the lungs. In this way, the blood flow through that artery is halted, and oxygenated blood is not able to reach the lung. The severity of the condition is, to a degree, dependent on the size of the blood clot.

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Alopecia in Dogs

Hair loss (alopecia) is a common disorder in dogs which causes the animal to have partial or complete hair loss. It can affect a dog’s skin, its endocrine system, its lymphatic system, and its immune systems. Alopecia can affect dogs and cats of all ages, breed and gender, and is either gradual or acute.

If you would like to learn more how alopecia affects cats, please visit this page in the PetMD healthy library.

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