Spring IS  almost here, and so is flea and tick season!
Here in Louisiana, we love our pets, but unfortunately, so do all the
little bugs and pests outside. 
   
               Regular flea-bathing and flea collars are often not effective, especially in our tropical Louisiana climate where parasitic pests thrive.
Here at MSAH we recommend that all your beloved pets, whether or not they are indoor or outdoor, should be  put on topical flea and tick preventatives like Frontline, Revolution,  Advantage, or  Advantix. 

                Fleas are not particular who they get their next meal from! 
If your pet has a flea problem, so do you!  A female flea can lay up to 36 eggs a day...Up to 3000 eggs in her whole lifetime.  It takes as little as a single
week for just a few fleas to turn into a SERIOUS problem!

                Various myths about flea prevention include....
 
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                    Volume 7, Issue 2                               

Case of the Month!

       "Jazz" is a 9 month old, male Pug who presented to Metairie Small Animal
Hospital for an emergency exam.  The owner was very concerned that Jazz had been coughing and gagging.  The owner also reported that Jazz had vomited his meals as soon as he'd finished eating.    After some routine questions, it was discovered that Jazz had
swallowed part of a Nylabone.  This particular Nylabone was digestible, but if stuck in the esophagus it could cause severe damage.
       Chest x-rays were taken to help piece together this puzzling Pug.  The x-rays gave us our answer.  A
foreign material, probably the Nylabone, was lodged in the esophagus directly over the heart! 
       Each time the heart beat, it would push the object against the trachea, causing the reported cough.  Our next dilemma was how to get the foreign body out since it was not in a location easily accessible by
surgery.   We decided to use our Endoscope to
remove the object.  An endoscope is a flexible
fiber optic camera that we can use to see inside cavities such as the esophagus.  When we peeked

down inside--bingo--the Nylabone!  The easiest thing to do at this point would be to just pull it out, but that task proved to be easier said than done.  The Nylabone had been lodged for so long that it had started to soften, unfortunately it wasn't soft enough to move.  After nearly an hour of pulling small piece by small piece out with forceps we became very frustrated.  We needed to get the foreign body out soon because Jazz had been under anesthesia now for over an hour.  After
several deep breaths, we decided to see if we could push the object into the stomach, since it was

digestible.   Of course, it couldn't be that easy.  As a last resort, we filled the esophagus with
water to hopefully lubricate and loosen the
Nylabone.  With crossed fingers and a prayer, we pushed the Nylabone with a little more pressure than before.  Finally, we pushed it into the
stomach.  We then examined the esophagus with the camera and amazingly everything looked fine.
           We kept Jazz in the hospital for a few more days to make sure he could eat and that everything was okay.  (Actually, we didn't want him to leave because he was such a cute little guy.)  Needless to say, Jazz did just fine and went home to "snort" another day!

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                    Volume 7, Issue 2                               

Employee of the Month

Cynthia Gray is our February Employee of the Month!  She currently works in our retail shop, The Silver Collar Pet Boutique, and has been a great asset to our team.  She is a native New Orleanian and has lived here her entire life.  Cynthia previously worked in real estate restoration projects, but her true love was animals--which led her to her current career.  Cynthia says she "is thrilled to be working at MSAH and to be interacting with the animals each day.  It's a wonderful feeling to see the good that is being done to help them all stay healthy and happy." 
Keep up the great work, Cynthia!

(Continued from page 1)

Flea Myth #1 :   "Only pets that go outdoors can get fleas!"

FACT:  All it takes for a flea to get onto our pets, is for the flea to get inside your home.
             A single flea can get into your home as easily as  hopping  onto your pants leg, sock or coat while  you were outside.   Fleas are attracted to heat, and all you have to do is be warmer than the  blade of grass or the tree branch that the flea was resting on before you walked by!  Once you get home and you take your jacket off....Where is the next warm thing?  A flea can sense heat up to 25 feet away.    After its first blood meal , it starts laying eggs...

Flea Myth #2 :   "If my pet had fleas, I'd definitely see it"

FACT:   Fleas hide under your pet's fur , closest to the skin where it's the warmest and they can feed the easiest.   This makes them difficult if not impossible to find them just by glancing at their coat!   Not to worry, though.  There are other things to look for.  "Flea dirt", which is the dried blood waste that fleas leave behind after they feed, is very conspicuous on an animal.  Part your animal's hair and check for little black specks, mostly on their back and near their tail! If you're still not sure, ask your veterinarian to check for you...your pet's health is our profession!

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                    Volume 7, Issue 2                               

What's Your Diagnosis?

This pet presented to MSAH for limping for several days.  Radiographs were taken and appear at right.  What's Your Diagnosis?

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                    Volume 7, Issue 2                               

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                    Volume 7, Issue 2                               

                       Charity Animal Hospital Update

As of January 2005, Charity Animal Hospital, Inc. was dissolved.  For those who may not be familiar with CAH, Inc., it was a coalition of the Southeast Veterinary Association, Audubon Institute and LSU School of Veterinary Medicine.  CAH sought to provide care for pets that received no care, provide for care of native animals (birds, wildlife, etc.), provide for education of pet owners regarding pet matters, provide for externship training of future veterinarians and serve as a forum to bring together various groups to more efficiently utilize donated monies.  CAH received national attention due to its scope and because it was the first time such a coalition was organized.  After 6 years of service, we were unable to sustain the cost of operations.  Frankly stated, donations decreased due to the economic downturn and the dilution of donations with an ever-increasing, fragmented marketplace of pet charities to choose from.

For the many friends who donated both time and money over the years--we sincerely thank you.  Our united efforts brought pet education to the New Orleans area, spayed or neutered approximately 10,000 pets that would have never been sterilized (thus preventing 60,000+ euthanasias), brought New Orleans to a national focus on pets and finally provided a nidus for future coalitions locally and nationally.  Even though we can no longer sustain Charity Animal Hospital, the good that was done and the ideas spawned from this effort should make every contributor, volunteer, educator, veterinarian and citizen of New Orleans proud.  We all will continue to work for the greater good of our animal friends.

     Siegfried Mayer, DVM
     Charity Animal Hospital  Board