Did you know October is “Adopt-a-Shelter-Dog” month? There are so many wonderful dogs out there waiting for the perfect home. Consider adopting a shelter dog today! In the Billings area, there are several reputable animal shelters with dogs and cats available: If you cannot adopt a pet but want to help, most facilities need volunteers […]
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With Halloween just around the corner, we face another holiday filled with chocolate. Chocolate ingestion is a topic that we have frequent questions about – hopefully this helps answer some of them. When an animal ingests chocolate, the fat and sugar in the chocolate can cause an upset stomach, but what we worry most about […]
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We got lots of questions about plants and their toxicity to dogs and cats. This is a picture of larkspur, or delphinium, from my garden this spring. They are one of my favorite perennials – luckily my dogs don’t show any interest in consuming them.
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This is Skooter – he presented last Saturday with the chief complaint of two wounds that were oozing a pus-like substance. He was otherwise acting very normal. A closer inspection of the spots revealed two swollen areas with small holes in the center. One was on the bottom of his abdomen and the other on […]
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Its that fish hook time of year! In the past week, I have seen three cases of dogs and fish hooks. Two were dogs who had fish hooks stuck in their lips and one had ingested a hook-line-leader. It is a common problem we encounter, due to a large number of clients who are fish […]
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Addison’s disease (also called hypoadrenocorticism or adrenal insufficiency) is a relatively uncommon condition that affects dogs and humans. Most of us are familiar with John F. Kennedy, but few may know he had Addison’s Disease. At Best Friends Animal Hospital, we see several cases of Addison’s disease each year. Because we have seen three cases […]
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This is the story of Mia, a four year old spayed female siamese mix, who had an amazing recovery from a condition that is 98% fatal in cats. Mia came to Best Friends Animal Hospital last weekend on emergency after her owners noticed her limping on her left front leg. She was diagnosed with […]
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Recently I have had several parents ask about good resources for young children when faced with the loss of a pet. Some of our favorites are listed below. We keep a little “library” of these books at the clinic if are interested in reviewing them. All are appropriate for children ages 4-8 years old. 1. […]
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Chronic Kidney Failure (chronic renal insufficiency) is a common condition we see in older cats. Treatment requires open communication between the veterinarian and the owner, and often owners play a crucial role in home care. Feline Chronic Renal Failure Information Center is an excellent comprehensive website that addresses almost every aspect of chronic renal […]
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This is my dog, Maya. We met during our shelter spay/neuter program during my training at Cornell University. With a face like this, you can easily see how I couldn’t resist adopting her from the local shelter. Although I always thought she was some soft of Labrador mix, I always wondered what other breeds were […]
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