Keeping pets safe and healthy is an ongoing effort if you’ve got a furry or feathered friend in your home. As we look ahead to the warmer, more inviting days of spring (and more outside time for some pets), keep these safety tips in mind:
Microchips for pets
One day last summer, during the busiest season of the year at Dakin Humane Society, a bright-eyed stray cat was brought in. Despite wearing a flea collar, he showed signs of living on the street and was underweight. We scanned him for a microchip, and with some quick detective work, we tracked down the contact information for his person, Carla.
Turned out that Carla lives in Texas, more than 2,000 miles from Dakin. Two years earlier, her cat Shoto went missing. As he was her first cat, Carla never forgot him, and never stopped missing or loving him dearly. She was shocked to hear that we had him. When they were reunited at our shelter just days later, her joy was contagious. We never figured out how her friend Shoto made it to Dakin, and he’s not talking. Thankfully, his microchip did.
Microchips are incredibly helpful tools in reuniting lost pets and their people, and they’re the first thing we check for when we receive stray pets. The chip itself is about the size of a grain of rice and can be inserted under your pet’s skin by a veterinarian in seconds. It’s not a GPS-like tracking device that can pinpoint your pet’s location, but it holds a specific registration number that can be accessed online to find your contact information. If you already have pets with microchips, you want to be sure to notify the microchip company when your phone number, name or address changes. If your dog or cat hasn’t been microchipped, you should consider having this done. Even cats who live indoors fulltime can slip outside and go missing if someone leaves a door or window unguarded for just a quick moment.
Dental health affects pets
Each February, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) sponsors National Pet Dental Health Month, and with good reason. According to the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, 80-90% of dogs over the age of 3, and 50-90% of cats over 4 years of age have some component of periodontal disease.
Among dogs, smaller breeds like Poodles, Yorkshire Terriers, Chihuahuas and Dachshunds, as well as brachycephalic (short-faced) breeds such as Boxers, Bulldogs, French Bulldogs and Shih Tzus are more likely to have dental disease. That’s mostly due to overcrowding of their teeth, or that their shorter jaws result in abnormal tooth positions. Some cat breeds can be predisposed to dental disease, including Abyssinians, Maine Coons, Persians and Somalis. Like their canine counterparts, brachycephalic cat breeds like Persians, Himalayans and Burmese are also more prone to dental disease.
For both cats and dogs, dental diseases can range from minor to severe. The more common conditions include gingivitis, plaque and tartar, while periodontitis is a serious gum disease. Some cats suffer from tooth resorption, a painful condition in which the dentin of the tooth erodes and eventually is destroyed.
Your pet’s dental health is critical year-round. If they haven’t had their teeth checked by a veterinarian recently, or had their annual wellness check-up, book an appointment soon!
Rabies vaccinations and other treatments
With (hopefully) most of winter behind us at this point, spring isn’t that far away. In Massachusetts, many towns and cities begin the process of renewing dog licenses in April. Along with payment for the annual license, proof of an updated rabies vaccination is also required. Do yourself a favor and plan ahead this year. If your dog needs a vaccination, book an appointment now with your veterinarian, as wait times often stretch into weeks.
When the weather gets warmer, the risk of heartworm and tick-borne diseases increase, although we have pets coming into the clinic with fleas and ticks even during the winter. That is why we recommend dogs receive flea/tick as well as heartworm prevention all year long. Be sure to check that your pet has a yearly heartworm and tick-borne disease test. Since Lyme disease is found locally, if your dog has not received the Lyme vaccine, it is a good idea to have that done now.
Dakin’s Pet Health Center (PHC) is a nonemergency veterinary resource for pet cats and dogs. The PHC offers microchipping, dental care, vaccinations and more. To book an appointment, please visit us online at dakinpethealthcenter.org and click on “Request Appointment,” or email, pethealthcenter@dakinhumane.org. The phone number is 413-278-6884, but due to call volume, online requests are answered more quickly.
Lee Chambers is media relations and development specialist of the Dakin Humane Society. Dakin delivers effective, innovative services to animals in need and the people who care about them.
