BACK TO SCHOOL
By Dr. Toinette Strusinski-Broschay For Digital First Media Do you know what your dog and cat are going to do when you go back to school? It happens every year. It is time for school – new teachers, new friends, and lots of homework. Are you ready? Are your pets ready for you to go back to school? Your pets have been used to you being home all summer and will miss you when you are gone all day. We want to make the back to school adjustment easier for both you and your pets! Let’s start with the beginning of the...
Read MoreChoosing to End an Animal’s Suffering is a Final Act of Love
It is the question every pet lover dreads, “When is the right time to say goodbye?” There is never an easy answer to this question. Choosing to euthanize your pet is the hardest decision to make and we can tell you from decades of experience that it is a decision that never gets easier. We at Ash Veterinary Clinic and Emergency Center can offer you advice and support, and friends and family can offer you sympathy, but no one can make the decision for you. When you live with an elderly or terminally ill pet, you...
Read More4th of July Hazards
If there is one holiday that is unpopular at veterinary hospitals, it is the Fourth of July because the fireworks and other celebrations of can trigger pet care tragedies, which means a flow of lost, sick or injured pets. Loud noises startle and distress pets, because they have very sensitive hearing. Scared pets have been known to jump out of apartment windows, leap over or dig under fences, or chew their skin until it is raw. They may also bolt out an open door to become lost or hit by a car. Even the ones who...
Read MoreWHY IS MY PET ITCHY?
Coping with an itchy pet can be an extremely frustrating experience that can truly test the limits of the human-animal bond. Persistent scratching and chewing by the pet can also result in injury and open wounds. Here at Ash Veterinary Clinic and Emergency Center, we want to provide you, the pet owner, with a basic understanding of the most common underlying causes of itching and allergies in your pets. The most common cause of itching in pets falls into two groups: external parasites and allergies. The external parasite...
Read MoreSummer Hazards
The long days of summer are a great time to have — or be — a pet. But this glorious season for outdoor activities is not without its hazards. Knowing what to look out for is half the battle. We at Ash Veterinary Clinic want to make sure that pet owners are aware of some of the basic heat hazards. Cats have enough sense to nap on warm afternoons, but dogs do not. If you let them, they will go where you do, even if it is too hot. Dogs are not good at keeping themselves cool, and they rely on us to keep them out of...
Read MoreDog Bite Prevention
Recently, we honored dog bite prevention week because dog bites pose a serious health risk to our communities. More than 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year in the United States, and more than 800,000 receive medical attention for dog bites, according to the Centers for Disease Control. At least half of those bitten are children. Why do dogs bite? Dogs bite for a variety of reasons, but most commonly as a reaction to something. It is important to remember that any dog can bite: big or small, male or...
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