Pets

A very disturbing and far too common ailment—more so in dogs than in cats—is the seizure. Specifically, epilepsy or epileptiform seizures. If you have never seen a dog have a seizure, panic sets in quickly to the point that you become quite convinced that your pet is going to die. Epilepsy is not the only cause of seizures, but does seem the most common. It also is the one cause of seizures with no clear reason why it is happening.

Many owners consider their pets just as much a part of the family as their two-legged counterparts, and increasingly, veterinary care is providing answers to help our friends spend more healthy years with us. These new treatments have led to a rise in the number of specialists practicing in town, including an ophthalmologist, surgeons, internal medicine practitioners, oncologists and even a veterinarian dermatologist practicing in St. Louis, says Dr. William Stehnach of My Best Friend Veterinary Center.

There seems to be a great divide among dog owners about how the benefits of adopting from a shelter or rescue would be better than purchasing from a breeder. The two schools of preference range from just that, a preference, to outright mutual exclusion. There also are some myths about whether adopted dogs are somehow better than purebreds, as dogs themselves and for their owners. My goal in this discussion is to lessen that divide, and discuss some of the pros and cons of purchasing a purebred dog or adopting one.

Many people are familiar with kidney stones. Well, dogs and cats get these too, but they are more likely to get bladder stones. If the bladder stones are too big to pass through the urethra, they may get stuck, and that is when we have in an emergency situation.