Spotlight On Our Staff | Mandy Hall has been a technician at Cornerstone for 4 years. She graduated with a B.S. in Biomedical Science from Texas A&M University in 1999. She lives in McKinney with her husband, 4 guinea pigs, 3 dogs, 2 dumbo rats, and 1 cat. She and her vizsla mix, Allie are members of the Dallas Dog & Disc Club where they perform and compete. She also competes in obedience with her rescued great dane, Simon, who is also a registered therapy dog. She has recently developed an interest in photography, with her favorite subjects being animals and old buildings. | | Check This Out! | | Dr. Escobedo will be attending an ultrasound seminar in Dallas in March. |
|  | Microchipping | | Each year, millions of dogs and cats are lost; in fact, this disaster strikes 1/3 of all pet-owning families. Of the millions of cats and dogs that are lost, only 10% are ever identified and reunited with their families. More pets' lives are lost because owners did not identify them than from all infectious diseases combined.
All pets should wear traditional collars with identification and rabies vaccination tags. A traditional collar, however, is not enough. These collars are often worn loosely and are easily removed. When the traditional collar is lost, removed, or breaks off, nothing is left to identify the pet...unless, of course, the pet has a microchip.
Microchips are rapidly becoming a very popular method for identifying pets. Once the microchip is implanted, the pet is identified for life. Microchips are safe, unalterable, and permanent identification for pets.
The microchip is a tiny computer chip or transponder about the size of a grain of rice. The chip is inserted under the skin between the shoulder blades of a cat or dog, in much the same way that a vaccine is administered. The microchip is coded wth a unique 10-digit code.
A hand-held scanner is used to detect a microchip in a pet.
Ask us how you can have your pet implanted with a microchip! |
| | Allergies In Pets | Humans with allergies usually react by sneezing; animals react by scratching! Both are reacting to an allergen, a substance to which they are sensitive. Most allergens, like pollen, dust, and molds, are airborne and are inhaled. A few are of the contact type like an allergy to wool or other materials which react on the skin. Some allergens are found in food, most commonly in corn, wheat, soy, beef, and dairy products.
The first signs of an allergic reaction are scratching, licking, biting, or rubbing the skin. This can lead to infection which is characterized by red bumps or lesions on the skin.
Some allergens, such as pollens, are seasonal. Others, however, like dust, molds, and foods can be year-round. It is important to realize that curing an allergy problem is almost impossible, but most allergies can be successfully controlled with the help of your veterinarian.
In long-term serious allergies, the identification of the specific allergens is important. Blood, skin, or food testing may be required.
Anti-inflammatory drugs may give prompt relief to seasonal allergies. Your veterinarian may prescribe some type of steroid, antihistamine, or fatty acid supplement. For long-term allergies, once the allergens have been identified, exposure to the allergens can be avoided or the pet can be desensitized from them with allergy antigen injections. |
|
