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The ability to recognize pain in your pet is actually very difficult for most pet owners.  Extreme and sudden pain can be obvious such as when an animal has a broken leg.  There are countless times when I ask if a pet has pain during a physical exam and the owner responds ‘no because he doesn’t cry’.  The sad truth is our pets rarely cry when they are in pain.

Doctor visits can be stressful for humans and animals alike.  If your pittie, or any dog for that matter, has stress at a vet visit, bad memories are created that affect future vet visit which cause further stress.  If your dog is too stressed, it affects how well a veterinarian can perform a thorough physical exam.  This means your veterinarian has less information to determine your dog’s health.  As a dog owner, there are things you can do to help reduce some of the stress associated with visits to the veterinary office.

What do we know about pets and COVID-19?  The most important this is, that your pets are not a danger to you.  There is no proof that companion animals can spread COVID-19 to humans.

A microchip is a small device (about the size of a grain of rice) that works as a transponder and is activated when a scanner is waved over the animal.  The microchip is inserted by a medical professional under the pet’s skin using a sterile needle.

Reading cat body language depends on not only observing the cat’s body cues but also observing the surroundings where the body cues are happening.   The physical cues can have different meanings based on the context in which they are observed.  A cat uses body position, tail position, ears, eyes, whiskers and vocalization to communicate. 

It is summer time in Pennsylvania! While there are many things that are very different this year, one thing remains unchanged: high temperatures and humidity. We feel it whenever we walk out of the door, and you had better believe our pets feel it, too. Most pet lovers are aware of this and will take the proper precautions to protect our dearest companions. However, this doesn’t mean that everyone will take the risks of the heat seriously, and a pet may need a concerned citizen to intervene.