`This is an African Clawed Frog, also known as Xenopus Tropicalis.

African Clawed Frog At the Smithsonian Zoo- Photo Taken by Kristen Arban

This photo was taken by our technician, Kristen Arban, when she went to the Smithsonian National Zoo in April.

Earlier this year, we saw a domesticated African Clawed Frog with what is called “baggy pants disease”.

Frog Before Drainage

Frog Before Drainage

This is a generalized edema or fluid compartmentalized under the skin. It can be caused by infection, chronic kidney disease and poor environmental conditions and diet.

This fluid was drained with a catheter and the appropriate treatment given. This frog seemed to respond well to treatment. We also recommended improving the diet with earth worms, shrimp, and small fish.

Frog After Drainage

Frog After Drainage

Cody is a 15 year old border collie who belongs to our head technician Michelle Thompson. He is one of the 4 wandering pups of Little Silver Animal Hospital- if you have ever been in to pick up medications, you’ve probably seen him with Boo Boo, begging for cookies! Michelle acquired Cody during her senior year of college. Her school worked with a local shelter doing routine spays and neuters, and she had a habit of putting on “blinders” when walking down the corridors. What this means is she would look straight ahead instead of looking at the pets on either side of the corridor. Which when you’re in this profession, it’s a very good idea to do so, otherwise you wind up wanting to take everything you look at home!

Cody and Liberty

Well, one day she made the mistake of looking, and that’s when she saw Cody, who was then just a baby. She was won over instantly, and he lived in her dorm until she graduated college. Of course, being a rebellious college student, she did not tell her parents she had adopted a dog (who would, of course, wind up coming to live with them once she graduated). She eventually did tell her father, who said, “Don’t worry, I’ll handle your mother, leave it to me.” Well her mother found out the day before graduation day, when she knocked on her dorm room door and heard the loud, piercing bark that is so typical of Cody. Her mother looked at her husband very confused, who then said, “Oh, I forgot to tell you! Michelle adopted a dog!”.

Cody has lived with Michelle ever since, and of course being a veterinary professionals pet, has had his share of problems. When he was 10 months old, he fell down the stairs and broke his leg, which was repaired by Dr. Yacowitz. He also has COPD, is epileptic (no seizures since 2006 thankfully!), and has back pain. You can also still see his thiamus on an x-ray, which is very unusual- typically you cannot see this after a year of age. Oh, he also got into a box of samples containing heartgard, rimadyl, and  interceptor. Michelle was none to please about that!

Cody playing nurse to a sick puppy

Cody is Michelle’s first baby, and although she loves Liberty and her boyfriend Eric, Cody will always be her first. He has been there for her through just about everything over the last 15 years, and she will always love him more than anything else in the world.

Sid the Turtle

Sid was brought to us by a client last fall who saw him on the side of the road. When she picked him up, his leg was dangling so she knew he needed medical care and brought him to us.

As you can see from the photo above, the leg is definitely broken. Dr. Yacowitz felt that the leg could not be splinted, but that through time and confinement it would heal. The problem we had now though is that we were heading into the winter, which is when a turtle would typically hibernate. What to do?

Enter our technician Mark!

Mark is one of our technicians who knows a thing or two about reptiles, and he agreed to foster Sid for the winter time while his leg healed.

Box turtles have a 2 acre range and should be released in the same area in which they were found. Releasing them elsewhere will greatly reduce their chance of survival. Luckily, we have a few clients who live close to where Sid was found, and one of them agreed to release him in their yard.

Last month we said good bye to Sid, because his leg healed nicely and he was healthy enough to be released. We were sad to see him go, but we’re glad he did well this past winter. We hope he has a long and happy life out in the wild!

My mom brought me to Little Silver Animal Hospital because I was vomiting, lethargic, and not eating. After carefully examining me and taking some x-rays, the doctors suspected that I may have eaten something I shouldn’t have.  I was put on I.V.  fluids and scheduled for exploratory surgery the following morning.

Turns out, the doctors were right! Dr. Stacey Kilcullen performed surgery on me, and found this in my intestines.

Looks like I ate a Ribbon!

After surgery I had to stay at Little Silver Animal Hospital for a few days- since Dr. Kilcullen had to go into my intestinal tract, she wanted to make sure I had a smooth recovery. I was very sad to be away from my family, I missed them so much! When my mom showed up to visit, I was so happy that I could hardly contain myself- I immediately started head butting her, purring, and gave her a bunch of kisses. I was delighted when it was time for me to finally go home!

This story is a perfect example of why cat owners need to be very careful about what they leave out for their kitties to play with. When it comes to things like string, thread, ribbons, shoe laces, etc, anything is fair game for a kitty. Dangling toys are some of their favorite things to play with.  It’s very cute to watch a kitty play with some string dangling overhead, but only under supervision- never leave these objects with your kitty unattended. You do not want your cat to have to go through a surgery like Charlie Brown did!

The Monmouth County SPCA put us in touch with Chief Humane Law Enforcement Officer Victor Amato, who says,

“There is no pet seat belt law- I do not know why the state of New Jersey felt the need to state that the law was changed, because it has not. No Animal Control Officers will be pulling people over if their pets are not in a seat belt.”

He then went on to say that people still need to use common sense- if your pet is in your lap while driving, on your dash board, hanging out a window or riding in the bed of your truck, you can be pulled over by a police officer or an animal control officer and you will be fined. This however is in accordance with the current law. To view this law in its entirety,  CLICK HERE.

Even though there is no seat belt law for our pets, we still highly recommend that you restrain your pet while driving in the car, whether it is by keeping them in a carrier, putting a gate or a screen up to divide the front and the back seat, or by purchasing a seat belt harness for your pet like the one in the image below:

We also recommend that your pet remain in the back seat instead of next you in the front. This is because if your car’s airbag were to deploy, the impact could severely injure or even kill your pet.

Veterinary preventive medicine starts with the basics.  The CDC states that the incidence of intestinal parasites in pets is on the rise, possibly due to climate change or better detection methods.

Your pet’s fecal sample is sent to the diagnostic lab where it is mixed with zinc sulfate, spun down with a centrifuge and analyzed by a trained technician.

For puppies and kittens and for certain cases in adult pets we will do an in-house Giardia antibody test prior to sending the sample to the lab for analysis.

For more information about the various parasites seen in pets, go to:  www.cdc.gov/parasites/animals.html or Veterinarypartners.com.

A 7.5 year study of 90 cats showed the importance of diet on longevity.

The cats were split into three groups. Group One received a nutritionally balanced diet; Group Two received the same diet supplemented with vitamin E and beta-carotene; and Group Three received the basic diet, vitamin E and beta-carotene, omega fatty acids (fish oils) and chicory root as a prebiotic source.

The study revealed that the cats in Group Three lived an average of 11 months longer than those in Group One. Group Two showed no significant differences. Group Three also showed higher blood volume (hematocrit) and body weight, improved lean body mass (LBM) and skin thickness.

Nu Cat Chews, J/D Wet and Dry Food, and Catalyst Chews

We suggest a vitamin supplement such as Nu Cat for cats over 8 years. Hill’s JD diet, canned or dry, is an excellent source of high dose omega fish oils, or your current food can be supplemented with Catalyst omega chews or liquid. Powdered chicory root can be added to canned food at 1/4 teaspoon daily.

Source: Feeding Old Cats- An Update on New Nutritional Therapies, Topics in Companion Animal Medicine 2011.

Well, do you?

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BooBoo is one of Dr. Yacowitz’s 3 dogs, and undoubtedly his favorite (but don’t tell Beanie and Tater!).  Her nicknames are also Boobalicious, Boobinator, Boobster, and Boobity Boo, to name a few. She is one of the many 4 legged faces of Little Silver Animal Hospital.

On any given day you may see one of these four pups. From left to right- Cody, BooBoo, Liberty, and Pryor

BooBoo is a lovely girl with a sweet personality.  Sometimes she may be a bit devilish – she likes to cause trouble during the morning meetings at the hospital by play fighting with Liberty, or playing “kill the bed”, which is when she takes her dog bed in her mouth, shaking it like a rag doll (according to Dr. Yacowitz, she also does this at home with the feed bag by his chicken coop.) She will also position herself so she is in your way, and then roll over on her back, wagging her tail and covering her face, expecting a belly rub, which she gets every time of course.

She is very attached to her Daddy, and follows him everywhere!  She always knows when it’s time to go home- she runs around the hospital, whining and crying, waiting for him to get out of his last appointment. Although she can’t wait to go home each day, Dr. Yacowitz says she is just as eager to come in every morning. She darts out the door, flies across the yard, and hops right into the back seat, ready to start the day. She also gets the paper for him every morning. She gets very upset on Sundays though, because there is no paper for her to get. If he goes away, then she stays with Aunt Michelle, or occasionally Aunt Kristen- she loves her sleepovers!

BooBoo with Michelle's golden retriever, Liberty.

Booboo is very energetic and loves her treats- she’s always looking for a handout from anyone who is willing to give her one.  If you happen to be picking up medications for your own pet on a day she’s here, you may see her in our pick up area, looking for a hand out in the form of treats or love!

BooBoo, working hard to receive a CET Veggie Dent!!

Now some of you may be wondering why this girl has the name BooBoo.  It’s quite simple really- when she was a baby she was quite a medical mess. The  poor dog was found by animal control in Long Branch, NJ, and brought to the Humane Society. She had a large facial laceration, a broken leg, and she was vomiting. Due to her ailments, she was scheduled to be euthanized the following day. Luck was with her, though, because that day, Dr. Yacowitz was at the Humane Society looking for a small dog for his daughter. He saw BooBoo and fell in love with her and brought her home.  He fixed her up with great medical care, surgery performed at Little Silver Animal Hospital and lots of TLC. Ever since then,  BooBoo has been his most loyal companion.

We’ve all joked that she is a mini Irish Wolfhound or some sort of hyena cross due to her coloring and her wiry coat. However, genetic testing showed that she is primarily West Highland Terrier and Bulldog. This doesn’t seem to make sense when you look at her (other than the wiry coat, which is reminiscent of the Westie), however when you get to know her personality she definitely has the traits of those 2 breeds.

"OK, you can take my picture, but be quick about it- I'm waiting for my breakfast!!"

We all love Booboo dearly, and cannot imagine a day at work without her. She is fun loving, energetic, intelligent, playful, and is one of the few dogs we know that has a sense of humor. She is one of the sweetest girls you will ever meet- no matter how upset or irritated you may be, BooBoo will find some way to make you smile and make everything all better. We love you BooBoo!!

BooBoo's mohawk is the best ever, don't you think?

In honor of “American Humane Association Adopt a Cat Month”, we wanted to remind our readers of the 3 very special girls we have up for adoption. All 3 are very sweet and loving, and are desperately in need of finding a forever home!

Dickens

Dickens
Dickens is a lovely female domestic short hair with piercing green eyes and a tuxedo coat. She is about 4 years old and longs for the right forever home. Dickens is bright and affectionate, but like any cat she has a mind of her own! As wonderful a girl as dickens is, she did not fit in at her first home. She prefers to be an only cat and if the forever home has children, they should be older- she is very hesitant around small children. dickens has a weakness for fish flavored food and her green cat bed is her favorite possession.

Gray

Gray
Gray is a 10 month old female domestic short hair who came to us with her mother, Smokey. She is a gorgeous tabby, with tawny eyes and delicate stripes in her gray fur. She hasn’t known much of life outside of a cage and would love a home to explore and feel safe in. Despite her sheltered life, Gray is extremely loving and craves attention. She is still very much a kitten and looks forward to playtime and treats.

Smokey

Smokey
Smokey is a small 2 year old female domestic short hair who came to us in February 2012 with her daughter Gray. Smokey is a beautiful gray tabby with a special physical trait- she has fewer toes then the average cat. This cute little anomaly has no effect on her movement, but makes her even more endearing. When Smokey first came to us she was a very frightened little girl but with patience and kindness from our staff she has grown quite trusting and affectionate. Do not let the look on this pretty girls face fool you- although she has  come a long way, she is a bit camera shy and was not too thrilled to have her picture taken!