Rat Bite Disease

Dear Val, I adopted a dog maybe six months ago. We did a meet and greet session with the entire family as well as our dogs and cats. Things were going well and then one day one of our cats escaped and landed in the dog play yard. The cat did not make it. I am so bothered by this behavior from the dog I want to sent the dog back to the rescue. He is now chasing and killing squirrels on our property which is new as well. Is there any hope for this dog to stop behaving this way? I understand it is natural in some dogs but it doesn't fit in well with my life and my other animals. Dear Rescue Dog Mom, It sounds like maybe your dog has what is called a prey drive. A prey drive is a natural instinct in some dogs and animals to chase things. Especially things that run. It's a wonderful asset in the animal world, but for our domesticated companion pets, not so much. Kudos to you for reaching out for help to make it work. You can do this! I have lived this life before. This is ...

A 20 year-old-man presents to the primary care clinic with abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting for 7 days as well as right-sided headache, photophobia, phonophobia, and back pain. The patient reports subjective fever starting 2 days ago along with chills, runny nose, and intermitting blood in the mucous when he blows his nose. He notes mild lightheadedness and says he is dehydrated because he is unable to tolerate liquid or solids. He denies diarrhea or constipation. He tried over-the-counter cold and flu medications containing acetaminophen, dextromethorphan, and phenylephrine with no symptom relief. He denies recent travel or known contacts with anyone who was ill, is not currently taking any daily medications, and has no known drug allergies or history of abdominal surgeries. Physical Examination The patient's vital signs are stable. On physical examination, the patient shows tenderness to both light and deep touch at that left-lower quadrant and...

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[unable to retrieve full-text content] DC's cat count put the city's feline population at roughly 200,000    The Washington Post

Since dogs cannot talk, they cannot make their needs or desires plain to us in any simple or intelligible way. It's easy to get frustrated when our dogs engage in behaviors that are repetitive, troubling or destructive. We all take some degree of pleasure, on the other hand, when we see a dog chasing her tail. When an occasional canine tail chase turns into a habit, though, and when that habit ends in tail biting or tail chewing, it can signal a range of potential issues. What's even more troubling is the sheer volume of people who not only ask, "Why does my dog keep biting her tail and whining?" but also end that question with "for no reason?" Just because we cannot immediately isolate the source of the odd behavior doesn't mean that it is purposeless or without foundation. Obsessive or compulsive canine behaviors, like chasing and gnawing at the tail, always have a root cause. What are the most common reasons for dog tail b...

October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, and Best Friends Animal Society has a request: If you're able to and have the resources, please consider adopting a rescue pet from your local shelter. While the no-kill rate is trending downward successfully, a lot of shelter animals still have to be put down, which is why it's important to adopt from a rescue when possible. Besides this, having a pet is also beneficial to our health as humans. "Studies have shown that having pets reduces stress and lowers anxiety. This is especially helpful during challenging times like we've experienced over the last year and a half," Best Friends veterinarian and medical director Emily Katribe said in a press release. "Dogs are also great walking or hiking buddies. It's like having a personal trainer with four legs." Adopt a Shelter Dog Month is in October, and Best Friends hopes you can adopt if you'...

Dear Val, I adopted a dog maybe six months ago. We did a meet and greet session with the entire family as well as our dogs and cats. Things were going well and then one day one of our cats escaped and landed in the dog play yard. The cat did not make it. I am so bothered by this behavior from the dog I want to sent the dog back to the rescue. He is now chasing and killing squirrels on our property which is new as well. Is there any hope for this dog to stop behaving this way? I understand it is natural in some dogs but it doesn't fit in well with my life and my other animals. Dear Rescue Dog Mom, It sounds like maybe your dog has what is called a prey drive. A prey drive is a natural instinct in some dogs and animals to chase things. Especially things that run. It's a wonderful asset in the animal world, but for our domesticated companion pets, not so much. Kudos to you for reaching out for help to make it work. You can do this! I have lived this life before. This is ...

While the world continues to deal with the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, there are other diseases too which need to be taken care of and at any cost they cannot be ignored as the neglegance may cost a lot in future. Rabies is among those deadliest infectious which causes acute inflammation of the brain and disrupts the mental faculties. Therefore, to raise awareness about the impact of rabies and how the disease can be prevented World Rabies Day is observed on September 28 every year. Notably, the day marks the anniversary of Louis Pasteur's death, the French chemist and microbiologist, who developed the first rabies vaccine. While rabies is a 100% preventable disease, a report states that more than 59,000 people die from the disease around the world each year. As per WHO, around 20,000 rabies deaths occurred in India every year. Rabies has killed more people in India in the last five years than COVID-19. On the 15th edition of World Rabies Day which shall be celebrated this year,...

Though cats are soft and cuddly, they may bite or scratch when they're spooked. When a cat bites, it may not seem like a big deal — it can be cute when they're playing — but some cat bites can pose significant health risks. Cats carry many bacteria in their mouths capable of causing infections in bite wounds. Though house cats are often vaccinated against the most serious diseases, like rabies, stray cats aren't usually vaccinated and can carry several diseases. In fact, the infection rate from a cat bite is fairly high. According to a 2018 research review, infection occurs in about 50 percent of cat bites in children. Roughly 400,000 cat bites occur in the United States each year. Cat bites with infections can become not only painful, but also red or discolored, and swollen. If left untreated, cat bite infections can spread to other parts of the body, causing a condition called septicemia (blood poisoning), which requires hospitalization. In rare cases, these infections ca...

Robert Thomas, founder of Marvelous Dogs , shares his advice on the five essential behaviours you should teach your puppy while they are young. While it is not entirely true that you can't teach an old dog new tricks, it is significantly harder to retrain a dog who has already learned some bad habits than it is to ingrain good behaviours into a young puppy. This is why, once you bring your puppy home, it is best to start training them as soon as possible. Not only will this help reduce the number of puppy accidents that happen on your rug, but it will also help you build a positive relationship with your pup and put you well on the way to having a happy, friendly, well-behaved furry friend. 1. To recognize and respond to their name This is training that can start as soon as your pup comes home. Try to only use their name when talking to them, which will help them differentiate that particular set of syllables as being more relevant to them than the rest of our human babble. Most im...