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Time and time again in the exam room we are asked if a particular teeth cleaning chew is appropriate for dogs.  Clients describe anything from bones, to particular products marketed exclusively for teeth to other chew toys commonly found in pet stores.  There are too many products out there to be familiar with all, but we can offer some helpful hints in order to choose safe options for your pets.  Careful selection of appropriate chews is very important to your pet’s oral health, not just for the purpose of cleaning their teeth, but to not cause damage to your pet’s teeth as well.  When dog’s chew a chew toy, they do so with great strength using the large 4th premolar, also known as the Carnassial tooth.  It is the largest tooth in their mouths and is the main tooth used for chewing and grinding up food.  Dogs that chew hard chews may fracture the exterior part of the tooth.  This is called a slab fracture.  This type of fracture exposes the sensitive “pulp chamber” inside the tooth which contains the blood vessel and nerve.  It is a painful lesion and places the tooth at high risk for abscess/infection.

X rays of the tooth are required to determine if the pulp chamber is exposed, giving bacteria access to the root and other sensitive structures of the tooth and to ensure that surrounding teeth have not been damaged as well.

Treatment options include a root canal if the tooth meets criteria or surgical extraction of the tooth.  This tooth contains three roots which extend deeply into the jaw bone.  It is a painful lesion and requires extraction.  Dental fractures caused by hard chews are one of the most common reasons for extractions in dogs.

Obviously we want to try to avoid these injuries and extractions at all costs.  Although most people feel hard chews will help clean their pet’s teeth, they will likely fracture them as well.

 Here are some helpful hints to keep in mind when choosing a dental chew:

• The Veterinary Oral Health Care Specialists (VOHC) is a group of board certified veterinary dental specialists.  They have a “kneecap” rule.  If you wouldn’t want to be hit in the kneecap by a chew you are contemplating giving your dog, then it is too hard and should not be given to them, as it can fracture their teeth.  Bones, antlers and other synthetic hard chews are good examples of this.
• Rawhide chews are a good example of a safe chew.
• You can look for the VOHC seal on any dental product to see if they have approved it as a safe and effective part of your pet’s health care routine.
• Never leave your dog unattended with a chew. They can become small and slippery and can potentially be a choking hazard.
• Some individually packaged chews become very hard once exposed to air for more than 24 hours.  Inspect the chew and do the kneecap test before they chew.
• Remember that chews have calories too. Some of the large chews can have upwards of 520 calories! If your dog is an avid chewer of chews, it is often a good idea to cut back their kibble by ½ cup to compensate for the additional calories.

If you have any questions regarding safe chew toys or fractured teeth please call or make an appointment to speak to one of our veterinarians or veterinary technicians.  Happy chewing!

Dr. Aimee Bachand, DVM

Veterinarian

We would like to announce and give a warm welcome to Dr. Aimee Bachand as the newest addition to our veterinary team! After completing a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Molecular Virology at he University of Guelph, she graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 2007 and became a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Bachand enjoys all areas of small animal veterinary practice. She is excited to be part of a team that focuses on high quality preventative medicine and is dedicated to keeping your furry family members happy and healthy.

When not at work Dr. Bachand enjoys spending time with her 2 dogs, Finnigan the Papillon and Linus the West Highland Terrier, and her 2 cats, Abbey and Sadie. She loves yoga and enjoys travelling to sunny beaches or exploring new cities. Dr. Bachand is excited to experience all the wonderful shops and restaurants in Bloor West Village and Finnigan and Linus are antsy to explore beautiful High Park.

When you are out enjoying a nice walk through Bloor West Village, pop in to say hello to Dr. Aimee Bachand, she is looking forward to meeting all of our wonderful patients!

Addendum

I would like to thank everyone for all their best wishes but want to let everyone know that I have had to withdraw from the internship in Houston. I will be taking the summer to spend time with my family and will be returning in September on a part time basis.

Julie Downer

A letter from Dr. Downer:

To all the wonderful clients, pets, doctors and staff at Bloor Animal Hospital:

I would like to take this opportunity to let everyone know that I will be leaving Bloor Animal Hospital as of June 22, 2014. I am very excited to be starting an Internal Medicine and Critical Care Internship at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists in Houston, Texas. I am looking forward to this new challenge and to starting a new phase of my career but at the same time I am sad to say goodbye to all the people and the pets that I have had the pleasure to meet at Bloor Animal Hospital.

I started at Bloor Animal Hospital shortly after I graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1997. I have had the privilege to care for your pets from their first visits as puppies and kittens through their middle and senior years.

Sadly in many cases I have been with you as you have said goodbye to a much loved friend. I would like to thank you for letting me be a part of your lives and entrusting me with the care of your furry friends.

I would also like to thank all the staff past and present with whom I have worked. You have made my time at Bloor both enjoyable and rewarding. Many of you have been like family. The team members at Bloor Animal Hospital are some of the most compassionate and caring people I have met. They consistently go above and beyond to provide exemplary patient care.

Last, I would like to thank Dr Suzy Lyons and Dr Ted Morris with whom I have had the good fortune to work. They are outstanding Veterinarians and will continue to provide exceptional care to all the patients at Bloor Animal Hospital.

Thank you again for your trust in me during my time at Bloor Animal Hospital and

for helping to make the clinic the wonderful place that it is. I will miss you all and hope that our paths may cross again in the future.

Julie Downer, DVM

It is common to find ourselves thinking of what we need to do to provide for our pets, but how often do we think about or even consider what our pets give to us?  

Our furry family members quickly become invaluable and cherished parts of our family.  They are there when we need them, on good days or bad, and they are an ear to listen when needed, to put a smile on our face, or to share in a celebration.   

Research shows that people with pets live longer, are more active, more social, have less stress and lower blood pressure.   Growing up with a pet can even help boost immunity and decrease risk of developing allergies.

Every pet and their family have a story, each one unique and equally as special.  There is however a very special dog and family who’s story we felt we needed to share. That is the one of our patients, a Golden Retriever by the name of Cleo.

Cleo is a dog with a very special role.  She was hand selected in Newburyport, Maine by a group of people who wanted to help a family they had never even met.  They had Cleo vaccinated and purchased toys and a blanket for her and put her on an Air Canada flight headed to Toronto.  This group was put in contact with the Bebenek family by a good friend, Lynda Campbell, who wanted to give something back to the Bebenek family.  The Bebenek family had just gone through the unimaginable, the loss of their 5 year old daughter Meagan from a brain stem glioma, a cancerous and inoperable brain tumour.   

Cleo was sent as a gift, to give hope to a grieving family. Meagan’s mother Denise still remembers the day they picked Cleo up at the airport as a “moment she will never forget”.  The Bebeneks drove to the cargo area of Air Canada.  They watched lobster crate after lobster crate unloaded from the aircraft and then suddenly they announced “Puppy Cleo” – and the Bebenek’s family  life was changed forever!

Cleo was a gift beyond measure, immediately becoming a very special part of the Bebenek family, filling their hearts with love and happiness in the midst of the saddest of any life-circumstance to be given to a family.  Now 11 years later, Cleo is a devoted and loyal family member, and fills a very special role. 

Denise Bebenek agreed to share her story as an example of the powerful role and love that our furry family members can play in our lives, and an example of how people can extend themselves so selflessly to someone in need.  She has continued this tradition of giving by creating  “Meagan’s Walk: Creating a Circle of Hope”, to spread awareness and give hope to children living with brain tumours and to honour her daughter Meagan. Now in it’s 13th year, Meagan’s Walk is a 5k walk from Fort York  to the Hospital for Sick Children.  It is at Sick Kids that participants join hands and form a “human hug” around the hospital,  a “Circle of Hope” and as a message of love and support that can be viewed by all those within.

Meagan’s Walk has raised more than $3.1 million, directly helping the dedicated doctors and researchers who are making global advancements in brain tumour research and patient care.  This year the 13th Annual Meagan’s Walk will be held on Saturday May 10th.  

Bloor Animal Hospital is proud to support Meagan’s Walk.  If you are interested in finding out more, participating or making a donation, please visit their website at www.meaganswalk.com.

As we say hello to spring, many of us choose to brighten up our homes with a fresh bouquet of flowers. Some flowers are relatively harmless while others can cause stomach upset. There are some flowers which can be very toxic to your pet – even fatal.

One of the most common and popular of which is the Lily. All lily flowers and all plant parts should be considered toxic, and even just a nibble can be fatal. Vomiting, lethargy and decreased appetite are the most common initial signs. They are followed by increased drinking and urination. This can progress to complete kidney failure, which is characterized by the lack of production of urine.Our kidneys are essential to life and we cannot live without them, thus this severe degree of kidney failure can only be followed by death.

What can be done you ask? If there is any suspicion that your cat has consumed a lily, we recommend visiting your veterinarian ASAP. They will likely run a blood and urine test to access the current state of the kidneys and start your pet in intravenous fluid therapy. Your vet can also provide additional medication to help with the stomach upset associated with this toxicity. After a couple of days of fluid therapy your vet will likely recheck your cat’s blood work to access kidney health. Some cats are able to recover with full kidney function, while others are left with some with some degree of kidney failure that they will carry with them through life. Some cats are not so lucky and despite the best of care end up in end stage kidney failure ultimately resulting in death.

Our advice to cat owners: no lilies in the home…..not even out of reach, as most cats are quite agile and able to access pretty much any region or surface of your home. There are plenty of beautiful flowers out there, which can decorate your home without harm to your cat. Don’t hesitate to contact your veterinarian if you have questions about the safety of a particular plant or flower in your home – it just might save your pet’s life!

-Suzanne Lyons, D.V.M and Practice Owner at Bloor Animal Hospital.

We’re sure that you’ve seen the food bags on the shelf while visiting our clinic with the urinary health, urine pH control etc..  What’s the big fuss you ask?  Do I really need to buy a special food to help my pet urinate?.  

Cats tend to be over represented with respect to lower urinary tract disease, although dogs can be affected as well.  Feline lower urinary tract disease, or FLUTD for short, refers to a group of symptoms that can affect the bladder and urethra.  You might notice your cat licking his/her hind end excessively or you find that your cat is urinating outside the litter box.  This is due to discomfort and trying to avoid the place of pain (ie the litter box).  Middle age, overweight cats in multicat households that eat store brand dry diets are at greater risk.  Stress such as a change in routine can be an additional risk factor as well.

If your pet is experiencing these symptoms, it is important to seek veterinary care promptly.  After a thorough physical exam, your veterinarian will likely obtain a urine sample to look for evidence of infection, inflammation, crystals or blood.  Depending on the results of the urinalysis, a urine culture (to check for infection), blood profile or x-rays of the urinary tract may be recommended. 

The most common cause of FLUTD is Feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC).  This is usually a diagnosis of exclusion, once all other potential causes are ruled out.  Put simply, FIC is essentially an inflammation of the urinary tract that is not bacterial in origin.  Urethral muscle spasm and bladder discomfort causes affected cats to strain to urinate, often urinating small frequent amounts of bloody urine.  The good news is that it often resolves on its own in a couple of weeks.  Treatment usually involves pain medication and antispasmodics as well at the recommendation to feed a prescription canned urinary diet and plenty of access to fresh water to prevent recurrence of clinical signs and obstruction.   

Urinary stones are another possible cause of FLUTD.  These can be detected by x-ray or ultrasound.  The two most common stones are calcium oxylate and struvite, but unfortunately the stone identity can only be determined once the stone is retrieved – usually by surgery.  

• Struvite stones often arise secondary to a urinary tract infection.   It is possible for these stones to dissolve with a special dissolution diet and resolution of the antibiotic with the appropriate antibiotic.  If the stones fail to dissolve with medial management, surgery to remove the stones would be necessary.  

• Calcium oxylate stones will not dissolve with medical management alone.   Surgery is necessary to remove these stones.  Once recovered from surgery a prescription urinary pH control diet and increasing water intake is key to trying to prevent these stones from reoccurring.                                                                                                                  

Urinary obstruction occurs when the urethra (a small tube which drains the bladder) becomes partially or completely blocked secondary to a stone, grit (a collection of minerals/cells), or a mucus like plug.  Males are at a higher risk due to their long, narrow urethras.  If the obstruction is not relieved it can result in a build up of toxins in the body, as they can no longer be eliminated by the kidneys.  It is a very painful condition, and if left untreated it can result in bladder rupture, urethral tear, kidney damage, heart failure and/or death.  Urinary obstruction is a medical emergency and requires treatment immediately.   If you notice your cat crying, going in and out of the litter box with little/no urine production, licking his/her hind end excessively or trying to urinate out of the box – take you cat to your veterinarian ASAP!

So what can be done to prevent your cat from experiencing FLUTD?  

• Feeding your cat a high quality pH control diet
• plenty of access to fresh water is an important place to start.  
• Keeping the litter box clean
• having an adequate number of litter boxes (one more than the number of cats in the home)
• keeping the litter box in a quiet place and trying to minimize stress/changes in routine can help as well.

Similarly to their feline counterparts, dogs can also experience urinary tract infections and urinary stones and the above information can be applied to them as well.  If you have additional questions about your pet’s urinary health, contact your veterinarian to see what you can to to maintain urinary health in your pet.

 Written by Suzanne Lyons, D.V.M Bloor Animal Hospital Practice Owner