Woah! I have had a crazy awesome week volunteering at the new No Kill Columbia Spay and Neuter Project. No Kill Columbia is a non-profit organization run by a group of wonderful Missouri locals all for the benefit of pets and the community. No Kill has been fundraising for sometime now and were finally able to open the spay and neuter clinic this past April. The clinic is amazing and state of the art. Dr. White is the veterinarian running the show; she is a Mizzou graduate and an experienced veterinarian! We have upwards of 15-20 animals come in a day to be altered and everyone is trained via Humane Alliance standards when it comes to the treatment and efficiency of the clinic.

It is amazing to see a service like spay and neuter offered to the community at a price they can afford and a Spay It Forward is in place to help with funds when people cannot. Let's take a look at a typical day:

7:30 Check in
All the pets arrive at the same time :) they are checked in and surgery is paid for. We get a history on the pet and find out if they need any vaccinations. They come to the back where the doctor gives them a full exam and administers their induction drugs to make them sleepy. We ask that adult animals are not fed after midnight because these drugs can and do cause nausea leading to many dogs vomiting once or twice. Volunteers and assistance check the dogs frequently cleaning up whatever messes have been made in the kennels. Cats are checked out by the doctor as well and get to chill in their kennels until surgery time. They are not given the early morning sedatives.

8:30/9:00-12:00/1:00 Surgery Time
Doctor scrubs in and we prepare the first patient for surgery. They are intubated with an esophageal tube and kept on oxygen and isoflurane for anesthesia. We monitor their heartrate and blood/oxygen levels the entire time they are under anesthesia. It is a very well orchestrated dance we do throughout the morning. One patient after another is finished with surgery and put on our heated "beach" to recover from surgery quietly. All animals are given Meticam as a pain medication and pediatrics are given butorphanol which is similar to morphine. Small dogs and all cats are given Karo syrup on their gums during recovery to prevent any hypoglycemic event. Temperature is also monitored and each animal is wrapped in a towel and given heated rice socks to ensure no further heat loss. When they are awake and moving we take them back to their individual kennels to rest.

1:00-5:30 End of day activities
Dr. White and her staff check all the animals incisions and mentation. If all is well the animals are given a green light to be released and their owners are called to come pick them up. Cleaning and loads of laundry are done at this time along with sterilizing all the surgical instruments for the next day. All cats and puppies and small breed dogs are also given a snack to again prevent hypoglycemia. When animals are released all kennels are sanitized and the whole building is swept and mopped to perfection. All clients are offered a free recheck to bring their pet back in for an incision check and over all health check. The patients are encouraged to be taken to their personal veterinarian but sometimes the spay and neuter clinic is the only clinic that pet has ever been too. Also if any problems arise they are to call us and we will get their pet seen immediately!

The clinic is a busy place but it is a wonderful place. I am a huge proponent in the spay and neuter initiative because the majority of puppy and kitten litters are accidents and only some of those mistakes ever make it to forever homes. Altering our pets ensures less animals going into shelters, less animals on the streets and there are major health benefits for both cats and dogs. The Spay and Neuter Clinic works with local rescues and shelters in the surrounding area to do initial health exams, vaccinations and of course altering to get them ready for adoption! Just yesterday we took care of a young maltipoo who had been severely neglected before being rescued. After her recovery from surgery we groomed off her mats which covered her entire body and discovered a beautiful little dog underneath it all who is now headed to her new home to be spoiled like she deserves! I have loved my time at the clinic and thank them for what they do each and every day!

Here is Echo Cinnamon Cookie (my little brother's cat) after her spay and microchip at the clinic!

Pawsitively yours,

Gabrielle P.

A few weeks ago, Oscar, my 2 year old dachshund began vomiting. At first I thought it was because he had began eating grass at the house we recently moved to but then even going outside with him to ensure he wouldn't eat grass his vomiting became more frequent. Day 1 he threw up white foam, day 2 he threw up white foam with grass, day 3 he threw up bile and later his meal after he ate, semi-digested (dog food mush). I became concerned when I saw his food come up and when he began vomiting 2-3 times each day. I was going out of town and on day 4 after his third episode of the day I took him to the clinic (after calling and getting calming advice from technician because I am a worried mom).

It is important when you get to your veterinarian that you know when the symptoms began and how frequent. When it comes to things coming back up it is also important to help your veterinarian determine whether your pet is vomiting of regurgitating. Certain diagnoses are tied to one or the other because they are very different things. Here is a good definition comparing the two from Clinician's Brief:

Regurgitation is the passive expulsion of food, fluid, or other material from the pharynx or esophagus, while vomiting is an active expulsion of ingesta from the stomach and (sometimes) duodenum [beginning of the small intestine). In contrast to regurgitation, vomiting involves a centrally mediated reflex with coordinated closure of the nasopharynx and glottis to protect the airway, reducing the risk for aspiration pneumonia [fluid getting into the lungs].

I like to think of it this way: before Oscar would vomit he would run to me looking very sad and then begin to retch before the material came out of his mouth; therefore he knew something was coming. If he was regurgitating he would have been playing or sleeping and all of a sudden material is coming out of his mouth and he had no time to prepare.

So I got to our veterinarian and told her my concerns. He was vomiting, eating and drinking normally and not acting sick. Vomiting can be caused by many things and the number one thought especially after seeing that he threw up his food was a foreign body (anything that cannot pass through the digestive tract). How do you diagnose a foreign body? X-rays are the go to. He was still pooping though which meant that some food must be getting to his colon and getting out of his body so if it was a foreign body it must be small causing a partial block somewhere in his digestive system, this could make x-rays obsolete if the object is too small to see. She asked what treats I was giving him and if he could have gotten into anything. We went on to determine to stop the treats and put him on a bland diet of canned Purina EN for a few days, feeding him more than twice a day. Ta-da no more vomiting and he loved eating all day long (it seemed to him).

So what was wrong with Oscar. We may never know for sure but I believe he may have swallowed too big a piece of his dental treat and as it passed (maybe as a big chunk) it began to irritate his intestinal lining which in turn alerted his body to an issue and caused his body to attempt to get rid of the irritant through vomiting. If the story had played out differently for example he was also acting very sick and possibly had a fever, which for a dog would be over 102.5, we may have considered an infection of some sort and/or peritonitis. In that case blood work and possibly further testing would have been necessary.

After this fiasco and thinking Oscar may have a bit more of a sensitive stomach than I thought I have decided to switch his food. This could be an irrational move but its happening. I am going to be putting him on the Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach and Skin formula just to at least give his GI tract a bit of an easier go for awhile. Before I do that, I had to try Purina's new Just Right Food for him! We got the package in the mail just yesterday!

More to come on how this diet works out for the dachshunds!

Pawsitively yours,

Gabrielle P.

I want to share with you all a cause that is close to my heart: a non-profit out of Arizona called Pets of the Homeless!

Last November as I was working late one cold evening a young man came into the pet food store and began inquiring about feline nutrition. He asked if he could feed his senior cat meat from the grocery store deli. I went on to explain to him that just feeding store bought human grade meat would be lacking the vitamins and minerals she needed in her diet. He then asked if he could crunch up Centrum MultiVitamins in her food to supplement for that, but unfortunately I didn't have good news for him with that either. He was very concerned, I could tell. He left the store and I was left a bit bewildered. Not but 5 minutes later he came back in and asked another question, this time I noticed his purple hands without gloves and his tattered winter beanie. I then asked him if he needed any help and he opened up a bit to me about his situation. He must have been in his late 20's but life had aged him way beyond. He explained to me how he ran from an abusive home and went to live with his aunt and uncle, the couple had a cat that he said they abused. He fled that home as well and took the cat with him; at the present time he was living in a tent behind a store and working jobs when he could while tending to his cat and living off food stamps.

I was heart broken. My whole life I have occasionally seen people on the streets with cardboard signs and I am sure you all have too. Some look at them with pity, some look at them and open their pocket books and many others look at them with disdain. I have always been curious about each of their stories and what choices or circumstances brought them to that point in life. However, I never seem to be bold enough to ask (I am working on this though). This man I met and his cat threw me into a tidal wave of what can I do for people like him who have pets and literally will be turned away from (most) shelters due to liability. I began to search for organizations who help the homeless community, especially those that carry their pets with them. Now this is a controversial topic for many: should the nations homeless be allowed to keep their pets? I am a huge proponent in saying yes! If you have ever loved an animal you know how strong that bond with your pet can be and if you lost everything, your family, your possessions, maybe your health, and your security your pet may be the only being still by your side loving you for who you are. The Human Animal Bond saves lives, I truly believe this statement!

Pets of the Homeless was the first website that popped up on my search and they are doing amazing things in this country. I immediately contacted them to see what I could do for my community of Columbia, Missouri. Pets of the Homeless runs on volunteer power; it is up to the person who signs up to go out and find companies who would like to collect pet foods (any kind, opened bags, even expired food) and then to find companies who would like to distribute the donations to those in need in the community (ex: shelters, food banks, pet shelters).

Video property of petsofthehomeless.org

If you feel passionate to do something like this in your community I encourage you to check out their website! If you have any questions for me leave a comment!

Pawsitively yours,

Gabrielle P.

This is a no judgement zone...ok! So I was on my way to my mom's house and I was bringing my two dachshunds with me to have a play-date with their cousins ;) on the way I decided I wanted to stop and get donuts for the family. It was 8am, about 70 degrees outside. I parked close to the entrance, rolled down the windows and ran in as fast as possible. When I got back in the car Maggie (my IVDD survivor) had pooped in my seat and both pups were waiting there looking just as I had left them. Is this ok? I asked myself this the whole time I was in the store. Are they ok? Will someone see them and call the cops? I have been in here how long? Is that too long? OMG...its a tough one. No, we didn't need the donuts but I didn't feel as if I was risking my dogs' lives for those donuts. Data I have seen based on temperature outside the car and minutes it takes the temperature to rise inside the car may think differently of my decision. Have I left my dog in the car before this, yes I have. Did I think twice about it, yes every time. What are we to do though. Ultimately here are the facts from a couple different websites. The American Veterinary Medical Association shows that the temperature inside of a car can rise 20 degrees in just 10 minutes and comparing this with windows down or cracked Preventative Vet found the temperature rise was only 2 degrees cooler. These numbers are so frightening and really hard to wrap our heads around; seeing as I think,"I will be so quick, surely they will get a breeze." but this is not the case.

Here is a table from the AVMA comparing outside starting temps versus time lapsed:

Estimated Vehicle Interior Air Temperature v. Elapsed Time

Elapsed time	Outside Air Temperature (F)
	70	75	80	85	90	95
0 minutes	70	75	80	85	90	95
10 minutes	89	94	99	104	109	114
20 minutes	99	104	109	114	119	124
30 minutes	104	109	114	119	124	129
40 minutes	108	113	118	123	128	133
50 minutes	111	116	121	126	131	136
60 minutes	113	118	123	128	133	138
> 1 hour	115	120	125	130	135	140

Courtesy Jan Null, CCM; Department of Geosciences, San Francisco State University

I am so glad I looked into this, these numbers are mind blowing! I know being from Texas I couldn't stand the heat so how can I imagine my animals being able to handle it with all that fur and less surface area to heat up. Be aware, be careful and in some states leaving your animal in the car is breaking the law! I will now be on the look out and doing whatever I can to avoid leaving my animals in the car.

If you see an animal in the car and you see them panting, pacing, ADR (ain't doin right) call your local animal control and if need be I would be that person to bust out that car window because that pet may be in need of emergency veterinary care!

Pawsitively yours,

Gabrielle P.

Let's begin with nutrition, shall we!
I bought my first dog when I was a sophomore in high school. Yes, you read that correctly I BOUGHT my miniature dachshund from a Texas breeder that I did no research on...judge away, I would. More on breeders versus adopting later! BTW my views have shifted to adopting as I have grown, YAY shelter pets! I digress...nutrition, in my opinion is key to an animal having a long and healthy life. There are more factors to it than food, but food I think is so important. When I got my Maggie I began buying her Iam's from Wal-mart or any other grocery store that had that big green bag. She loved it, her coat was shiny and I am pretty sure I was satisfied with how solid her stools were. Again this is going back 8 years and my memory is not always the best. My next dog and the one after that were also on Iam's in the green bag and all was well!

I started my job as a veterinary assistant in Highland Village and took from one of the veterinarians there this little quote he always told clients when they asked what to feed their pets: "You cannot go wrong with any name brand dog food from the store; Purina, Iam's, Royal Canine, etc." I took this with me to veterinary school. When I got to vet school it was pretty much the same but more on the side of which food companies do their research and feeding trials and which companies do not? Here it comes: Hill's Science Diet. Yes, Hill's is a brand loved by veterinarians but before you say its because they make money off of it slow your roll! Kick backs from food are not why veterinarians sell them (cause I have heard vets do not get much profit if any in the grand scheme of things). You can choose to believe me or not, but ask anyone I am a pretty honest lady :) veterinarians are very logical, analytical and data driven individuals and I have seen the science and my conclusion to why veterinarians recommend Hill's first almost every time or Purina Vet Diets, or Royal Canine Vet diets is because (drum roll...number one they TRUST them. And if I ask my doctor for advice I hope he gives me a brand that he trusts in because ultimately if something happens to me due to that brand that was not supposed to who am I coming after...my doctor. Why then should we ask our veterinarians to do anything different than to give us the very best option they can! Here is a bit of the other side of this tale: natural, organic, holistic pet foods. My second year in veterinary school to receive my residency status I began working at an amazing all natural pet foods store and bakery. This was like stepping into a whole new world! There are literally thousands of food options that people can buy for their pets and so many flavors of each! It was like a wonderland to learn inside that colorful store. I worked there for over a year and learned all I could about the customers wants and how their pets needs could also be met with the same standards. I like eating organic foods when I can afford them so why not let my pet eat an organic diet? These are things we as pet parents think about and yes if you tell some veterinarians that they will look at you like you are silly, but not all of them. If you want to know the ends and outs of pet food visit the AAFCO website (www.aafco.org) they are the governmental entity that regulates pet food companies! All quality bags of pet food will have an AAFCO statement on it! IMPORTANT TO NOTE!
Words like Holistic and Natural are NOT defined by this governmental faction so any company can put that on their food regardless if it is true or not. Organic is defined by AAFCO and there is a specific badge that will be on a food that is actually organic! 

While working at the store I tried lots of different foods from Holistic Select, Nature's Variety, California Natural and Fromm to a formulated raw diet. Woah and let me tell you how much judgement I received from colleagues on that one! Ultimately, my dogs and cats have done great on all of the foods I have tried! Poops were better on some diets rather than others, not all were up to par for my pets' taste but my pets health and weight were maintained at a happy level! Do feeding trials matter and big company research? Yes, in the end they do but are there other options out there if you so choose to find them, the answer again is yes! If your veterinarian is not on board with your decision on food, that is ok, be honest with them about what you are feeding, have that tough discussion if need be but remember it is always in the best interest of your furry friend to be honest with their doctor no matter what!

Hope this has been helpful!

Pawsitively yours,

Gabrielle P.