Holiday Hazards

Pet proof your home and save your pet an emergency visit! Click on the link below.

Holiday Hazards Slideshow

Snowflakes!

Snow is in the air!  Your pets need assistance with the colder weather.  The link is a short video produced by the American Veterinary Medical Association to help us pet owners.

Cold Weather

Urethral Obstruction in Cats

     One of the saddest times as a veterinarian is when a patient is presented seriously ill with a condition could have been easily prevented and treated if caught earlier.  I had one such patient this weekend.
     A beautiful neutered male cat died at home from a ruptured urinary bladder.  The history and examination pointed toward a urinary tract obstruction.  The death was due to "Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease."
     Sometimes, mainly in male cats, a plug forms in the urethra (the tube that leads from the bladder to the outside).  Once the plug has formed, urine builds up in the bladder, causing intense pain and may quickly cause kidney damage.  Since one of the kidneys' jobs is the remove toxic waste from  the body, any stoppage causes these poisons to increase in the bloodstream,  which causes a painful and prolonged death.
    So please watch your kitties for signs:  more frequent visits to the litter box but little or no urine production;  constantly licking his genitalia; or urinating in unusual places.
     Urethral obstructions are emergencies.  If the symptoms are found early, treatment is normally very successful.
     Prevention is also very important.  Make sure your cat gets good exercise and stays lean.  Feed a high quality diet that is low in magnesium and make sure there is always a supply of fresh water.  Maintain a clean and enticing litter box.  Special diets or even surgery may be needed.
Call us if you have any questions or you may view a handout from the American Veterinary Medical Association by following this link:  Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease

It's The Holiday Season

The holiday season is here!  Please remember, our pets are NOT small people with fur coats.  Our diets are not their diets.  Watch this video for more information.

Pain Management Pets

Pain is a major problem, both for people and our pets...In today's world, we have several options!  See this video.

Establishing a Daily Routine for Your Puppy

Click on the link below for tips on house training your puppy. Lots of puppies need more than normal attention, assistance and patience. Hope this helps!

Dr. Hackworth

Establishing a Daily Routine for Your Puppy

We're Green!

Did you know our hospital has gone green?  Yup, did it about a year ago.  Our hospital policy manual has a section detailing our "environmentally friendly policy."  We sort our refuge by paper, plastics, canned items, batteries, etc.  We have installed motion sensors for certain rooms (our examination rooms' lights are set to turn off after 15 minutes of no motion).  Equipment is turned off at the end of day.  We attempt to purchase the products with the smallest carbon footprint (that extends even to the type of syringes we buy).  Our cleaning products are the most nontoxic we can find that still work.

Next time you are in the office, ask us about the policy.  If you have any suggestions or ideas, let me know!

Dr. Hackworth

Taking Your Kitty To The Vet

Most cats get stressed when traveling and taking them to our hospital adds even more stress.  Below is a YouTube video which will help both you and your kitty to have less stress coming to the hospital.

Lots of Continuing Education!

I (Dr. Hackworth) have been out of town for several days at a couple of conferences. 
Thanks to Drs. Toner and Welker for covering for me while I was traveling.  Via the internet, I traveled to the University of California, Davis for a day's meetings to learn about some cutting edge therapies for various diseases and conditions.
I also traveled to Oklahoma for a two day conference at Oklahoma State University where a host of lecturers presented updated information, or a good review about many topics.  (Everyone wore orange, just like me.)
Finally, I visited Houston, Texas for a day-long meeting where various skin, ear and hormonal conditions were discussed.
All three meetings were diverse in their topics and covered entirely different conditions.  Meetings such as these allow us to remain current on our medical knowledge so we can practice better medicine for you and your pets. More detailed postings after I get some sleep!

Dr. Hackworth

Orange Country!

As most of you know, I graduated from Oklahoma State University's College of Veterinary Medicine......ahem, but a long time ago.  Fortunately for Lee Ann and I, we moved to an area whose high school shared OSU's colors, orange and black.  So we have two reasons to have our "Orange Fridays" at the hospital, to support our Waynesville Tigers and also my college alma mater.

So, it should be no surprise to find out that I am out of the hospital for the next few days attending a veterinary conference in Stillwater, Oklahoma on Oklahoma State's campus.  So far, it has been a good and informative meeting, helping me stay current in the ever expanding knowledge base of veterinary medicine.  It also gives Lee Ann an opportunity to shop ---grandkids, get ready for some orange and black presents --and we don't care what your Nebraska Cornhusker and Missouri Tiger dads think!

Go Tigers and Oklahoma State Cowboys!

Dr. Hackworth

Barkoberfest!

Announcing Barkoberfest!

We will be having a pet costume party on Halloween, October 31st.  Our staff will be in costume and we will have fun with our costumed patients!
I (Dr. Hackworth) will be baking special treats for the pets (thank you Rachel Ray for the recipes) and each "costumed crusader" will receive a goody bag.

Hope to see you there!  Call the office for more information.  336-3759

Did you know?

Did You Know...

... THAT DOGS CAN SEE COLORS?

It is widely held, though no one is sure why, that dogs do not see in color. In fact, dogs have trouble distinguishing green, yellow, and red but blue and purple can be seen vividly. As predators, dogs need their vision most to distinguish motion and follow prey through the brush in a hot pursuit. Most of the dog's world is defined by scent, though, as their sense of smell is a good 1000 times stronger than ours.

Animal Cruelty Law in Missouri

The state's Attorney General is starting to better protect an unsuspecting public from "puppy mills."  He has launched a web site to better inform about these terrible conditions.

http://ago.mo.gov/CanineCruelty 
Protect yourself by first investigate.  Better yet,  adopt from a pound or shelter!

25 Years!

Sitting here thinking about how long I had been in St. Robert and I realized our hospital was established 25 years ago!  The clinic started in Hidden Valley Plaza in 1986 and I arrived in September 1987 after spending a few years as a veterinarian in the Army and one year in private practice in California.  We moved to our present location on New Year's Day, 1994.  Time sure has flown by!

Spay Your Pets!

We saw a beautiful dog a couple of weeks ago that was very ill and within days of possibly dying.  The physical examination revealed pyometra.
 
Pyometra is the medical term used to describe an infected uterus.
 

Pyometra can be a life threatening infection and may even require emergency surgery.  If left untreated, dogs may become very ill and many do not survive. With early treatment (usually emergency surgery, as our patient received), about 90 percent of affected dogs recover.

 

Since pyometra is an infection of the uterus, all unspayed dogs are susceptible. Usually, pyometra occurs within eight weeks of the dog's last heat cycle due to increased levels of the hormone progesterone.  Dogs and cats do not go through menopause, so their ovaries and uterus are always under some sort of hormonal control.

 

Please watch for:

Vaginal discharge

Lethargy

Lack of appetite

Depression

Vomiting

Diarrhea

Drinking excessive amounts of water and urinating often

Please spay your pets!  The ovaries and uterus are removed so pyometra cannot occur.  The uterus below is about 5-6 times the normal size and full of pus.

Dogs and Fast Moving Cars Don't Mix!

Today we operated on a 4 month old puppy whose hip was shattered when she was hit by a car.  The surgery went well and she should recover nicely but will probably have a limp.  The best prevention is to keep your pets confined or on a leash and out of the road.  Dogs and cats don't realize that they are in danger when in or close to moving vehicles so it is our responsibility to protect them.  However, accidents do occur, but let's do our best to protect!

It's Still Hot Out There!

Remember your dogs and cats when it is so hot outdoors.  Many are not acclimated to the heat and humidity since they spend much of their time indoors in the air conditioning (as many of us).  Just a short play time outside is enough to cause a life-threatening heat stroke. 

We have seen several cases recently with some deaths and several dogs who will have life-long health issues after they recovered.  The brain, kidneys, and digestive tract do not like being overheated to 108!