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We had a great time together at our company holiday party! This year marked our first year in Redwood City. While our new location is very close to our old location, here on the peninsula, every neighborhood has their own great places.

The place we chose is a beautiful gem. Open to the public, the Dragon Theater at 2120 Broadway, in Redwood City, is fairly close to the San Mateo County History Museum, and easily walkable from the Redwood City CalTrain station.

The Dragon Theater is available as an event space for parties such as ours, of course.  However, it’s main objective is to produce professional theatre productions that are uncommon, intimate, and empathically bold. They focus on accessibility for audiences, artists and the community.

Productions are either Main Stage productions (with audience discounts available for subscriptions of as few as three (3) shows), or 2nd Stage productions, which serve as a nesting incubator for developing producers and artists. A step beyond, their immersive art explores the audience relationship to performance through the theater’s new Dragon Experience Design Lab (DXDL).

And if that’s not enough, the Dragon Theater gets super immersive with classes for adults and children, corporate workshops and private coaching for actors or anyone looking to beef up their public speaking chops. Classes range from story telling and play writing to improv.

For our particular event, we set up noshing in the lobby, and were treated to a private performance of the Nutcracker. One of the highlights, for us, was watching one of our very own fabulous RVTs, Anna Yanushkevich, perform as Uncle Drosselmeyer and the Rat King. She did a terrific job, and made us proud. The theater is “on Broadway,” in a lively, thriving cultural section of Redwood City. The whole experience was intimate, uncommon and truly festive.

As we all gather with family and friends for the holidays this year, please note our holiday hours:

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day: Closed
New Year’s Eve: 8am to 2pm
New Year’s Day: Closed

Best wishes to you and yours for a season of love, peace and joy!

As 2019 winds down, we are taking a moment to gather our family of doctors and staff to celebrate a successful year settling into our new facility.  As such, we will be closed this Saturday, December 21st, all day for our annual Staff Holiday Party.

If you had planned to stop by on Sat. for a prescription refill, pet’s food or what have you, please consider coming in on Friday (open until 6pm).

We will be admitting boarders by appointment only, and naturally the boarding care staff are graciously remaining on site. They are the best and we appreciate their dedication.

Since the hospital will be closed, we are also taking the opportunity to upgrade a piece of a non-trivial electrical gear on site. We have our fingers crossed that goes smoothly.

While we look forward to celebrating with our staff, we do apologize for any inconvenience the closure may cause.

Thank you!

The power is back on and we’re operating at full strength.

Yesterday, about a block away, a transformer pole had gone down, which created a power outage for us and the other businesses on the block. We reached out to everyone who had appointments. For anyone who had already hit the road before we reached you, we sincerely apologize.

The power came back on last night about 9:30pm.

About a block away, there’s a transformer pole down, which has our power completely out.  No phones.  Nothing.  We’ve managed to contact today’s appointments to reschedule, though we’re not sure how much longer the batteries on personal cell phones will hold out. Of course, our dedicated staff is staying on-site to ensure the animals who are in our care are comfortable, warm and well looked after.

PG&E is working on it now. They estimate the time of restoration at about 7pm tonight.

Meanwhile, we are working hard to re-establish phone communications, but are otherwise closed for the day.

We will keep you posted.

It’s not every day when human health is potentially impacted by an FDA warning on a pet product. Preface by saying that we don’t include these kinds of treats in what we have available for our clients. We do care, however, and recognize that clients may be purchasing them elsewhere.

Pig ear pet treats are making people sick. It’s not as if people are eating the treats, but they are touching them.

According to the FDA, humans are being exposed to several kinds of Salmonella, and that some of the cases are antibiotic resistant. The Salmonella exposure has a surprising link to the pig ear pet treats. The FDA and CDC are working together on this one. The findings show humans have touched the treats, fed them to their pets, became exposed and they got sick, across 35 states, some requiring hospitalization.

The advice is: throw them away. Don’t try to figure out which brand or bulk bin. Simply chuck them, in whatever packaging they’re in, and wash your hands thoroughly. The precise language is, “FDA and CDC continue to advise consumers to avoid all pig ear pet treats and retailers to stop selling all pig ear treats at this time.” In other words: no, just no. Full stop.

But wait, there’s more. Since Salmonella can get established in the pet’s gastrointestinal tract, and later shed the bacteria to humans, additional transfer methods need to be considered. 1) Thoroughly clean anything that may have been in contact with the treats. 2) Discourage pets from licking you or other family members, particularly in the face. 3) Always clean up the animal’s feces at home or when you’re out.

If you have questions, or think your pet may be ill, please contact us. It’s not a bother, and we’re here for you. In this instance we have to add, if you, yourself, have touched such treats and are feeling under the weather, don’t ignore it, and please do contact your doctor.

You know a hurricane is big when we get called to conduct pre-deployment examinations for the search and rescue dogs of Task Force 3. More properly called the Urban Search and Rescue California Task Force 3, or CA-TF3, it’s the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force based in Menlo Park, California. 

Sure enough, we got called, and Dr. Meghan Davis stepped up. Task Force 3 has been activated and are working toward likely deployment tomorrow. While you keep the whole area, and the Bahamas, in your thoughts and prayers, please include our local heroes and keep them in your thoughts and prayers as well. We want them to return home safe and sound.

One positive update for this particular disaster comes out of Martin County, Florida. They’ve opened their first-ever pet-friendly shelter, described as a ‘collaboration’ between the county officials and the school district officials. The shelter will hold up to 300 people and their pets.

We stand and applaud! Hopefully, this collaboration can make it easier by serving as a model to be copied in other counties in hurricane prone areas.

While it’s a no-brainer to acknowledge that many people simply will not evacuate to a shelter without their beloved animals, we also recognize that running one is a wee bit more complicated. Pet owners are asked to bring several items with them, including: a crate, shot records, current rabies vaccination certificate, county animal license tags, medications for the evacuee and their pet, food for the evacuee and their pet, cleaning supplies if necessary, newspaper or pet pad, and comfort items for the pet.

In terms of any evacuation, that’s the list we suggest pet owners to bring with them for any disaster. Beyond evacuation, when we talk about earthquake preparedness at home, we also emphasize first aid kits. All these suggestions are really good reminders that it’s a good time to double check your own kit. Also, feel free to contact us if you need a proper first aid kit, need additional meds, or can’t locate your shot records/rabies certificate.

As if the heat weren’t enough to worry about in the summer, now add Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) in streams and lakes where your dogs cool off to the list of worries.

If your dog likes to jump in a pool of water, don’t let them if you see blue-green algae.  It can poison them.  It can kill them.

If you already did let them hop in a pond and you’re not sure if blue-green algae was in it, here are the signs and symptoms that they have ingested some: Diarrhea or vomiting, drooling, blood in stool, pale mucous membranes, jaundice, weakness, disorientation or confusion, collapsing or unconsciousness, seizures, and breathing difficulties.

Blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, can be found in fresh water or salt water estuaries and it can contain toxins that can be fatal to dogs within minutes, hours, or days of exposure.  So, it’s just best to avoid altogether. That is also true for you, but dogs are more likely than people to ingest it when swimming.

Unlike green algae, blue-green algae can be fatal. Blue-green algae is on the rise due to factors like the use of crop fertilizer and rising temperatures due to climate change.  Cyanobacteria can vary in color. Aside from the familiar blue-green, harmful blooms may be blue, bright green, brown or red. They may resemble paint floating on the surface.

The heat is also a good reminder to make sure your pets are never left in cars, or confined spaces where heat can rise dramatically and fast. Aside from these two don’ts, the dos include: do provide shade, do hydrate a little extra and definitely do get out there and have fun this summer.

The short version is: if you get your dog food from us, you can ignore this issue.  Otherwise, you may have heard that the FDA is looking at what’s causing dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs eating certain types of pet food.

CBS News issued a story about the 16 different dog food brands being looked at by the FDA. NBC covered it as did other reputable media outlets. The issue is significant since DCM is a form of canine heart disease that can cause congestive heart failure in dogs, even sudden cardiac death.

Each of the 16 brands named represent the most reported cases. They typically are labeled as “grain-free” (90%), and typically with high levels of peas and lentils (93%). Researchers found that most dogs on this diet had low levels of taurine in their bloodstream. Taurine is an amino acid which is crucial for heart health. Researchers from UC Davis originally sounded the alarm, which led to a notable collaboration with the FDA, who started their own investigation and issued their report.

The good news is the UC Davis researchers also found that these new dietary cases can be reversible! That said, a complicating factor is that reversal isn’t necessarily a simple case of “stop feeding the food.”

Therefore, if your dog has been eating from the list of brands, you may want to consult with your veterinarian who may want to test your pet’s taurine level and get an echocardiogram. Changing the diet, or adding supplements, without prior testing can interfere with a correct diagnosis and delay appropriate care. Clinical signs of lethargy, weakness or coughing only appear in the late stages of the disease. DCM is a hidden disease in the early stages when it’s the most easily treatable.

The 16 most reported brands are as follows: Acana, Zignature, Taste of the Wild, 4Health, Earthborn Holistic, Blue Buffalo, Nature’s Domain, Fromm, Merrick, California Natural, Natural Balance, Orijen, Nature’s Variety, NutriSource, Nutro, and Rachael Ray Nutrish.

The issue raises the topic about how we choose the brands we carry here at Mid-Peninsula Animal Hospital(tm). We carry none of these brands, but some are popular and our clients may use them. We only carry prescription diets from long established manufacturers, which are regularly tested using scientifically-validated practices and peer-reviewed studies. Rigorous scientific testing isn’t cheap. It just isn’t.

It’s also not something you do once and stop. It’s continual. It’s a mindset. Case-in-point, last winter a brand we carry caught a “too much Vitamin D” issue *before* it became widespread. We heard it from them. Turns out, it affected some folks around Ohio. It proved the system works. None of our clients were affected, but that’s not the point. We need to trust the ongoing rigorous science and we need to trust the company.

But we are extraordinarily impressed by the level of collaboration and transparency we’ve seen with the FDA and the UC Davis researchers, who issued their own statement. We’re also impressed with the dog-owner social media groups who are not only getting the word out but collecting and submitting useful data. Way to go. We love data.

Clearly, if you have concerns, potentially want DCM screening or to set up time to consult with your veterinarian, just give us a call.

We’re a little worried. Recent reports of the Canine Influenza (CIV) outbreak coming out of Oakland became locally significant to us with newly confirmed cases in Sunnyvale, Campbell and Mountain View.  

We haven’t seen any cases at the hospital here yet. If we we do, we may start conducting Canine Influenza vaccination clinics like we did last winter.

Winter or summer, the concerns are the same, whether holiday boarding or summer vacation. If you haven’t vaccinated before, you need four or five weeks to get your dog ready. If your dog was vaccinated last year, you just need a booster shot.

One thing that matters is ‘herd immunity.’ Preventing an outbreak locally may be all about ‘herd immunity.’ The term sounds like it’s referring to a cluster of dogs, but it’s really the concept that refers to the entire population. ‘Herd immunity’ (or ‘community immunity’) is indirect protection from an infectious disease, which happens when a high-enough percentage becomes immune to infection, it provides some protection for those who can’t be vaccinated or are not themselves immune. CIV is highly contagious. The more contagious a disease, the higher the vaccination rate needs to be to achieve herd immunity.

So, even if you’re not boarding your dog for vacation, or you don’t take them to doggie day care, it’s likely your dog should still be vaccinated. The visit to the dog park, or walk around the block could expose them.

As a reminder, Canine Influenza vaccination requires two injections, three to four weeks apart, and an annual booster injection.

Humans don’t catch it from dogs. Dogs are shedding the virus before they show any symptoms, which makes Canine Influenza very contagious. It makes vaccination all the more important. The fatality rate is less than 10% and can be quite sudden. Unlike a human 24-hour flu, canine influenza recovery takes two to four weeks, which can be rough.

To learn more, or to refresh your recollection, check out Dr. Janet Lowery’s letter at the bottom of the 2018 blog post from when we conducted canine influenza vaccination clinics.

The current outbreak is confirmed as H3N2 – the same strain we experienced early in 2018. If it spreads our way we will issue an update, however be reminded: immunity takes two weeks after the second vaccination. Also, if your dog was vaccinated last year, it may be time for a booster. Headsup. Pay attention. No need to panic, but you can see why we might be a little worried.