Holiday Hazards for Pets

The holiday season has begun, unfortunately the holidays can mean sick and injured pets if the pet owners are not cautious.

The consumption of “human foods” and alcohol may make your pet seriously ill.  Turkey skin or drippings may cause a serious gastrointestinal problem for the dog or cat.  Alcohol consumption by a dog or cat can lead to death and/or a prolonged costly illness.

Older animals are often stressed by the holiday happenings.  This stress may result in an increased susceptibility to illness.  Often stress is exhibited by intolerance to guests in the home, by biting, or scratching behavior.  The older pet should be introduced slowly to the holiday guests.  It is important that the pet continue to receive attention and petting during the busy times.  Car travel can be a potential heavy stress for the dog and cat.  Being left alone for extended periods of time may add to the pet’s stress.

Keep your pet safe and healthy this holiday season, at the first signs of illness contact your veterinarian.

The staff of EmergencyAnimal Clinic wish you and your family

a safe and healthy holiday season.

Canine Blood Bank Here to Stay

We are so excited to partner with Canine Blood Heroes to provide live-saving blood to help save dogs' lives in the Phoenix metropolitan area.  Letty and Zeppelin were pre-screened and identified as having the much needed "universal blood type".  These two brave doggies donated blood during the official opening weekend.  Canine Blood Heroes will continue to hold regular blood-typing clinics in order to find more potential matches and donors (aka Heroes).  Every canine donor can save up to 20 lives!  Potential canine donors must be up to date on vaccines,
at least 50 pounds, and willing to commit to the program for 2 years. 

Want to learn more?  Click here to view the Fox 10 News report.

Soldier's Best Friend: Dogs Helping Veterans Heal

Have you ever felt the healing power and solitude that comes from the unconditional love of a pet?

 

Hope Emergency Animal Rescue (HEAR) and Emergency Animal Clinic have partnered with Soldier’s Best Friend  to help place stray dogs with soldiers from the US military. The Soldier’s Best Friend mission is: “To provide United States military veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) with a trained Service or Therapeutic Companion Dog, most of these dogs of which will be rescued from local shelters. This is accomplished by pairing the veteran with a rescued dog who then train together until graduation.”

 

Thanks to HEAR’s partnership with the Emergency Animal Clinic a call for help was recently received and an amazing story unfolded.  We are proud to announce our 1st successful placement of a stray dog with a veteran.  Meet Justin and Roxy. 

 

 Roxy's story: A young couple accidentally found a boxer mix female, 1.5 years old, at the bottom of a dumpster too weak to stand or cry out for help. The Good Samaritans got her out of the dumpster and took her home.  The couple was more than willing to care for her until she gained weight.  She remained with them and was given the name Roxy.  During the weeks of recovery, and through HEAR's partnership with Soldier's Best Friend, Roxy was specifically selected and approved to be a part of the program. Roxy was introduced to Justin (a veteran) and his family. They immediately fell in love.  Roxy was a perfect match!  Roxy's journey is not over.  She still has 6 months of service dog training before she graduates the program.  We wish Roxy and Justin the best success as they continue to learn and love each other.

 

 

Your Dog Can Save Lives

Emergency Animal Clinic is pleased to announce our partnership with Canine Blood Heroes® to help save dogs’ lives.  Dogs need transfusions, just like people.  They can lose blood in an accident, surgery, or have life threatening diseases that destroy red blood cells or prevent blood cells from clotting.  The demand for canine blood and plasma is increasing.  Through the help of willing canine volunteers (aka heroes), the much needed supply can be met. 

Canine Blood Heroes® has helped save the lives of 600-700 dogs since 2009. This organization has decided to expand its operation and the newest location will be housed at the Emergency Animal Clinic in Phoenix, AZ.  Could your dog be part of this blood donation program and help save lives?  Please look for further information about date and times for the next blood typing clinic.  Blood typing is the first important step to determine if your pet qualifies to be an active participant. 

Pre-anesthetic Labwork


Q:  Why does my pet need blood work prior to any type of surgical procedure?
A:  Most veterinarians recommend pre-anesthetic blood work, also known as pre-surgical blood work, prior to performing surgery.  These tests help your veterinarian evaluate your pet's internal organ function prior to administering pre anesthetic drugs.  Often, these diagnostics provide key information which may influence the anesthetic protocol that your veterinarian chooses.

Doctors at Emergency Animal Clinic will discuss your pet's treatment plan and options with you prior to performing any type of surgery.  We run our pre-anesthetic blood work "in-house" to help ensure that the results are completed in an accurate and timely manner.  Our staff believes that pre-anesthetic blood work is an important tool.  Our goal: we want your pet's anesthetic and surgical experience to be successful.

For further information, click on the video link below.
Video: Pre-anesthetic Labwork

A Partnership to Help Sick and Injured Stray Animals

 

HOPE EMERGENCY ANIMAL RESCUE

 

Did you know that since 2010, Hope Emergency Animal Rescue (HEAR) has rescued 8,023 stray animals?  How does this organization work?  HEAR is a 501-c3 non-profit and an all volunteer organization. HEAR partners with the valley’s premier 24 hour Emergency Animal Clinic (EAC).  Sick or injured stray animals may be taken to any of the five EAC locations at no cost when found by firefighters, police officers or good Samaritans.  HEAR's ultimate goal is to build a no-kill sanctuary where many pets will have a home where they can be rehabilitated while they wait for their forever home.  You can help HEAR meet their goal by donating money towards this wonderful cause.  To learn more, click here to visit HEAR's website.

Pet First Aid- Are you prepared?

You never know when an accident will happen.  Keeping a pet emergency kit at your home is a good idea. A smaller kit could be used in the car. You can put a first aid kit together yourself and buy the items separately, or buy one ready-made. If you make one yourself, use a small plastic tub with a tight fitting lid to store the following items:

Your Kit Should Include: Batteries A Flashlight Cotton balls and swabs Scissors Tweezers Sterile gauze pads and bandages First aid tape Antibacterial ointment Hydrogen peroxide Rubbing alcohol Antiseptic wipes A muzzle A leash A splint Styptic powder to stop bleeding Prescription medications (for you and your pets) Sterile latex gloves Eye wash A book on human and pet first aid Benadryl A blanket A large bottle of water Self-activating hot pack Self-activating ice pack Hydrocortisone cream Copies of veterinary documents Thermometer Important Phone Numbers
•	Veterinary clinic phone number and directions to the clinic
•	Emergency clinic phone number and directions
•	Poison control center phone numbers

Building a First Aid Kit Isn't Enough
Purchasing or building a kit is a great first step, but won't be a lot of help in the event of an emergency if you are not familiar with how and when to use the items. I would highly recommend any or all of the following to be prepared in the event of an emergency:

• Take a pet first aid class - check with your veterinarian, community college or the Red Cross.
• Read pet first aid or animal health books - also a good idea to include one in the kit.
• Use the Jive Media iPhone app for Pet First Aid or similar (there are several) - to familiarize yourself and have "on hand" at all times.
• Familiarize yourself with pet emergency clinics - in your area and to places you travel to.