MedVet and Columbus Veterinary Emergency Service relocation.
Announcing the relocation of MedVet and the Columbus Veterinary Emergency Service MedVet is a veterinary referral service. They offer specialists in radiology, orthopedics, ophthalmology, cardiology, dermatology, surgery, oncology, and internal medicine. Columbus Veterinary Emergency Service (CVES) is one of the area's emergency clinics. They are open nights, weekends, and holidays to care for sick or injured pets when your regular veterinary office is closed. Their new location is on Wilson Bridge Rd. in Worthington (see map.) Drs. Tom and Sue took a tour of the new facility during the MedVet/CVES open house and gave it their seal of approval.

"Why does my pet scratch so much?"
It is probably an allergic reaction. Allergies are the most common reason for itching in pets. An allergic "reaction" is an overreaction of the immune system to a foreign substance: an allergen. In dogs and cats, these overreactions show up in three forms:

In pets, the most common of these is itching, and it is most often generalized itching. It is often intense and extremely uncomfortable for the animal. On occasion, an animal will self-mutilate because the itch is so intense.

There are five known types of allergies in dogs in cats. They are:

• Contact allergy
• Flea allergy
• Inhalant allergy
• Food allergy
• Bacterial allergy

Contact allergy
Contact allergies are generally the easiest to treat. They result in a localized reaction of the skin. Good detective work can find the cause of the allergy, and removal of the offending substance generally puts an end to the allergic response.

Flea allergy
Most dogs and cats are irritated only locally by the bite of a flea, but in a flea allergic pet, a single flea can create a full body itch response. The allergic response is to the saliva of the flea, and many pets are presented to the veterinary clinic with large areas of hair loss and open sores from itching and chewing. Often the broken skin becomes infected, and the pet must be given antibiotics.

Obviously, removing all fleas from the pet and its environment is a necessity in controlling this type of allergy. You must begin a strict program of flea control which, with the new preventive products, is much easier than it used to be. Flea preventive treatments must be continued forever in the flea allergic pet since a single flea bite will set off a severe reaction. A few flea allergic pets benefit from a desensitization program in which tiny amounts of the flea antigen are injected over a prolonged period of time. If successful, itching no longer occurs or is less intense when a flea bites the pet, however, this approach does not have a high rate of success.

Inhalant allergy
This is the most common type of allergy in dogs and cats. They can be allergic to many of the same things that people are allergic to: tree, weed, and grass pollens, mold, mildew, and house dust mites. In humans, inhaling these allergens generally causes respiratory symptoms such as sneezing, coughing, and runny nose and eyes. In dogs and cats, they cause intense generalized itching. These allergies can be seasonal as in pollens, generally lasting only a few weeks, or year-round as in dust mites, mold, and mildew.

Treatment for inhaled allergies varies depending upon the length of the pet's allergies. The first is anti-inflammatory therapy. The medication, given either orally or by injection, blocks the allergic reaction in most cases. (In many patients, anti-inflammatory medication will cause an increase in water consumption and frequent urinations.) It is often given in combination with anti-histamines and sometimes, fatty acid supplements. This approach can give the allergic pet immense relief but (why is there always a but?), long-term use of anti-inflammatory medications has a high risk of serious side effects. These include: weight gain, vomiting, diarrhea, pancreatitis, liver damage, GI ulceration, diabetes mellitus, muscle wasting, behavioral changes, and hyperadrenocorticism (Cushings disease).

The second commonly used form of treatment is shampoo therapy. It has been shown that some allergens may be absorbed through the skin. Frequent baths with a hypoallergenic shampoo will give some relief. Shampoo therapy is often used in combination with anti-inflammatory therapy.

The third form of treatment is hyposensitization. There are two approaches to determining what your pet is allergic to, a blood test or an intradermal test.

Once the offending substances have been identified, a vial of "allergy serum" is compounded by a veterinary pharmacy. Weekly injections containing very small amounts of these allergens are given. The purpose of this therapy is to reprogram the body's immune system. Although it may take several months to see any signs of improvement, if the pet does improve, the "allergy shots" are continued, sometimes for several years. The main drawback of this treatment is its cost. Also, the pet must be off all anti-inflammatory medications for 30 days prior to the test being performed, as these drugs will interfere with test results. Sometimes that can be a very long time for an allergic pet. And last, there is no guarantee that it will work. Generally speaking, about 50% of patients have an excellent response, 25% get partial to good response, and 25% get little or no response. These statistics are also true for humans who undergo hyposensitization.

Food allergy
This is not an uncommon allergy. The patient develops an allergic response to a component of their pet food. Any food or food ingredient can cause an allergy, however, protein, usually derived from the meat source is the most likely offender. Proteins commonly found in dog foods are derived from beef, chicken, lamb, and horsemeat, and in cat foods, they are from fish, beef, and chicken. The allergic response can be itching, digestive disorders, or respiratory symptoms. Testing for food allergy is done by switching the pet to a hypoallergenic diet. It is absolutely necessary that the pet not be allowed to eat anything other than the special diet. We cannot emphasize this enough. If the diet is not fed exclusively, the test results will not be meaningful. (If your pet is undergoing a food allergy test, remember to not use chewable heartworm preventive. Speak to the veterinarian about using a different form of heartworm preventive during this trial period.) This test generally runs for 8-12 weeks.

Bacterial allergy
Staphylococcus, commonly referred to as staph, is a bacterium normally found on skin. If the skin is normal and the immune system is performing normally, the staph causes no problems. However, some animals will develop an allergy to staph. They develop areas of hair loss that look much like ringworm. These same lesions occur in true staph infections but the "staph-allergic" pet has recurrent staph infections. The lesions generally clear with appropriate antibiotics but return soon after the antibiotics are discontinued. Treatment of a staph allergy involves antibiotics to control the immediate infection and desensitization with staph antigen for long-term relief.

The Hiser family
Having 9 dogs, 3 cats, and 3 kids living in her house, Kim Hiser gets asked a lot of questions. This month she will answer the frequently asked questions.

And last, everyone wants to know all about each of the dogs so here is a brief bio on each: (The definitions for each of the title codes follow this article.)

Quincy is a Golden Retriever rescued through an organization called Golden Endings. He is 13. He was a dog that we were fostering and we just couldn't give him up. He has severe hip dysplasia that has kept him from showing at dog shows. He passed the Canine Good Citizen Test (CGC) and is a certified therapy dog.

Conner is a 5-year-old Golden Retriever. Conner came to us from a breeder when he was 7 months. He has obedience titles (CD and U-CD), agility titles (NA, NAJ, OA, and OAJ) and my husband shows him in field trials. He is in the top 10 in the country in his division. Conner also has his CGC and is a certified therapy dog.

Lexi, a 4-year-old Golden Retriever, came from the same breeder as Conner. Lexi has her CGC and is a certified therapy dog. She is in training for field trials and obedience.

Della is a 3-month-old Golden Retriever. She is our newest addition and from the same breeder as Conner and Lexi. I hope to show her in conformation, agility, obedience, and field trials.

Buck is a 5-year-old Border Terrier. He came to us from a breeder and is shown in obedience, agility, and earthdog trials. He has his UCD, NA, NAJ, and SE titles. He, too, is in the top 10 in the country in his division. He has passed the CGC test and is a certified therapy dog.

Cori, a 4-year-old Border Terrier came from the same breeder as Buck. Cori doesn't like to show unless the conditions are perfect. He hates it when it's too hot, too cold, or if it is raining. He is trained for agility and has passed his CGC test and is a certified therapy dog.

Teasel is a 1-year-old Border Terrier. Teasel has 11 of the 15 points needed to complete her breed championship. She is currently ranked 18th in the country in her division. She is also training for agility and obedience and has passed the intro test to earthdog work.

Twist, a 3-year-old Sheltie came to live with us when he was 4 months old. He is my 10-year-old daughter's dog. She has been 100% responsible for his care and training. She has shown him in agility and has earned titles and placements. They are also training for obedience.

Roo, a 4-year-old Sheltie was a rescue dog. My 7-year-old son adopted him this summer. He is responsible for all of his care and training. They are training for agility and obedience.

The Cats - Nya and Jordan are the daughter and son of our clinic cat Nya. They are 4 years old. Candy is 3 years old. Her owner was moving and needed to find her a new home.

Title definitions
CD - Companion Dog
U-CD - United Kennel Club Companion Dog
NA - Novice Agility
NAJ - Novice Agility Jumpers
OA - Open Agility
OAJ - Open Agility Jumpers
SE - Senior Earthdog
IQ - Introduction to Quarry
CGC - Canine Good Citizen

We've asked Kim to write some articles for future newsletters about these different classes and to discuss canine sports like FlyBall and lure coursing.

East Hilliard Veterinary Services wins First Place!
We are pleased to report that the Hilliard Garden Club selected East Hilliard Veterinary Services as the First Place Winner in the commercial category of the 4th Annual Hilliard Landscape Design Contest. Dr Tom and many of his staff put in a lot of effort this year. Our thanks to the Hilliard Garden Club and the sponsors of the contest which include Sealy's Landscape Design and Nursery, Creative Spaces Landscape Design, Grandon Floral Design, Buckeye Spas, Big Bear Plus, and Mr. Mulch.

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