Animal Care Hospital
Newsletter	Summer 2010
Animal Care Hospital 8565 Hwy 64 Somerville,TN 38068 901-466-9225 www.1animalcare.com Veterinarians Dr. Melanie Galloway Dr. Stephen Galloway Ready Refills-Please call 24hours in advance so we can make sure your refill will be ready. Check us out on Facebook.	Hot Topic!      Memphis and the Peabody Hotel recently played host to the American Heartworm Society meeting. Since the meeting I have been inundated with questions about heartworm prevention. At the meeting some initial research was presented addressing concerns that our current heartworm preventions are not as effective as in the past. At this time there is NO CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE that one preventative is more effective than another, as opposed to the recent hysteria that has been stirred up. There are some areas of concern, however. The average owner in our area only purchases 6 pills ANNUALLY. Preventative must be given every 30 days all year, not “once monthly” as we used to say. There is concern that some genetic resistance in the heartworm cycle may be developing. This is true of all the classes of prevention and no recommendations have been made by the Heartworm Society. Interceptor and ProHeart6 are still our choice for solid protection.      Please don’t abandon your heartworm prevention and fall prey to the hysteria! Be more vigilant and give that pill every 30 days or get the ProHeart6 injection every 180 days. Call if you have questions. Hot Days Ahead      As the temperature moves into the 90’s we start to see more overheated dogs. Everyone knows not to leave their pet in a hot car but what about a hot backyard. Make sure that your pet has plenty of shade and cool water and even a fan. Pets that get wrapped up in chains and then can’t get to shade and water overheat quickly when the heat index is 100. Come home at lunch and provide cool water or even a nice rinse in the hose.      Signs of heat stroke include rectal temps. over 104F, excessive panting, disorientation, dark or deep red gums and tongue, vomiting or diarrhea, coma and death. If you find your pet with these signs, wet them down with cool (not cold) water or get them under a fan and bring them in to the hospital ASAP. Call our office when you are on the way. Indoor Cats  Many of our indoor only cats don’t need all of the vaccines every year. There are what we call core and non-core vaccines based on lifestyle and risk factors. In our area the Rabies vaccine is required yearly. What they do need is an annual or twice yearly (in older cats) physical exam and consultation. Many problems can be easily managed if they are addressed early. I also encourage you to keep flea control products such as Revolution on you indoor or outdoor cat year round. Fleas and mosquitoes are not “outdoors only”!