POLK VETERINARY CLINIC

02/14/2025

Oregon Department of Agriculture has reported that two cats from different households in Multnomah County became ill with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI H5N1) after eating the same raw food: Wild Coast LLC – Boneless Free Range Chicken Formula, Lots #22660 and #22664 – Best By Date 12/2025. Both cats were euthanized due to their illnesses. If you have either of these food lots, stop feeding it immediately.

Update: Wild Coast has expanded the recall of its 16 oz and 24 oz frozen Boneless Free Range Chicken Formula raw pet food for cats, which was distributed to pet food retailers in WA & OR due to H5N1. The affected lots are identified by a sticker on the lid with a number of #22660, #22653, #22641, #22639, #22672 and #22664 with a Best Buy date of 12/25. The recall is widened to include any raw material sharing similar production dates and lot codes as the previously noted #22660 and #22664.

Tips to help protect your pet from HPAI:
* Do not feed your pet undercooked or raw meat, including uncooked or freeze-dried meat-based diets, treats, or animal products.
* Do not feed your pet raw (unpasteurized) milk or colostrum.
* Prevent pets from eating birds or other wild animals.
* Wash your hands after touching raw meat and after interacting with poultry, livestock or animals outside your household.
* Consider changing clothing and shoes after interacting with animals or birds with unknown health status and before interacting with your own pets.
* Contact your veterinarian if your pet appears sick. Tell your veterinarian if your pet has been exposed to raw meat, raw milk, or wild waterfowl.

01/17/2025

Please be aware - we do not recommend feeding raw.

A new source of exposure highly pathogenic avian influenza is affecting cats: raw diets containing poultry such as duck, turkey, or chicken that were contaminated with the virus. Cats appear to be particularly susceptible to severe illness from H5N1, often resulting in death.

01/02/2025

FYI Verizon customers - we've been unable to call your phones reliably for a few weeks without resorting to a cell phone at times. Per our phone company this is a Verizon issue and a repeat of what happened 6 months ago?? So if you get a blocked call it might be us or if you aren't getting calls from someone else out there maybe check in as I suspect it is not just us. Sorry for any inconvenience.

12/05/2024

Right?

09/14/2024

Dogs are the best. 💛

Posted • Dogs are the best therapists: they’re great listeners & they prefer to be paid in food! 😍🐶

07/20/2024

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has reported that several dogs were sickened by salmon poisoning in the Newport area. Salmon poisoning disease (fish disease) is a potentially fatal condition seen in dogs who have ingested certain types of raw fish found in the Pacific Northwest from San Francisco to the coast of Alaska. It is most prevalent from northern California to the Puget Sound. It is also seen inland along the rivers of fish migration.

Salmon, trout, and other fish such as the lamprey, sculpin, redside shiner, shad, sturgeon, candlefish and the large-scale sucker who spend their lives in coastal streams and rivers in the Pacific Northwest can be infected with the organism Neorickettsia helmonthoeca.

Symptoms To Watch For
If not treated, salmon poisoning disease is usually fatal within 2 weeks after exposure. The symptoms of salmon poisoning disease are similar to other gastrointestinal diseases such as canine parvovirus. If infected, your dog would likely show some or all of the following symptoms about 6 to 10 days after ingesting fish which were carrying the bacteria. Symptoms may be of variable severity but generally consist of:
* Fever, often greater than 104 F
* Depression
* Anorexia
* Vomiting
* Diarrhea
* Nasal or eye discharge
* Weight loss

If you know your dog has ingested raw fish and it exhibits any of the symptoms listed above, notify your veterinarian immediately. If identified in time, salmon poisoning disease is treatable. A helpful part of the diagnosis is telling your veterinarian that your dog ate raw fish, even if you only suspect that may be the case.

Prevention
* Control what your dog eats while on fishing trips.
* Leash your dog at the beach or river so that you can monitor its activities.
* Wrap garbage, especially fish entrails, and dispose in well-secured cans.
* Don't feed raw fish to your dog. Cook fish thoroughly or deep-freeze it for a minimum of 2 weeks to destroy the parasite before feeding it to your dog.

07/20/2024

Very common but treatable especially if caught early.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has reported that several dogs were sickened by salmon poisoning in the Newport area. Salmon poisoning disease (fish disease) is a potentially fatal condition seen in dogs who have ingested certain types of raw fish found in the Pacific Northwest from San Francisco to the coast of Alaska. It is most prevalent from northern California to the Puget Sound. It is also seen inland along the rivers of fish migration.

Salmon, trout, and other fish such as the lamprey, sculpin, redside shiner, shad, sturgeon, candlefish and the large-scale sucker who spend their lives in coastal streams and rivers in the Pacific Northwest can be infected with the organism Neorickettsia helmonthoeca.

Symptoms To Watch For
If not treated, salmon poisoning disease is usually fatal within 2 weeks after exposure. The symptoms of salmon poisoning disease are similar to other gastrointestinal diseases such as canine parvovirus. If infected, your dog would likely show some or all of the following symptoms about 6 to 10 days after ingesting fish which were carrying the bacteria. Symptoms may be of variable severity but generally consist of:
* Fever, often greater than 104 F
* Depression
* Anorexia
* Vomiting
* Diarrhea
* Nasal or eye discharge
* Weight loss

If you know your dog has ingested raw fish and it exhibits any of the symptoms listed above, notify your veterinarian immediately. If identified in time, salmon poisoning disease is treatable. A helpful part of the diagnosis is telling your veterinarian that your dog ate raw fish, even if you only suspect that may be the case.

Prevention
* Control what your dog eats while on fishing trips.
* Leash your dog at the beach or river so that you can monitor its activities.
* Wrap garbage, especially fish entrails, and dispose in well-secured cans.
* Don't feed raw fish to your dog. Cook fish thoroughly or deep-freeze it for a minimum of 2 weeks to destroy the parasite before feeding it to your dog.

07/10/2024

When visiting the lake, river or reservoir this summer, please be on the lookout for cyanobacteria (toxic algae) blooms.

Blooms may look like mats floating in the water or stuck on the bottom or the shore. Watch for waters that look suspicious—foamy, scummy, thick like paint, pea-green, blue-green or brownish red, or with bright green cells suspended in the water column. When in doubt, stay out!

Dogs have become very sick and even died after swimming in and swallowing water affected by toxic algae. If you find thick, brightly colored foam or scum at a lake, pond or river, don’t let your pet drink or swim in the water. Avoid contact with the water, as toxins can be absorbed through the skin.

Exposure to toxic blue-green algae can result in the following symptoms in dogs:
* Weakness or collapse
* Nausea, vomiting
* Excessive drooling
* Abdominal pain
* Diarrhea
* Difficulty breathing
* Shaking, trembling
* Tremors, rigidity, paralysis

If your dog goes into the water:
* Don’t let your pet lick its fur.
* Wash your pet with clean water as soon as possible.
* If your dog has symptoms such as drooling, weakness, vomiting, staggering and convulsions after being in water, **seek immediate veterinary care**. Acute, life-threatening symptoms from cyanobacterial toxins often develop rapidly. Death can occur within minutes to hours after exposure.

A *permanent* advisory covers the South Umpqua River from Canyonville downstream to the confluence with the mainstem Umpqua River, and the mainstem Umpqua River downstream past Elkton to Sawyers Rapids. Pools in the bedrock along the rivers edge are known to develop cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) blooms that can be harmful to pets and people if accidental ingestion occurs.

Not all waterways in Oregon are monitored for cyanobacteria, which is why owners need to be vigilant. When advisories are issued, we post them here: https://www.oregonvma.org/toxic-algae-advisories

04/30/2024

I bet some of you can relate (dog or cat!)