Meadowbrook Animal Clinic

09/18/2024

While Dr Pytel is off doing his civic duty (😬) we will be here from 9am-1pm. We will be back tomorrow 9/19 at 9 am🤞🏻

09/14/2024

We will be CLOSED Saturday September 14
We will reopen Monday September 16 at 9 am
Emergencies call AEC 248-651-1788

08/30/2024

We will be CLOSED 8/31-9/2
We will reopen Tuesday 9/3 at 9 am
Have a safe and happy Labor Day🇺🇸

08/26/2024

Happy National Dog Day from our dogs!🐶

07/11/2024

Upcoming hours!
Friday July 12 9am-1pm
Saturday July 13 CLOSED
We will be back Monday July 15 at 9am
Have a great weekend!

07/03/2024

We will be CLOSED July 4th!
Have a safe holiday 🇺🇸

06/18/2024

Protect your pets!

Transmitted through tick bites, Lyme disease can be hard to detect and cause serious, recurring health issues. It's best to prevent it by preventing tick bites.

05/24/2024

Holiday Hours
We will be CLOSED Saturday May 25-Monday May 27
We will be back in the office Tuesday May 28 at 9 am
Chase says he hopes you have a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend!

05/18/2024

We will be CLOSED Monday May 20! We will reopen Tuesday May 21 at 9 am! Have a great weekend!

04/18/2024

Please be careful when picking diets for your pups!

Skye thoroughly enjoyed her belly rubs from Dr. Brown at her visit yesterday! 😊 She is a definite success story! ❤️

Skye first came to our office a year ago for coughing and an enlarged heart. Her echocardiogram showed severe heart disease (dilated cardiomyopathy / DCM). DCM is a disease characterized by significant loss of pumping function (myocardial failure) that leads to heart enlargement and heart failure. DCM can happen if a dog carries the genetic mutation for the disease, in which case the disease is incurable and progressive.

However, DCM-like changes can also be seen in dogs eating diets containing high levels of peas, chickpeas, pea fibers, lentils and other legumes. These ingredients are most commonly found in grain-free formulations of dog foods. It is thought that these specific ingredients lead to a toxicity over time that affects the heart muscle and causes myocardial failure.

When we first saw Skye, she had been eating one of these diets so she was immediately transitioned to a diet that did not include these ingredients. She was also started on several heart medications to support her heart function and to attempt to keep her out of heart failure.

It’s impossible to know for sure whether an individual has the genetic form of DCM versus nutritional DCM until response to medications/diet change can be documented. The former will not improve and will continue to progress, while the latter can sometimes improve or resolve completely with a diet change and medications.

Thankfully, Skye responded very well to the diet change and medications and we saw gradual improvement in her heart dimensions and function over the past year. Yesterday’s echocardiogram showed that her heart is now back to a normal size with normal function! This is the absolute best case scenario and (sadly) doesn’t happen for every dog who has nutritional DCM.

Not all dogs who eats these diets will develop heart disease, but pet owners should be aware of the potential risks of feeding diets high in these specific ingredients. They are still widely available in pet food stores so make sure to read the ingredient labels.

We were so happy to give Skye’s owner the good news! She was also happy to start safely cutting back on her medications 😊❤️

04/03/2024

It’s gnat time again! Just a reminder gnat bites are nothing to worry about and they will go away on there own. ☺️🐶🐾

02/04/2024

Happy Sunday!

01/13/2024

We would like to give a HUGE thank you to the family, Sophie & Harley for donating our new picture board! We absolutely love it! Now all we need to do is fill it with pictures of your pets! Feel free to drop us off your favorite picture for us to display!

12/21/2023

HOLIDAY HOURS
SAT 12/23 CLOSED
MON 12/25 CLOSED

12/02/2023

It’s official! Sign is finally up!

11/29/2023

Here is an update on the respiratory illness affecting dogs across the country from the Michigan Department of Agriculture-

For immediate release: November 29, 2023
MDARD and MSU VDL Encourage Dog Owners to Work with Their Veterinarians to Best Protect their Pets from Respiratory Illnesses

At this time, MDARD has not received any reports of atypical canine infectious respiratory illness in Michigan dogs

LANSING, MI— As reports and concerns over an atypical canine infectious respiratory illness affecting dogs across the nation continue to grow, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) and the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (MSU VDL) encourage dog owners to remain vigilant regarding their pet’s health and to work closely with their veterinarian if they notice signs of illness. There are multiple causes of infectious respiratory diseases in dogs, many of which can be prevented or minimized through routine vaccination or timely veterinary care.

“While the exact cause of this illness remains unknown, taking some basic steps to prevent a dog’s exposure to harmful germs can go a long way to protecting their overall health,” said State Veterinarian Nora Wineland, DVM, MS, DACVPM. “If owners notice respiratory symptoms (such as coughing, sneezing, or nasal discharge) in their dogs, it is important to reach out to their veterinarian early on in their animal’s illness so diagnostic testing can be completed and an appropriate course of treatment can begin.”

In general, the illness is contagious, spreading among dogs that have contact with other dogs. The only way to distinguish between the multiple causes of infectious respiratory disease in dogs is through early diagnostic testing. Signs of the disease include coughing, sneezing, nasal and/or eye discharge, fever, loss of appetite, and lethargy. Coughing may persist for weeks to months, and severe forms of the disease can progress to life-threatening pneumonia.

To best keep Michigan’s dogs safe and healthy, MDARD strongly encourages owners to:

- Work with their veterinarian to ensure their dog is up to date on routine vaccinations.
- Make sure their dog is fully vaccinated before interacting with other dogs.
-Avoid food and water bowls shared by multiple unknown dogs.
- Contact their veterinarian if their dog is exhibiting any signs of illness and keep their dog at home and away from other dogs.
- Keep their dog away from dogs that are sick or whose vaccination status is unknown.

We will update you as we get updates. The important thing to remember is that as of today according to the Michigan Department of Agriculture there have been no cases reported in Michigan.