Laurel Road Veterinary Clinic

06/07/2024

Last week we posted about the dangers of hot ground surfaces. This week, its all about hot cars.

Deaths happen fast in cars as temperatures rise. In fact, it takes just six minutes, at most, for an animal to suffer severe heat exhaustion. This can lead to death. Remember also that the most common way for dogs to cool themselves down is by panting, making it extra hard for them to beat the heat. As a dog’s body temperature rises, there are dangers to its cells and organs. As organs begin to shut down, the animal can go into shock. Without immediate action, the dog can die.

There is a great educational link provided that will give you some more information and also give you signs to watch for if your pet is experiencing a heat stroke or another emergency from exposure to extreme heat. As always, please feel free to reach out to us during our business hours for any help you may need or questions you may have.

https://www.hsnt.org/post/the-dangers-of-leaving-dogs-in-cars

06/05/2024

there is something special about black kitties🥰

05/31/2024

How hot is too hot? As we enter the summer months and the weather gets blazing hot, it’s important to keep your dog protected from sunburn and UV rays. Knowing how to protect your dog in hot weather, and protect their paws from hot pavement, is critical.

It is vital to test the ground first. Scorching surfaces are especially damaging to puppies with sensitive young paws. If the temperature is 85 degrees or over without the chance for the pavement to cool down, the ground may be too hot for safely walking a dog. If it is too hot for you, it is too hot for your furry friends.

There is a very informative link for you to check out that gives you warning signs if your dog has been exposed to excessive temperatures and how to avoid tragedy due to heat. Of course, if you have questions or feel your pet is experiencing an emergency, please feel free to call the hospital during business hours and speak to any of our qualified team members.

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/dog-paws-hot-pavement/

05/18/2024

In honor of our brachycephalic buddies ,we wanted to bring to your attention a study being conducted by the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Please see the link below if you would be interested in participating or just drop a picture of your “flat faced friend” in the comments!

Calling all proud parents of a Frenchie, English Bulldog, or a flat-faced dog! 🐾 Your pup could help shape the future of brachycephalic care! Join our clinical research trial at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine and let's sniff out solutions for Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS)!

What's in it for you and your adorable companion? A chance to make a positive impact while receiving top-notch care and a $100 incentive toward future BOAS treatment.

Together, let's give them the quality of life they deserve! Fill out the interest form at https://go.ufl.edu/zfu8g83.

05/10/2024

FEATURED PET FRIDAY!

Happy Friday! We are back for another . Meet Happy! Happy is an 11 year-old Dachshund mix. Happy presented to LRVC for increased frequency in urination. After a physical exam and urinalysis, it was determined that Happy had a urinary tract infection. Unfortunately, after a round of antibiotics, Happy’s infection was not resolved and so we had to investigate further. An x-ray of her abdomen revealed that she had bladder stones. Although certain types of stones can be dissolved with special prescription diets, this could take weeks to months and meanwhile, the patient may be uncomfortable. Therefore, we decided it was in Happy’s best interest to surgically remove the stones. This surgical procedure is called a cystotomy. A small incision is made into the bladder to remove large stones. The bladder is then flushed out to remove any remaining small stones.

Bladder stones in dogs are usually the result of urinary tract infections, which alters the pH of the urine causing certain minerals to precipitate out and form stones called Struvites. These types of stones are prevented by routinely checking your dog’s urine for infection to prevent the changes in urine pH. There are also several other types of stones that can form in a dog’s bladder that are due to an individuals genetics/breeds. Those patients often times need special diets to prevent the formation of those types of stones.

Happy is fully recovered and doing great! She is now on a urinary prescription diet to help her from forming these stones in the future.

If your pet is having signs of increased urination, accidents in the house, straining to urinate or you are seeing blood in the urine, it is important to have them checked as soon as possible.

05/02/2024

We are skipping our usual Friday post to recognize one of our core team members that is leaving us to move to Tennessee.

Katt, thank you for all your dedication and hard work over the last 6 years! Things around here will not be the same without you. You have always been a team player, lending a hand for anyone that has asked for help. We wish you the best of luck with all your future endeavors. We hope you enjoy the snow. But don’t forget this hospital and the beach will always be here when you visit!

Love,
LRVC 🫶🏻

04/26/2024

FEATURED PET FRIDAY!

Welcome back for another week of . April is heartworm disease prevention month. so this week we are discussing Gracie, a heartworm positive dog.

Gracie is a 6 year-old mixed breed dog that was brought in by her owners because she had tested positive for heartworm disease and required heartworm treatment. Animals are infected with heartworms from the bite of an infected mosquito. A pivotal prerequisite for heartworm transmission is a climate that provides adequate temperature and humidity to support a viable mosquito population. This is why we recommend animals stay on heartworm preventions year round, especially here in Florida where the temperatures are a breeding ground for mosquitoes. However, heartworm infection has been diagnosed in all 50 states and around the globe.

The American Heartworm Society recommends annual screening for all dogs over 7 months of age with both an antigen and a microfilaria test. Heartworm tests are easy to perform. In most cases, we perform what is called a snap test in the hospital that gives us a result in 10 minutes. In some cases, if we get a positive result, we can perform what is called a microfilaria test, which includes a small amount of blood on a glass slide that is examined under the microscope and if positive, we can actually see the worms in the blood.

Heartworm positive dogs must undergo heartworm treatment. Heartworm treatment is costly and unfortunately, can be painful to the pet. The goals of heartworm treatment is to eliminate all life stages of the heartworms (microfilariae, larval stages, juveniles, and adults) with minimal post-treatment complications. Treatment includes several injections into the muscle over several months. During heartworm treatment, the pet will be under strict exercise restrictions which can be difficult for both pet and owner.

The good news is, heartworm disease is PREVENTABLE! We offer a variety of different heartworm medications that include oral/topical monthly preventions or a yearly injectable prevention. A heartworm test is required in order to start preventions as well as to stay on preventions. If you do not have your pet on a heartworm prevention, please call us and we can set up an appointment for your pet. And if you would like to learn more about heartworm disease, diagnosis and treatment, please visit the link below.

https://www.heartwormsociety.org/veterinary-resources/american-heartworm-society-guidelineshttps://www.heartwormsociety.org/veterinary-resources/american-heartworm-society-guidelines

You will be happy to know that Gracie successfully completed her treatment and has been heartworm negative ever since!

04/23/2024

Wanted to Share, Here are Adorable Retriever Mix Pups looking for their Fur-Ever Home. If you are Interested Please reach out to Elaina (925-784-2111)

04/23/2024

Last week, Dr. Ilene invited the doctors and staff to participate in a fun night of painting! We painted our pets and enjoyed some great grub as an instructor helped guide us. Take a look at our masterpieces!

04/19/2024

FEATURED PET FRIDAY!

It's that time of the week again for another . We would like to introduce Hank who is a 2 year-old German Shorthaired Pointer. Hank is a very sweet boy who loves to play, especially with tennis balls. Hank also suffers from separation anxiety and has to stay in a crate when his owners are away. Hank was brought into us because his owners were concerned that he had broken a tooth from chewing on his crate.

On physical exam, Dr. Stager noticed that Hank had indeed broken his canine tooth.
Canines are the large fang-like teeth found towards the front of your dog’s mouth. These teeth were originally used for tearing food such as meat apart. With domestication of dogs, they now are mainly used to lock onto an item a dog may have in its mouth, such as a bone or chew toy (or in Hank's case a crate). Hank had a unique type of fracture called a "slab fracture." This type of fracture is where a slice of the crown separates from the tooth often exposing the pulp cavity.

If you look at the 1st picture down below, you can see a portion of the crown has sliced off (blue arrow) and a small red/pink dot at the tip of the tooth which is exposed pulp cavity (red arrow). The pulp cavity is the most inner part of the tooth and contains all of the blood vessels and nerves. Pulp exposure is VERY painful and can also lead to infection. Fractured teeth with pulp exposure need one of two treatments: root canal or extraction. In Hank's case, it was opted to extract the tooth. He was set up for surgery and the 2nd picture below is once Hank's canine tooth was removed. After surgery, Hank was put on oral antibiotics and pain medication and was on a strict soft food diet for 2 weeks. He, unfortunately, had to give up his tennis balls and other toys for a few weeks while his mouth was healing.

Hank's story is a great reminder to avoid hard chews: tough bones, deer antlers, cow hooves, and Nylabones. Our rule of thumb here at Laurel Road is to only provide chewing objects that you can dent with your fingernail. Always supervise your dogs when they are working on a chew toy, and regularly peek under those lips to look for signs of trouble. If you're familiar with what the teeth look like normally, it will be easier to spot changes that could be a cause for concern!

04/05/2024

FEATURED PET FRIDAY!

Welcome back to our second case for . This week we have Maui, a 3 year-old German Shepherd that presented to us as an emergency. Maui had swallowed something and was having difficulty breathing. Her owners made us aware they were coming in so we were able to jump into action as soon as they arrived. We took an x-ray of Maui's throat to locate where and how far down the item was. Any guesses on what Maui had swallowed and where it is located?

If you guessed a racquetball.. you are correct! Maui had accidentally swallowed a racquetball and it was stuck right in front of her trachea. She was given a light sedative and placed on her back where gentle pressure was applied to push out the ball. Maui was given some oxygen through a mask as a precaution to help relax her breathing, but was back to normal as soon as the ball was removed. Maui's owner's sent us an email to recount their story. We would like to share that email with you all.

"We are the very blessed owners of our third German Shepherd and moved
from Massachusetts 15 months ago. Finding a good fit for a new
veterinarian was crucial once we settled. We chose Laurel Road
Veterinary Clinic and yesterday was a true testament to the expertise,
knowledge, kindness and follow up to this being the best choice we
ever made.

Our dog, Maui swallowed a racquetball (do not ever attempt this!) and
her airway was severely compromised. The ball was lodged in the back
of her throat and any attempt by my husband to dislodge it proved
unsuccessful.

A quick phone call to Laurel Road , a staff member meeting us outside,
the team ready to do any and all heroic measures put us at ease that
Maui was in the best of hands.

They immediately xrayed her and showed us the result and explained
their attempts at a successful rescue. 10 minutes later, we heard a
group of loud cheers from the back room & prayed it was for Maui. And
it was!

Through all of the trauma and stress thinking that our 4 year old fur
baby was going to die a painful death in our home came the greatest
result at the hands of Laurel Road Veterinary Clinic! They responded
with great knowledge and care and a genuine love for our dog. I can’t
sing enough praises for how they handled our trauma. They were
responsible for it not becoming a tragedy!

And P. S. DON’T ever give your dog a toy they might swallow!"

03/29/2024

FEATURED PET FRIDAY

Welcome back to our series. Last week, we introduced Lulu. We encourage you to go look at our previous post if you haven't seen it. For a brief recap though, Lulu is an 11 year-old dog that had a very large mass in her abdomen. We posted an x-ray of the mass and asked you all to take guesses on location and size. Today, we are going to answer those questions and give you an update on how Lulu is doing.

Lulu was taken to surgery where we discovered the mass was attached to her SPLEEN. The spleen is responsible for filtration of red blood cells, but is NOT a vital organ meaning animals can live without their spleen. It was decided to perform a splenectomy on Lulu meaning her spleen and the mass attached was removed. During surgery, Lulu lost a significant amount of blood and needed a blood transfusion. Thankfully, Lulu's sister (Maddie) was able to donate blood for Lulu's transfusion. To date, Lulu's tumor has been the largest tumor removed at this hospital. It was a SHOCKING 10.6 pounds!!! The tumor was sent off to the lab for analysis.

Typically, 66% of splenic tumors are associated with a type of aggressive cancer called hemangiosarcoma. Luckily, Lulu beat the odds and her mass turned out to be benign (non-cancerous)!! Lulu has fully recovered and is at home doing well.

Thanks for tuning in! Come back next week for our next

03/22/2024

FEATURED PET FRIDAY

We have had a multitude of interesting cases here lately, so we decided to start a new series called . This series will not only include interesting cases we have seen, but also will include cute pets and/or important topics.

To kick it off, our series will start with Lulu. Lulu is an 11-year-old spayed female dog that came in for her annual exam. Her mom and dad noticed that her stomach seemed bigger, but she had not been eating well recently. We decided to take an x-ray to see what was going on in her belly. An x-ray (radiograph) is a tool that takes images of bones and soft tissues. On the x-ray, it was clear that Lulu had a very large mass located in her abdomen.

Can you guess which organ the mass is located in? AND can you guess how much the mass weighed?

Next Friday, we will post the answers to these questions. We will also give you guys an update on sweet Lulu.

03/20/2024

Happy Wednesday everyone! We want to take a moment to welcome back Dr. Stager from her honeymoon and wish her a very happy birthday!!!!

03/01/2024

The winner of our dental awareness gift basket is....

Jaxson Zitaglio 🥳

Congratulations!!!

02/28/2024

Happy Wednesday!! 😍

02/27/2024

We are closing in on dental awareness month and boy have we been busy! To end the month, we are annoucing the gift basket winner. If you particpated in this promotion, please check back here on Friday to see if you and your pet have won the gift basket valued at over $100 dollars!!

Thank you to all those that entrusted us with your pets dental health!

02/22/2024

No, you're not seeing double, Jasmine and Ariel are CLONES!!!! To see more of these cuties, check out their instagram!

https://www.instagram.com/princessclones?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

02/20/2024

yes, its true.. we spend our days loving on puppies and kitties! Can you blame us?!😍

02/20/2024

Dr. Stager is getting MARRIED!!!!💍😍

Dr. Stager will be out of the office from 02/26-03/19. Her last day in the office will be this Saturday, 02/24. If you need to get in touch with her, please call the hospital before Saturday. Please be aware that we have 3 other amazing doctors on staff who can assist your pet during her absence.

We want to wish Dr. Stager and her future husband, Matt, many years of love and joy. May your love grow stronger each and every passing year. CONGRATULATIONS from all of us at LRVC! 🎉💞

02/13/2024

While you spend the holiday with your sweetheart, make sure your other love- your pet!- is safe!

One of the most popular gifts for Valentine’s Day is sweets. While we may love it, chocolate is toxic to dogs and cats. Many of these yummy chocolates and sweets contain other toxic ingredients such as nuts, xylitol, and liquor. It’s also important to know that some flowers and plants can be harmful and even poisonous to our pets.

Please click the link below for a list of tips and tricks on keeping your furry friends protected.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

02/08/2024

Dr. Ilene and Dr. Stager attended VMX in Orlando last month. VMX is the world’s leading veterinary conference. It allows veterinarians to explore the latest in pet care. It was a great learning experience!

Don’t forget to follow us on instagram too!

02/07/2024

What a difference a dental cleaning makes! Don't forget, the entire month of February is Dental Awareness Month. Now is the time to get in the habit of having your pet's teeth cleaned early on. This improves the chance of having healthy teeth and gums throughout their entire life. Oral health is a window to our overall health.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call the office and speak to any of our qualified team members.

01/22/2024

As we quickly approach February and the start of Dental Awareness Month, here is a great resource for why oral health care for our pets is so important. The link below also informs you on what a dental cleaning is and some tips for at home preventative care. If you have any questions, please feel free to call the hospital during business hours.

Dental health is an important part of a pet's overall health. A pet's teeth and gums should be checked at least once a year by a veterinarian.

01/15/2024

Don't turn your nose up to your pet's bad breath! Dental heath is a critical part of your pet's overall health, and dental problems can cause, or be caused, by other health problems. February is dental awareness month and we want to make dental care not only more attainable, but more affordable. For the month of February, we are offering a dental scaling and polishing at a discounted rate. Also, everyone that takes part of this amazing promotion will be entered to win a gift basket valued at over $100 dollars! If this is an opportunity you want to be a part of, please start by calling the office and speaking to any of our qualified members for more information. Please note that there are some restrictions that apply.

12/21/2023

We will be closed Saturday, December 23 through Monday, December 25 to celebrate the Christmas holiday. If you have an emergency please contact Veterinary Medical Center at Lakewood Ranch at 941-739-1800 at any time. BluePearl Pet Hospital Sarasota will be open Sunday, December 24 and Monday, December 25 941-923-7260

12/20/2023

We will be closed Saturday December 23 thru December 25 for the Christmas holiday! We will open Tuesday at normal clinic hours. If you need prescription refills or food please call clinic and pick up before 5pm on Friday.

11/17/2023

Raising awareness of a highly contagious respiratory infection among dogs that started in Oregon late this summer and is starting to spread east . Please read comments below in regards to what we currently know and don’t know as well as recommendations.

Veterinarians are sounding the alarm about an uptick in a mystery dog illness that causes canines to cough.

10/23/2023

Have you noticed changes in your dog's activity and behavior? This easy-to-use checklist can help you spot the signs of osteoarthritis (OA) pain. Take the Canine OA Pain Checklist Quiz to learn more. https://bit.ly/3OFiYdC

10/20/2023

As most of you are aware ,our community suffered a senseless tragedy last night. The life of one of our colleagues at Kindvet of Sarasota Urgent Care, Dr. Shawn Callahan , was taken in a murder su***de by a former employee. Our hearts go out to the family , friends and staff affected by this violent ,horrific event.

As the veterinary community grieves this loss of a wonderful human being and doctor who dedicated her life to animal health, we want to bring attention to the crisis in our profession . Veterinary medicine is currently being plagued by one of the highest rates of su***de.. We want to emphasize as veterinarians and support staff we pour our hearts into what we do ,so please be kind be patient and be supportive we are also trying to care for our mental health.