Oconee Veterinary Hospital

11/13/2024

If you ever wonder why your appointments run too long… it’s because your pup is getting all the belly rubs by the staff! 😆

11/06/2024

Meet Molly! She just celebrated her 16th birthday. She celebrated with a special hamburger treat on her day. She told me she still loves to walk and went 3 miles this weekend in the forest! Movement is medicine.
-Dr. Bangle

11/05/2024

“I got bite on my leg last night and it is all swollen, and…. my nose got scratched too! Can I get some love?” I really am a good boy!
Sweet cat. I hope he bit the other guy back!
-Dr. Bangle

11/01/2024

If you know me, you know me, I am a softy…I continue to preach “you are your pet’s world, and their circle is very small. They are your responsibility exclusively and are totally dependent on you.” Make the moments count.
-Dr. Bangle
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1556759584931831?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

10/25/2024

Meet Sophie!
Sophie had an unfortunate accident a few years ago resulting in severe rear limb trauma to one leg with a subsequent amputation required.
Her owner came to is to help with generalized fitness and strength work and she is here at least once or twice a week. You can look closely, she is missing a rear leg. This puts a significant amount more stress on her front limbs/shoulders and requires much more of the remaining rear limb as well. Water helps even out the stress amongst the 3 limbs, increases her balance skills, works against friction/turbulence of water(~900x that of air resistance), while also increasing her cardiovascular fitness. Exercise is important for all of our pets, but some will need extra care. Do you have an arthritic, injured or overweight pet, or perhaps one you cannot exercise on your on? Let us help with a rehab or fitness plan for your dog.
-Dr. Bangle

10/17/2024

What is the number one medicine I prescribe for arthritic dogs?

Would it surprise you if I told you that at least 80% of dogs over 8 years old and up to 35% of all dogs of all ages have some degree of arthritis?

The most important medicine I will prescribe for your arthritic dog is actually movement, aka, exercise!! That doesn't come in a bottle!

Exercise keeps muscles working, increases range of motion, keeps bones strong, helps keep weight down, helps their heart stay strong, helps them "feel" better! Now if anyone wants to talk physiology with me, come pull up a chair and we can talk about what is actually happening at a cellular level that make exercise so important to health span and quality of life.

I challenge you to walk your dog daily, regardless of the arthritis present. If you walked your dog just 1.5 miles a day, that would be the equivalent to almost 21 marathons a year. That’s like walking from Athens➡️New Orleans!Make it happen and watch how happy your dog can be versus just laying around getting old, lazy, cranking, and stiff!
-Dr. Bangle

10/08/2024

As a kid during the 70’s we wouldn’t dream of missing “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.” I had a stuffed snoopy toy as a boy and a snoopy on a dog house with and some other peanut toys along the way.

What was Snoopy thinking in that Pumpkin patch?

In the heart of the pumpkin patch, under the moon’s soft light,
Snoopy stirs from slumber, ready to take flight.
The pumpkins glow with an eerie, orange hue,
As Snoopy rises, a silhouette against the blue.
The night is calm, the stars twinkle bright,
Snoopy’s eyes gleam with a mischievous light.
He stretches his paws, shakes off the night,
Ready to embark on a Halloween flight.
With a leap and a bound, he soars through the air,
A beagle on a mission, with nary a care.
The pumpkins below, like lanterns aglow,
Guide his path in the moonlight’s gentle flow.
In the stillness of night, with the world at rest,
Snoopy’s adventure is simply the best.
For in the pumpkin patch, under the moon’s embrace,
Snoopy finds magic in this special place.

I hope you enjoy this moonlit Halloween poem! 🎃🌕👻 I want to see your pets in their best Halloween get up!

This is my dog,”M” getting a little spooked on our morning walk!
-Dr Bangle

10/02/2024

UPDATE!
Phones are working now! 🙌🏼🐶🐱

⚠️ Due to our phone lines being down, please contact us via email at, [email protected], text us through our mobile app at (706)769-7513, or call (706)510-9969. We are working as efficiently as possible to get this issue solved. Thank you for your understanding.

10/02/2024

⚠️ Due to our phone lines being down, please contact us via email at, [email protected], text us through our mobile app at (706)769-7513, or call (706)510-9969. We are working as efficiently as possible to get this issue solved. Thank you for your understanding.

10/01/2024

I once heard a professional baseball player asked by a reporter why he never got injured. He replied, " lady, there is no such thing as pulled fat."
We all joke about fatness, but I am here to tell you that from a veterinarian and pet advocate standpoint, fat pets are an epidemic. It is estimated that 61% of cats and 59% of dogs are overweight or obese.

In people, the number one cause of cancer is smoking; however, death from cardiovascular disease leads the way then followed by death from downstream consequences of being overweight or obese. It has been shown in humans that cancers of the colon, re**um, stomach, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, breast an others do show a relationship of exponential occurrence with obesity. (Ask me for study if you want to see).

Unfortunately, we don't have these types of studies for our pets, but as I have mentioned before, cancer is emphatically the number one killer of our pets. Is there a connection to obesity? I don't know, but it sure makes me wonder.

Here are some facts about fat for you:
- It is not just a cushion or an insulator against the elements
-Fat is indeed the largest endocrine organ in the body.
- Fat has a blood supply that that pets' little heart has to pump blood through. A little heart doesn't get bigger to accommodate, it just wears the heart out. Read: heart failure.
-Fat secretes all kinds of inflammatory cytokines, and chemokines and things like tumor necrosis factor (bad things).
-Fat releases free fatty acids that can lead to metabolic syndrome, hyperinsulinemia, systemic inflammation and dyslipidemias. These are all bad things.

I could go on and on about what I see in practice: joint disease, heart disease, diabetes, torn ligaments, respiratory problems, kidney problems, pancreatitis, mobility issues, and even early euthanasia's due to poor quality of life.

People let's work on this epidemic! I want healthy pets and less, early heartache for all of us. Share those action photos!
Dr. Bangle

09/30/2024

Allow me to tell you about Pet Insurance. Do I believe it is worth it? Emphatically, yes! Do I have pet insurance? Emphatically, yes and I am a veterinarian! Why do I have it? There will be things beyond the scope of my practice as a general practitioner that I cannot provide for my own pet. There are many companies out there with plans, I chose Trupanion, I believe they have the best plans. It is peace of mind for me with 90% coverage. If you have had a sick pet, you will say "I wish I had pet insurance." Am I getting paid to talk about this? Nope. I just want my clients to be prepared and not have to make hard decisions about major illnesses.
-Dr. Bangle

09/27/2024

⚠️Due to the weather, we will be opening at 9:00 AM on Friday morning. ⚠️

09/25/2024

We will be open our regular hours on Thursday 9/26 through Saturday 9/28. If anything changes, we will post it on here.

09/24/2024

It goes something like this so I am told.
I would never…….🤫🙄

09/23/2024

🐶Puppy and Kitten Socializing🐱

Socialization is the process of preparing a dog or cat to enjoy interactions and be comfortable with other animals, people, places and activities. Ideally, socialization should begin during the "sensitive period" which is between 3 and 14 weeks of age for puppies, and 3 and 9 weeks of age for kittens

❕Reminder❕
Puppies or kittens that are not fully vaccinated should not be exposed to unvaccinated animals or places they may have been (such as outdoor parks).

09/20/2024

Happy Friday! I have to admit, every time I see a dog doing this I am jealous I can’t have this outlook on life! This dog wants to go to school! Day-to-day, living the dream! Can anyone share a photo with us of their dog’s best happy smile?
-Dr. Bangle

09/19/2024

Flash back from veterinary school days…..wait, I think I have the diagnosis confused? Bluetongue disease (BT) is an infectious, non-contagious, vector-borne viral disease that affects wild and domestic ruminants such as sheep, goats, cattle, buffaloes, deer, most species of African antelope and camels…….. who is a good boy?
- Dr. Bangle

09/11/2024

What are the most effective treatments for canine arthritis?
With so much information floating around there, and the massive amounts of what I would call predatory marketing in social media trying to get you spend your money on quick remedies aka, magic ingredients, I thought I would try to bring some practical information that is evidence-based and experience based to pet owners.

What is arthritis? It is a loss of joint cartilage on the ends of bones. Arthritis can be caused by injury, or just natural degradation or cartilage. The cartilage is what allows bones to glide across each other. Arthritis is an inflammatory condition that causes not only cartilage loss, but also inflammation of the joint capsule (think about your joints wrapped in shrink wrap, containing lubricating, joint fluid. When inflammation starts, imagine a milieu of nasty enzymes being released, which peck away at your joint cartilage like a pesky Pacman! The end result is pain, as there are loads of nerve endings inside the joints. Pain leads to inactivity, behavioral changes, lameness, lagging behind on walks, weight gain, muscle loss and overall decreased quality of life.

Treating arthritis is multimodal; however, if I had to rank the treatments in order of importance for you to follow and likely effectiveness (evidence-based) this would be it:
1.Controlled exercise>
2.Weight control>
3. NSAID's or monoclonal antibody therapy>
4.Omega 3 fatty acids>
5.Disease modifying agents>(Adequan is the only one, more on this later)
6.Other pain medications>
7. Complimentary therapies> (laser, acupuncture, chiropractic
8.Nutriceuticals. (food or supplements containing health-giving additives and having medicinal benefit).

Oconee Veterinary is here to guide you in your decisions for improved quality of life for your pets. Ask how we can help! Our pets are totally dependent on us for everything they need and we don’t want you to miss an opportunity to help!
-Dr. Bangle