1780 Rufe Snow Drive Kaye Wigginton, D.V.M. Keller, Texas Rita Ruple, D.V.M FAX:

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1 WELCOME to the 15th edition of Parkside Animal Hospital s monthly newsletter: November 2009, Vol. 2, No. 11 Look forward to health care tips and information, including services available for your pet; product rebates/promotions and much more, coordinating with the Parkside Animal Hospital website: A note from Dr. Kaye Wigginton EXCITING STAFF CHANGES: My longtime associate, Dr. Rita Ruple and I are pleased to welcome Dr. Sandra (Sandy) Krall to Parkside Animal Hospital. Dr. Krall graduated from Trinity High School in Bedford and earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1994 from Texas A&M. During her 15 years as a veterinarian, she has practiced both large and small animal medicine, but for the last 7 years has concentrated on small animal medicine and surgery. She has special interests in geriatrics, internal medicine and dentistry. Dr. Krall resides in Decatur with 3 dogs, 3 cats and 3 horses. She enjoys running, traveling, horseback riding, and swimming. All of us are very excited that Dr. Krall has joined our exceptional team. We look forward to many years of working together to provide your pet(s) with excellent veterinary care. Dr. Boeving has left Parkside Animal Hospital to pursue other interests. Come by and meet Dr. Krall. She is available for appointments on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Please visit our website at Again, THANK YOU for voting us the #1 veterinary hospital in Keller. We appreciate you!!

2 Seen recently at Parkside : Rufus 2y Shiner 20w Conner 5y Ringo 10m LOA Pam 5m Zoomer 14y Golden Bear 20m Sami 4y Taz 7m Trooper 18m Delmar 8y Jake 9y Itchy Cupcake 15w Lucky 8y Puffy 4y Snickers 5m Colby - 4y Sarge 10w Stiffler 4y Bear 21d Anna 5y Missy 7y Marty 10w Ritzy 2y

3 True story, it happened last week: Wednesday, November 4 th approximately 7:45pm Daley walked out of the open garage door, following behind Austin. The garage door was up just a few moments as the trash and recycle bins were brought back into the garage. It was already dark, dinner was hurriedly being prepared and no one noticed the two dogs were missing till the phone call came about 20 minutes later. A neighbor 2 blocks away and across busy Randol Mill Rd found Austin standing on the sidewalk at the edge of the ravine. Feet below, the brackish creek flowed through the overgrown, jungle-like ravine. Austin was safe; was Daley with her? No, Austin was alone. Daley is 11 years old, nearly totally deaf and near completely blind. She has a skin condition and needs to be bathed with special shampoo twice a week. She was bathed yesterday, but her collar was not put back on as it was in the laundry. Her tags lay on the counter, ready to be fastened to the clean collar. Daley was missing, with no ID tags, no collar. The frantic search began. Hearts racing, fear and anxiety made words sharp. Run! Hurry!, but which way? Toward the street? Yes, look there first, she won t see or hear the cars and it is dark. They don t find her. Relief in a way, at least she hasn t been hit yet. Up all night, they walk the roads, he is calling Daley.. Daley.. Daley. She is near totally deaf, but she has always seemed to hear his voice best.. and so he calls and calls for her. They walk, then drive all night. At dawn, Daley is still missing. It is Thursday morning, she calls friends who form a phone tree to call shelters, area vet hospitals and other friends. 100 flyers are made, then 100 more, 500 then they lose count over Thursday and Friday. Flyers are delivered to every door within a radius of 6 blocks; delivered to vet clinics, shelters, given to postmen, Neighborhood watch persons; taped to utility poles (where they were promptly removed by authorities, replaced, removed and replaced again). No calls. On Friday night, Daley was still missing. Saturday morning friends descended to renew the search effort. While the creek had been scanned from bridges using binoculars; wading boots were put on; and the search now included the dirty, jungle-like creek. Yes, we were told repeatedly there were snakes in there, specifically water moccasins; but Daley was missing. If she d fallen in; she likely couldn t have survived, but we had to know.. and so we searched, knocked on doors, walked the roads, vacant fields; calling Daley.. Daley.. Daley. Weary, we fought accepting what seemed inevitable. Go home they say, thank you for coming, but we ve done all we can. Tears and hugs.. such little comfort, but all that can be offered. The phone rings a vet s office 30 miles away asks, are you missing a little cream colored dog? YES!, her name is Daley! She is nearly deaf and blind is she OK?..how do you have her?? Our client found her sitting in the middle of Randol Mill Rd when she was going to her sleep study appointment Wednesday night about 8:00. She stopped to help as there was heavy traffic and the dog seemed confused was just sitting there in the middle of the road. With no ID, she didn t know how to find you. Her work schedule prevented her from bringing the dog in till Saturday.. when she brought her in today, we scanned for a microchip. There it was... and that s how we found you. Collars and tags are important, but Daley is home today.. because she was wearing a microchip. Is YOUR pet micro-chipped? Call for an appointment today.

4 The following pets were recently groomed by Brittany... Cami Lexie Hannah Wyatt Sugar Jazzy Buddy Scout SCHEDULE HOLIDAY GROOMING APPOINTMENTS NOW! We are already booking grooming appointments for December. Please book early. Space is limited and appointments are going quickly! Dogs must be current on RABIES and BORDETELLA vaccinations and cats must be current on RABIES vaccination to be eligible for grooming services.

5 ..TIS THE SEASON! For your pet, it may be the most dangerous time of year. Holiday parties, visiting family and friends; yummy, rich foods; decorations galore what a wonderful time of year! As you make your plans, include plans to keep your pets and visiting pets safe! Dogs and cats can become over excited, over-stimulated or outright fearful when strangers invade their home. Some may bolt out open doors or run under foot and be injured or killed. Unfortunately, we see the pain, tears and heartbreak too often. While many children have been taught how to behave with and around animals; some have not, or in the excitement of the moment.. forget lessons learned. Running, squealing children can trigger fear reactions in pets or prey drive in some dogs. Many times children are told to kiss or hug the nice doggie. NOT A GOOD IDEA! Many children are bitten every year, doing exactly this. Always watch children around animals, that neither pet nor child has a bad experience. Wonderful foods and holiday treats are everywhere. Chocolate fills bowls on coffee tables; sits on counter tops, in pantries and may be wrapped as gifts under the tree. CHOCOLATE CAN KILL YOUR PET. The darker the chocolate.. the more dangerous. Many treats are coated in chocolate. If your pet ingests chocolate (or coffee beans or cocoa).. CALL IMMEDIATELY.. either Parkside Animal Hospital or the emergency hospital (phone number and directions can be found on our website!) Minutes in treatment CAN make a difference do not wait till symptoms appear! House or dinner guests may want to share dinner or other food treats with your pet. A bit of ham, turkey skin, pumpkin pie, whip cream, mashed potatoes and gravy what s the harm? All are a huge dose of fat for your pet. Pancreatitis is a definite possible result. This is compounded if several people generously share with your pet. (please read the article on PANCREATITIS found on the INFORMATION tab of our website. November and December are the top months for episodes of pancreatitis. It is intensely painful, requires vigorous (often costly) treatment and support; and PANCREATITIS CAN KILL YOUR PET. It is best NOT to share holiday food with your pet; and warn your guests not to share. A suggestion is to tell your guests that your pets are highly allergic to people food and will likely vomit if fed anything other than pet food. This slight exaggeration may prevent your pet being fed tidbits meant for kindness, but which may actually harm them. Alcohol should never be given to pets.. not ever. Beware of beverages left on table tops; some pet s love to sample. Some pets are notorious table and counter surfers. We ve seen rib roasts, hams and whole turkeys disappear in moments. Make sure trash receptacles are not assessable. Never give cooked bones to pets to chew on. Cooked bones become brittle, shattering into shards that can pierce or become lodged in intestines. Emergency surgery may be necessary to save your pet s life.

6 (continue) Holiday decorations will soon fill our homes. How does your pet or a visiting pet explore new things? Oftentimes they chew.. testing this new thing in their environment. Sometimes they don t even chew.. they just gulp it right down. Plants, ribbons, strings, electrical cords; glass bulbs & balls or batteries look like such wonderful fun for your pet. Beware All CAN KILL YOUR PET. Visiting guests may bring medications, food or candy stored in luggage. In the excitement of family, fun and friendship a curious pet may seek out these hidden treasures. We have seen pets ingested everything from contact lenses to heart or blood pressure medications to hormone pills. Visiting pets to your home may be unfamiliar with inground pools or Koi ponds. A moment of inattention may bring a lifetime of loss and regret. Know there are many dire warnings here. While we see the sad results all the through the year; November and December are peak months. What can you do and still enjoy the holiday season? Look at the constantly changing situation from your pet s perspective. Crate your pet in a quiet room when guests arrive and depart or when pets are home alone. Whatever your pet s previous behaviors, do not trust for a moment. Advise and monitor guests, most particularly children, that they do not feed inappropriate foods or place your pets in situations that may cause problems.. You love your pets; keep them safe. HAPPY HOLIDAYS! PLEASE SEE OUR WEBSITE FOR ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS AND TIPS: HAPPY THANKSGIVING from your friends at PARKSIDE ANIMAL HOSPITAL.