Once it has been shed in the urine, the bacteria then live in small bodies of water, puddles, and even in the soil.  Pets and people are infected by coming in contact with the bacteria, which enter the body through cuts or abrasions in skin or through mucous membranes (eyes, nose, mouth).  This also includes drinking the water.  Signs of illness usually occur within a few days, and can include fever, sore muscles, stiffness, weakness, anorexia, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, difficult breathing, coughing, and dehydration.  If left untreated, leptospirosis can cause kidney and liver failure.

Diagnosis involves specific blood tests.  Basic bloodwork is usually performed as is the case for any sick pet.  If leptospirosis is suspected, then specific antibody tests for leptospirosis can be done.  These tests have to be repeated 3 weeks later.  If we do suspect leptospirosis, we immediately start treatment.  Treatment involves intensive supportive care and antibiotics.

The good news is that a vaccine is available.  The vaccination protects against the most common types of leptospirosis, but does not cover others, so is not 100%.  After the initial vaccination, a booster is required in 3 weeks, and then yearly.  We recommend vaccinating animals that are at high risk for this type of exposure, including any dogs that go camping, go to the lake, spend a lot of time in the country, and hunting dogs.  If you live in an area that has a lot of wildlife, and your dog goes outdoors at all, then there is even a risk of infection for him as well.  Ask us about leptospirosis at your next visit.

For more information, the CDC has an information sheet that can be found here.  To schedule your dog for a vaccination, please call us at (913) 764-1415.  Together, we will work towards keeping your pet as healthy as possible for as long as possible.

Naproxen tablets are a commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) used for pain relief in humans, but dogs do not tolerate it very well, and it will cause stomach ulcers and GI bleeding in most dogs. How much ulceration and bleeding occurs depends on the dose. For a dog Hagrid’s size, ingestion of one 220-mg tablet can cause serious problems.

Luckily, Hagrid’s mom called as soon as this happened, so we instructed her to induce vomiting with hydrogen peroxide first. He did vomit some of the blue tablet, but it’s hard to know if it was all of it. So she brought him to Olathe Animal Hospital, we administered activated charcoal–or should we say, he gobbled it up! Silly pug! (One has to believe that stuff tastes awful!) Activated charcoal coats his GI tract and helps prevent absorption of the naproxen.

A few days after this incident, blood work was performed to check Hagrid’s liver and kidney values, and it all checked out fine. Hagrid has made a full recovery and is doing great. Unfortunately, he hasn’t learned his lesson, so his mom has to continue to be very careful about not leaving anything on the floor.

If you have an equally naughty dog who will eat anything and everything, we understand that this can be very frustrating. Even the most vigilant owners can’t prevent their dogs from eating potentially dangerous items. The best approach is to prevent access to ingestible items (i.e. keep everything clean and picked up, keep doors to bedrooms closed, keep trash in a cabinet or other inaccessible area). Make sure everyone in the family understands this and helps out. In extreme cases of pica (eating anything and everything non-food related), use of a basket muzzle can help prevent ingestion of potentially dangerous items.

Heartworm disease is a prevalent disease in the Kansas City area and exists anywhere that mosquitoes breed.  The mosquito carries the baby heartworm to the next dog.  A dog must be bitten by a mosquito to get heartworms.  For many years veterinarians have been preventing and treating heartworms.  In the early years medications had to be given daily.  Later new drugs were developed that could be given once a month.  In recent years a new product, ProHeart 6, became available as injection that works every day for six months.  A once a year product is now being developed.  Studies have shown that less than 50% of those dogs receiving monthly preventives receive their medication on time.

When ProHeart 6 first came on the market, many of our clients chose this product as an improved method of preventing heartworms.  Our hospital found the product as safe as or safer than most medications or vaccines.  Less than a handful of our patients had some soreness at the injection site.  Unfortunately, a few well-intended pet owners around the country blamed ProHeart 6 for many sad situations that were caused by other disease processes.  The product was voluntarily taken from the market by the manufacturer in 2004.  Additional studies over the next few years found the product to be as safe as it had been originally reported and it was brought back on the market.  You may view a PDF file on ProHeart6 at  http://www.proheart6.com/docs/client_info_03_09.pdf.

Due to the fact that the dog owner compliance in giving monthly heartworm preventives is poor, veterinarians recommend that dogs be tested once a year.  When ProHeart 6 is given every six months, the possibility of a heartworm infection drops to essentially zero.  Therefore, after any dog has been on ProHeart 6 for twelve months and then tests negative for heartworms, future annual testing is not required, as long as the injections are given on time.  This makes ProHeart 6 a less expensive alternative in the long run to oral preventives and provides more effective and continuous protection.

Below is a video of heartworm microfilaria visible on a blood smear:

Current research shows that the early use of a medication called leuprolide (brand name is Lupron) in young ferrets can reduce the signs or eliminate adrenal disease later on in life. Timing is critical!

• Male ferrets should receive a dose of Lupron in January.
• Female ferrets should receive a dose of Lupron in mid-February to mid-March.
• These injections are annual for the life of the ferret
• Injections can be started as young as 6 months. No ferret is too old to start these annual injections.

If your ferret is already being treated for adrenal disease, and is currently receiving monthly Lupron injections, it is recommended that your ferret continue receiving those monthly injections.

Call us today to schedule your ferret for his or her annual Lupron injection.

Join us for a free seminar on new medical treatment options for:

• Hip dysplasia
• Elbow dysplasia
• Stifle injuries, such as cranial cruciate ligament (ACL) tears
• Agility/flyball/hunting and other sport injuries

Drs. Matt Peuser and J.C. Burcham will present a 90-minute presentation on Sun. Feb. 7 (Superbowl Sunday) at 1:00pm at Olathe Animal Hospital for anyone interested in learning more about non-NSAID treatment options for dogs with arthritis. The importance of weight management, joint nutrition and supplementation, and physical therapy will be reviewed, followed by an in-depth look at a promising new treatment option called stem cell therapy, or regenerative medicine. Read our article about what stem cell therapy is and how it works.

Refreshments will be provided. There is no fee for this event. Parking is available in our parking lot. For directions on the day of the event, please call (913) 481-2992, as our hospital is closed for business that day and no one will be answering our phones.

This bearded dragon was having trouble seeing because her third eyelid, or nictitating membrane, was inflamed and covering her cornea. It was inflamed because she had gotten a large amount of sand into her eyes. At Olathe Animal Hospital, we see many exotics, including bearded dragons, and this is a fairly common problem, unfortunately. She was treated with copious amounts of saline flushed into her eyes to remove the sand and sent home with eye drops to help reduce inflammation and infection.

A recheck exam is absolutely essential for eye problems. If your pets eyes are not getting better, or are getting worse, they must be reexamined before permanent damage is done. This bearded dragon came back for her recheck one week later and was looking much better! Some inflammation was still present, and a repeat saline flush removed an additional couple grains of sand.

The sand was removed from the beardie’s enclosure and replaced with spongy shelf liner topped with clean paper towels. This is easy to clean, non-irritating, and no risk of ingestion. Alternative bedding/substrates includes: reptile carpet (indoor-outdoor style carpet), newspaper, or butcher paper.

Beardies do love sand, especially digging in the sand, so offer a separate enclosure with sand for supervised playtime. Do not feed your bearded dragon in a sandy enclosure because the risk of ingesting the sand is too serious. Sand impactions can and do kill reptiles.

Female rabbits are termed does, males are termed bucks, and babies are called kits.  The age at which sexual maturity is reached varies considerably among breeds and is dependent on age as well as body weight.  In general, small breeds are mature at 4 to 5 months of age, medium breeds at 4 to 6 months of age, and large breeds at 5 to 8 months of age.  Reproductive life of a rabbit is between 3 and 6 years, depending on gender and breed.  Average gestation length is 30 to 33 days.  Litter size depends on breed.  Kits are born blind, hairless, and helpless and nurse only once a day for approximately 3 weeks, at which time they begin to venture from the nest and eat solid food.  Rabbits are fastidious breeders so spaying and neutering is recommended.  Aside from providing birth control, spaying a female rabbit can prevent uterine cancer while neutering a male can lessen aggression and urine spraying.

Rabbit nutrition is relatively simple, yet there are important issues to consider.  First, rabbits have one of the highest water requirements of any animal so abundant fresh water is a must.  Second, obesity is common in pet rabbits due to overfeeding of pelleted food.  Rabbit pellets should be offered at ¼ cup per 5 pounds of body weight daily.  Also, commercial rabbit pellets with added nuts and other “goodies” of low nutritional value should be avoided.  Pellets should be purchased in small quantities and stored in air-tight containers to avoid spoilage.  Rabbits will often tip food bowls and refuse to eat if pellets are rancid.  Finally, rabbits lack the ability to vomit.  Consequently, a seemingly simple problem such as hairball formation can turn into a medical emergency.  Hair can build up in the stomach leaving little room for food, and hairballs can even obstruct the intestinal tract. To help normalize gastrointestinal motility, hay should be available at all times.  This is thought to keep hair from adhering together and keep it moving through the GI tract.  Timothy, brome, or prairie hay is preferred.  Alfalfa and clover hay should be avoided as they are not appropriately nutritionally balanced. The free-choice feeding of hay also prevents obesity and aids in proper fermentation of gastrointestinal bacteria.  Fresh vegetables can be offered as an occasional treat.  Oxbow Hay Company offers a full line of products and can be contacted at www.oxbowhay.com or 1-800-249-0366.  Fresh leafy greens can also be offered daily (e.g. romaine lettuce, kale, collard greens, parsley, mustard greens, and pesticide-free dandelion greens).

Rabbits can be housed in commercial or custom-designed hutches, indoors or outdoors.  Most manufactured hutches are a combination of wood and metal. Despite the design, cages should allow for ample movement (at least 3 hops) and provide escape from urine and feces.  Most rabbits do well on wire flooring designed to allow feces and urine to fall through, although at least a portion of the cage should have a solid floor so as to avoid foot irritation.  Care must be taken to keep the floor surfaces clean to avoid foot infections.  Also pay special attention to the space between each wire as feet can become lodged if the space is not appropriate for the size of rabbit.  If used, bedding should be free of dust and perfumes or aromatic oils.  Avoid cedar as it is too aromatic and can irritate the respiratory tract.  Be aware that natural wood shavings can come infested with microscopic mites.  Recycled paper products work extremely well and are very absorbent (e.g. Yesterday’s News cat litterâ). Outdoor rabbits should be sheltered from wind, rain, and direct sunlight.  Because they cannot sweat and panting is ineffective for dissipation of heat, rabbits are intolerant of warm temperatures. Temperatures above 82 ° F can be harmful, if not fatal, and high humidity compounds the situation. 

Diseases of Rabbits

Ectoparasites – Included are fleas, ticks, fur mites, and ear mites.  All cause some degree of irritation and have the potential to cause serious secondary diseases like skin infection, anemia (fleas), and ear infection (ear mites).  Diagnosis is based on gross or microscopic examination.  Type and length of treatment depends on the parasite but include topical or injectable parasiticides.

Endoparasites – Coccidia is the most common intestinal parasite of rabbits, and some species of the parasite can cause liver damage.  Other intestinal parasites include Giardia (a protozoan), tapeworms, pinworms, as well as others.  Symptoms can range from none to diarrhea and systemic illness.  Diagnosis is based on microscopic examination of the feces.  Type and length of treatment depends on the parasite.

Maggot infestation – Any rabbit that spends time outside should be checked daily for evidence of maggots, especially around the anus.  Flies are attracted to the smell of feces and will lay eggs on the skin of the rabbit.  Eggs hatch within hours and the maggots begin to burrow under the skin, cause serious tissue damage, and infection occurs very rapidly; infection can become severe enough to be life threatening.  Any suspicion of maggot infestation should be taken seriously and the rabbit should be evaluated by a veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment.

Trichobezoars – Otherwise known as hairballs, trichobezoars can cause serious illness and even death.  Rabbits do not have the ability to vomit so ingested hair can accumulate in the stomach or obstruct the intestinal tract.  Symptoms include anorexia, bloating, lethargy, decreased or no stool production, and even sudden death.  Diagnosis can be difficult but nutritional history and abdominal xrays provide useful information.  Treatment varies according to severity of illness.  Supportive care consisting of fluid therapy, nutritional support, and antibiotics are often necessary.  Surgery is required for cases in which an intestinal obstruction is confirmed or suspected.  Prevention is aimed at inhibiting hairball formation.  Regular brushing can reduce the amount of ingested hair.  Feeding free choice hay regulates gastrointestinal motility and can aid in the passage of hair through the GI tract.  Offering fresh pineapple juice provides enzymes (bromelain, papain) believed to inhibit clumping of hair in the stomach. Offer 2 tablespoons by mouth daily for 2 to 4 days every 2 months.  Pasteurization of the juice renders the enzymes inactive, so the juice must be fresh.  Commercially available papain tablets can be found in some pet stores and can be offered at 1 or 2 tablets by mouth daily for 3 to 5 days every 2 months.  Feline hairball remedy ointments can also be used.

Abscesses – Abscesses can involve the skin, tooth roots, or internal organs.  Because of the nature of the pus formed, antibiotic therapy alone is not successful. Thus, treatment of skin abscesses involves surgical excision (removal) followed by oral antibiotic therapy.  Tooth root abscesses must be approached by extraction of the affected tooth or teeth and oral antibiotic therapy.  Abscesses of internal organs can be difficult to manage depending on the organ affected.

Pododermatitis – Also called “sore hocks”, infection of the skin of the feet can occur in any rabbit, but is more common in rabbits housed on wire mesh floors that are not kept clean of feces and urine.  Treatment involves antibiotic therapy and, if severe, surgical cleaning and treatment of the wounds.

Otitis – Ear infections can occur in any portion of the ear canal (external, middle, or internal) although middle or internal ear infections are more common.  Typically, the infection originates in the sinuses and ascends the eustachian tubes to the ear canal.  Signs of middle ear infections may be difficult to notice but should be suspected if the rabbit scratches excessively at the base of the ear.  As the disease progresses to include the inner ear, a head tilt develops along with other neurological signs (circling or rolling when attempting to walk).  Infections can be severe enough to extend into the brain.  Long-term treatment with antibiotics is often necessary to clear the infection.  In some instances, the infection is never cleared, but it may regress enough so as to relieve symptoms.

Dental disease – Dental disease in rabbits is usually limited to overgrown teeth due to malocclusion (misalignment of the jaws).  Oral abcesses can result from overgrown roots or oral trauma from elongated teeth.  Starvation from inability to grab and chew food is a potential consequence of malocclusion.  Treatment includes trimming or filing the teeth under anesthesia or extracting the overgrown teeth. 

Reproductive tract disease – Female rabbits are at increased risk for developing uterine cancer, especially if not spayed before puberty.  Mammary gland tumors and uterine infections are not uncommon.  Reproductive tract disease in males is rare.  Spaying and neutering rabbits is strongly suggested, not only to control unwanted litters, but to avoid future health problems.

Urinary tract disease – Urinary tract infections (UTI’s) can occur in rabbits, as can bladder/kidney stones and crystals.  UTI’s are more common in females than males.  Although rabbit urine can periodically have an orange/pinkish tinge, bloody urine can look similar.  The only way to differentiate is to have a urinalysis performed.  Oral antibiotics are used to treat UTI’s.  As for bladder/kidney stones, formation is typically secondary to feeding too much alfalfa or other foods with a high calcium content.  The urine takes on a milky appearance.  X-rays are necessary to rule out the presence of stones so that proper treatment can be initiated.  Bladder stones require surgical removal.  Unfortunately, kidney stones are inoperable.  Correcting nutritional imbalances is important for prevention.

Orthopedic disease – Broken bones are not uncommon in rabbits, especially in those who are allowed to roam without supervision.  Treatment depends on the severity of the fracture.  Back injuries also occur with relative frequency, usually as a result of improper restraint.  Never pick up a rabbit without supporting the hindquarters.  One forceful kick can result in a broken spine and permanent injury or paralysis.  Always place a rabbit back into its cage backward.  If placed head first, the rabbit will want to jump into the cage and could injure its back.

Respiratory disease – Upper respiratory infection (“snuffles”) in rabbits is typically caused by Pasteurella multocida bacteria, although there are other organisms that can be responsible.  Pasteurella species can cause infections almost anywhere in the body (ear, reproductive tract, central nervous system, lungs) and can be difficult if not impossible to clear.  Most rabbits sold in the pet trade carry Pasteurella and it can be difficult to determine which rabbits will succumb to illness.  New serologic tests are being developed that can help identify acute or chronic carrier states.  Signs of respiratory infection include increased respiratory effort, nasal discharge, matted fur on the front legs (from cleaning a dirty nose), inappetance and lethargy.  Treatment is more successful if initiated early in the course of the disease and involves prolonged antibiotic therapy and, occasionally, hospitalization and supportive care.

*The above list of diseases is not all inclusive but was prepared to provide rabbit owners information about some of the more common illnesses and how to recognize them.

Monty, a geriatric shepherd mix adopted from Animal Haven in 2003, received an injection of stem cells that were processed from his own fat tissue, which is intended to help alleviate joint pain secondary to osteoarthritis. Monty underwent anesthesia and surgery on Mon. 12/21/09 to harvest stem cells from fat tissue behind his shoulder. The sample was sent by Fed-Ex overnight to the Vet-Stem lab in San Diego, CA, for processing, and then overnighted back to the hospital, and on Wed. 12/23/09, veterinarian Dr. Matt Peuser injected the stem cells into the dog’s painful hip.

Veterinarians must be credentialed before performing this procedure, and Drs. JC Burcham and Matt Peuser are now certified to perform stem cell therapy. This therapy is a form of regenerative medicine, and it is made possible by a company in San Diego called Vet-Stem.

“This is a breakthrough. The cells aren’t foreign to the body, engineered or modified in any way,” says Dr. Robert Harman, founder of Vet-Stem. “Fat stem cell therapy avoids the ethical concerns surrounding embryonic stem cell research because our process uses the animal’s own fat to isolate adult stem cells.”

A veterinarian who has completed Vet-Stem’s credentialing course can use fat stem cell therapy to treat arthritis, fractures, and tendon and ligament injuries in dogs. Drs. Burcham and Peuser join a pool of 650 vets in the USA and Canada who have performed this procedure.  Monty is the first dog in the KC metro area and in the state of Kansas to receive stem cell therapy.

Clinical studies have shown 80 to 90% improvement in dogs treated with stem cell therapy. One third of all dogs treated in the clinical trials were able to completely stop giving non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and another 28% were able to decrease the dosage after just 90 days.  Dogs treated with stem cells were also shown to have increased range of motion in affected joints, decreased lameness, and decreased overall pain.  The duration of the benefit from a single injection varies from several months to more than one-and-a-half years.

This technology has been used in horses, especially in race horses and other sport horses who have sustained joint, ligament and tendon injury, with amazing success. “We’ve seen stem cell therapy help dogs whose pain was previously so severe that they struggled to stand, jump into cars, chase balls or run up and down stairs,” says Dr. Robert Harman.

In the News

The Olathe News covered the story on Feb. 17. See the full article!

Fox 4 News covered this story on Feb. 19. View the video below!

Here’s a short video Dr. Burcham made and posted on YouTube about Monty’s journey:

Penny is a healthy, 3-year old Maltese who came to see us after possible ingestion of a small amount of Ramik, an anti-coagulant type of rodenticide. The active ingredient is diphacinone. It had been about a day since she may have gotten into it, so we couldn’t induce vomiting (wouldn’t have helped this late in the game). Instead, we started her on Vitamin K. She will take one 25 mg capsule for 25 days. After that course of treatment, we plan to check some of her clotting times.

By starting her on treatment BEFORE she shows signs of bleeding (such as bruising, bloody diarrhea, or lethargy), we have the best chance of preventing problems.

If you’re interested in understanding why vitamin K is helpful treatment with rodenticide poisoning, read on.

Here’s what normally happens when a blood vessel breaks and there’s bleeding:

1. The blood vessel automatically constricts and spasms. This restricts the blood flowing to the damaged area and helps minimize blood loss.
2. The exposed pipe attracts circulating platelets, cloud-like cells that circulate ready to assist in clotting should the need arise. Platelets clump together over the tear in the blood vessel forming a plug within the first 5 minutes of the injury. This is all a good thing, but the platelets will stay in place unless a substance called fibrin can be made to bind them.
3. Platelets have on their surface binding sites for coagulation proteins, which also circulate normally in inactive forms. These coagulation proteins must be activated in order to produce fibrin. There are two ways to do this: a so-called intrinsic pathway and a so-called extrinsic pathway. There are twelve clotting factors involved between these two pathways and we will not confuse you by reviewing these steps, but suffice it to say that calcium is one of the factors as are four enzymes called serine proteases. It is the serine proteases that are relevant to rat poisoning. The end product of these pathways is protein fiber called fibrin, which binds the platelets and serves as a scaffolding for the permanent healing of the vessel tear.

Clotting factors are identified by number and the serine proteases (also called “K-dependent factors for reasons that are about to become clear) are factors II, VII, IX, and X. These factors are produced in an inactive state by the liver and go happily circulating through the bloodstream awaiting activation.

When a vessel tears and it becomes necessary to form a clot, these factors are activated in a process that requires Vitamin K (a fat soluble vitamin not as famous as its fat-soluble cousins Vitamins A and E). As the clotting factors are activated, Vitamin K is inactivated but later recycled by another set of enzymes to be ready to participate in clotting factor activation again later.

As long as there is plenty of Vitamin K, the serine proteases can be activated and clotting can proceed normally.

The anticoagulant rodenticides abolish Vitamin K recycling. This means that as soon as one’s active Vitamin K reserves are depleted, there can be no meaningful blood clotting.

In cases of poisoning one would expect symptoms to be nearly immediate, but in the case of anticoagulant rodenticide poisoning it takes several days to deplete Vitamin K. After that, even the smallest of jostles and traumas can lead to life-threatening bleeds.

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