Animal Airwaves

This fall, Massachusetts passed a law to protect pets at day care and boarding facilities.

Known as Ollie’s Law, the bill was inspired by the horrific case of a seven-month-old Labradoodle that was mauled by other dogs at a doggy day care. In spite of surgery and two months of intensive care, Ollie died of his injuries.

The law requires all kennels in the state to be licensed and all dogs in their care to be individually licensed. Municipalities must limit the dogs each facility can take in based on kennel accommodations and staffing. Kennels also must establish emergency protocols and report all injuries to animals or people to licensing authorities.

Hopefully, Ollie’s Law will set an example for other states to protect pets.

New research shows that housing-related pet relinquishment is one of the most common reasons for pets being surrendered to shelters. In plain English, that means that many tenants or unhoused folks often feel they have no choice but to give up their furry friends.

From 2019 to 2023, pet surrenders due to lost housing increased, while those involving landlord restrictions or conflicts declined. Over that same period, cat surrenders went up while dog surrenders fell.

So, while a pet-inclusive approach to housing may be gaining ground, housing insecurity is growing worse and has devastating consequences for both people and their pets. This points out the need for state and federal policies that recognize the value of the human-animal bond.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, recently reminded veterinarians and farmers to stop using aspirin to treat fever and pain in milk-producing dairy cows.

Aspirin is not approved for lactating dairy cows, so this is what’s called extra-label use. There are approved products, such as flunixin [flue-NIX-in], for reducing fever and pain — products that already have established withdrawal periods so that the drug doesn’t contaminate milk and meat. In addition, Vazalore [VA-zah-lore] is the only FDA-approved human aspirin product that veterinarians may use in food animals.

It’s important to remember that extra-label drug use can only happen in specific cases and requires a professional veterinarian-client-patient relationship.

The Center for Veterinary Medicine, part of the FDA, recently announced the funding of four university-based Animal and Veterinary Innovation Centers. Those centers will work to develop products and programs that support animal and human health.

The centers will focus on three areas. They’ll research highly pathogenic avian influenza and its potential threat to humans. They’ll analyze the genetic manipulation of animals meant to bolster agriculture resilience, food security, and animal and human health. Finally, they’ll aim to address unmet veterinary needs in animal species that impact public health.

This effort recognizes the importance of One Health — a way of syncing animal and human health now and for future generations.

Over the next year and a half, a 17-foot sculpture of a pigeon named Dinosaur will grace a Manhattan neighborhood. Among other things, it’s a reminder that birds evolved from T-Rex and company.

Early European settlers brought pigeons to the New World as a food source. As natural cliff dwellers, feral pigeons were at home in city heights, especially as skylines reached ever higher.

In both world wars, their homing ability and visual acuity made pigeons valuable messengers. In fact, they were more honored than any other animal for saving soldiers’ lives.

As the word “pigeonhole” attests, we tend to categorize individuals  before we take the time to know them. Maybe pigeons can also remind us that there’s so much more under the surface.

When it comes to diagnosing patients, some veterinarians are like dogs sniffing out a bone.

George, a young French bulldog, was referred to the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine after outside veterinarians detected a mass in his chest. The UF veterinary oncologists sampled the mass and — while awaiting test results — started treatment for the most likely diagnosis. George responded well to therapy, even though the tests were nondiagnostic.

So, the oncologists kept digging. Results of CT and MRI scans as well as molecular testing on more samples finally revealed that George had a very rare and aggressive cancer never before diagnosed in a living dog.

George had eight happy months on treatment before the tumor won. Along the way, his case taught veterinarians, students and George’s family to never stop looking for answers.

When it comes to our pets, nailing down a diagnosis can sometimes be difficult. When signs are vague or tend to wax and wane, pet parents and veterinarians may have their work cut out for them.

 A case in point is Addison’s disease, also known as hypoadrenocorticism [high-poe-adree-noh-COURT-ah-sizz-um]. This condition — which is more common in dogs than cats — involves decreased production of key hormones by the adrenal glands. Common signs of canine Addison’s disease — like vomiting, diarrhea and loss of appetite — often involve the digestive tract and may come and go.

These signs are also the same as those caused by other conditions, so veterinarians need to perform blood tests to confirm the diagnosis. The good news is that with consistent treatment, dogs with Addison’s disease can live a good life.

Infectious upper respiratory disease, or I-U-R-D, is a scourge to kittens — especially those in multi-cat situations. Beyond targeting the respiratory tract, the pathogens — like herpesvirus — can cause severe eye infections. IURD is one of the main reasons kittens are euthanized in shelters.

IURD treatment often involves the antibiotic doxycycline [dox-uh-CĪ-clin]. But a new study has found that adding the antiviral famciclovir [fam-CĪ-cluh-veer] to treatment plans can lead to quicker recoveries and fewer cases of eye disease.

If mildly affected kittens can be treated with this combined regimen, they may recover and find their forever homes. That’s great for them — and it opens space for another cat in need of shelter care.

Our senior pets need more attention and care than they did in their younger years. But that begs the question — when is a pet considered a senior?

To a large extent, it depends on the animal’s size. Cats are considered seniors when they reach 10 years of age. It’s more complicated with dogs because of their pronounced size differences. In general, dogs are considered seniors when they reach the last quarter of their breed’s estimated lifespan. For example, dogs weighing under 20 pounds are considered seniors at eight to 11 years of age, but those over 90 pounds reach their golden years when they’re only six to seven years old.

Remember, old age isn’t a disease, but in both people and pets, health issues become more common with age.

Join us for a riveting episode of Animal Airwaves – Live! featuring Dr. Cory Woliver, an emergency and critical care expert at the UF Small Animal Hospital. Dr. Woliver delves into the lives of coral snakes, discussing what happens from an envenomation and what makes these snakes unique among venomous serpents. Dr. Woliver will also discuss his groundbreaking clinical trial, which is being used to treat dogs envenomated by coral snakes. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain potentially life-saving knowledge about this elusive fossorial species and the latest advancement in treatment.