Animal Airwaves

You may think of Toxocara, or roundworms, as parasites that only affect dogs and cats. But toxocariasis – roundworm infection – can cause serious disease in people, too.

Dogs are the main source of Toxocara. Adult worms in their digestive tract produce eggs that pass in the stool. After they’re ingested from the environment, the eggs hatch in the intestine where they can burrow through the intestinal wall and travel to other organs.

Roundworm eggs are highly resistant to environmental extremes. In disadvantaged communities with high levels of soil contamination, the incidence of Toxocara infections in people — or human toxocariasis — can soar, especially among children and in warm weather.

We can all help by treating our pets with a monthly roundworm preventative. Ask your veterinarian for suggestions.

Our pets love springtime just as much as we do. But even in balmy weather, we need to protect them against potential dangers.

Topping the list are parasites, like fleas, ticks and heartworm. Nowadays, these can cause problems year-round, but the threat is highest in warm weather. Ask your veterinarian about safe preventatives.

Gardens can be attractive to our furry friends, but they’re not all fun and games. Some plants — like tulips, daffodils and lilies — are toxic to pets. Lilies are especially very dangerous to cats.

Chemicals in traditional garden fertilizers and pesticides can also make pets sick, so either keep them off limits or replace them with pet-friendly products.

Finally, contact your veterinarian if your pet starts getting super itchy. It may be a sign of seasonal allergies.

Hanging on to your pet’s old medications can be risky, but what’s the best way to get rid of them?

The safest method is to use take-back programs offered by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA. These include accessing year-round locations — like collection sites at pharmacies, clinics or police stations — or taking part in national take-back events.

If these options aren’t available, the DEA website has a list of flushable medications.

You can also ask your pharmacy about the availability of prepaid drug mail-back envelopes or DisposeRx packets. The latter forms a disposable gel when mixed with water and medications.

If all else fails, you can combine medications with used coffee grounds or cat litter and seal the mixture in a sturdy container before throwing it in your trash.

Each year, thousands of animal and plant species are objects of illegal wildlife trafficking. Many affected mammals — like elephants and rhinos — are well known, but chances are you’ve never heard of the most trafficked mammal of all, the pangolin.

Pangolins are shy, scaled insect eaters that arguably look more like reptiles than mammals. The eight pangolin species that inhabit Asia and Africa are all highly endangered. Their meat is considered a delicacy, and traditional medicine holds that their scales can cure a variety of ailments.

Nearly a million pangolins have been snatched from the wild over the past decade. Their scales and ability to roll into tight balls are ideal defense mechanisms against natural predators, but they’re no match against humans, the most dangerous threat of all.

Recently, dogs in need of critical first aid have received some positive news.

Following a risk review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Mantel Technologies’ canine freeze-dried plasma — or cFDP — is now available for preorder. It’s intended to treat hypovolemia — that’s low blood volume — and to control hemorrhage.

Plasma is the liquid part of blood, which makes up about half of the blood volume. Traditional plasma products are typically kept frozen and require thawing before use. In contrast, cFDP is a shelf-stable formulation that can be reconstituted with sterile water and given intravenously in emergencies. This makes it particularly useful for trauma cases or in remote settings where whole blood products aren’t accessible or easily stored. Even working military dogs can benefit.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, has had a busy first quarter of 2026 approving medications for the animals that we care so much about.

In early March—and five years after issuing conditional approval—the FDA granted full approval to Laverdia®, the first oral treatment for canine lymphoma, a type of cancer involving the lymph nodes and lymphatic system. Laverdia® is available by prescription from a licensed veterinarian.

Pet parents can administer Laverdia® twice weekly at home under their veterinarian’s direction and by carefully following the safety directions in the product’s client information sheet. For example, medical gloves safe for use with chemotherapy drugs should be worn while handling the drug, the dog’s food and water bowls, as well as while cleaning up after a treated dog.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Numelvi tablets for the control of itch associated with allergic dermatitis in dogs six months of age or older.

According to data from studies conducted by the pharmaceutical company, once-daily Numelvi works quickly to quell itching. Because it’s highly selective for the intracellular enzymes that mediate itch and inflammation in allergic dermatitis, it has minimal effects on other beneficial immune functions, like response to vaccination.

Numelvi is available by prescription from a licensed veterinarian. It now joins several other anti-itch medications used to help soothe the discomfort of canine allergic dermatitis. If your dog is affected, talk to your veterinarian about recommended treatment options.

As of April 2026, New World Screwworm, or NWS, still hasn’t made its way into the U.S. But if, or when, it does, there’s a new agent to fight it.

You may recall that NWS is a maggot that invades the healthy flesh of animals, often causing severe tissue damage. In March of this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency Use Authorization for a topical spray used to prevent and treat NWS in a variety of animals. F10 Antiseptic Wound Spray with Insecticide can be used in livestock, horses, wild and exotic mammals, as well as wild and pet birds, but it should not be used in pet dogs and cats.

Although this product is available over the counter without a prescription, it’s best to talk to your veterinarian before using it on your animals.

Both people and dogs can suffer from seasonal allergies — it’s just that they’re affected in different ways.

In each case, allergic individuals overreact to certain environmental substances, like pollen, grass, dust or mold. But while people tend to develop upper respiratory signs — like sneezing and a runny nose — affected dogs become itchy in certain areas, or even all over. They can also be prone to ear and skin infections.

While canine seasonal allergies can’t be cured, they can be managed with baths, medications, antimicrobials and even allergy shots. So, if your buddy is affected, talk to your veterinarian about easing the discomfort. Once you have a diagnosis, you can get a jump on treatment before the next allergy season rolls around.

As the weather warms, dogs and their humans have something in common — that’s the threat of Lyme disease caused by bacteria spread by blacklegged, or deer, ticks.

As opposed to people infected with the bacteria — about 90 percent of whom get sick — most dogs don’t develop clinical signs. But for the five or 10 percent that do, common abnormalities include intermittent lameness, swollen joints and fever. A few may even develop severe kidney disease.

Once an infected tick attaches, it takes 24 to 48 hours to transmit the bacteria. But don’t count on finding and removing every tick, since some are as small as poppy seeds. While removal helps, tick preventative is the most reliable way to go. In addition, ask your veterinarian if your dog should be vaccinated against Lyme disease.