July 2015 Newsletter

• THANK YOU for supporting our June 6th Charity DogWash! Because of you (and your dirty dogs!) we raised over $1,500 to support the Community Spay/Neuter efforts of Project Safe Pet. Thanks to you they can continue to help control the pet overpopulation problem in our area. 
• We are a HomeTown Hero! As an added bonus to supporting a great cause, we are excited to announce that CN2 will be awarding Ebenezer Animal Hospital with the HomeTown Hero Award for organizing and hosting the Charity DogWash (details above), and our continued community service efforts. CN2 will be airing the awards on July 21st starting at 6pm, so tune in to help us celebrate! We believe it is so important to give back to our community, and are thrilled to receive this recognition!
• We will be closing early (at 5pm) on Friday, August 7th, instead of our normal closing time of 6pm so that we can enjoy a staff outing to a Charlotte Knights game! Our great team deserves some fun for working so hard on a daily basis. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause to our clients.
• Parvo- what is it and why should your dogs be protected? Check out Dr. Hreiz’s latest blog on our website and learn all about the disease we see all too often. 
• Fleas and Ticks are awful this season! Do you agree? The warm, dry weather has brought out the critters in full force, and it’s important to protect your pets and your family. 
  Most over the counter (OTC) flea and tick options are not very effective anymore, as the fleas and ticks are catching on, adapting, and becoming resistant to the molecules in them. Thankfully, we’ve got a wide variety of products available for all budgets! Call or come by anytime and we are glad to go over the options with you!
  
• Seresto Collar tips! Have you bought one of our amazing Seresto Collars for your pet yet? They treat fleas and ticks for up to eight months and are not like the stinky, non-working traditional flea collars – our doctors really believe in them! Here are some tips to make sure you get the most of out of your Seresto Collar:
• • Apply it correctly! These collars are friction based, so must be applied appropriately close to the skin and not loose like a necklace. Check out this video demonstrating how to apply to collar to dogs, and this video for cats!
    
  • Check the collar weekly! Many pets will scratch at collars from time to time, which can loosen the collar. It’s important for the collar to fit appropriatelyto work, so re-tightening occasionally may be necessary. 
  • It lasts for 8  months! However, the company recommends replacement after 6 months for pets that are often in the water – active swimmers, very frequent baths with the collar applied, etc. 

So it’s only 95 degrees outside… why do you need to worry about heat stroke in your pets? First, you should know that your pets are unable to sweat due to their lack of sweat glands. This leaves them inefficient at controlling their body temperature and forces them to pant to help regulate.  Panting is highly ineffective, which leaves them to overheat in high temperatures. 

Heat stroke leads to multiple organ dysfunction,
and ultimately can cause death.

So what puts your pet at increased risk of heatstroke?

• Excessive environmental heat and humidity (may be due to weather conditions, such as a hot day, or to being enclosed in an unventilated room or car). It is vital to ensure your pets have access to plenty of shade, clean drinking water, and a cool environment at all times. NEVER leave your pets in a car unattended – the temperature in a car rises very quickly, even with the windows cracked or down. See the graphic below to give you an idea of how quickly it can get HOT in a car!

• Breeds with short noses (known as brachycephalic syndrome) such as pugs, shih tzus, boxers, bulldogs, persion or himalayan cats and so on suffer from upper airway disease that inhibits breathing, which makes them at higher risk than pets with longer noses.
• Excessive exercise on hot days can cause heat stroke. While we know exercise is important for all of us, going for that run or throwing the ball on a hot day isn’t the best idea. Dogs can cats can not appropriately cool themselves via sweating and thus will overheat faster than their human counterparts. 

Symptoms of Heat stroke:

• Panting
• Dehydration
• Excessive drooling
• Increased body temperature
• Reddened gums and moist tissues of the body
• Production of only small amounts of urine or no urine
• Sudden (acute) kidney failure
• Rapid heart rate
• Irregular heart beats
• Shock
• Stoppage of the heart and breathing
• Fluid build-up in the lungs; sudden breathing distress
• Blood-clotting disorder(s)
• Vomiting blood
• Passage of blood in the bowel movement or stool
• Black, tarry stools
• Small, pinpoint areas of bleeding
• Generalized (systemic) inflammatory response syndrome
• Disease characterized by the breakdown of red-muscle tissue
• Death of liver cells
• Changes in mental status
• Seizures
• Muscle tremors
• Wobbly, incoordinated or drunken gait or movement (ataxia)
• Unconsciousness in which the dog cannot be stimulated to be awakened

Amazon Smile!

During the month of July, we would love to encourage each of you to give back to your community on a daily basis- and you can do that by shopping on Amazon!

AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at www.amazonsmile.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite charitable organization. The EAH family is electing to support the Rock Hill School District Foundation, so you can join that cause or you can choose from nearly one million organizations to support… whatever is close to your heart. 

To learn more about AmazonSmile, please visit www.amazonsmile.com . It costs you nothing and helps support a cause important to you. 

Back to School donation drive!

The new school year is just around the corner… and some children in our area won’t have the supplies needed to get off on the right foot. Please bring new school supplies by our hospital during the month of August. Donations will go to the Rock Hill Children’s Attention Home
Need ideas to donate? Find a helpful list here!

Community Outreach TBD!

Keep an eye out for our next community outreach effort!

Brooke originally came to EAH as a client with her menagerie of animals, and then joined us as a Camp Counselor in 2002 while pursuing her biology degree at Winthrop University. She became a Veterinary Assistant a short time later, and stayed at EAH until she left to join Carolina Veterinary Specialists from 2006 to 2014. 

We are glad Brooke rejoined the EAH team full time in 2014 as a Veterinary Assistant and our Community Outreach Coordinator! She is currently back in school, pursing her Applied Associates degree in Veterinary Technology with plans to become a Registered Veterinary Technician in early 2016. When she’s not busy working or taking classes, Brooke enjoys spending time with her four rescued pit bulls, four rescue kitties, and a rescue rabbit named Pearl. She also enjoys time outside – including kayaking on the Catawba River, hiking, bicycling, and generally enjoying sunshine whenever possible. 

Next time you are in the hospital, take a minute to say Hi to Brooke!