Health & Welfare

New AAHA Vaccine Guidelines The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) has developed new guidelines for administering vaccines to dogs and cats. After the initial series of puppy shots, parvo, distemper and adenovirus vaccines should be given no more frequently than every 3 years; rabies vaccines should be given according to state law, either every year or every 3 years; parainfluenza vaccine should be given every 3 years; bordatella and lyme disease annually; leptospira annually, but only when indicated for a particular area; giardia vaccines are not recommended. The entire article is 28 pages; if you’d like to read it, go to this link: http://www.aahanet.org/PublicDocuments/VaccineGuidelines06Revised.pdf.

Possible tick remedy? This came through on the internet, so I don’t know if it works or not. Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds (15-20); the tick will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away. This is great, because it works in those places where it's sometimes difficult to get to with tweezers: between toes, in the middle of a head full of dark hair, etc.

Toxic Plant The Sago palm, a popular houseplant with dark green leaves and hairy trunk, is highly toxic to dogs and cats; common signs of poisoning include vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, depression, seizures and liver failure.