“Tiger just came home and was in a fight. He needs to be patched up – help!”

“I just hit a dog on Washburn, what do I do?”

“My cat keeps throwing up, is this serious?”

When any of this happens, what do you do? Do you know Klamath County has an Animal Emergency Service (AES), to serve pets and pet owners throughout Klamath County with after hours emergencies…including finding out if your situation truly IS an emergency and needs immediate attention.

Here’s some specifics you should know:

AES Coverage Hours: 5:30pm – 8:00am, Tuesday night – Saturday morning.

Participating Hospitals:

• The Happy Pet Vet
• South 6th Veterinary Clinic
• Brae Veterinary Hospital

AES direct chat line: 1-650-231-6235 and type AESCHAT or follow the link https://home.ask.vet/spo/aeschat

This is separate from The Happy Pet Vet and it is best to pre-register. This is a free service to the client.

You will either get a technician or doctor from the hospital on call that night (they rotate duties nightly). You may need to leave a message and if so, they will call you back. Please understand that only one doctor is on call at any given evening, and depending on what emergencies have come in ahead of you, the doctor may not be able to return your call for some time…the on call doctor will get back to you as soon as possible, but the timing of emergency calls is most certainly not under their control.

Also to be crystal clear…Each hospital has their own fee schedule, and payment is required at time of service. As you might imagine, emergency services can be expensive, and the hospitals and doctors can’t support participating in the emergency service without getting compensation for their services.

If no one gets back to you within what you think is a reasonable amount of time, you should call Southern Oregon Veterinary Specialty Center (in Medford) at 541-282-7711, as they have phones staffed 24 hours/day. They can offer advice on your pet’s situation, and possibly give you the information you need to decide how aggressively to pursue your pet’s situation.

For those with pocket pets and exotics, try Dr. Shaw first, then if you can’t get hold of her, try AES if you have an emergency during AES coverage hours (not all hospitals handle exotics and pocket pets). If you have a larger pet (goats, pigs, etc.) then of course feel free to try the large animal hospitals.

Of course, we wish that you never have a need to contact or use AES. But if you do, it’s great to know that we here in the Klamath Basin have this valuable service available should you and your beloved pets need it.

All animals are delightful (for someone), and often one or another species will attract you, while another species…not so much. That is to be expected, and as well individuals within a species have specific personality quirks, traits and needs. Just like you and I do. That is a big part of what makes bonding with our pets such a unique and meaningful experience.

Always make sure that if you’re looking at an animal or species you haven’t experienced before, find out as much as you can to make sure it is a good fit before you commit to becoming that animal’s forever home.

Some animals are cuddly, and some people want cuddly animals. Others are more self-sufficient, and some folks want a more independent life style with their pets.

And some animals have special considerations… Hedgehogs for one – they are attractive, cute, and also have some of those special considerations for handling. Take a look for some good hedgehog info here. In particular, this article explains why kissing hedgehogs can be dangerous for disease transmission and safe handling practices for having hedgehogs in your life.

As with all pets, a little knowledge makes for a happy and healthy pet and bond with them. Enjoy!

This is especially important if you are boarding them, or they are in situations where they may come into contact with new animals.

Being fully vaccinated is sort of like defensive driving. You know your pet is healthy…but you need to watch out for the “other guy.” Having your animal fully vaccinated swings the odds way in their favor that even if they encounter an animal (domestic or wild) which is ill, your animal will remain happy and healthy to enjoy your holiday cheer.

As with humans, the young and the old heave weaker immune systems, so the help and support they get from vaccines may be the boost they especially need to stay healthy during a potentially stressful time of year.

Of course it would be a total bummer to have a sick animal any time of year, but especially now, which it can put a real crimp in your festivities, travel and other plans.

Making sure your pets’ immunizations are complete and current keeps them happy and healthy…and that is something to celebrate!

This tip maybe goes without saying, but we often get caught up in holiday festivities and gatherings, and it’s easy to forget. Or someone brings a cookie tin and it’s sealed so of course Rover can’t smell it or get into it.

Wrong.

Most any human food can cause gastric upset or worse with our pets. The severity depends on how much they consume, that it is they got into, and their overall condition (pets with sensitive stomachs, just like humans, need to eat in moderation).

Because you can’t know if the raisins in that fruit cake or cookies are toxic or not, or whether your pet will be allergic to the nut covered log roll, or whether the rich gooey bars will trigger peritonitis…so why take the chance?

At a minimum, you don’t want to stop in the middle of the party or gift exchange to clean up vomit and/or diarrhea. Or you could be in for the need for emergency abdominal surgery and the heartache of losing your beloved pet anyway.

That all is easy to avoid. Just make sure the entire family follows the “No food under the tree” rule, and have your best holiday celebration ever!

As with our previous tip (about no food under the tree), this is a simple one that is sometimes hard to implement with all the holiday hubbub.

And of course, those pleading eyes…”I am SUCH a good girl! Just one little bite. I promise I’ll stop begging if you give me just a taste…”

Liar, liar, pants on fire. Begging pets are opportunists of the first order, so if you give in just once, they redouble their efforts because now you are (rightly) tagged as the “pushover.”

As strange as it may sound, the easiest approach to begging pets is 100% abstinence. That avoids the whole decision making “should-I-or-shouldn’t-I” with each bite. I find it easier to not succumb to the begging by mentally stepping back and seeing how funny they are in their feigned desperation.

“Not a chance buddy! Try all you want. This is MINE!”

One of my clients relates a story where her family was visiting their grandmother for the big holiday feast. Unbeknownst to the family, their miniature dachshund (a notorious beggar) had been in the kitchen “helping” grandma put away the food….and got WAY too many chunks of fat.

The family discovered this the hard way when on the drive home, the dachsie threw up all over her mom’s lap in the car. Luckily that was the end of the crisis as she got rid of all the fat before it could cause life-threatening problems…but it certainly made for a memorable and infamous holiday trip!

Have you found a way to avoid/ignore the tractor beam of pleading eyes, drooling mouths, batting paws and the like? Share your best tips in the comments!

Yes, the holidays are hectic. You are overbooked, and your schedule is filled up to the minute. You have a million things on your mind, and an ever-growing to-do list…

Yet…something is not quite right with your pet. What do you do? Ignore it, pretend it will get better on it’s own. Or give your pet some attention and find out if it is something requiring medical attention, a little bit of quiet time or ???

While it is really tempting to ignore that little voice that says “Something is just not right with Willow,” the reality is that you know your pet better than anyone else. If the little voice is saying something is not quite right…it isn’t.

Pay attention and take some easy actions to find out what’s going on.

If you’ve been through my “Know Your Pet’s Normal” class, then you have a baseline to compare against. Is your pet anxious? Guarding a limb or part of their body? Temperature off? Breathing more stressed?

Perhaps your pet is picking up on your holiday anxiety, which is easy for them to do, since they don’t correlate your stress with holiday cheer. Giving them some one-on-one time, or maybe even just a quiet & cozy timeout away from all the hustle and bustle will be just the ticket they need. This won’t take much time or effort, and may be a great way to some create space for yourself.

If that doesn’t do it, then perhaps a quick message or chat with Dr. Shaw or your vet where you can discuss your observations and how your pet has responded. She may have some additional behavioral suggestions, or she may have concerns due to your pet’s specific health which dictate looking a little more deeply to see what is going on.

Either way, don’t just ignore behavior changes and any health related questions you have. Trust your intuition – your pet is trying to tell you something. Give yourself the gift of peace, knowing you didn’t ignore a small issue until it became a big problem. This way you can truly have a Happy Holidays!

One of the most wonderful things about the winter holidays is the opportunity to bring vibrant colors into our homes and lives. Green trees. Red sweaters. Christmas cookies of all shapes and shades. Delightful foods spanning the rainbow.

While any new plant has the possibility to produce upset tummies, some of the holiday favorite plants are more toxic than others.

Lilies top the list, especially for cats. Lilies should never be brought into a household where they have a chance to be explored and ingested by a curious cat. Just one bite of a lily can bring on severe acute kidney failure in cats. Don’t risk it!

Other holiday plants and greenery which can be toxic to dogs and cats include mistletoe, rosemary and holly berries. The Christmas (English) holly is especially toxic.

What about poinsettas? While they have a bad rap, and certainly can cause tummy, skin or eye irritations, they are rarely severe and generally clear up on their own. The other plants listed above are much more of a concern.

More info at the Pet Poison Helpline.

Enjoy your colorful holidays, keep the holiday plants out of your pet’s reach, and help ensure everyone has a happy and healthy celebration.

While some de-icers are advertised as safe around pets, the reality is that they still can potentially cause chemical irritation, especially for those pets with sensitive skin.

If you’re going to have a de-icer on your own sidewalk, porch, etc. by all means get a pet friendly one. Even so, wipe their feet when they come inside, and watch to make sure they are not licking their feet (pads or fur), which would indicate an irritation.

You may also want to invest in a set of waterproof booties, particularly when you are out and about with your pet and not sure what other folks are putting down where you will be walking.

Keep those paws in good shape so they (and you) can enjoy the holidays to their fullest!

Crazy-making as the winter holidays can be, it’s important to remember that your pets can experience all the excitement and comings and goings quite differently. It’s important to keep them grounded, so they know they are loved and cared for, come what may.

Whereas you are all excited about that great new dress you found for the company Christmas party, and you are so looking forward to the white elephant exchange, you dash out the door without giving them a pat…and you forgot to change the litter box. AGAIN. Your cats start looking for other places to do their business.

Your family is thrilled with the new X-box, and has been pretty much going at it non-stop.Meanwhile your old dog’s arthritis is acting up because he hasn’t been walked in a week, and he’s getting more and more grumpy and even snappy because he’s in pain.

Your kids are running in and out all the time over the school break, and leaving the door ajar. Your bird doesn’t appreciate the draft and the chill, and starts to feel a little under the weather.

For the 3rd time in a week, everybody is so busy they forget who’s feeding your little dog. Some days she has gotten double meals, somedays none. Whereas she never used to beg, now she’s really pushy any time someone goes into the kitchen. You don’t like that.

These are just a few examples of what can happen when the structure falls out of your pet’s life. Structure and routine help our pets stay happy and healthy, and avoid behavior problems because they know what to expect and what is expected of them.

Do yourself (and your pets) a great big favor by keeping the basics of your pet’s routine the same as much as humanly possible. If they have routines around feeding, sleeping, exercising, give them the gift of keeping those routines, even if it requires a little extra on your part. They will know and appreciate the fact you are going the extra mile for them.