Dr. Carol – what can I say…you’re truly a blessing!!!

My 8 year old Lab,  Harley got very sick.  My dog wasn’t eating and I had to take a water bowl to her to get her to drink.  She had zero energy and her breathing was weird and she had urinated all over the kitchen floor one night.

I thought her breathing seemed a bit labored, in the end I would find out it was because my dog was in pain.

Anyway, I spent $1,200 at the emergency vet.  They weren’t finding anything. They called in a ‘specialist’ to look at her and he duplicated some of the lab tests as he wanted to have them sent to a different lab.

All the tests came back pointing to problems with my dog’s pancreas.  The next step would have been to do an expensive ultra sound to ‘try’ to figure out what to do next.

I contacted Dr. Carol as I knew her PAAWS products had helped my mom’s dog a few years back.  I sent her a copy of Harley’s lab results.  She looked them over and offered her advice free of charge.  She saved me the expense of the ultra sound.

She instructed me to feed Harley a home-made pet diet made of brown rice, boiled chicken, peas and sent me some of her pet products (Probiotics and Digest-Zymes) to sprinkle on her food.

I wasn’t sure if Harley would eat it because she tends to be a bit picky.  She not only ate Dr. Carol’s home-made diet, she was wanting MORE. I took a sigh of relief (that she was eating)!!  Harley has also started on the PAAWS product and she LOVES them!!!

Just before Harley got sick, I had recently opened a new bag of Iams Healthy Naturals (lamb meal and rice).

Read the rest of this entry »

The list of tainted pet products is so extensive, I wanted to provide a list to date of the potentially deadly pet vitamin supplements recalled this year by the FDA. Most are recalled due to salmonella bacteria contamination.

These recalled pet nutritional supplements include everything from pet arthritis supplements to dog dental treats, pet digestive aids dog ear powders, pet multi-vitamins, cat urinary tract health care products and fatty acids for dogs and cats.

Pet Retailers from Doctors Foster and Smith to Petco and United Pet Group  are just some of the pet outlets carrying these contaminated pet nutritional supplements for dogs and cats.

Bookmark www.carolonpets.com for the latest pet health care news,anti-aging tips and information for your dogs and cats.

Holistic veterinarian, researcher and fellow pet lover, Dr. Carol Osborne, DVM., is available for pet health care consultations and pet health questions for dogs and cats.

Contact Dr. Carol’s office toll free at 1-866-372-2765 to make an appointment for your dog and/or cat.

The FDA recalled several pet vitamin supplements.  It started with United Pet Groups Pro-Pet Adult Daily Vitamin Supplement tablets for Dogs, but has been expanded to include many more pet nutritional supplements for dogs and cats, all due to Salmonella bacteria contamination.

The recalled products include various United Pet Group Pro-Pet and Excel branded pet vitamin supplements for dogs and cats, and certain other private label brands of the same pet vitamin supplements in tablet and powdered forms.  

The contaminated pet supplements are those with expiration dates that include and are between “01/2013″ and “06/2013.”

Laboratory testing which apparently is not done until AFTER these pet vitamin supplements are already sitting on pet retail shelves revealed contamination with bacteria called Salmonella.  Salmonella is a potentially fatal disease and affects pets and people.

Signs of Salmonella infection in pets and people usually present with severe diarrhea and/or explosive bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and spread this disease to other animals and/or people.

Read the rest of this entry »

It is always wonderful to wake up and find deer grazing in the backyard or other wildlife roaming freely in your backyard. However as construction continues to encroach into formerly “wild” areas, are we putting ourselves and our pets at risk?

Wildlife is usually pleasurable to watch. Whether it’s the sight of a fox along the roadside or a raccoon ambling across a yard, people often stop in amazement, enthralled by these encounters with nature.

On the other hand, as we build in areas that were once reserved for wildlife, and the naturally wooded areas become scarce we find wild animals coming closer and closer to our front doors.

Fascination aside… what about the risks? Along with deer come blood-thirsty ticks and a variety of bacterial diseases. Raccoons and skunks bring the terror of rabies to our backyard and even the humble mouse has the potential for spreading deadly Hantavirus. Yet there must be a way for us all to co-exist harmoniously alongside wildlife.

Once we are aware of potential risks then we can take steps to avoid problems and keep the whole family, both two and four footed, safe.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wysong announced that batched of their dry dog food manufactured during June and July of 2009 have been recalled due to mold. The announcement was made well after the costly, tainted pet food had been sitting on retail pet shelves and already sold to loving dog owners.

Three months after the fact, Wysong tells pet owners not to feed their dogs pet food from the tainted batches. Unfortunately they made virtually no attempt to help pet owners deal with the dogs that had already eaten their moldy food, needless to say, what owners should do to about the potential health consequences their pets may experience as a result of ingesting the tainted food.

Read the rest of this entry »

We are in the midst of a Swine Flu, level 5 Pandemic. Today the Center for Disease Control (CDC), confirmed 90 confirmed cases in the US, spread over 11 states with 2 reported fatalities. I have prepared some useful tips and information based on published research, that should be helpful to protect us from this deadly virus.

Alternative Therapies including natural foods and herbal remedies can effectively help prevent and treat the Flu. There are some natural nutrients and herbs that are effective against the Swine Flu virus and a few that should be avoided.

The current H1N1 strain of the influenza “Swine Flu” virus evolved through a combination of three mutated strains of the human bird and swine strains of the influenza viruses. These natural remedies and herbs are cost effective, readily available and may be used to help prevent infection in healthy individuals. For those already infected with Swine Flu, they may be life saving!

Certain nutrients such as Spirulina and Echinacea should be avoided with the flu because they can make the condition worse. This is because of the fact that the Swine Flu virus itself is immune to two different “cytokines” that the body of people and pets naturally produce. Specifically the two cytokines are referred to asTNF-a and IL-6.

Cytokines are compounds naturally produced by the immune system of people and pets that attack and remove foreign bodies, which generally protect us from disease and infection. The problem is that when a foreign particle is immune to a certain cytokine, your body thinks that its immune response is not working properly and therefore tries even harder to remove the foreign particle. This response often leads to what is termed a “cytokine storm.”
Read the rest of this entry »

A National Health Emergency has officially been officially declared for Swine Flu in the US!

April 28, 2009, Chagrin Falls, Ohio: The world is on the brink of the first influenza pandemic in more than 40 years. This escalated last Sunday as France, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Spain reported potential new cases in which people had been infected with swine flu. According to the World Health Organization, there are 66 confirmed human cases of Swine Flu in the U.S. and two people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported as of today.

The threat of a worldwide pandemic is real! President Obama spoke to a group of scientists and said that his administration’s Department of Health and Human Services “has declared a public health emergency as a precautionary tool to ensure that we have the resources we need at our disposal to respond quickly and effectively.” The alert level has been raised from three to four now that the virus is being spread directly from person to person.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) announced that Americans should be prepared for this problem to become more severe, and that for some, it may become fatal.

Over 150 people in Mexico have died and spread of the virus appears to be gaining momentum. Two thousand people in Mexico are currently under observation for Swine Flu.
Read the rest of this entry »

Hartz Mountain Corp. has recalled two lots of Hartz Vitamin Care for Cats because of concerns about potential Salmonella contamination of bottles within the lots.

UFAC (USA) Inc. of Baconton, Georgia manufactured both lots for Hartz in 2007. Testing by Hartz and UFAC has not revealed the presence of Salmonella in any Hartz products, but recent sampling by the Food and Drug Administration did detect the bacteria.

The first lot of tainted pet vitamins that Hartz recalled was 3,600 bottles of Hartz Vitamin Care for Cats, lot code SZ-16371. The second lot was 739 bottles, lot code SZ-22771. The bar code on bottles from both lots is 32700-97701.

Hartz has not received reports of pets or people becoming ill as a result of coming into contact with the product. Customers can contact Hartz at (800) 275-1414 with any questions and to obtain
reimbursement for cat vitamins that are tainted.

Bookmark www.carolonpets.com for the latest pet health news and longevity updates for your dog and cat. Veterinarian and author, Dr. Carol Osborne, DVM is available for personal pet health consultations and pet health questions for dogs and cats. Call Dr. Carol toll free at 1-866-372-2765.

More than 1100 pet products have been recalled, including several dozen pet treats. The recall issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is due to contamination with a highly contagious and potentially fatal bacteria called Salmonella, that originated at the Peanut Corporation of America in Georgia. Recently the peanut butter factory in Texas is also under investigation.

Recalled Pet treats just listed include those from American Nutrition, Inc and the Scotts Company. For a complete listing of all recalled pet foods, pet treats and tainted pet products please check the FDA list and their associated links below. The FDA is available by phone at 1-888-SAFEFOOD.

Pet owners can also contact the Center for Disease Control or may call them directly toll free at 1-800-232-4636 for more information.

Because the recall involves Scotts Pet products, Scotts lawn fertilizers and Scotts bird foods, pet owners need to first restrict their pets from having access to backyard areas with bird feeders. Be sure to thoroughly remove fallen bird seeds and check lot numbers to find out if the bird food and or other Scott lawn products they have purchased are listed in the recall. Dogs love eating bird food and in addition to potential Salmonella contamination, bird feces which are often mixed in with bird food often contain spores of Aspergillosis. Aspergillosis is a serious fungal disease, contagious to people and pets. Transmission occurs by inhaling these spores which aerosolize in the wind and are inhaled into the lungs.
Read the rest of this entry »

As summer time and warmer weather approaches, Ticks often become an issue for many pets and their people. Ticks can infect your dog with Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and other tick-borne diseases. Learning to identify ticks is also wise; the brightly colored tick on the left carries Lyme Disease.

If your pet loves the great outdoors — particularly for those that enjoy roaming the woods and trails — be sure to check your pet’s skin and hair coat thoroughly especially the area around their ears and neck. If you spot the pesky, little blood suckers, try to remove them as soon as possible!

Ticks that has burrow into your dog’s skin can be tricky to remove. Dr. Carol offers a few tips to safely remove ticks, such as the harmful tick, pictured to the right that transmits Lyme Disease.

1. First put on a pair of rubber gloves to avoid direct contact with the tick.

2. Use tweezers to grasp the tick by its head at the point where it’s attached to your pet’s body.

3. Gently pull the tick away from the skin, but do not twist. Make sure you remove the entire tick, because leaving tick body parts behind, under your pets skin can cause an infection.

4. Clean the bite area with an antiseptic, such as alcohol and wipe your tweezers well with rubbing alcohol. Place the tick in a glass jar with a couple inches of rubbing alcohol and close the lid.

Be sure to ask your vet identify the tick so you know whether or not you and/or your pet are at risk or if it’s harmless, like the wood tick in this photo.

Contact your vet if the skin around the tick bite remains irritated. To protect your pet during tick season (usually April through September), use a tick-preventive product and consider vaccinating your pets for Lyme disease. There is also a Lyme Disease Vaccine available for people, which is a valid consideration for those living in and/or traveling through endemic areas of the country.

Bookmark www.carolonpets.com for the latest pet health news and longevity updates for your dog and cat. Veterinarian and author, Dr. Carol Osborne, DVM is available for personal pet health consultations for dogs and cats toll free at 1-866-372-2765.