Bloody Dog Pee – It could be a Urinary Tract Infection

My senior dog left pink spots on the snow after she peed. I knew instantly what it meant—she had blood in her urine, likely from a urinary tract infection. My first thoughts were: Why did she get this? If I hadn’t walked her, I may not have caught it. If untreated, a UTI can lead … Read more

Bumps on Your Dog’s Lip – Should You be Concerned?

Dog with lip warts

Taffy, my sister’s 16-year-old cocker spaniel had several bumps around her mouth. Her vet said they were just warts and would go away on their own. But they didn’t. They got bigger and became bloody when she bumped them. Then Taffy would shake and blood spattered the walls, floor, and furniture. My sister didn’t want … Read more

Lumps on a Senior Dog—Hope it’s a Fatty Tumor

Dog at vet

Anyone who’s owned an older dog knows that feeling of panic when they pet their dog and find a lump. Is it cancer or just a fatty tumor? We try to feel if it’s isolated or connected, hard or soft. Every time we pet the dog we feel for it, trying to gauge if it’s … Read more

Is Lyme Disease on the Rise?

My veterinarian said she saw three cases of Lyme disease already by the middle of March. One case was in a dog that never left the owner’s property. “It’s on the rise,” she said,

Canine Bone Cancer once deadly—now a Vaccine

“I’m afraid your dog has bone cancer,” my veterinarian told me back in 2001. “Amputation followed by chemotherapy is the best option. Most dogs, even with chemotherapy, survive only six to eight months.” A death sentence. Cancer is the main cause of death in dogs over two years of age. Bone cancer affects 10,000 dogs … Read more

Circling caused by Vestibular Disease

At 3 am on Monday morning, Buffy, my 9 year-old cocker spaniel, walked around my bedroom bumping into things. When I called to her to direct her down the stairs, she acted confused and disoriented, terrified of the stairs. Buffy is recently blind from glaucoma so she often bumps into things, but her confusion seemed … Read more

Expanding Tick Populations and Lyme Disease

Deer tick

Until two years ago, I never found a tick in my yard. Now with Buffy being blind, she mostly stays on the grass and hardly walks into the shrubby areas, so I was shocked when I saw a tick on her. I found another one on me after I had walked her around my residential … Read more

Each Dog Teaches us about Disease

With every dog, I seem to learn about different diseases. My parent’s dogs never seemed to get sick until they were quite old, and then they’d euthanize them. My sister’s cocker is still very healthy at 15. Maybe I just have bad luck. I feed them a higher quality dog food than the rest of … Read more

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