Amy Hill, Veterinary Technician

04/25/2023

A little word about porcupines!

Porcupines are a part of life in Nova Scotia, but there are a few old wives tales about these gentle creatures that just won't go away. So today we're going to dispel a few myths!

Most popular myths about porcupines and quills:

1) A porcupine can aim and shoot quills.

Porcupines CANNOT shoot their quills. Contact has to happen, either with the porcupine itself ( alive or deceased) or very occasionally, with a few quills on the ground. There is no malice involved ...if a dog gets quilled it is because it touched someone who did not want to be touched.

2) A dog will learn from getting quills, especially in the face.

This one is a bit trickier, because it depends on the dog. Your dog *might* learn, but they also might not. The higher the prey drive, the less likely they are to remember in the moment.

3) Cutting the tips of quills will deflate them, allowing them to fall out naturally. Or, cutting them near the skin will make them fall out.

STOP!!!!! PUT DOWN THOSE SCISSORS!!!

Cutting the quills does absolutely nothing except make them much harder to remove.
Quills are barbed: this means their natural trajectory is to go forward, not backwards. If you cut them, it may certainly look like they fell out but this is only because they have now slipped fully under the skin or into tissue. They are still there - but now they are a much bigger problem. Never cut them and do not believe people who tell you to do so.

4) Porcupines quills are uncomfortable but not dangerous.

Untrue. Porcupine quills in the chest, abdomen, or quills that have been swallowed can all be life threatening. As stated above, due to design a quill naturally moves forward. Quills in these spots can migrate to vital organs causing death.

A few other points of note :

It's easy to say " A dog should be on a leash" but a lot of quill accidents happen in the dog's own yard, often late at night or early morning. Porcupines can easily climb fences or trees with overhanging branches.

Porcupines are here all year but become a lot more active in the spring. April, May and June are busy busy busy with quill removals - these can vary from a dozen quills to the nose to thousands of quills all over.

Pulling quills is painful for the dog and even the gentlest and kindest will object to more than a few being removed - not unreasonably! Sedation is used for both comfort and safety.

And it's not only dogs...curious cats and even horses will get quills now and then. Many animals just go over for a little friendly sniff and then...oops.

And finally : your veterinary team will do everything they can to remove all the quills, but due to many factors some may be left behind. Once the quills have moved under the skin or into tissue, there is simply no way to find them. If they can still be felt a small incision can be made to extract them, but often they cannot be seen, felt or found. It is not uncommon for quills to slowly migrate and then emerge weeks or even months after the initial incident.

How can you prevent hidden or " buried" quills? You might not be able to, but the best course of action is seek veterinary care quickly - the longer they stay in and the more your dog moves, the more likely it is that some quills will slip under the skin. This is especially true if your dog is very agitated and upset or if you try to remove them without proper technique.

So happy spring! Be sure to do a quick check of your yard before letting your dog out at night or early morning, be aware of your surroundings on walks, keep practicing good recall and remember...it's not anyone's fault, especially the porcupine! 🙂

04/14/2023

I'm super excited to share this post! I have been working on this for a long time. I wanted to first give a shout out to my inspirations if I may. I was inspired to create this after seeing the awesome Play Infographic work of Doggie Drawings by Lili Chin and Dr. Mikel Delgado of What Your Cat Wants, but that inspiration combined with getting to know .png’s art really brought it together. This is the same artist who has created images for my Fundamentally Feline t-shirts and other swag items. She is so talented! My hope is to bring you an entire series of these on a variety of topics (in all of my spare time!)

Please share far and wide. If you are a vet clinic, shelter or rescue group and you would like to have a poster for your space, please visit my printful shop to purchase a full sized poster (12x18). Here is that link https://www.fundamentallyfeline.com/products/foraging-101-infographic/

Here is a link to the post on my website
https://www.fundamentallyfeline.com/foraging-101-infographic/

03/30/2023

Spread the word! Every single part of the lily plant is toxic to cats, from the petals and pollen to the water it sits in. If you have cats, this is not the flower for you.

07/26/2022

Our friend Zog is here to talk about summer water safety! She loves a good, refreshing swim 🙂

Water play seems like a good thing on a hot summer day, right? Usually, yes. But water toxicity is one of those summertime dangers that you may not be aware of until it happens to your pet.

Water toxicity occurs when a dog just doesn't know when they've had too much of a good thing. Water play - fetch in the lake, biting the spraying hose, lots of swimming- can result in the accidental ( or purposeful) ingestion of too much water. And although lots of water on a hot summer day seems perfectly natural, the problem of toxicity arises when the dog simply swallows far more than they should. This leads to a severe imbalance of electrolytes.

Although salt water and fresh water will cause different imbalances within the body ( one will cause too much salt, the other not enough) the initial symptoms are often similar.

What you might see :

-changes in personality
-"drunken" behaviour
- diarrhea
- wobbly gait/tremors
- collapse

Often a dog will continue to play even as these symptoms are emerging, so it's important to recognize the signs. Water toxicity is extremely dangerous.

This is a condition that can lead to seizures or death if not treated promptly. If your dog has been playing excessively with water and is displaying any of the symptoms of water toxicity it is necessary to seek veterinary care without delay.

This is not to discourage water play for our pooches - many dogs love the water and it's the best part of a hot summer day. But moderation is key - be sure to know when your dog has had enough so everyone can have a safe and happy day 🙂

07/21/2022

There's going to be a hot spell the next few days, which can be uncomfortable or even dangerous for our furry friends - especially dogs.

We can't say it enough : keep them quiet and keep them cool. This usually means keeping them home and it definitely means keeping them out of the sun, even if they seem to love it. A day at the beach may sound relaxing but on days like today heat exhaustion/ stroke, contact burns from hot sand, boardwalks or pavement ( especially for tender puppy pads) and water intoxication (dogs that ingest too much water after swimming or playing, resulting in an " intoxicated" behaviour...this can quickly become fatal) are all emergencies that we see.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Taking your dog with you to the beach or on a walk may seem like an ordinary thing to do but it can quickly result in the problems mentioned above. Keeping your dog home with a cool spot to hang out, fresh cool drinking water available, and a low key activity to do ( frozen Kongs stuffed with a yummy treat are great!) will keep everyone happy and safe.

And of course...hot dogs are for the barbecue, not cars. Never leave your pet unattended, even for a minute.

If you suspect your pet needs emergency veterinary care you can contact the Metro Animal Emergency Clinic at any time : 902-468-0674. Stay safe and stay cool, folks!

07/19/2022

Many veterinary hospitals have been forced to close, to reduce hours or reduce services due to staffing shortages. What does that mean with regards to veterinary care?

24 hour emergency services are designed to support regular veterinary hospitals by seeing their critical and emergency cases when they can't. That's what we do at the Metro Animal Emergency Clinic, and what we have done for 25 years. But it is simply not possible for us to absorb the overflow of veterinary care that results when multiple regular hospitals close during the day. Like every other veterinary hospital, we also have staffing challenges and our staffing resources will always be reserved for those who need it most.

So as a pet owner, what can you do to ease the current strain on veterinary services?

The number one thing is plan ahead! Of course emergencies are never planned ( and tend to happen at VERY inconvenient times), but most other veterinary care can be scheduled. Realize that many veterinarians are booking several weeks in advance for routine care so plan accordingly. Don't wait to have minor illness and injury addressed- they can quickly get out of hand.

Long term medications may take extra time to be refilled. Make sure you aren't about to run out before requesting more.

Emergency medicine: Although emergencies can take all shapes and sizes, we often need to prioritize. There are times when non critical patients may have an extremely long wait to be seen, or may need to wait to see their regular veterinary team when they reopen. We are here to help and referring your pet back to their veterinary hospital is not what we want to do, but there are only so many kennels and only so much staff. Critical patients come first.

We love animals. That's why we work holidays, weekends, nights and everything in between. It's not for the perks, the money or the glamor- it's for the animals and their people. The entire veterinary community is staggering under a relentlessly heavy workload - there are not enough staff anywhere to service the steep increase in pet ownership from the past two years. Your understanding goes a long way. Sweet little Pearl says thank you ❤️

06/27/2022

Our handsome friend Duke is here to talk about summer heat safety!

We saw warm weather this weekend so it's a good time for a reminder about the ways heat can affect our canine friends. ( Can cats be affected by the heat? Yes. But given the opportunity they will usually choose to rest and cool down when it's too hot. Dogs, not so much.)

Dogs, as most people know, cannot cool down the way humans do. When they get too warm the first thing they do is pant, and if the air is also warm it's not going to help. So it's important to recognize that the first step in heat safety is to protect your pet!

Exercise should be light and limited to the mornings/ evenings. Avoid walks, hikes and other strenuous exercise during the hottest parts of the day, even if it is water related. Remember that sand, pavements and boardwalks can heat up enough to cause contact burns so the beach may not be the cool refreshing place you think it is.

Shade, fans and cool water to drink are all your friends. Dogs should have the ability to remove themselves from an area when they are overheating and if your dog doesn't know when to call it quits, it's time for you to step in.

Puppies, older dogs, large dogs and brachycephalic ( short snouted) dogs are all at a higher risk of heat stroke/heat exhaustion.

And of course, never leave your dog unattended in a car.

Heat stroke and heat exhaustion can kill your dog. Prevention is the best way to keep your pet safe. Let's make it a happy summer for everyone!

06/23/2022

Bohdi presented to the Metro Animal Emergency Clinic with a sewing needle stuck in his mouth.

Cats love string and getting a needle stuck happens more often than you may think. Sometimes it requires very difficult surgical intervention, but in Bohdi's case we were able to carefully extract it without surgery. Bohdi was ( of course) sedated for this procedure, so when he woke up all he knew was that he felt better ❤️ That's just how we like it!

( Big thank you to staff member Amanda T for the great photos!)

06/14/2022

06/01/2022

Tessie, Tilly and Tyler are three little darlings I had the pleasure of meeting recently. Enjoying the sun in their own backyard, they were very well behaved for their nail trims. 💜🐾

05/06/2022

*Update – May 7, 2022 - Thank you for your kind support! With your help, we have been able to connect with grieving families and this Pet Loss Support Group is now full. If we are able to offer another program like this in the future, we will let you know. Thank you!*

It is heartbreaking saying goodbye to a furry family member. We’re here to help. 💙 Starting May 16th, we will be offering a free, virtual Pet Loss Support Group through the SPCA Veterinary Hospital.

Our eight-week Pet Loss Support Group will offer a safe space for adults mourning the death of a beloved pet. 🐾 Facilitators will provide material on grief-related subjects through information sessions, informal discussions, and sharing stories.

To participate or learn more, please e-mail Kathleen at [email protected] before May 12th. 🤗

You are not required to prepare anything in advance. We do ask that you pre-register before May 12th as the support group will be limited to 12 participants. 💞 This is to ensure all members have space to share their feelings and experiences. Losing a pet can be painful, but you are not alone.

*Meetings will be held via ZOOM, from May 16th to July 4th, between 6:30 pm and 8:00 pm. Participants must be over the age of 18. Thank you!*