Dog Gut Health, Cat Cancer, Stupid Ticks (again), and Swear Word Stickers

Dear Rise Vet Family,

Happy Spring…or whatever confused season you want to call it.  Here’s a couple quick practice updates and some things to ponder…

Instagram:  We’re doing it!  Since our opening in 2020, I’ve personally waffled on whether to feed the social media monster or not.  It’s too easy to start doom scrolling, so I’ve generally wanted to avoid it.  That said, over the past year I’ve been deep in the veterinary literature.  As a result, I’ve found many data-backed recommendations that hardly get mentioned but look to have incredible health benefits for your pets…simple intuitive things like feeding with fresh or minimally processed food (even supplementing helps) or providing hormone sparing alternatives to traditional spay and neuter practices.  Of course, there are tradeoffs for every decision we make for our pets, but we want you to have as much information as possible when making them.  Instagram is an excellent way to share this information, and if you’d like to learn more you can find us here…

In addition, we’ll interview staff members and fellow clients, highlight some great cases, and promote our awesome community of pet lovers.

Ticks:  Heads up, the stupid ticks are back.  I’ve found two on my dogs so far and one on the couch. A number of our clients are finding them as well.  We stock Nexgard in large quantities, so let us know if you’d like to pick up a box.  You can order online as well or visit our online pharmacy

Video Link:  Back to the food thing…click HERE for a link to an excellent Ted Talk regarding supplementing your dog’s diet.  In addition, a new paper was just published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association regarding canine emotional health and how it relates to the gut microbiome.  The authors found that dogs with chronic digestive problems showed more signs of anxiety, fearfulness, and emotional distress than healthy dogs…even when their symptoms were relatively mild. These dogs were notably more reactive, harder to settle, and nearly twice as likely to show signs of stress when their owners got ready to leave the house. The reason revolves around “the gut-brain axis”…basically a communication system between the digestive tract and the brain that influences mood, anxiety, and emotional regulation. So, if your dog seems anxious, reactive, or emotionally off, it may be worth exploring ways to improve their gut health.  Again, the video link above is a good place to start. As always, we’re here to help.

And for our feline enthusiasts…a landmark study just mapped the genetics of feline cancer for the first time and found that the same key mutations driving tumors in cats are nearly identical to those found in humans.  Because we’re all living under the same roof, our cats are exposed to many of the same cancer risks that we are. The result of this study is a genetic roadmap that could eventually lead to new treatments benefiting both us and our cats. Go team.

One last bit – we have a new carefully curated tiny little retail section up front with fun gift ideas for for cats and dogs.  The wool cat caves are pretty great.  There’s even some stickers with pets and swear words on them (our apologies if you don’t cuss…the font’s not very big though).  Take a look next time you’re in.

That’s it for now.  We’re truly grateful for each and every one of you that supports our independent practice.  Here’s to healthier pets!

-Andrew Boal