110
Escarpment Magazine Summer 2013
escarpment
four legged friends
Summertime
is more fun when you
can enjoy it with our pets. Our region has
an abundance of trails and swimming areas
to explore and for those with waterfront
property or cottages, you may have the type of pet
that insists on being in the water all day long. The
blissfully passed-out pooch at the end of the day
usually indicates a productive day of stick-fetching, rock-div-
ing and trying to catch upwith their owners in the canoe type
of activity. Most people are familiar with the usual threats to
our pets in the summer. Fleas tend to be worse in the sum-
mertime and then hitchhike onto our pets to live indoors dur-
ing the fall andwinter months. Heartwormdisease is spread
through biting mosquitoes which can lead to heart failure if
left untreated. Fortunately there have been some really good
medications that can be used to prevent these problems and
should be used religiously once amonth during our warmer
weather seasons on our pets.
Veterinarians also see a variety of other seasonal condi-
tions that many pet owners may not be familiar with until it
suddenly happens to their pet. Hot spots are intensely itchy
and often painful sores or skin infections that often seem to
suddenly appear on our pets. Common regions are under
the ears, on the neck and around the tail base where the
hair coat tends to stay wet after a day of swimming or
sometimes after a bath. A small, infected area can spread
like wildfire into a large oozing mess in a short amount of
time with some pets developing fever and lethargy.
Hot Spots, Swimmers Tail & Ticks
...OH MY!
By DR. JACQUIE PANKATZ
