Since 2013 we have been carefully tracking the status of deer ticks and Lyme disease in Ohio.  In the past three years there has been a significant increase in the population of deer ticks, and the number of dogs and humans testing positive for Lyme disease, which makes the risk of Lyme disease greater for you and your dog.

27 Ohio counties are now considered Lyme endemic by the Ohio Department of Health.

We are now recommending Lyme vaccination for our canine clients.

Please feel free to ask a staff member for more information and to assess whether your dog is at risk.

Could rover unleash a flu pandemic?

Updated: Jun 06, 2018 3:00 PM EDT

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(HealthDay News) -- Dog lovers might be distressed by the latest research on flu pandemics.

In the new study, scientists suggest that your beloved furry companion could trigger a flu pandemic among people in the future.

Why? Researchers found that flu strains can jump from pigs to dogs, and that flu is becoming increasingly diverse in dogs. That all spells trouble for humans, because they spend so much time in close quarters with their pups, the researchers noted.

"The majority of pandemics have been associated with pigs as an intermediate host between avian [bird] viruses and human hosts. In this study, we identified influenza viruses jumping from pigs into dogs," said study author Adolfo Garcia-Sastre. He's director of the Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

Fifteen years ago, researchers found that a flu virus in a horse infected a dog, leading to the first circulating flu viruses in dogs. Five years ago, researchers identified a bird-origin flu virus circulating in farm dogs in China.

"In our study, what we have found is another set of viruses that come from swine that are originally avian in origin, and now they are jumping into dogs and have been reassorted with other viruses in dogs," said Garcia-Sastre.

"We now have H1N1, H3N2 and H3N8 in dogs. They are starting to interact with each other. This is very reminiscent of what happened in swine 10 years before the H1N1 pandemic," Garcia-Sastre said.

The findings, published June 5 in the journal mBio, show the need to take steps to limit the circulation of flu viruses in dogs, according to the researchers.

"The United States is free of avian influenza because every time avian influenza has been detected in poultry in this country, the chickens or turkeys are culled and eliminated from circulation," Garcia-Sastre explained in a journal news release. "There are attempts to restrict influenza virus in pigs through vaccination and one could consider vaccination for dogs."

Future studies will assess whether humans are immune to canine H1N1 or not, the researchers said.

"If there is a lot of immunity against these viruses, they will represent less of a risk, but we now have one more host in which influenza virus is starting to have diverse … characteristics, creating diversity in a host which is in very close contact to humans," said Garcia-Sastre.

"The diversity in dogs has increased so much now that the type of combinations of viruses that can be created in dogs represent potential risk for a virus to jump to a dog into a human," he said.

Prescription Policy

EFFECTIVE APRIL 1, 2018

When a catalog or online vendor contacts us to request a prescription be faxed to them, it is our policy to provide a written prescription TO THE PET OWNER, who may then choose to fax or mail the prescription to the pharmacy.  The Ohio Veterinary Medical Association provides an excellent overview of client’s rights and veterinarian’s obligations in the article, “Pet Medication Choices – Insuring Your Pet’s Health”.  The following is an excerpt from the article:

“To insure that a prescription is properly adhered to and cannot be easily altered or reproduced without the veterinarian’s knowledge or consent, some veterinarians elect not to fax prescriptions.  Instead, when the veterinarian provides a prescription on a prescription pad they are giving complete flexibility in having the prescription filled as you, the client, decide.”

“When a veterinarian questions a prescription request initiated by an outside pharmacy, or is concerned with honoring a prescription request to be sent by facsimile rather than as an original on a prescription pad, they are not violating the law or a code of professional conduct.  A veterinarian is your pet’s health care professional who first and foremost is concerned with the medical circumstances when issuing any prescription.”

Village Green Veterinary Service’s goal is to maintain the highest standards of veterinary care for our patients, while also offering convenience and affordability to our clients.  Please do not hesitate to contact us with questions about our prescription policies and remember to allow 24 hours for all prescription refills.

Buying Your Meds Online?

Everyone likes a bargain!  But do you really want to cut corners on your pet’s health?

Consider the facts:

• The manufactures of most major flea/tick/heartworm medications will not guarantee their products unless you buy them from a licensed veterinarian.  If your pet gets fleas, ticks or heartworm while you are using preventative, the manufacturer will not refund your money or pay for any medical treatment.
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• Internet and catalog suppliers are not authorized vendors of many products such as HeartGard or NexGard; neither are any of the pet “super stores” that carry these products. 
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• In many states across the country, including Ohio, many of these catalog and online merchants have been investigated and disciplined by various state pharmacy boards and Attorney Generals’ offices for offenses ranging from dispensing medications without a prescription to fraud to violations of environmental regulations to unfair trade practices.
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• In many instance we have seen these unauthorized vendors sell products that are expired, short-dated, intended for overseas sale only or mis-labeled.
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• Many of these online and catalog merchants advertise savings that simply do not exist.  Please factor in shipping and handling, and bear in mind that an unauthorized vendor cannot redeem coupons.  For your convenience, we offer our own on-line store through an accredited pharmacy called VetSource, with competitively priced products and manufacturer guarantees. 

Heartworm Prevention Awareness

Join us in raising awareness about Heartworm Prevention.  One million dogs are heartworm positive every year.  That's 1,000,000 dogs suffering through a potentially fatal disease that is difficult and costly to treat, and yet so simple to prevent. 

• Mosquitos transmit immature heartworms from infected dogs to healthy dogs.
• Heartworms live in the hearts and lungs of infected dogs.
• Left untreated, heartworm disease may be fatal to your dog.
• Some common signs of heartworm infection in dogs include coughing, difficulty breathing and sluggishness.
• Recently infected dogs may show no signs of the disease.
• Other carriers of heartworm disease include wolves, foxes, ferrets, coyotes and raccoons.

Fortunately, heartworm disease is highly preventable.  Ask Dr. Kilar or one of our technicians about options for protecting your dog.