Regenerative Stem Cell Therapy Now Available!

Dr. Sheri Morris, our owner, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (Canine and Feline Practice) has recently become credentialed in Regenerative Medicine to perform stem-cell therapy on our canine patients.

Regenerative stem cell therapy is an exciting new field of study and therapy in both human and animal medicine. The therapy uses adult stem cells collected from any individual animal’s own fat deposits, and concentrates those cells to be injected into the same patient to help in several types of chronic diseases. Stem cells are primitive cells that are self-renewing, present in many tissues, and can be easily harvested by the veterinarian. These cells can differentiate into many different tissues when injected into an area of injury. They produce growth factors, and anti-inflammatory mediators, they block scarring, and help to decrease scarring that is present. They can modulate the immune system, and are potent natural anti-inflammatories. They can even go to distant sites of injury.

Chronic diseases that are currently treated with stem cell therapy include osteoarthritis, fractures, tendon injuries, and non-healing wounds in dogs and horses. Potential exciting new applications include chronic hepatitis, and autoimmune diseases like immune polyarthritis.

Stem cell therapy, used in horses and dogs, offers the hope of pain control in our osteoarthritis patients that are non-responsive to traditional therapy, those that are too sick for surgical intervention, or ones that surgery has failed to make pain free. The procedure comes with almost no side effects. In studies, more than 80% of dogs showed improved quality of life after treatment according to owners and veterinarians.

Ask us about regenerative therapy for your dog.

Cancer Treatment Available

The diagnosis of cancer has become more and more common in our cats and dogs as they live to older and older ages. The rates of cancer in our pets are similar to those in humans. Today advances in medicine and diagnostic testing have helped us to diagnose more of these chronic and serious illnesses. In Oregon, we are very fortunate to have access to several highly trained cancer specialists for owners who wish to seek advanced therapies for the many types of cancer.

Just like in people, cancer can be diagnosed and 'staged" to help us define the best kind of treatments. Some common cancers can be treated right in our facility with a combination of surgery and medical chemotherapy. While most owners are frightened by the thought of cancer in their family friend, there are humane treatment options that really do improve quality and length of your pets life when dealing with cancer. It is our mission to approach these diseases to help you understand what can be done, and how it can be done to keep your pet pain free, and feeling well during treatment to preserve good quality of life for as long as possible. back to top

Carsickness

Pfizer Animal Health has released a new once a day drug for dogs, Cerenia, that is an effective anti-vomiting drug for motion sickness in dogs.

In fact, Cerenia, will be an effective anti-vomiting drug for any kind of nausea, including illnesses such as parvo. This drug is now available at our hospital and should be available at all veterinarians in America.

Owners of dogs that suffer from car sickness can now travel by car with their dogs without fear of vomiting thanks to Cerenia from Pfizer Animal Health. Cerenia is over 95% successful in stopping nausea and vomiting. back to top

What is Cerenia?

Genetic Testing

In recent years, the mapping of the human genome has been paralleled in the cat and dog. After the discovery of the genetic code of these species, much research has been done in testing for inherited diseases in both dogs and cats. The first diseases that were researched were diseases that were inherited by a simple single gene. These genes code for susceptibility to develop certain diseases. Much more is currently known about dogs than about cats inheritance, but important diseases in both now have simple and inexpensive tests that can be run on your pet to see if their DNA carry these defects. These are simply inherited diseases. What Does the Test Tell The Owner?

The individual pet would test as negative (a non-carrier of the disease), as a carrier of the disease (showing no disease but could pass the defect on to new generations), or as an affected individual who is likely to develop the disease sometime in their lifetime.

Clearly, knowing the genetics or "genotype" of your pet is important if you are considering breeding, to try to eliminate probability of certain defects or diseases in the breeding population. Carrier pets will not show the disease and make fine pets. However, knowing your pet is an "affected" individual is important in future diagnosis, treatment, and helps us know how to screen that patient for early disease that can help your family member live longer and have a better quality of life.

Some genetic defects such as the MDRI in Collies and Australian Shepherds code for genes which make then susceptible to toxicity when specific drugs are used. Known carriers should avoid some drugs, and will live long and happy lives as long as we are careful with drug treatment. Some genes tell us that your dog is likely to become hypo or "low" in thyroid function and it allows us to regularly check for the onset of disease and start an inexpensive treatment before substantial metabolic changes can make your dog ill.

These advances in medicine are revolutionary, and any pet owner with purebred dogs or or cats can now find out if their family pet is likely to be affected. More tests are being added regularly as research expands. Into the future genetic research in veterinary medicine, like in human medicine, is looking to treat cancer with genetic therapy as well. To date, the first ever cancer vaccine has been marketed in veterinary medicine for a cancer called "melanoma." This treatment for a canine cancer is helping our dogs live much longer with such a scary disease than ever before. The future is very exciting for veterinary cancer therapy, and, we hope for human medicine as well.

We will include links to a number of genetic testing sites on our web site. If you find ones that we have not included please email us and we will include those links. If you decide to test your pet please contact these sites directly. If you need help deciding whether or not to test or with interpretation of your test results please feel to call us, we would more than happy to help. back to top

Wisdom Panel

Swimming With Your Pet

Swimming during the summer months is a great way to get your pet some exercise & burn off some of the extra energy our pets always seem to have.

Before heading to your local lake or stream be sure to check the link below for the presence of toxic algae, which can be harmful if your pet ingests it or gets prolonged skin exposure.

Harmful Algae Bloom Surveillance

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Traveling with your Pet

We want your travels to be fun for you & your pet! We have provided some helpful links below to make preparing for your trip easier. These site provides links to numerous airlines and their travel requirements and great places to stay if you are travelling by car.

To make the trip easier there are also sedatives that can be prescribed for your trip. Just bring your pet in for a general health exam & we can get sedatives for their trip.

Travel Tips

Traveling with your Pet

More Travel Help

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Traveling With Your Pet - Part 2

Are you planning a trip outside the United States? If so there are some pretty distinct and strict guidelines that must be met for your pet to be admitted to another country. Your pet may require laboratory tests that must be done a specific amount of time before you leave. Also your pet may need certain vaccines done at a predetermined interval.

The US Department of Agriculture provides a website with the specific requirements for each country. If you are considering travel abroad it would be best to review any and all requirements as early as possible.

Visit the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Inspection Service for more information. back to top

Vetsulin Questions

FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine Alerts Veterinarians About Problems with Vetsulin® to Treat Diabetes in Dogs and Cats November 2, 2009

The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) and Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health are alerting veterinarians and pet owners that Vetsulin® (a porcine insulin zinc suspension used to treat diabetes in animals) may have varying amounts of crystalline zinc insulin in the formulation. Because this Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health product is out of specification it could cause a delay in insulin action and an overall longer duration of insulin activity. Products having significant problems with stability can affect the management of chronic diseases. Unstable insulin products can result in unpredictable fluctuations in the glucose levels of diabetic patients. Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health is unable to assure FDA that each batch of their product is stable. FDA and Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health request that veterinarians closely monitor their patients receiving Vetsulin® for any changes in onset or duration of activity, or for any signs of hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia. The classic signs of hyperglycemia include increased thirst, increased urination, weight loss and lethargy. The classic signs of hypoglycemia would include disorientation, unsteadiness, weakness, lethargy, and seizures.

While Intervet/Schering-Plough is working with FDA on resolving this issue, supplies may be limited. Therefore, veterinarians should consider transitioning their diabetic patients to other insulin products. In addition, FDA encourages veterinarians to report any adverse events with the Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health product to the company through the Technical Services Department at 1-800-224-5318. back to top