Greeting Heidi
The Holiday Season is coming up fast! Along with it come holiday decorations, family gatherings, big family feasts, gifts, and lots of busy, busy schedules. All of us at Goldenvale hope that you have a wonderful, relaxing holiday but sometimes that isn’t the case and we want you to be prepared for emergencies that may come up with your pets. Dr. Steph has put together a list of things that are true emergencies; things that can’t wait until the morning, or the next day. If any of these situations arise, your pet needs to take a trip to the vet immediately, or if we aren’t open, head to the emergency clinic. Read more …
As some of you may know, I’m partial to the “skinny” dogs. I adopted a retired racing greyhound while I was still in vet school and last year added a whippet to my fur-family. I’ll try not to be too biased in this week’s spotlight on Greyhounds. 
Sighthounds are one of the oldest types of dogs we know of. Carvings of greyhound-type dogs have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs dating back to 2000 BC. These thin, short coated dogs spread throughout Europe as a valuable hunting dog – known for their keen eyesight and speed.
Lure coursing competition began with these sighthounds in the 16th Century in Britain and the dogs were brought to North America with incoming settlers. Greyhound racing as we know it today became popular in the 1920s in the U.S., England, and Ireland. A greyhound in peak physical shape can reach sprinting speeds of up to 70km/hr!!
Huskies are among one of the most common breeds of dogs around. The current breed is a descendant of sled dogs that originated in North-Eastern Siberia 1000’s of years ago. The sled dog was bred to be very athletic and survive the harsh winters.
Kenidi loves winter – making snow angels is his favourite
Over the last few years, the number of ticks we are seeing on our veterinary patients has been steadily increasing, below is some general information on the creepy crawlies and things to be aware of if you find one on your pet.
“It’s so FLUFFY!!” – First words out of almost anyone’s mouth when they meet a Pomeranian for the first time. Pomeranians (or “Poms”) are toy breed dogs (4-7.5 lbs full grown) that descend from the Spitz breeds – double coated dogs originating from northern Europe. Poms in particular, started in Northern Germany, and gained in popularity after Queen Victoria took a liking to them. They have small ears that stand straight up, and a (relatively) long tail that curls around on top of their hindquarters. They come in a variety of colours from all white, to sable (a sandy, blonde colour), black and tan, solid black and almost everything in between.
‘Tis the season!
I’m hoping most of you have at least heard of heartworm (if not then we, as a clinic, are not doing a very good job!). More than likely, most of you have probably sat in the appointment room at the vet clinic and been lectured by one of us, our tech or other staff members about the “dangers of heartworm“. There is A LOT of information out there about heartworm and without getting into the lifecycle of the parasite, it is very hard to know what is truth and what isn’t.
© 2013, Goldenvale Veterinary Hospital.
