for the animals - Chemung County SPCA

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6 The Vet’s Corner Ticks and Fleas: The Importance of Preventative Care Interview with Joshua Clay, VMD, Corning Animal Hospital Q: How do you tell the difference between a flea and a tick? A: Fleas are quite small, narrow and dark brown or black in color. They also move around a lot on the animal and you can see them hopping and jumping. Ticks are round and they don’t move once they attach themselves. They are most often found around the head, neck and ears. Q: Why is it important to give your animal preventative flea and tick care? A: Fleas and ticks are a lot more than just a nuisance. The main concern is that they can give diseases to your pets. It’s a lot better to prevent the problem than to wait until your pet has a parasite and have to treat it. Q: What kind of problems can fleas and ticks cause? A. The main disease that ticks cause is Lyme disease. This is fairly common and we see 15 to 20 cases every year in our practice alone. If you’re not careful, one flea can turn into an infestation. Fleas can transmit diseases as well, not only to pets, but to humans. One example that is very common is “Cat Scratch Fever” which is caused by the bacteria that is found in flea dirt. In animals, fleas can cause pretty severe diseases. In cats, fleas can cause anemia and in rare cases, fleas can transmit plague. There are at least two documented instances of every year in the U.S. Fleas can also give your pets tape worm because fleas carry larva of one type of tape worm inside them. You can even develop flea infestation in your house that can be expensive and time consuming to clean up. Q: What kind of preventative treatment would you recommend? A: The most effective types of preventative treatments are topical products. What we recommend in our practice is Advantage and Advantix, but there are all different kinds on the market. It is important to note that there are a lot of knock-off products on the market. These are usually made of older chemicals that can cause a lot of reactions. Plus, they are usually only 60 percent effective. Talk to your veterinarian about proper flea and tick control and see what product they would recommend. Q: Are there different treatments for cats and dogs? A: Yes, there are different treatments for cats and dogs. For example, you never want to use Advantix on a cat because it’s toxic to them. Make sure to read the directions carefully and consult your veterinarian before starting treatment. The most common thing we see is people who buy the wrong product in the store and then put it on their cat. This sometimes requires major treatment to get them well again. Q: Can your pet still get fleas or ticks if you use preventative treatment? A: We are now confident that these preventative products can keep fleas off your pet if used correctly. Tick control is not quite as effective. In some cases, you may have to use additional products to treat ticks more effectively. If you find ticks on your dog every week, you should talk to your veterinarian and may want to consider adding other products to your preventative schedule. It’s not that unusual to need to combine treatments. There are preventive tick collars and other spray on products that can be used to further protect your pet. Dogs should definitely get the Lyme disease vaccine as well. Q: What should you do if you find a tick on your animal? A: The best thing to do is to use a pair of tweezers, grasp near the tick’s head and use a steady pull to fully remove it. Sometimes if you yank, the head will break off and stay inside the animal, so make sure to pull nice and steady. Then apply Neosporin twice a day for a few days. Owners should be on the lookout for signs of illness and if your pet becomes sick, call your vet and let them know about the tick. Ticks are common enough that you don’t have to go to a vet every time your pet has one. If your pet is getting a lot of ticks, talk to your vet about what you can do to reduce exposure. I recommend an annual screening for tickborne diseases as well. This is a simple in-office test that is especially helpful because if you catch a dog that has been exposed to Lyme disease Ticks become larger the longer they stay on your pet. happening. before they start showing symptoms, you can usually prevent the symptoms from Q: Can I get fleas or ticks from my pet? A: You can get fleas from your pets. I have seen cases where the whole house has become infested. Fleas can bite people and cause dermatitis. These are crusty red bite marks that can be uncomfortable. Ticks generally stay on the animal once they have embedded themselves. People whose pets have tested positive for Lyme disease might want to monitor their own exposure to ticks. We sometimes talk to an owner about how to do a tick check and how to wear proper clothing to protect themselves.
Introducing Heather Murley, DVM The Chemung County Humane Society and SPCA would like to introduce one of its newest staff members, Heather Murley, DVM. Dr. Murley is a familiar face to the Chemung County SPCA as she worked from 2004 to 2009 as a veterinarian for Shelter Outreach Services (SOS) which offers high volume, high quality, low cost spay and neuter services for shelters. SOS staffs the spay and neuter clinics that operate out of the Chemung County SPCA’s building so Dr. Murley became close with the staff and familiar with the building during her five years of service. She now joins the Chemung SPCA as its veterinarian of record, or consulting veterinarian. This means she will spend two days a month at the shelter looking after Dr. Murley will be the shelter’s new Veterinarian of Record as their previous Vet of Record, Brenda Griffin, DVM now teaches veterinary medicine in Florida. that has occurred. She says the facility improvements, such as the addition of colony housing to the cat adoption room, the animals’ increased access to natural light and improved enrichment activities greatly reduces their stress level and improves their quality of life. A Message From the Board of Directors of the Chemung County Humane Society and SPCA I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for the tremendous support we have received at the Chemung County Humane Society and SPCA. Through the very generous contributions of the community, we were able to reach our 2009 fundraising goal of $350,000! When we announced just over a year ago the gravity of our financial situation, I would not have expected such a response. With this funding, we were able to assist with taking in more than 2,200 lost, stray and homeless animals last year. While we remain vigilant on monitoring controllable costs, other costs like staff and animal health care will continue to increase. Given this, our fundraising target for 2010 has increased by 14 percent. I hope you will join me in support of the animals. We appreciate all the support we continue to receive from the community. Please visit us at the shelter on Route 352 in Big Flats or online at www.chemungspca.org. Sincerely, Darryl Heckle President, Board of Directors Chemung County Humane Society and SPCA Dr. Murley is familiar with shelter medicine and has worked in many shelters across the country. the shelter animals. The shelter will continue to utilize local area vets for every-day veterinary services and for emergency medical needs. Currently, Dr. Murley is getting a master’s degree in acupuncture and oriental medicine from the New York Chiropractic Institute. She also works part time at Colonial Veterinary Hospital in Ithaca, NY, providing acupuncture services for animals. When asked about the changes she has seen at the shelter, Dr. Murley marvels at the progress Moving forward with the shelter, Dr. Murley wants “to take all the work that’s been done to this point, keep it going and elevate it, so that the animals are as healthy and happy as they can be.” She also wants to work on further staff training so animal health issues are recognized more quickly and addressed so they don’t escalate. Dr. Murley started her work in shelters more than 20 years ago. When asked how the Chemung County SPCA stacks up, she said, “I’ve worked in shelters in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Michigan and New York State, and a lot of those shelters don’t have the engaging, responsive community that exists at the Chemung County SPCA.” She explained further that, “Any animal shelter has rough times, but with the recession, the fact that this shelter is still surviving and even thriving is a testimony to the good work the shelter has done.” 7
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