Embrace Pet Insurance Blog

Veterinary clinics help Tsunami People and Pets

Robert, one of our policyholders who came back from a work posting abroad, asked me last year if we could spread the word to help find expired suture material for a charity he co-founded called the Tsunami Animal-People Alliance.

Right away, we've reached out to the clinics we work with and they have donated many many yards of suture material that they would otherwise have thrown away.

Here's what Robert had to say about this organization:

The Tsunami Animal-People Alliance spays and neuters dogs in the devastated tsunami zone of Sri Lanka. Our purpose is to assist the animals and people of Sri Lanka in long term recovery from the Great Tsunami. Even though the tsunami has long been off the front page, recovery will still take years. Our team of ten well-trained Sri Lankans (including three vets, vet techs, and animal handlers) sterilizes about 500 animals per month from our tented field clinic (like a M*A*S*H unit) that moves from village to village in the tsunami zone. We seek to improve the welfare of the animals through humane population control, and to improve the welfare of the people through reducing the risk of rabies (presently about 100 human rabies deaths per year in Sri Lanka) and reduce the incidence of dog bites, which also reduces the potential for animal cruelty by those fearing rabies.

We have sterilized almost 25,000 animals since the tsunami. About half the dogs we sterilize are street ("community") dogs that we catch in large butterfly nets, spay/neuter in our field clinic, and then, after recovery, return to the exact spot where taken to resume guarding their territories (Catch-Neuter-Vaccinate-Release). The other half are dogs owned by poor villagers, who have no money to pay for sterilization services even if it were otherwise available. We also implement an education program in the villages where we work for kindergarten through adult to teach the facts and myths about rabies, how to avoid dog bites, and responsible pet ownership. All our services are offered without charge and we are supported by donations.

A full description of what we do, including photos and videos, is on our website at www.tsunami-animal.org. The photo below shows our team at work.

Thank you to all the clinics that have participated in our suture drive and for all those that continue to do so. If you would like to participate in this drive, please email hello@embracepetinsurance.com and our Vet Outreach team will get in touch pronto.

I'm really glad Robert asked us to help; it's a great way for us to help using the Embrace reach.

Ask Laura: the impact of toe amputation surgery

I received the following question from Regina as a comment to another post on toe amputations and I asked Dr Riggs, one of our advising veterinarians:

Regina's question:
I have a 8 year old Boxer mix that has a bad foot infection from being poisoned. She will be loosing the two middle toes on her left hind and some dead tissue with it. Will she be able to run and play normally again?

Dr Riggs' answer:
I just did the same type of surgery on an 18 year old cat with a lymphocytic tumor of the the left rear paw. I had to remove the two middle toes and subsequently gave her a "Spock" like look to that paw. She is walking great. Dogs and cats are amazing. They can compensate so well. Your dog will not miss a beat. I was just at a lecture given by a surgery professor from Colorado State, about reconstructive surgeries of the feet. Her quote was "dogs and cats are born with more toes than they need" and she showed some pretty interesting cases to prove that. Your dog will do fine.

Pretty interesting don't you think? I had a friend who lost his big toe in a construction accident (a human friend, not a cat or dog!) and he said it did hinder him more than he thought it would so I had no idea cats and dogs could be so flexible.

Have any of you had to have some of your cat or dog's toes removed? How did it go?

Related articles:
Toe Amputations for Cats and Dogs
Ask Laura: the impact of toe amputation surgery
Ask Laura: dog weight bearing toe amputation appropriate or not?  
Ask Laura: infected ingrown toe nail on cat  
Ask Laura: to amputate or not to amputate the cat's toe, that is the question
Corns on a greyhound's toe: Dr Riggs discusses

Laura Bennett FSA CFA is the new Chair of NAPHIA's Board of Directors

NAPHIA is the North American Pet Health Insurance Association and at our recent meeting in Las Vegas, I was voted in as Chairman of the NAPHIA Board (Chairman, Chair, Chairperson - it's all the same to me.)

I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead NAPHIA's development at this stage of the organization's maturation - there's a lot to do!

We spent our last meeting setting NAPHIA's long-term strategy and short-term tactics for the next year and have some interesting projects on the go. As part of that process, we spent a lot of time prioritizing our efforts this year to be the most effective for our membership and thus our membership's policyholders, as resources are always tight.

Right now, the NAPHIA board members are focused on two areas:

• helping the industry process claims faster and with less cost through electronic interface with the veterinary practice management software;
• benchmarking ourselves against our NAPHIA peers on areas such as pets covered, operational expenses, and growth. Once the data is pulled together (and that's what the project is all about - defining the measures and how they are pulled together by a third party) , each NAPHIA member company will be able to see where we as individual companies compare to the group as a whole and where we can improve the pet insurance experience for our customers.

Our next meeting is in early May in Boise, ID so there's a lot to do before then. Back later!

Blogpaws 2010 - 1st Pet Blogger Conference

A few years ago, I went to the Blogher conference in Chicago and had a great time, learning all sorts of blogging tips and tricks. But  I really missed meeting other pet bloggers - the place seemed to be filled with fun mommy bloggers instead. Nothing wrong with that but not related to my blog.

That's why I'm so excited to be attending Blogpaws 2010, the first pet blogger conference (mommy bloggers of a different kind?) Will you join me there?

Some particulars for you:

Date: April 9 & 10  Location: Columbus OH

Cost: $129 but if you use my special discount code "VIP-LB" you get 20% off, making it $103.20. (I'm helping out so I get a nice code to offer my readers).

Registration: Register here

As the website says, join us for a weekend with like-minded people who are  passionate about their pets and who spend inordinate amounts of time online blogging, tweeting and networking with other pet lovers.

Remember, use the discount code VIP-LB.

Perineal Urethrostomy, incontinence and bladder atony

Wendy posted the following question as a comment on my blog post about  perineal urethrostomy, which I thought was worthy of a blog post all of its own.

 

Has anyone else had issues with incontinence after the surgery? My cat Henry had the procedure done almost one year ago. Everything was going great until this last month...No matter where he sits or lies, he leaks urine. I love my cat and I am heartbroken that this is happening to him. I have heard that in rare cases there can be permanent nerve damage during the procedure, but why would it have just started??? Any advice????

 

I passed Wendy's question on to Dr. Riggs, one of our consulting veterinarians and this is what he had to say in response.

You can see incontinence in this situation occasionally but it probably is not nerve damage from the surgery; more likely a result of bladder atony.  The sphincter of the urethra is at the base of the bladder, not at the end of the urethra.  When cats get "blocked" he is not able to urinate and the bladder gets distended.  The muscles in the bladder wall that are responsible for constricting the bladder are stretched and are not able to work as well.  This is called bladder atony.  When the bladder becomes full enough, the pressure within the bladder overcomes the urethra and he dribbles. 

Have Wendy ask her vet about  two drugs that can help in some cases, phenoxybenzamine and bethanechol.  The phenoxybenzamine will help decrease the urethral tone and the  bethanechol helps the bladder muscle contract.  I would also look to see if there are no strictures in the urethra. 

 

Lastly, bladder infections are common after PU surgeries since the urethra is wider and bacteria can get in the bladder easier. This is the same reason bladder infection is more common is female cats as compared to males. So I would  check a urinalysis and do a culture of the urine. 

  

I hope all goes well with Henry.

 

Have you had this issue before and were you able to resolve it?

 

UPDATE 3/8/10:
Sadly, I received this message from Wendy today:

Unfortunately I had to put Henry down yesterday.  X-rays revealed he had developed eight more stones in his bladder and although he had the surgery to help him with this issue, he was unable to pass them on his own. 

Henry had several more infections after the original surgery, he was facing another surgery, and there were no guarantees that this would be his last.  It was a very hard decision, but in the end I did what was best for Henry.  He filled my life with unconditional love and companionship and I did not want him to continue suffering. 

I want to thank you for your kindness and your concern.

Sincerely,

Wendy

RIP Henry

 

Related Posts:
Pet health story: Tallulah, a grey tabby cat
Perineal Urethrostomy: description and costs
Perineal Urethrostomy, incontinence and bladder atony
Ask Laura: what are the chances of success for Perineal Urethrostomy surgery?

More discussion about anesthesia-free teeth cleaning

Dr Riggs started off a conversation last week about why a veterinarian should clean your dog's teeth (Guest Post: Why Have Your Dog's Teeth Cleaned By A Vet Anyway?) and there were some interesting comments about other alternatives. Dr. Riggs asked me to post his response to these comments:

Wow...who would have thought we could stir up this much controversy with a little dental blog!

In response to the comment about Vet Economics:
Veterinary medicine is a business. We do need to make a living through the services we perform. I can assure you the vast majority of vets do not recommend services(or "pad the bill"), such as dentals ,when they are not needed. We need to offer the best medicine and let the owners decide. One of the mottos we follow is, "Always offer what is indicated, nothing that is not". 

In response to the comments about anasthesia-free teeth cleaning:
What people don't realize is that you cannot do a thorough sub gingival curetting without anesthesia. The dogs will not let you. Anesthesia in animals, using the right equipment and agents, is safe. Our veterinary technicians are extensively trained and we use pulse oximeters, blood pressure machines and warming devises (bair huggers) to ensure the patients safely.

Can you do a little scraping under the gums without anesthesia? Sure, but not a true cleaning. The difference with human dentistry and veterinary dentistry is that animals will not open their mouth for you to clean under and around the teeth and gums on all four sides. You must clean all sides of the teeth to clean properly. When you scrap the enamel, you must then polish the teeth to help eliminate the microscopic grooves left in the enamel. This is done with a low speed polishing drill. If not, these grooves act as a scaffolding for tarter to grab hold. This is another step not done by the groomers.

The dentals we do also include dental radiographs. You can not tell tooth root abscesses without radiographs. It is the same reason dentist use dental radiographs on us. These require anesthesia in animals. (some pictures below) 

Finally, one misinterpretation from the article I think, was that you need to do a prophylactic dental each year. You normally do not. If the people brush the dogs teeth regularly often you can wait 3 to 4 years between dental. Owners have a lot of power in determining their pets dental health. We evaluate each animal yearly on their normal vaccine exams.

Rex C. Riggs D.V.M. Best Friends Veterinary Hospital Powell, Ohio. BFVH.org

First picture: The black on the xray is where bone has eroded away. So you can see the roots on the middle tooth is just barely on the bone. If more then 50% of the root is exposed then that tooth need to come out. We removed this tooth.

Second picture: The bottom tooth has total destruction of the roots and now has an infection of the jaw bone. On this xray you cannot rule out even a tumor. we tooth this tooth out and biopsied the jaw. This came back osteomyelitis.

Third picture: This is a good example of a root abscess on two teeth . The big 2nd tooth has the black halo area under the bifurcation. Then the third tooth has the classic halo around the first root. Both of these teeth needed removed.

What do you think?

Guest Post: Why have your dog's teeth cleaned by a vet anyway?

Today, we have a guest post from Dr. Rex Riggs, owner of Best Friends Veterinary Hospital in Powell, Ohio. He is a veterinarian, and an Advisory Board member of Embrace Pet Insurance. Dr. Riggs and one of his vet techs, Ellen Winkler RVT, writes about dental health and teeth cleaning. _________________________________

If you are ever curious as to what happens if teeth go for years without brushing (or you want to show your children what will become of their teeth if they fail to brush regularly), you have only to look at your pet’s teeth and smell your pet’s breath.

The leading sign of periodontal disease is bad breath. Periodontal disease is a problem that affects 85% of pets by three years of age. Daily tooth brushing and regular dental cleanings are crucial to the health of your pet.

There is little difference between the dog or cat’s tooth and the human tooth. We all have a set of baby teeth that come in and fall out to make way for adult teeth. We all have nerves and blood vessels in our teeth surrounded by dentin, which is surrounded by a hard coat of enamel. The enamel is bathed in saliva and quickly covered by plaque which is bacteria mixed with saliva. If we do not regularly disinfect our pet’s mouths and brush away the plaque, the plaque will mineralize into tartar (also called calculus– the gritty material the dental hygienist scrapes away). The bacteria that accumulate can cause damage by infecting the bone and ligament that holds the tooth in.

Eventually the tooth is lost and, if the bone damage is severe enough, the jaw can actually break. Gingivitis is reversible. Bone loss, once it starts, is not reversible. Worse still, bacteria of the mouth can invade other areas of the body leading to infection in the heart, liver, kidney, or virtually anywhere the blood stream carries them.

It should not be surprising that dental health requires regular professional cleaning. Home care of the teeth, while great, does not replace the need for professional cleaning. The cleaning done performed at your veterinarian is done while under anesthesia and includes many steps.

Here is a brief overview of what is involved in a routine dental cleaning for your pet:

• Gross (visible) tartar is removed with hand scalers.
• More delicate tartar deposits are removed from the gum line with ultrasonic scalers.
• Periodontal pockets are probed and measured to assess periodontal disease.
• The roots are planed, (meaning tartar is scraped from below the gum line) until the roots are smooth.
• The enamel is polished to remove any unevenness left by tartar removal.
• The mouth is disinfected and treated with a fluoride sealer.
• Professional notes are taken on a dental chart, noting abnormalities on each of the dog’s 42 teeth, or the cat’s 30 teeth.
• X-rays are taken of any abnormal teeth.

Below are pictures of a before and after of a typical dental cleaning. An abcess shows up as a black halo around the tooth root in an x-ray, which just goes to show the importance of dental x-rays because we could not see this on a normal dental exam.

It is important to note that a non-anesthetic teeth cleaning, what groomers sometimes offer, is not comparable to the above service. It is impossible to perform a total cleaning on a pet without general anesthesia. Cosmetic cleanings do not address periodontal disease where it occurs; under the gum line.

Related Posts: other posts by Dr Riggs ___________________________________________

Dr. Rex Riggs grew up in Wadsworth, Ohio, near Akron. Dr Riggs is co-owner of Best Friends Veterinary Hospital in Powell, Ohio. He is also on the board of the North Central Region of Canine Companions of Independence, a board member of The Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine Alumni Society and Small Animal Practitioner Advancement Board at The Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Riggs lives in Lewis Center with his wife Nancy, their two dogs Boo and Maggie, and two cats Franklin and Speeder. Outside of work, Dr. Riggs is an avid golfer and enjoys travel and photography.

Do you have to go for a pet check up before you buy your pet insurance policy?

A visitor to our offices asked me this question the other day and I looked at her dumb-founded with myself for forgetting that not everyone knows these things.

With most pet insurance policies, the answer is no, you do not have to go for a pet check up to buy your pet insurance policy. A check up is not part of the purchase of a pet insurance policy.

With Embrace Pet Insurance policies, there are no requirements for a health check up before you buy. We do require you to have been to the vet for a medical examination in the year before you buy your policy but then, that's not really a tough requirement for most people.

Even if you haven't been to your vet in the last 12 months, you can go right after you buy your policy. That way, you can get your policy started before something happens you wish you'd had the insurance for.

Make sense?

Embrace Core Values

We have been getting in touch with our inner Embrace lately. Answering questions such as What makes us tick as a company?  What lies behind everything we do? What does it mean to be an Embracer?

It's not easy to do but very rewarding. Here's what we came up with.

Embrace Core Values

 

Open & Honest:   
Open and honest actions and communications come first and they guide all that we do. We do the right thing for our pet parents and partners and they will do the same for us.

 

Personal Responsibility:  
We take responsibility for our own success at work, our relationships with pet parents and co-Embracers, and our own learning. Titles and roles do not matter when it comes to getting the job done. We believe we can do it, and we do it today.

 

Customer Fixation:
We respect our Embraced pet parents above all else and never forget that they come to us by choice. We share a personal responsibility to maintain our pet parents' loyalty & trust, which must never be taken for granted. We listen and respond to our pet parents and seek to WOW them at every turn.  

 

Innovation:
We thrive on creativity and ingenuity. We seek the innovations and ideas that can change the pet world. We use technology to further our goals. We are not afraid to take informed, responsible risk. We do more with less. We don't take shortcuts on quality.

 

Community & Environment:  
We are passionate about making an impact on the pet world. We are committed to serving both the pet community at large & our own communities at home. We respect our environment & recycle, reuse, & reduce our waste wherever & whenever we can.

 

Passion:
We believe humor is essential to success. We don’t talk corporate-speak and we provide surprisingly personal but professional care. We celebrate achievement. We share our daily lives with our pets. We do the happy dance at work and wear our slippers in the office.  

 

What do you think?

February is Pet Dental Health Month at Embrace Pet Insurance

Well actually, it's Pet Dental Month pretty much everywhere in keeping with AVMA (the American Veterinary Medical Association) who promotes dental care this month.

On the Embrace blog, we'll be talking about pet insurance and dental accidents, illness, and wellness - all of which Embrace covers.

But first, some basic facts about pet teeth you might not have known:

• dogs and cats can have crowns, root canals, and even braces - yes, it's absolutely true. But you don't want dental issues to get to the point where you need these treatments, so...
• many dentists recommend you brush your dog or cat's teeth - twice a day if you can manage it
• cats can only move their jaws up or down, not side to side, which means that there are no chew toys for cleaning their teeth. Cats should always have their teeth cleaned by a professional.
• human toothpaste is not good for cats and dogs - too much flouride and of course, they just swallow the toothpaste without rinsing. Get them a product that's meant specifically for cats or dogs
• dental disease has been linked to heart disease in certain forms
• some cats have a dental floss fetish - flush the floss after you've finished, don't throw it in an open bin (yes, really. A friend's cat had a foot and a half of dental floss pulled from her stomach - she nearly died).

I have to admit, I do not brush my cats' teeth. Do you brush your dog or cat's teeth?

PS. Anyone got a good Lolcat oneliner for the picture above? I need some inspiration...