Sun City Animal Hospital's Dr. Knehr had a few updates and bits of information to share with all of SCAH's clients and friends.
One issue he wanted to bring to everyone's attention is the importance of getting a canine influenza vaccination for your dog.
"The canine influenza vaccination is one that every dog with social contact with other dogs should have," Dr. Knehr said.
Though most people are familiar with the human flu, not everyone knows about it's canine counterpart.
"It crossed over from horses to dogs a number of years back," Dr. Knehr said, "and there are a lot of important reasons to get vaccinated. Number one, there's no natural immunity in dogs, meaning if your pet comes in contact with it, they will get the virus. Secondly, it can be a deadly disease. A certain percent of dogs that contract the virus die every year, so for that reason we think it's necessary to vaccinate all dogs."
Dr. Knehr mentioned that canine influenza is something all dog owners should be aware of, especially at this time of year.
"We really want to get the word out there and make sure people are aware of and educated about canine influenza," he said. "With it being flu season, it's an important message to send, especially with so many people traveling with their pets and putting them in boarding."
Dr. Knehr is also excited about Sun City Animal Hospital's new website and the benefits it will bring our clients.
"It's a beautiful, brand new website that will allow us to communicate with our clients better and in new ways, so we're trying to link together all our resources and make it a really powerful tool for our clients and ultimately for their pets as well," he said.
There were also a few holiday pet tips that Dr. Knehr wanted to share with pet owners this winter.
"The #1 tip for pet owners is not to feed your pets human food," he said. "Scraps and leftovers can cause problems for your pet and result in them getting sick. The second tip is to be extra careful not to let your pet accidentally ingest anything. We see a lot of foreign bodies get swallowed because of the abundance of decorations and ornaments. Pets should be treated like small children and always need supervision."
From Dr. Knehr and the SCAH staff, Happy New Year!
