Summer in Minnesota can be cool and comfortable or can see extremes of both heat and humidity. Combined together they can be detrimental to the health of your pet. If it seems too uncomfortable for you to be outside, your cat or dog will also be uncomfortable. Without the ability to sweat for evaporative cooling pets are left with panting to dissipate body heat. High heat and humidity make this less effective increasing the risk of heat stroke.
Exercise in the cooler morning or late evening hours.
****Never leave an animal in a car. The internal temperature can rise very rapidly and quickly endanger an animal trapped inside.
Summer is mushroom season. Only a small percentage of wild mushrooms are highly toxic and can cause life-threatening problems in pets. Unfortunately, most of the highly toxic mushrooms are difficult to distinguish from the nontoxic ones, so the best way to keep pets from ingesting poisonous mushrooms is to keep them away from areas where any mushrooms are growing. Contact your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center immediately if you witness your pet eating a wild mushroom.
MVPH started using this test last year in place of the single heartworm test. In addition to Heartworm this also tests for exposure to the tick transmitted diseases of Lyme Disease, Anaplasmosis, and Ehlickiosis. If you have questions about ticks or tick transmitted disease, now is the time to ask.
Summer each year means the dreaded emergence of fleas and ticks. In most cases our recommendation is to use the highly effective topical application of FRONTLINE PLUS as a preventative against flea and tick infestations. Please stop in or call if you have any questions about your specific needs or concerns with external parasite control.