Albuquerque Journal Articles
Dementia is Best Treated Early & Thoroughly Question: My sweet dog and best friend, Isaac, was diagnosed with Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome. I watched your video on CDS, and it meant so much!! Isaac is a 15 year old Kooikerhodje. I am heartbroken. His symptoms are barking, confusion, losing control of bowel movements and pacing at night. He has lost his hearing and is having eyesight problems. My veterinarian prescribed acepromazine, Xanax, Prozac and he has been on Tramadol for pain. In your video, you mentioned Purina Neuro Care diet, Fish Oil, SAMe and Melatonin (for restlessness at night). Can these…
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Not your Typical Two Step Question: I have a male ginger cat, 9 years old, named Will. For the last 2-3 years he has had to have his anal glands expressed due to boot scooting and licking of the area. In the last year I have had his anal glands infused with antibiotics twice. After this last infusion he did receive relief but it seems to be for a very short time as he is already starting to boot scoot. Should Will have his glands removed? Dr. Nichol: A long, long time ago, as a much younger veterinarian, I took…
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Question: I have an adorable rescue named Quinn who does not like other dogs. He is good with people but he wants to attack every dog he sees. I put a basket muzzle on him when I walk him. Dr. Nichol: Other leashed creatures and their people don’t think Quinn is adorable. His basket muzzle prevents injury but invokes images of Hannibal Lecter. Somehow this makes folks nervous. It doesn’t have to be this way. Leashes are necessary but they often create trouble. The motivator for Quinn’s antisocial behavior is his frustration with that @#%&* tether! A rapid escalation of…
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Last in a series Acute hearing is among most cat’s best methods of detecting movement of nearby prey but not for fuzzy Mr. Lancaster. Like the majority of blue-eyed white kitties, he was genetically as deaf as a post. Despite this handicap he was an inspiration to all of us. We could have changed his name to “Mouse B. Gone.” Sadly, he was less adept at collaring thieves. After 3 years as an associate veterinarian I realized a life goal of owning my own practice. I’d saved and invested heavily; providing good medicine requires serious equipment purchases. I was an…
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“Bizzi” panicked with any handling – especially her paws. Her nails could only be trimmed under anesthesia. She got lucky when she was adopted by a credentialed dog trainer who knew how to gently teach her to file her own toenails. Never triggering fear by leaning over this good little dog, her new person encouraged her to dig in soft dirt. She then used treats to lure the kid to run up and down a ramp. That’s when she added a nail scratch board, reinforcing this happy camper with a tasty snack every time she scratched her nails on it.…
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Fourth in a series Mr. Lancaster Sr. was tall, lean, and spry, I’d guess about 80 years old. He was a quiet, likable man who typeset and printed our medical forms. Friendly chit chat revealed that he lived quietly with his daughter. There weren’t many veterinarians in Albuquerque in the late ’70s; everybody knew everybody. Of course, that made gossip a hot commodity. When Dr. Mike Adams encountered me at a continuing education conference he could hardly contain his excitement. Clearly feeling the power of knowledge he dropped the bomb that Mr. Lancaster was a convicted counterfeiter who’d been released…
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Third in a series Young Mr. Lancaster was a kitten whose behavior was sometimes, as they say in learning theory, undesirable. He did turn out to be a pretty good cat, hanging out at the reception desk, accepting attention from our clients. On the flip side, even at 6 months he was a wild animal masquerading as a cuddly pet. We love our kitties like little people in furry suits but they are stalkers, slayers, and devourers of helpless creatures. Even in our compassionate veterinary clinic there had to be somebody who needed killing. One fine summer day a couple…
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Does this first photo scare you? Pepper not only bared her teeth but lunged and sometimes bit her people when they reached for her on the couch or approached her when she had a toy. She had her reasons. Like many small dogs she was easily startled and became defensive-aggressive when a much bigger creature loomed over her. She also suffered from joint pain. Nobody gave up on Pepper. Her people learned to lure her for hugs and cuddling rather than inadvertently triggering her reactive fear. We also reduced her anxiety with safe medication. Antiinflammatory and pain meds helped too.…
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Veterinary behaviorists, like me, see them often. There can be many different reasons for this aberrant behavior including crowding with too many other indoor cats, messy litter pans, the stress of nearby outdoor creatures, the list goes on. Our first job is to rule-out internal physical problems. An abdominal ultrasound of this 3 year old female tuxedo kitty showed the problem; bladder surgery removed it. There is no amount of behavioral treatment that can eliminate a bladder stone.
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Second in a series My practice was in its infancy in 1978 but we were ready for anything. I had an ECG, x-ray machine, and a full array of surgical instruments – everything but stationery and business cards. The equine veterinarian next door recommended a printer, so I called Mr. Franklin Lancaster. He offered to come by to design my spiffy new letterhead. When this senior gentleman arrived he cordially greeted Martha at the front desk and waited patiently as I finished with a client who had brought in an duck with diarrhea. That’s right – a duck named Harley…
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