Burnt Hills VeterinaryHospital
"The Best of Care for The Best of Friends"
 

Poisoning ALERT!!!!

"Sago Palm" or "Cycad"
Poisoning Alert- 

It has come to our attention that many home improvement stores are selling a houseplant that can cause serious poisoning in pets and children. The plant is called the “Sago Palm” or “Cycad”. It is also referred to as “The Oldest Known Plant”. It is used in outdoor landscaping in Southern States, but can only survive as a houseplant in the North. All of this plant, including the seeds and root ball are toxic. Signs of illness first appear about 12 hours after ingestion and include gastrointestinal sign such as vomiting, diarrhea and lethargy. The toxins in the plant lead to severe liver failure with progressive weakness, jaundice, bruising and bleeding and other signs of liver failure that lead to death. It is estimated that 75-80% of animals ingesting this plant will die in spite of aggressive medical treatment. If you have one of these plants in your home you will want to be sure to keep it away from pets and children, preferably by disposing of it safely in a covered trash can or “rehome” it with someone who does not have pets or young children in the household

Diamond Pet Foods Recall 

Diamond Pet Foods has withdrawn from distribution the following date codes of Premium Edge Finicky Adult Cat and Premium Edge Hairball cat: RAF0501A22X 18lb., RAF0501A2X 6 lb., RAH0501A22X 18 lb., RAH0501A2X 6lb. The calls from pet owners or veterinarians regarding this issue have been centered in the Rochester, NY area. All retail outlets shipped the above lots were contacted, asking them to pull the product from the store shelves. The retailers were also asked to contact their customers via email or telephone requesting them to check the date code of the food. However, if you or anyone you know has these date codes of Premium Edge cat food, please return them to your retailer.

Symptoms displayed by an affected cat will be neurological in nature. Any cats fed these date codes that display these symptoms should be immediately taken to a veterinarian.

Product testing proved no contaminants were discovered in the cat food; however the cat foods were deficient in thiamine. Diamond tracked the vitamin premix lot number that was utilized in these particular cat foods and have performed testing on another lot of Premium Edge cat food that used the same vitamin premix, and it was not deficient in thiamine. No other neurological signs have been reported on any other product manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods.

Virbac Announces Voluntary Recall Notice for Selected Production Lots of
IVERHART PLUS Flavored Chewable Tablets
On Thursday, August 13, 2009, Virbac AH, Inc., the manufacturer of IVERHART PLUS Flavored Chewable Tablets, a heartworm preventative medicine, announced a voluntary recall of three product lots. Stability testing revealed subpotent (below specification) ivermectin results in two lots of IVERHART PLUS, large 51-100 lbs. (lots#090093 and #090095) and one lot of IVERHART PLUS, small up to 25 lbs. (lot#090073) nearing the lower potency limit. No other lots have been affected by this recall.
The Lot number is listed on the bottom lid/flap of the box in a white text field and on the blister foil of the individual doses. Virbac will provide full replacement through the distributor network, when the product is returned to the place of purchase.
Virbac cautions that dogs weighing over 75 pounds, which may have been dosed with the indentified lots, may not be currently protected against heartworm disease. Virbac recommends that these dogs receive a heartworm test 5-6 months after the date of the last dose given, in order to verify continued protection against heartworm disease. If any dog receiving IVERHART PLUS Flavored Chewable Tablets was infected with heartworms, treatment can be administered and will be covered under the IVERHART PLUS product guarantee. Virbac Technical Services (800-338-3659 extension 3052 or fax 817-831-9906) is committed to working with clients and veterinary clinics to accomplish any necessary antigen testing of dogs at risk that received the indentified lots.

Virbac is confident that dogs weighing less than 75 pounds and more than 25 pounds are currently protected against heartworm, but the identified product may not work at acceptable levels through the expiration date. Therefore it is important that pet owners and veterinary clinics replace the recalled lots as soon as possible. Since only the ivermectin is affected, there is no additional risk related to the internal parasites covered by the product.

Turkey Strings

Our Goal is to make our clients the most educated pet owners in the community.

Every year the Thanksgiving holiday ends in tragedy for a few of our patients.  Turkeys from the supermarket have a string in place to help lift them in and out of the roasting pan.  These strings, post roasting, are delicious to our pets.  If your pet finds a string in the trash they WILL EAT THEM.  Strings in the intestinal tract of a pet can be FATAL and require emergency surgery to save them.  We implore you to keep your pets safe by disposing of these strings in a zip lock bag and then removing them from your home.

We hope this will help keep your pets safe.  Feel free to give us any feedback on this information and any other topics you would like to be educated about. If you would like our client education e-mails please contact us via e-mail at
bhvethos@nycap.rr.com
 or call and we would be happy to put you on our e-mail list.