By Page H. Gifford
Correspondent
Dog and cat owners should know that preventative care is key to good health and to head off needless trouble in the future. Vaccinations are the first step in caring for an animal. Rabies is legally required and proof of vaccination is required in Fluvanna County for a dog license. As we all know, medical care is not cheap for dogs and cats but vaccinations can be the least costly and are the first line of defense.
Rabies is a fatal disease for dogs and cats, attacking the central nervous system and causing severe neurological damage, leading to death if not treated before symptoms appear. It remains a serious threat due to its high mortality rate and the lack of a cure once symptoms emerge. This is why getting the rabies vaccination is important.
The Fluvanna SPCA held its annual rabies clinic and was successful in vaccinating 237 dogs and cats in their drive-through clinic in May. For dog and cat owners looking for low-cost ways to keep their animals healthy, the FSPCA provides this in spring and fall.
Core vaccinations for dogs include distemper, parvo, particularly for puppies, adenovirus (canine hepatitis), parainfluenza, and leptospirosis. For cats, in addition to rabies, they should have panleukopenia (feline distemper), feline viral Rhinotracheitis (Herpes virus), calicivirus, and feline leukemia. Making sure your pet starts out on the right paw ensures a healthy life.
Other non-core vaccinations that should be considered depending on the lifestyle and individual risk of your dog, are Bordetella for kennel cough, Lyme disease, and canine influenza. Bordetella and canine influenza are suggested when dogs are often at dog parks or boarded often.
Beyond vaccines, giving dogs and cats monthly treatments for fleas and ticks is important. Heartworm prevention is also crucial to prevent dreaded heartworms. It is not uncommon for dogs who end up at animal shelters to be riddled with heartworms. This disease is transmitted by mosquitoes and if the animal is not protected by monthly heartworm medication and is not diagnosed and treated early it can lead to heart failure and death. This is difficult to treat once detected but curable.
Animal shelters, including the FSPCA and Caring For Creatures, would agree that unless you intend to become a breeder, have your dog or cat spayed or neutered. Feral cat colonies are on the rise. CFC cleared out a colony last year with approximately 100 feral cats that were not spayed or neutered.
Litters of puppies are often dumped at the side of the road or left at shelter doors. Having dogs and cats spayed and neutered at six months is a humane way of dealing with an overcrowding problem in shelters and cat colonies. Shelters will not allow an adoption unless the dog or cat has been spayed or neutered.
At the end of May, the FSPCA hosted Mobile Vet Solutions, a woman- and veteran-owned mobile veterinary hospital. They spayed and neutered nearly 50 animals in a day. Fosters brought in their foster cats and kittens. Cat Action Team and Caring for Creatures also brought some of their cats in for surgery. Having surgery out of the way makes their adoptions quicker and easier. Mobile Vet Solutions is scheduled to return on June 17 to spay and neuter another group of shelter animals.
Keeping our dogs and cats healthy is important and if a dog or cat is surrendered or ends up at a shelter, being healthy, spayed, or neutered, gets them adopted a lot quicker.
