Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show 2012

Last weekend, my husband and I attended the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show.  Wow, we saw some fantastic horses!  In an outdoor ring, yearling fillies strutted their stuff.  The poise of these youngsters amazed me.  Then we walked over to another outdoor ring for a reining competition.  The agility and flexibility of the Arabian breed is …

The Best Material for Pet Food Bowls

When it comes to food bowls, pet owners have three basic choices – plastic, ceramic and metal (stainless steel).  The following list gives the pros and cons associated with each material. 1) Stainless steel- Stainless steel is a durable material that is great as either a food or water container.  It is easy to clean and comes in a variety of …

McDonald’s Agrees to Phase Out Gestation Crates in Pork Suppliers

I will never forget walking into a large pork producing farm during my swine rotation in veterinary school.  I saw pregnant sows in small crates, the crates were so small that the pigs couldn’t even turn around.  They could only move a few inches forwards and backwards.  Growing up in Minnesota farm country, I was …

February is Pet Dental Month

The American Veterinary Medical Association has declared February “National Pet Dental Health Month”.   Pets struggle with a variety of dental problems including periodontal disease, alignment issues, and fractured teeth in carnivores and overgrown teeth making it difficult to eat in herbivores.  Besides causing pain, infection from the mouth may spread throughout the body infecting everything from heart …

You Make The Diagnosis: Name The Rare Blood Disorder Found In Irish Setters

This beautiful girl is Liddie, an Irish setter with a big personality.  Liddie brightens any room she enters with her expressive and friendly face.  For this photo, she ignored me and listened to a dog in the room next door.  What a character!  Irish setters have a rare but fatal genetic disease that causes fever, anorexia, recurrent infections, slow wound healing, weight loss, umbilical …