Holiday Season Fast Approaching:  Pet and food challenges ahead



      Halloween is a tricky time for pets. The overabundance of treats are enticing to pets but can be bothersome to digestive systems of animals. Make sure pets do not bolt when the door is open for trick-or-treaters. It is a fun time for children, but could be stressful for pets. It might be helpful if pets are placed in a secure area of the home if there a potential for a pet to escape.
      The holidays often bring guests to your home. If your pet is on a food elimination trial, remind your guests not to feed your pet. Although it is a friendly gesture for guests to share food with your pet, it could derail your weeks of effort in maintaining a restrictive diet. Worse, if it is an allergy trigger food then your pet will be miserable for that fleeting moment of that tasty morsel.
      Generally, table food is not recommended for pets. Foods which are high in fat can also contribute to pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas with symptoms that range from mild discomfort to a blood infection (sepsis) and internal bleeding. High-fat foods to avoid include bacon, paté, sausage, gravy covered meat, beef trimmings, and poultry skin.
      Holiday decorations are tempting baubles to pets. Tinsel and other festive decorations can be ingested with disastrous results for pets. Use care in home displays and never leave an open flame unattended that could draw an inquisitive pet.

Pet Portrait Winners Selected

Two lucky winners were selected from the Animal Dermatology Clinic website Pet Gallery.
      Both completed portraits will be featured in an upcoming issue of Derm Digest.
      “Rhea” of California was selected and artist Jane Roberts will be creating a special portrait of this 1-year old fawn colored Sharpei pitbull mix. Owner Lisa says that Rhea was born at the Humane Society and adopted at 2 months.
      “Sadie Mae” is a white and black, long-hair feline in Powder Springs, GA. Sadie Mae is a senior cat and a long time member of owner Yvonne’s family. Artist Beth Glenn is eager to create a fantastic image of Sadie Mae.
      Thanks to all who submitted pictures of their beautiful pets. Each submission now has the potential to be selected as Pet of the Month and be featured on the homepage of the Animal Dermatology Clinic website. In addition, those owners will receive a “Pet of the Month” bumper sticker to let everyone know that their pet is featured on the website.
If you wish to arrange for the artists for a custom pet portrait of your pet they can be contacted via email:
      Jane Roberts is offering a holiday special for readers of the Derm Digest. Email Jane now to get your pet portrait in time for the holidays. Contact her at [email protected] . View samples at www.JaneRobertsArt.com.
If you are interested in work by artist Beth Glenn, she can be contacted via email: [email protected]

New Animal Dermatology Clinic Location Coming to Maryland


      Starting in November a new location for Animal Dermatology Clinic will open in Rockville, MD. This is an exciting opportunity for Animal Dermatology Clinic to offer its services in a new area of the country.
      Rockville, MD is 45 miles NW of Washington D.C. and forms part of the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. There are 9.3 million people in the metro area and it has approximately a 50% rate of pet ownership.
      Rockville will be a satellite location of the Marietta, GA clinic and headed by Dr. Joel Griffies. For questions or appointments for Rockville, call 770-422-2509.

2nd Annual Dermatology Forum for Veterinarians Success: Next year, Florida!

      The doctors of Animal Dermatology Clinic recently completed their participation at the 2nd Annual Dermatology Forum for Veterinarians in San Diego, CA.
      The conference, now in its second year, is organized to provide Continuing Education credit to veterinarians attending the three-day conference. Dermatology related ailments are high on the list of complaints seen by veterinarians and there is great interest in learning more from specialists in the field. The doctors of ADC provided the educational content and led the presentations for a total of 22 lecture sessions.
      There were almost 100 attendees, the furthest national attendee came from New York and one international attendee from China.
      Industry sponsors provided support for the event and sent representatives to discuss products and services offered by their companies in the exhibitor halls.
      Planning has begun to organize the third annual meeting of the conference which is slated to be held in Destin, Florida in October 2015.


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