"Once again, I turn to you to start off a week with some background, additional pet thoughts for consideration, and a feeling of gratitude for all the work that you put into this labor of love! Have a great week, Doc, with my thanks!"
The magnifying portion of the otoscope will illuminate the ear mites and confirm the diagnosis. The magnified adult ear mite looks like this:
and, if you have good eyes, those adults are visible (the white ovals) on the end of the otoscope speculum:
Treatment of ear mites involves the thorough cleaning of the ear canal, followed by administration of a medication that will kill the mites (a miticide). If the ear mite infection is advanced enough, your veterinarian may need to do the ear cleaning under sedation or anesthesia. A topical treatment will be sent home with you to help kill any mites left in the ear canal. Due to the life cycle of the ear mite, you should use this medication for a 2-4 week period. If your veterinarian feels that some of the ear mites are also damaging the skin around the ear flap, they might recommend a product for more general usage on the skin.
Helpful Buckeye will finish the discussion of mite diseases in next week's issue of Questions On Dogs and Cats.
Under the theory that humor is the best medicine (and, possibly, the best instructor), enjoy this cartoon from The New Yorker:
NON-MEDICAL CONCERNS1) Most of us are aware of the contributions that dogs make to the betterment of certain humans' lives. Now, the American Kennel Club is sponsoring a "Canine Hero" contest that will award a prize in the following five categories: law enforcement, search and rescue, therapy, service, and exemplary companion dog. To read the rest of this very interesting story, go to: http://www.akc.org/news/index.cfm?article_id=3798
If you know of a dog that is deserving, go ahead and send in your entry!
2) The Centers For Disease Control has released the results of a study that evaluated pet-related falling injuries and the results were pretty amazing! It turns out that many of us are tripping, stumbling, or just plain being dragged to an injury by our pets. "An average of more than 86,000 people are seen by hospital emergency departments every year because they trip and fall over their pets or their pets' paraphernalia. This accounts for approximately 240 visits per day, but only 1 percent of the total trip-and-fall injuries. Most of the injuries occur at home, and children and seniors were more commonly injured." The rest of the report provides further details of these falls and offers several suggestions to help us avoid them: http://www.avma.org/aa/pet_induced_falling_injuries.asp
3) Since we are getting back into spring-time weather, with its warmer wind patterns, thunderstorms will be spreading across much of the USA. Thunderstorms affect every pet in different ways. Some dogs and cats act as if they don't even hear the thunder, while others seem to become frantic at the first thunder clap. Helpful Buckeye covered this topic last summer, which you can access by clicking on "Thunderstorms" under "Labels" in the left column. Then, go to this article from the USA Today for another perspective on how involved this relationship can be between a dog and a thunderstorm: http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/pettalk/2009-03-31-thunder-dogs_N.htm
PRODUCTS OF THE WEEK
Since April has been designated by the ASPCA as the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month, it is only fitting that Helpful Buckeye direct you to the ASPCA's web site for their "Go Orange" products that are available: http://www.aspcaonlinestore.com/
GENERAL INTEREST
1) Several weeks ago, we talked about the increasing presence of pets in the workplace. Now, the new trend seems to be pets showing up in church! The USA Today called it "Paws in the Pews" in an article this past week: http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-03-30-dog-church_N.htm
2) For a different view on the types of bedding now available for pets, take a look at these: http://home.aol.com/new_in_home/photogallerytall/_a/outrageous-pet-beds/20090310190709990001?icid=mainhtmlws-maindl7link7http%3A%2F%2Fhome.aol.com%2Fnew_in_home%2Fphotogallerytall%2F_a%2Foutrageous-pet-beds%2F20090310190709990001
Which are you thinking about acquiring?
3) We hear so much about "reducing our carbon footprint" in these times of "Green" concern. Yes, there are now some suggestions for reducing the carbon "pawprint" of your pets: http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2009/03/30/news/national/20090330_us_ne_193624.txt
4) This quote from comedian Bob Hope provides some humor for the week: "They say animal behavior can warn you when an earthquake is coming. Like the night before that last earthquake hit, our family dog took the car keys and drove to Arizona."
5) Most of you have probably seen David Letterman and his "Stupid Dog Tricks," some of which are pretty funny. Here's one that maybe takes top prize: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DalB-CvO7Qc
6) For those of you who may be getting a cat for the first time and have been wondering where might be the best place to put the cat's litter pan, here are a few suggestions: http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/ask-real-simple/where-put-cat-litter-box-00000000011531/?xid=askrsnews
7) With the onset of warmer weather in most locations, many plants and flowers will be soon coming into full growth and blooms. A lot of you will even have "forced" bulbs to bloom indoors. This warning about the toxicity of lily plants, from the American Association of Feline Practitioners, may be beneficial to your cat: http://www.catvets.com/newsroom/?Id=410
8) For those of you who were wondering if Donald Trump ever had a dog:
9) A new breed of dog was discovered in Flagstaff recently: 
.....a Black Metallic Terrier?
SPORTS NEWS
Rabid Fans Face Health Risk
ORLANDO, Fla. (UPI) -- A California cardiologist says living and dying by the success or failure of a favorite sports team can be deadly. Robert A. Kloner, director of research at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, said there was an increased number of deaths for two weeks following the closely contested 1980 Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Four years later, deaths fell after the LA Raiders easily beat the Washington Redskins, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Similar results were reported following major sporting events in Germany and France. Kloner said becoming emotionally involved in a team isn't always good for the heart. He is presenting the research at an American College of Cardiology meeting in Orlando, Fla., the newspaper said.
Wow, Helpful Buckeye might need to pull back just a little on the enthusiasm level for certain teams...nah, it's too much fun living and dying with my teams and their level of success.
On that note, with college basketball almost finished for the year and my team, Pitt, out of the running, Helpful Buckeye will just sit back and enjoy the Michigan State Spartans trying to disrupt the exploits of the North Carolina Tarheels. At just about the same time as that game is tipping off, my Los Angeles Dodgers will be seeing the first pitch of the baseball season, in their defense of their NL West Champion title.
This song will be played and sung countless times during the baseball season at all of the ballparks, but how many of you knew that there were verses to the song? Sing along and enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4-gsdLSSQ0
PERSONAL STUFF
This quote from Rene Descartes, French philosopher and mathematician, helps to settle a burning question we all have asked: "Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has."
Common sense decrees that this is the "End":
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