Ajo Veterinary Clinic

Dog Care: Dental Care For Dogs

Porter — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:42:04 +0000

Dogs and cats have teeth and gums just as we do and many of the same problems. Dogs rarely get cavities from tooth decay the way we do, but they very frequently chip and even fracture their teeth. . . . → Read More: Dog Care: Dental Care For Dogs

Who is Looking After the Furry Kids?

Porter — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 19:34:04 +0000

Are you thinking of taking a vacation and wondering who you will get to care for your furry friends. There’s always the neighbor kids, a friend, your ex, or a real pet sitter. Pet sitting has become a profession with an amazing array of services to choose from.

Furry Kid Lounging Around

The professional pet sitter no longer stops by and feeds your pets and gives them a pat on the head and perhaps spends some time walking them or just watching TV with them.

Now the services available range from the basics, feeding, walking them, poop patrol and playing with them, to spending the night, watering plants, taking in the mail and in general taking care of . . . → Read More: Who is Looking After the Furry Kids?

Animal Hospital mascot

Porter — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 23:15:59 +0000

Animal Hospital mascot

Grey Ghost, guardian of our Practice.

If you visit us, even if you are a regular visitor, you may never see the elusive Grey Ghost. She is a Russian Blue that came to us as a kitten and was placed in the home of a client. She was a shy cat who hid a lot but after several months she “ bounced back”. That was almost 10 years ago. Like many Tucson veterinary hospitals, we now had a resident mascot. She has made her home the non-public part of the animal hospital were she has free roam, two cat boxes and many places to hide when things are busy. She has an unfailing inner clock that tells her when it is 5 PM on weekdays and 1 PM on Saturday. Time for us to leave . . . → Read More: Animal Hospital mascot

My own Chihuahua

Porter — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:47:15 +0000

I’m generally a “big dog” person, shepherds, greyhounds, dobies, mutts, forty pounds plus. Somehow the one dog you think you would never have can sneak into your life when you least expect it. Mine was Fea, an antique Chihuahua, blind in one eye, with a crooked nose and a terrible temper. She loved who she loved and had no patience with anyone else.

I was on my way home from work one evening at dusk, about 5:PM. I was going north on 6th Ave just in front of Santa Cruz church, when I saw a small creature walking down the middle of the street, oblivious to traffic. When I got close I realized it was a very small dog, walking with its head down.

I stopped the car, stopped traffic and went to get the dog. She was . . . → Read More: My own Chihuahua

Urban Dangers II Javelina

Porter — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:32:53 +0000

Urban Dangers II Javelina

Life in Tucson comes with some strange bragging rights. I have foothill friends who occasionally count deer and cougar among the early morning joggers. To the west and the saguaro national parks, the scattered homes are subject to a wide variety of desert wild life. During our dry spells deer and bobcats migrate closer to civilization in search of water. Of course the coyotes are already at home there. These residences are frequently subject to Javelina invasions. Small efficient earth trenching creatures that can wipe out a garden or a carefully planned landscape before the sun rises over the mountains. Javelina are one of the more dangerous animals, even to large dogs. Javelina can’t outrun dogs and are more apt to turn . . . → Read More: Urban Dangers II Javelina

Happy tails of Molly Mendelson

Porter — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 16:03:32 +0000

This is the happy tail of Molly Mendelson; Molly who has dutifully walked her owner daily for the past 9 years came in for her annual exam. She was her usual happy self and was doing her usual daily routine; the only change was her owner thought she had gained a few pounds. The scale thought she had lost a few pounds.

The examination discovered a very large firm mass in her abdomen; every one was amazed when the x-rays showed this trim 50-pound dog had a mass the size of a soccer ball and had never missed a meal or a walk.

It was hard to decide what could have gotten that large with out slowing her down. Most of her organs were pushed out of the . . . → Read More: Happy tails of Molly Mendelson

Urban Dangers

Porter — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 18:30:40 +0000

Urban Dangers

Also known as “But he never leaves my yard”

This seems like a safe rule to follow, but even in the busy city center of Tucson there are outdoor dangers to small pets. Everyone is aware of snakes and scorpions, but even in the heart of downtown Tucson we have coyotes that haunt the washes, parks and alleys. In your backyard garden Colorado River toads can spring from the damp earth after a summer rain or watering your tomatoes. Hawks and owls are also a common downtown resident in old growth trees and can easily lift a young cat or teacup Chihuahua for a final ride. This morning I watched a hawk do a warning swoop over Fred Bear one of 3 feral cats that call my garden home. The hawk came within feet of the cat . . . → Read More: Urban Dangers

Every pet owner’s worst nightmare

Porter — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:39:32 +0000

My pet is missing!!

We received a call recently from another vet clinic about a bulldog that was presented to them to be scanned for a microchip. This pet’s chip turned out to be registered to Ajo Vet Clinic. But this story starts months before this event…

A man had purchased a beautiful English bulldog from a post he had found on a networking site. A few months later, this dog, whom he fell in love with, had escaped or was stolen from his yard. Desperate, he put up signs offering a reward for his lost pet’s return. Calls came in and someone had found his dog. He gladly paid his reward money and was reunited with his lost friend. But a few days later, he received another . . . → Read More: Every pet owner’s worst nightmare

Rattlesnakes

Porter — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 02:45:23 +0000

T’is the season! Days are warm and quail, rabbits and pack rats are producing young in every pile of brush and cactus. This is rattlesnake nirvana, and they are out in force, we have already had our first two bites. Fortunately neither one was fatal, but they can be. The Tucson area is home to several species of rattlesnakes, and they come out of their winter dens in the spring when the daytime temperature rise, and the food supply multiplies. Now they are active in the daytime, in the hotter mid summer they den up in the heat of the day and are active at night. The most common local rattler is the diamondback and they can reach 5 feet in length and carry a lot of venom. . . . → Read More: Rattlesnakes

Dog wash

Porter — Fri, 06 May 2011 14:32:20 +0000

Greyhound rescue Dog wash

This past Sunday, a wonderful group of volunteers for the Arizona Greyhound Rescue staged a fund raiser dog wash. Their dedication makes them a favorite with many Tucson veterinarians For a very reasonable $10.00 donation they would wash your dog and for $5.00 more trim the nails. So I Shanghaied a friend and loaded my two large, hairy, and rambunctious Shepherds into the back seat of my car and away we went. Across town, across the Pantano wash, to the parking lot generously loaned by Pantano Veterinary Clinic. There we were met by thirty or more long, slim, calm and reserved Greyhounds. Think super models of the dog world. There were a few other breeds and several all around American mutts and my two very excited shepherds. We signed in and made our donation, then . . . → Read More: Dog wash