As summertime approaches, so do holiday plans.  Whether you plan to bring your pet along on your vacation or leave your pet at home, we have some tips and thoughts for each option. Travelling Together What could be better than going on holidays with your pet? You are together with your fur-buddy, you don’t have […]

Hardy is an aptly-named and lovely 7-month old Bernese Mountain dog who recently arrived at our Emergency Room after eating a large amount of raisins and two pounds of Crisco (vegetable shortening)!  That night his owner discovered more than 50 raisins in his stool along with some paper towel remnants. Blood work was done to […]

Easter is around the corner and we’ve already had two cases of lily toxicity here at Canada West. Now is the time to review how certain species of lilies cause kidney failure in our feline friends. It has been pointed out that every time holidays roll around I’m doom and gloom about the possible hazards. […]

The mischievous Bruce Wayne recently visited the Canada West Emergency Room under less than ideal circumstances.  Bruce Wayne is a young French bulldog described by his owners as having an extremely quirky personality and a sincere love of eating. He had been found chewing on a new bottle of Naproxen (sold under the brand names […]

We have seen 3 cases of canine parvovirus (CPV) in the past few weeks. Parvovirus is one of the most common causes of infectious diarrhea in puppies and young dogs. It is a highly contagious and often fatal disease.  Certain breeds are more susceptible, as are dogs with other concurrent issues (parasites or other intestinal disease-causing bacteria). […]

**ALERT – DOG PET PARENTS** Hills Pet Nutrition – Voluntary Dog Food Recall Extended to Canada Feb 1, 2019   Canada West received notice within the past 24 hours that some batches of canned dog food produced by Hills Pet Nutrition are under a voluntary recall notice that has been extended to Canada. The issue […]

As promised in our previous post on living with geriatric pets, this is a look at modifying the environment for the aging dog and making sure they aren’t in pain. Pets that are in pain don’t get as much exercise as they would otherwise, and as with people are more likely to have other health […]

As the holiday season approaches, this is a bit of a cautionary tale and a reminder that dogs can be, at times, indiscriminate eaters…and that “dietary indiscretions” can sometimes result in a foreign body that gets lodged in the digestive tract and has to be removed by scoping or by surgery. In Millan’s case, our […]

In our last post about cannabis, a commenter noted that some CBD oil are sweetened by xylitol and that xylitol is toxic to dogs. Given that astute comment, I thought I would do a brief post on xylitol toxicity in dogs. Xylitol is an artificial sweetener (lower calorie alternative to sugar) that used in gums, […]

Given Canada’s new status as the second country worldwide to legalize recreational use of marijuana, it is important for veterinarians to weigh in on the risks that marijuana can pose to our pet patients.  While the change in legislation may be welcome on the human front, our concern is that people may be more prone […]