There has been an increase in reporting of respiratory diseases in dogs. It has primarily been reported in several US states, and a specific new causative agent has yet to be identified.  Contagious respiratory disease in dogs (kennel cough or the canine infectious respiratory disease complex) is common and can be caused by multiple viral […]

While the diagnosis of tethered cord syndrome has been well-established in human medicine since the 1970s, it has only recently started to be diagnosed in dogs. It has only recently started to be recognized in veterinary medicine.  While it has been recognized with increased frequency  the literature remains sparse. Tethered cord syndrome (TCS) results from tension […]

The Public Health Agency of Canada has released a public notice regarding an Extensively Drug Resistant (XDR) Salmonella outbreak linked to raw food diets. Feeding pets raw meat diets has always been a controversial issue with strong opinions on both sides. At Canada West, we request that the dog food left with our patients be cooked. […]

Pets and COVID-19 APRIL-MAY 2020 As the COVID-19 crisis continues, pet owners have many questions about the disease and risks as it relates to their pets. Canada West Veterinary Specialists Internal Medicine specialist Dr. Lauren Adelman has recently been interviewed by a number of media outlets to discuss this topic. You can find these interviews […]

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 […]

May 2017 saw a surge in cases of this type at our hospital with six animals presenting with symptoms of this condition. The signs are acute bloody malodorous diarrhea, sometimes associated with vomiting, and mentally dull patients with abdominal discomfort.  The onset can be very rapid and can be associated with severe fluid loss, which […]

A few weeks ago Bluebell — a Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever — became our first dialysis patient when she suffered from acute kidney injury due to leptospirosis and arrived at our hospital less than 24 hours after our new dialysis machine was installed and became operational.     What is leptospirosis? It is a bacterial […]

By Dr. Laurence Braun, ER + Critical Care Specialist [Editor’s Note: Earlier this year, Canada West Veterinary Specialists’ Dr. Laurence Braun experienced first-hand the range of emotions and considerations that our clients encounter as pet-owners of an animal in need of advanced care when her own dog was diagnosed with a fast-growing form of cancer. […]

Dharma was referred to Dr Margiocco because her family veterinarian had detected an abnormal heart rhythm (cardiac arrhythmia) approximately two weeks earlier   while investigating Dharma’s history of exercise intolerance and an episode of acute weakness (“flopping down”) while walking.  Dharma was not receiving any medication at that time.  An ECG was done and revealed a heart block […]

In my last blog, I alluded to some medications that can affect the liver. Medications used to treat infections caused by fungus is one such family of drugs and when they are used, blood tests are done on a periodic basis to help monitor the health of the liver. While fungal diseases have always been […]