Pet First Aid

VPI Pet Insurance has a brochure entitled: “First Aid for Your Pet”, as part of its Pet Well Care Education Series.

Their tips include:

1)    Stay calm when you realize that your pet is ill or injured.

2)    Focus on keeping your pet stable and calm while you prepare to move your pet to your veterinary clinic.

3)    Try to assess your pet’s body temperature.  (Tips available at http://petinsurance.com/healthzone)

4)    Survey, Secure, Stat! 

a.     Survey your pet for broken bones, burns, external bleeding or internal bleeding. 

b.    Secure your pet

c.    Get your pet to the emergency vet clinic immediately.

When in doubt – call your veterinarian to assess the severity of your pet’s health. 

These tips are care of Veterinary Pet Insurance Company.  Need a copy of this brochure?  Visit Shank Animal Hospital at 3225 Andrews Ave. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, or visit VPI Pet Insurance for more tips at http://petinsurance.com/healthzone. 

Ear Infections Most Common Ailment for Dogs in 2010

VPI Pet insurance released the top 10 “most common causes of veterinary visits in 2009”.   Posted on Dogchannel.com, the article is entitled “Dog Ear Infections Top Cause of Vet Visits”.  Click here to read the article. 

VPI, Veterinary Pet Insurance, provides pet health insurance for dogs and cats.  The company claims that it receives over a million claims a year for treatment for cats and dogs. 

The Top 10 Most Common Conditions were:

1)    Ear Infection

2)    Skin Allergy

3)    Skin Infections/Hot Spots

4)    Gastritis/Vomiting

5)    Enteritis/Diarrhea

6)    Bladder Infection

7)    Arthritis

8)    Soft Tissue Trauma

9)    Non-Cancerous Tumor

10) Eye Infection

In terms of expenses, the most expensive condition for dogs was a non-cancerous tumor ($335 per visit), and for cats was periodontitis/dental disease ($360 per visit). Ear infections accounted for nearly 68,000 claims for dogs.  The average vet bill was $100.  Urinary tract infections accounted for the majority of claims for cats, which can account for a vet bill of around $260.

Regular physical exams are recommended, and there are other tips that can help you maintain your pet’s health on an ongoing basis.  Check out our Shank Animal Hospital website and blog to view videos and to obtain ideas to keep your pet healthy. 

Shank Animal Hospital is a full-service veterinary animal care clinic.  Located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Shank Animal Hospital has served dogs and cats in South Florida since 1973.

Shank Animal Hospital Suggests Care Credit to South Florida Clients

http://carecredit.comShank Animal Hospital recognizes that many of our clients are struggling in the current recession.  For this reason, we have added Care Credit to our website.  We encourage all dog and cat owners to enroll in Care Credit in order to control the cost of caring for your pet!

Click here for more information.

Shank Animal Hospital is a full-service, Fort Lauderdale-based veterinary clinic that has been located in South Florida since 1973.  Call 954-564-1263 or email admin@shank-animal-hospital.com with any questions about your pet.