Dr. Don DeForge Silver Sands Veterinary

Forgotten and Ignored The Human-Animal Bond DH DeForge, VMD 28July2013 The Little Boy and the Old Man by Shel Silverstein Said the little boy, "Sometimes I drop my spoon." Said the old man, "I do that too." The little boy whispered, "I wet my pants." "I do that too," laughed the little old man. Said the  little boy , "I often cry." The old man nodded, "So do I." "But worst of all," said the boy, "it seems Grown-ups don't pay attention to me." And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand. "I know what you mean," said the  little old man . When Shel Silverstein wrote this simple poem, I wonder if he realized its impact on the millions who have read it through the years.  If it is first read as a child, it has a much different emphasis than when read as an adult.   It symbolizes...two stages of life.....the very young......and the very old sharing a mystery of similarity and a fate of being igno...

"Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it. Let's do it, let's fall in love."  Quote by - Cole Porter Heat, Humidity, and the Flea Party of 2013-Finding the Answer to Coping with the Flea Don DeForge,VMD  18July2013 I t is summer time and that is FLEA TIME 2013!  Each year 1000's of pets become flea-laden and homes become flea infested.  The question posed to veterinarians is the same.....what is the answer doc? To understand how to conquer your flea problem you must understand the life cycle of  the flea! Adult fleas spend most of their life on the animal but most of the fleas life cycle occurs off the pet~. This is why the pet and the environment both must be treated to remove your flea problem~ Adult female fleas lay about 50 eggs per day on the pet....one female can lay approximately  2000 eggs~ That one flea can multiply to 2000 fleas on your pet and in your home in 20-30 days~ Flea eggs fall off your pet onto cushions, beds, carpeting, and ha...

LOVE QUIZ and the Human-Animal Bond Dr. Don DeForge 05July2013 Mother Teresa: " We can do no great things; only small things with great love." In my blogs, I frequently refer to a special friend, Dr. Leo Buscaglia.  We lost Leo from heart failure 15 years ago but he has been with me every moment of my life and even more today than when I first heard him speak.  Leo was an educator, a scholar, a college professor, a media personage, an international lecturer, and most importantly a very decent and kind person.  Here are two lessons he taught me. "Death is a challenge. It tells us not to waste time . . . It tells us to tell each other right now that we love each other" ~Leo Buscaglia Perhaps the fact of life most conducive to living fully as a person is an honest awareness and acceptance of death.  When we can embrace death as simply another aspect of the life cycle, we will give appreciation and value to each life encounter knowing that it will never occur again . ~...

Top Ten Reasons for Pets To Take  Probiotics DH DeForge, VMD www.AnimalDocAMMultiMedia.blogspot.com 21June2013 "I can't believe they bought all of this pizza for me!" “Mainstream human medicine would be way different if they focused on prevention even half as much as they focused on intervention…”  ~Anonymous It is time that veterinary medicine, also, makes a commitment to spend more time on nutrition during all Stages of a Pet's Life.  Good nutrition is a preventive medicine and can lead to the extension of a pet's life.  Raw diets are the "fad diets" of the New Millennium.  They should be avoided. Please read below comments from the ASPCA and AVMA about  raw diets in our pets. ASPCA experts say raw food diets for pets that include raw meat, eggs and milk may be dangerous for your furry friends .   We typically recommend that pet parents opt for well-balanced, high-quality commercial and cooked foods instead. The American Veterinary Medical Associatio...

Saving Your Pet's Life With Love! Dimentia and Animal Alzheimers Don DeForge, VMD Animal Doc AM Multi-Media 10Jun2013 One morning you will awake and the dog or cat you love will seem different.  You will call and your pet will look at you with a blank face.  Your friend will seem lost, confused, and helpless.  You will question the increased pacing at night and changes that have occurred in the sleep cycle of your companion. Other family members realize something is wrong.  A trip to the local veterinarian, that has treated your pet for a dozen years, is agreed upon and scheduled. When you reach the doctor, the veterinarian states a battery of tests is needed to separate physical problems from the behavioral changes of aging.  A chemistry profile and CBC is run; your pet is examined for infectious disease; endocrine testing for possible diabetes, thyroid, and adrenal disease is completed; x-rays are taken of the chest, abdomen, and orthopedic system.  Denta...

A Reason for Being Donald H. DeForge, VMD 24May2013 "No one lives on the top of the mountain. It’s fine to go there occasionally —for inspiration, for new perspectives. But you have to come down. Life is lived in the valleys. That’s where the farms and gardens and orchards are, and where the plowing and the work is done. That’s where you apply the visions you may have glimpsed from the peaks." Arthur Gordon Leo Buscaglia wrote a book in 1982- thirty one years ago.  The book is called The Fall of Freddie the Leaf ...a Story of Life for All Ages.  Somewhere along the way, this book has been lost in the New Millennium.  Leo states in his Introduction: "this book is dedicated to all children who have ever suffered a permanent loss and to the the grown ups who could not find a way to explain it."  You must read this book.  It is a book that is full of visuals for your children and can be completed in about 15-20 minutes.  It is not only for kids it is also for y...

Silver Sands Veterinary Pain or No Pain-In Search of a Pet Hero! DH DeForge, VMD  16May2013 “Of pain you could wish only one thing: that it should stop. Nothing in the world was so bad as physical pain. In the face of pain there are no heroes.”  ―  George Orwell ,  1984 Orwell states, "in the face of pain there are no heroes!"  As advocates of the companions we love, I would like to revise the Orwell statement.   The companion supplies to its caretaker unconditional love in return we can become their heroes by removing pain! Pain exists and it is real in the companions that we love.  The pet owner must be knowledgeable about pet pain; anticipate its presence in different conditions and life stages; and most importantly seek help to eliminate that pain. Below is a partial list of pain problems in our companions (i.e. dogs and cats): Orthopedic pain and osteoarthritis/degenerative joint disease Disc slippage; Disc Prolapse Muscle, tendon, and ligament in...