Help for Dog’s Chronic Urinary Tract Infections

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We are currently adding some new material to the website (https://thepetcheckup.com/) and asked some of our repeat customers if they wanted to send a testimonial to add to the others on the site.

Here is a heartwarming one that just came today:

“I can’t begin to tell you how thankful I am for your product. We have two Chihuahua’s and one of them has chronic UTI’s. For several months she was on antibiotics and nothing was helping her. We spent thousands of dollars on tests and treatment. I finally found ThePetCheckup and was able to save time and money. Unlike most dogs with UTI’s my dog is very stoic and you would never know she was in pain. ThePetCheckup allows me to check her every month so we are able to treat her at the early stages of her UTI’s. ThePetCheckup is my peace of mind. I wish I would have known about this product sooner. I would recommend it to any pet parent whether you have a healthy or sick pet!!!! A very cost effective way to stay on top of your pets’ health.”

Obama dog in the news

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It looks like the official announcement of the White House dog will be made tomorrow, but the story has been leaked early.

What a huge disappointment that the Obama’s new dog came from a breeder.

I feel so discouraged for all the dedicated people in rescue and especially for all the homeless animals out there. This was a wonderful opportunity to bring to light the truth about dog overpopulation and encourage people to adopt from a shelter.

I have felt disappointed all day and more so since I just read a response from Jana Kohl (A Rare Breed of Love) commenting on how she feels betrayed by this development. I think of brave Baby and how we let her down.

Feels like a sad day for rescue.

Feline Gingivitis — Kate’s story

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Kate had her gingivitis re-check last week and she is very much improved. I still saw a faint red line on one side of her mouth, so it is not completely gone. But she doesn’t have to be on antibiotics anymore which is great.

Our vet said we need to keep an eye on it and she may need to get her teeth cleaned more often than most cats…perhaps every year. But because I don’t want to subject her to that much anesthesia, I am doing a lot of research into preventative measures. She is definitely going to have to get used to having her teeth brushed, but I think that she will.

When she first came to us, she wasn’t used to being touched or brushed, but now she is a real snuggle bear who LOVES to have her fur brushed. So I am hopeful she will get used to a toothbrush.

In any case, we will go back to the vet and get her gums looked at in about 6 months.

Fortunately, Kate is such an easy going gal that she doesn’t seem too concerned.

My cat Kate has gingivitis!

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Well, I had a surprise yesterday at Kate’s yearly veterinary exam.

She has the beginning of gingivitis.

I was really surprised as she is only 3 years old (we think). So she is now on an oral antibiotic and will be getting her teeth cleaned in the next two weeks.

I feel badly about this. Being the owner of a company that developed and sells an at-home, early detection health care product for animals, I am certainly aware of the importance of catching things at an early stage. I have never had to deal with gingivitis before and am now in the process of learning about it.

My cats, Chloe and Kate have always resisted me trying to clean their teeth and I had pretty much given up on it. I will be starting that process again though.

Chloe is not going to be happy about this news at all.

2009 Spay Neuter national day

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Well, today is officially National Spay/Neuter Day. This is the first campaign in 5 years that I haven’t worked on and I miss it.

We made it a policy to create February is Spay/Neuter month in Fairfield,IA back in 2002 and the campaigns have been very successful. All the area veterinarians give discounts all month to people who bring in their dogs and cats for fixes during the month. Our CCSNAP program offers more financial assistance when needed as well.

Hopefully, this year will be another great success. I am noticing alot of posters around town of people selling dogs that they have bred. Maybe more than ever because of the economy.

The challenge has always been how to reach the people that are breeding or letting their animals breed, but I feel optimistic as alot of great people have their attention on this problem now.

Maybe 2009 will be the breakthrough year for the animals. I know Chloe and Kate who are fast asleep right now are hoping so.

Lily winters on Coronado Island, CA

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Two weeks ago, I visited my sister Bobbie and Lily who were spending the winter on Coronado Island, CA. It was such a fun week. And the weather really cooperated….it was close to 80 degrees everyday.

We walked along the harbor, took yoga classes, rode bikes, and did some fun exploring along the coast.

This is probably the most dog-friendly area I have ever been to. People were continually walking or jogging with their dogs, often 2 or 3 at a time. And they always picked up after them too~everything was so clean.

The only downside was that the navy resides on the north side of the island and they create some unexpected loud noises that totally freaked Lily out. It happened a couple of times and she became too fearful to walk along the harbor.

Bobbie and Lily are now headed back to Cape Cod. I think Lily will be happy to be home again.

Cats and clean teeth

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Chloe and Kate’s annual vet exams are usually done in the spring, but I am going to bring them in next week. They both seem to have bad breath and I want to get it checked out.

Since both of them are young, (5 and 3), they have never needed dental work, but it may be time for Chloe to get her teeth cleaned. She’s not going to like it!

I know that dental disease is extremely serious and if left untreated the bacteria can cause life-threatening problems, such as kidney, liver, and heart disease which will only get worse as the animal ages.

I regret that I didn’t make more of an effort to clean their teeth when I first adopted them. Chloe especially gets very upset when I try to look in her mouth, or try to get to her back teeth.

My sister brushes Lily’s teeth almost everyday and Lily doesn’t seem to mind much at all.

Hopefully, it isn’t too late to get the cats accustomed to some teeth cleaning at home, but I will have to make sure their nails are trimmed first–another big challenge with Chloe.