Chattahoochee animal clinic monthly specials

Hello all! I wanted to pass along some information to everyone concerning an article that I just read in one of my veterinary journals. The article was all about Leptospirosis(lepto). Now you say, what is that? I think that is in one of my dogs vaccines? I thought that was only a problem for hunting dogs? Well, let me enlighten everyone and answer the key questions I commonly get in the exam room. So here we go...Lepto is a corkscrew-shaped bacterium that can cause kidney and liver disease in dogs and PEOPLE. Ewww!! It is spread mainly in rodent and wild small mammal's urine, such as a mouse or raccoon. So, if a dog licks a puddle or walks in wet grass where wildlife may urinate...they can ingest this Lepto bacterium. So, now you can basically see that here in Roswell, Georgia, we are a prime time place for Lepto to be found and infect our pups...even us! How about downtown Atlanta? Well, Animal Medical Center in New York City is seeing about a case a week of this infectious disease. Just think about it...we receive plenty of rain in Atlanta and we have rats and mice in downtown, so it would only be logical to see this infectious disease emerge as a problem for our beloved pets. In Florida, they have seen a 10-fold increase in cases!

So, how do we prevent this from infecting our furry family members? Its easy...vaccinate. We have been giving a vaccine for over 2 years now that protects our dogs against the 4 strains of Lepto and as a bonus the vaccine prevents them from shedding the organism after they come into contact with the disease. Based on current recommendations from infectious disease specialists, we give the Lepto vaccine by itself at our semi-annual visit. This is based on 2 reasons. The first is based on the simple fact that given by itself we evoke a more profound immunity against the 4 strains. Secondly, we see virtually no vaccine reactions when proceeding in this manner vs. including this vaccine with the multiple other annual vaccines.

So, here is the take home on this post. Protect your pet against this nasty infectious disease called leptospirosis. It is as easy as coming in for a vaccine. Whether you live in the city of Atlanta or suburbia, such as Roswell or Alpharetta, your pet is not protected unless they are vaccinated! 

Everyone have a great end of the summer.

Dr. Smith

Location

Find us on the map

Office Hours

Our Regular Schedule

Chattahoochee Animal Clinic

Monday

8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Tuesday

8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Wednesday

8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Thursday

8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Friday

8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Saturday

8:00 am - 1:00 pm

Sunday

Closed

Chattahoochee Animal Clinic

Monday
8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Tuesday
8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Wednesday
8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Thursday
8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Friday
8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Saturday
8:00 am - 1:00 pm
Sunday
Closed