What age should I adopt?

So you are looking to adopt a puppy or kitten, dog or cat… what age should you get? That depends on a lot of factors. Let me try to explain some differences in your choices and what you may find with each stage of life. I am striving to keep these explanations brief, so please understand there is a lot of generalization here.

Setting Heartworms Straight

Every dog owner knows that their pet should be on monthly heartworm prevention. Heartworms sure sound like a bad thing - I mean worms that live in the heart - not cool, right? Right!
I have discovered lately that some thoughts and general knowledge vary among my dog-owning friends and clients and felt it was time to comment on a few facts.

Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (CDS)

Did you know that dogs and cats can develop behaviors in their old age that are the same as dementia in humans?  We know that we (humans) are prone to cognitive impairment as we age and that it affects our memory, attention, problem solving, and language.  We also can suffer from disorientation as the condition progresses.  Alzheimer’s disease is one form of dementia in people and some of the brain lesions that are found in human Alzheimer’s patients are the same type as we see in our pets.