s.a.v.e.s. open hospital, fleas......

What's to celebrate? S.A.V.E.S. just turned 1! It has been a year of a lot of hard work, a lot of speculation, a lot of holding their breath, but as a wise man once said (I heard this on a movie the other night when everyone else thought I was sleeping) "if you build it they will come".

My dad went from dreaming to doing. I have watched the popularity of the hospital grow and grow, and am proud to say "I am the personal spokespet, patient comfort liaison, and food sampler of S.A.V.E.S.".

So the big news is S.A.V.E.S. is having a celebration on July 30th! We will be giving tours of the hospital, serving up food and ice cream (my favorite), having fun contests, educational displays, a silent auction, police dog demonstrations, and oh so much more. Bring your pet to the costume contest, have a caricature drawing of you and your best friend, or maybe delve into the supernatural and chat with a pet physic.

Bring the kids for face painting, pet photographer, fun dog shows, and games! Latest update on Silent Auction items, THANK YOU LAKE MOREY RESORT for the generous donation worth well over $1000.00.

So on a more serious note..... let's talk about fleas. They jump all over us, bite us, carry diseases and other parasites, you all know what I'm talking about.  But did you know that "over the counter" flea medications can be deadly to your pet? I am not talking Frontline, Advantage, Revolution.... those brands are safe. I'm talking the brands you can get at the grocery or hardware store like Hartz, Sargents, and Zodiac to name a few.

Cats are more susceptible then dogs, but dogs can still run into problems. Flea and tick medications contain pyrethrin and pyrethroids, insecticides that do the dirty deed of killing the little blood suckers. Cats especially can have a reaction to these chemicals. Flea sprays, powders and collars can have a very harmful effect on the cat's nervous system. First signs that your cat is heading down a dangerous slope is usually frothing and foaming of the mouth. This typically occurs within a few hours. You will begin to see twitching of the ears, body tremors, uncontrollable jerking of the limbs and staggering. As the tremors increase the body temperature will rise and the cat will develop a high fever, slip into a coma and without veterinary treatment could die.
Over the counter flea medications may be cheaper but they are dangerous and should be avoided by all cost. In the last week alone  5 cats have been admitted to S.A.V.E.S. for flea medication toxicity. It was very scary to watch them twitch! Luckily they all got to go home after 3 days of hospitalization.
So until next time, tata for now and see on Saturday the 30th!