(310) 530-5511
Plaza Del Amo Animal Hospital is a quality, full-service health provider for the pets of the South Bay and surrounding communities. We are dedicated to providing all aspects of the healing arts to help your pets live a long and healthful life. We believe in adhering to the highest standards of diagnostics, medicine, surgery and therapeutics and as a demonstration of these high standards, we are proud to be accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association. Our hope is not only to provide education to our clients but to inspire all of our doctors, technicians and staff to strive to improve and grow in knowledge and technical skills.
We believe that the human-animal bond is critical to the well being of the pet and the family and constantly endeavor to support this bond by providing high quality care with a personal touch. Our veterinarians are available to provide excellent medical care for dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits, rodents, and reptiles.
We welcome you to our hospital and into our family, feel free to look around and learn more about our hospital, our services and about the caring group of people who are a part of Plaza Del Amo Animal Hospital. Please put your paws up and make yourselves at home, and remember to check back often for updates and announcements.
Our extended office hours (7am to 7pm-Monday thru Fri, and 8am to 4pm on Sat) makes it easier to schedule appointments. Any patient that requires extensive 24 hour nursing care is transported to a local emergency clinic. Some critically ill exotic patients are taken home with a doctor for careful monitoring.
CANINE INFLUENZA VACCINE
The Canine Influenza vaccine is now available! Read more about Canine Influenza below:
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Canine Influenza causes a severe respiratory infection in dogs that have been exposed to other infected dogs. Approximately 10% of dogs infected with Canine Influenza develop pneumonia. If this pneumonia is not treated early and aggressively, infected dogs could die from this serious virus.
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Dogs who are exposed to other infected dogs are most at risk, this includes dogs that visit dog parks, boarding kennels, shelters, dog shows or dogs that travel. The virus has a 2 - 4 day incubation period before virus starts to shed and the dog becomes infectious to other dogs. The real challenge, however is that the symptoms do not develop until day 7 - 10 so the most infectious dogs are the ones who have been exposed but have not yet begun to show respiratory symptoms.
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The symptoms usually start similar to kennel cough - a dry cough, discharge from the nose, and decreased appetite - however they are more severe in nature and usually prolonged, lasting 2 weeks or longer. Any dog with respiratory symptoms that goes on to develop a fever and moist, productive cough should be suspected of having pneumonia and should be seen immediately.
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The vaccination does not prevent all symptoms but can signficantly minimize the severity of the illness and shorten the duration of symptoms. In addition, it reduces the amount of virus that is shed from the dog making them less infectious to other dogs. Two vaccines are given 2 - 4 weeks apart followed by an annual booster to help protect at-risk dogs.
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If your dog is in one of the risk groups for acquiring this illness, please call the hospital to find out more about having your dog vaccinated for Canine Influenza.
FEATURED PRODUCTS OF THE MONTH
Click here to read more about our featured products for the month.
DENTAL SPECIAL JANUARY THROUGH MARCH 2010
Because your pet's dental health is so important to us, we are once again offering an annual dental special. The special price will be available from January 4, 2010 through March 31, 2010. The cost is $185.00 and includes pre-anesthetic testing, anesthesia, scaling, polishing and ora-vet sealant. The price does not include dental radiographs or any dental treatments or extractions. Often an anesthetized examination of the mouth is necessary before an accurate estimate for extended treatments can be provided. Please call early to reserve your pet's spot for the annual dental special as availability is limited. Click here to learn more about our annual dental special.
BAILEY THE MIRACLE DOG!
Bailey is a 4 year old black Labrador Retriever who developed a Fibrocartilagenous Embolism suddenly in the spinal cord of her neck. She was unable to walk for about 3 months while she underwent physical therapy at our hospital. After her intensive treatment, she is now able to walk again, although she still walks a little funny, and she is feeling great. Bailey is a very sweet girl but does not get along with other dogs so she will need to be the only dog in the household. In addition, she cannot live in a home with stairs or slippery wooden floors or a home with small children because of her disability. If you or someone you know could find a place in your home and heart for this special girl, please contact the hospital to arrange an introduction.
SWINE FLU (H1N1) IN PETS
Recently there was a case reported of some household cats acquiring the swine flu from their human families. The virus has also been found in ferrets, birds and pot-bellied pigs. China has also recently reported confirming the swine flu in dogs. This raises many concerns for people about the safety of their family pets and the safety of their human family. There is far more of a risk of acquiring this virus from another person than from a pet, however, pets are at risk of catching the virus from us humans. The most important precaution to take is to limit your contact with other people and animals if you have any symptoms of the flu to prevent transmission to others. For instance, if you have a cat that sleeps in bed with you, keep the cat out of your bedroom until your symptoms are gone. If your pet starts showing symptoms of a respiratory illness (including coughing, wheezing, sneezing, inappetance and nasal discharge), especially if it occurs immediately after your human family has experienced flu-like symptoms, please schedule an appointment with one of our veterinarians to have your pet evaluated.
Click here for more information about Swine Flu (H1N1) in pets from the AVMA.
Dental Special ENDS
MARCH 31!
Click Here to learn more about the dental special and why your pet's dental health is so important.
FEBRUARY 2010 CASE OF THE MONTH
Louis is a 15 year old Maine Coon cat. He initially came in for evaluation of a bad tooth on the right side of his mouth. There was a bad odor, he would only eat soft foot and the side of his mouth was drooping. Louis also was positive for the FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) and has diabetes. After Louis’ diabetes was under better control, he was anesthetized and his mouth was examined. He had a bad abscess in his right lower canine (fang) tooth where a hole was present where the root of the tooth could be seen. In addition, he had very bad periodontal disease throughout the rest of his teeth. Several teeth had severe cavities, called FORL's in cats, that had nearly completely eroded away most of the tooth. Many of his teeth were loose. He had a total of 8 teeth that had to be extracted.
FORL's (Feline Oral Resorptive Lesions) are a type of cavity in cats teeth that occur at the junction of the crown and root of the tooth and erode away the bone substance. As the disease progresses, the cavity eventually will expose the pulp chamber where the nerves and blood vessels feed the tooth. These can be extremely painful to the cat and can cause the tooth to be so weakened, the crown may break off leaving the roots of the teeth behind. The cause for these lesions is unknown and most of the time the condition is progressive resulting in extraction of the affected tooth. Often, there are several teeth that are affected by this process.
Cats which are positive for the FIV virus have a suppressed immune system (similar to people with the HIV virus) and are predisposed to infections. Dental infections are common in these cats and many are much worse than an average cat because their immune system is not able to fight off the infection as well. As a result, severe periodontal disease, abscesses and stomatitis can occur causing foul smelling breath, drooling and a reluctance to eat. In addition, any infection (including dental infections) can alter the way the body uses its own insulin which can worsen a cat’s diabetes. Any pet with diabetes should strongly consider having the mouth cleaned and infections treated if there are bad teeth present in order to make the diabetes easier to control.
SCHEDULE A DENTAL CLEANING FOR YOUR PET TO GET ENTERED INTO OUR RAFFLE!!!
Every pet who gets a dental cleaning during our annual dental special will be entered into our monthly raffle. The prize is a huge basket filled with dental care products to help your pet's mouth stay healthy and clean.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR FEBRUARY WINNER!!!Maggie Mae the Toy Poodle owned by the Archer family
RECENT SALMONELLA OUTBREAK IN CHILDREN KISSING FROGS
There has been a recent outbreak of Salmonella infections in children who have been kissing frogs following the release of the Disney movie "The Princess and the Frog", mostly in young children copying the popular movie. Salmonella is a bacteria that is very common in exotic pets including reptiles (such as lizards, snakes and turtles) as well as amphibians (such as frogs and salamanders). These animals can be asymptomatic carriers of this bacteria, however when passed to a person, Salmonella can cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea and stomach cramping. The diarrhea can be so severe that it requires hospitalization and treatment, and in small children there is a bigger risk of dehydration from severe diarrhea. Salmonella can also be acquired as a food-borne illness in undercooked meat and raw eggs. Families with exotic pets should practice good hygeine around these animals including frequent hand washing to minimize their risks.
Click here to read the latest information from the CDC regarding this Salmonella outbreak
WE ARE AAHA ACCREDITED
Plaza Del Amo Animal Hospital is accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association. This accreditation is obtained by adhering to a rigorous and exhaustive list of medical, surgical and client service standards that stand far above the bare minimums set by the state or federal government. We are proud of our accreditation status as it is another demonstration of our hospital’s sincere desire to consistently provide the finest medical care possible for all of our patients.
To find out more about AAHA and AAHA accreditation, click here.
LEFT LOWER JAW
The premolar and molar both had severe FORL's which were easily seen on the dental xrays. These teeth were so weakened by the lesions they were likely painful and at high risk of fracture.
RIGHT LOWER CANINE
The abscessed tooth root had broken open and could actually be seen through a large hole in the gingiva. The x-ray shows the severe erosion the tooth underwent as a result of the infection.
VETERINARIAN SUES YELP OVER ALLEGED EXTORTION
A california veterinarian in Long Beach is suing Yelp.com, the popular internet review site, over alleged extortion saying that they offered to remove any bad client reviews against them in exchange for an advertising contract. When the veterinarian declined, he claims that negative reviews suddenly became more prominently displayed including old ones that were more than 2 years old. There are other businesses cited in the lawsuit with similar complaints against this company. Read more about this story by clicking here.
We understand that most of the time these reviews are a positive and helpful tool for the consumer and the business alike. Unfortunately, this system has been devalued by the very companies that provide them and some of the poeple who use them. When you are reading ANY business reviews, and discover an angry or very negative report, we encourage everyone to do a little more investigating before you make your final decision. Unfortunately, those negative reviews could have just come from a disgruntled ex-employee or a client that couldn't dictate the price of a service. Some businesses have been threatedned by clients who would put up poor reviews if they didn't receive certain arrangements of what-ever sort. Most businesses don't know about these reviews until someone tells them about it, and then it is usually without the business owner's knowledge or authorization. One turns into 100, and all of a sudden there are countless reviews out there, (some legitimate and some with no merit) and just as many people willing to use the system against you to serve their owner purpose.
ALERT - PET FOOD RECALL
Natures Variety pet foods has recently issued a recall of it's Chicken Formula Raw Frozen Diet with the "Best by" dates of 10/29/10, 11/9/10 and 2/5/11. The voluntary recall was anounced when an independant evaluation of the product showed the presence of Salmonella bacteria. Salmonella are a bacteria which can cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, dehydration and stomach cramping. There is also a risk to people who handle the potentially contaminated foods. If you have purchased any of the recalled product, please take unopened packages to your local pet food store for reimbursement or exchange. If the product has already been opened, dispose of it safely in the trash and bring your receipt or the empty bag wrapped in a plastic bag to the pet store. Click here to read more about Nature's Variety recalled products.
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