• dog gift guide santa cruz
    December 2019

    Holiday Gift Guide for Dogs

    Holiday Gift Guide for Dogs By Natalya Dreszer The holiday season is right around the corner and everyone deserves an extra treat – that’s right, it’s time to think gifts for your furry pet! We sat down with a dog expert at Hazeldog to get the best ideas. Hazeldog is a source of information and tools for dog guardians to help them have fulfilling, fun lives with their dogs run by a CTC certified Dog Trainer. Here is a list of some of their favorite holiday gift ideas for you and your dog. The Kong-Wobbler is a go-to intro food puzzle, it’s a durable and dishwasher-safe treat-dispensing toy. Hazeldog suggests…

  • Holy Cross School Santa Cruz
    November 2019

    All Dogs Go to Heaven (Cats, Snakes, Turtles and Fish too)

    All Dogs Go to Heaven (Cats, Snakes, Turtles and Fish too) Blessings at Holy Cross School There is nothing like the blessing of the animals, in honor of the Feast of St. Patrick, at Holy Cross School in Santa Cruz on October 4. Students and parents brought dozens and dozens of pets to be blessed by Bishop Danny Garcia, who reminded the kids that they were stewards of the Earth and animals and it was their duty to help protect both. By Brad Kava. Bishop Danny Garcia gave a serious environmental speech and then had a ball blessing the animals with holy water. Bishop Garcia was installed as Bishop of…

  • pet food ingredients santa cruz
    September 2019

    What’s in my Pet’s Food?: Talking Pets September 2019

    What’s in my Pet’s Food? Talking Pets: September 2019 Dr. Nichole Brooks The pet food industry has gone from zero to sixty in a nanosecond!  We went from a few choices on the shelf to a shocking amount of all types of foods, each designed to cater to a particular need.  Deciding which food is best for your beloved canine or feline can be overwhelming and the information provided can be confusing.    There are some resources available that can help guide us through the mystery of our pets’ food.  In my opinion, we all take on huge responsibilities for our pet’s nutrition. We, including myself, feel compelled to control their…

  • best flea meds santa cruz
    August 2019

    Flea Meds, why are they not working!?!?

    Flea Meds, why are they not working!?!? By Dr. Nichole M Brooks, DVM Fish are not the only things biting this summer!  Fleas are out there and plaguing our pets.  A frequent frustration expressed to me by owners is why the expensive flea medications are not working. The truth is that fleas are incredibly tough to get rid of and can take months to eradicate.  Several years ago I treated a young cat with such an intense flea anemia that she needed a blood transfusion.  She went on to live a normal healthy life once we got her fleas under control.  And just the other day I was looking at my…

  • Dr. Jessie Sanders Santa Cruz fish vet
    July 2019

    She Catches Fish to Save Them: Santa Cruz has its First Fish Veterinarian

    She Catches Fish to Save Them: Santa Cruz has its First Fish Veterinarian By Susan Landry If you’ve ever wondered about that quirky clownfish car driving around town, you’ll be even more fascinated by the woman inside it. Dr. Jessie Sanders is the first of her kind – a fully trained veterinarian who focuses her practice exclusively on pet fish. The Soquel-based clinic treats more than 30,000 different species of fish. “If it swims, we’ll see it,” Sanders says, though much of her client base consists of koi and goldfish. Sanders pioneered her field shortly after graduating veterinary school, when she realized the dearth of care available to aquatic animals.…

  • kids and dog bites santa cruz
    July 2019

    Preventing Dog Bites in Children

    Preventing Dog Bites in Children How do we keep dogs and children safe together? By Dr. Gabrielle Ravina According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 800,000 people require medical attention for dog bites each year. Of those victims, children are bitten at a rate almost twice that of adults. For this reason, as both a veterinarian and a mother, I often cringe at those “cute” photos and videos on social media, depicting young children hobnobbing with dogs.  While I hate to be a “Debbie Downer,” these photos too often depict children in potentially compromised positions, and in the eyes of a trained professional, are bites waiting to happen. You…

  • parasites in pets santa cruz
    June 2019

    Parasites Punching this Summer: Talking Pets June 2019

    Parasites Punching this Summer: Talking Pets June 2019 By Dr. Nichole Brooks Those creepy, crawly blood sucking parasites are popping up everywhere! Its tick season around here and everyone needs to be ready. What is a tick? Ticks are considered an arthropod ectoparasite and are an arachnid. They are related to spiders, mites and even scorpions. They feed exclusively on the blood of the animal they land on. On the central coast of California the type of ticks most often identified are the American dog tick (dermacentor variabilis), the Brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus), and the Western Blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus). In brief, the tick has a relatively short life…