pet adoption – C-VILLE Weekly

Training days: Prepare now to ease pets out of quarantine

The coronavirus pandemic can be a frightening time. In this constant state of isolated vigilance, we worry about the health, safety, and prosperity of ourselves and others. But as the weeks drag into months, it is human nature to find silver linings. You may be honing your skills in the kitchen or learning a new instrument. Perhaps you’re finally indulging a neglected hobby. Or maybe you’ve decided this is the perfect time to adopt a pet.

And why not? You’re stuck at home with nothing but time, and it feels like the kids may never go to school again. Everyone will be there all day and every day to help with feeding and chores and potty training. This won’t just be a puppy. It’s going to be a super puppy—the best-trained dog in history.

You’re not alone. I’ve seen a clear uptick in new dogs and cats over the last month. And that’s great! There is no shortage of homeless animals out there, and I’m not going to argue with more of them finding their rightful place in loving families. But this adoption boom may have some unintended consequences.

Even just picking a pet can be more fraught than it was before. There are always people looking to leverage a crisis, and that means watching out for irresponsible breeders and puppy mills who know that demand might currently exceed supply. This can be a tough one. It’s not always immediately obvious who is acting in good faith. But it is wise to stick with shelters and rescues with a clear physical presence and an established record of good work.

With that hurdle cleared, new challenges await. It may be hard to believe right now, but one day this awful situation is going to end. The kids will stop learning math over Zoom, and the adults will return to their daily commute. After months of everybody being home, that’s going to mean an explosion of lonely and confused pets. Separation anxiety is no picnic, and I fear I’m going to be seeing a lot of it in 2021 (or maybe 2022…the jury’s still out).

Okay, this applies more to dogs than to cats. I can’t remember the last time I met a cat with separation anxiety, so if you adopted a kitten, you’re probably safe. But dogs are pack animals, and even under the best of circumstances, they need to be taught how to be alone. Otherwise it means a lot of noise, property damage, and vet bills when they swallow half the living room carpet because they thought you were gone forever.

It is vitally important that these dogs be given time to themselves every single day. This can be hard when there just isn’t much to do outside the house and even the usual chores like grocery shopping are being carefully scheduled. Start slow and give them some time alone in their crates while you go to a different room. Gradually introduce more time and distance. Take out the trash. Do some yard work. Go for a quick walk, then start making them longer. I know it feels criminal to waste a chance to take the dog along for a stroll, but you can all go out later that day. Dogs, especially puppies, need to practice getting along without you. Even if you’ve had your dog for years already, it’s important to be mindful of these changes in the routine. It’s great that four-mile hikes have become a daily event, but that won’t be true forever.

This may be an ideal time to adopt a pet, and animals can keep you grounded when the world seems out of control. But as we inch toward restoring global normalcy, make sure to start transitioning pets back to local normalcy, too.

Dr. Mike Fietz is a small animal veterinarian at Georgetown Veterinary Hospital. He received his veterinary degree from Cornell University in 2003 and has lived in Charlottesville since.

Oh, snap: Addressing ligament injuries in dogs

Nine times out of 10, you know this injury the moment you see it: A large-breed dog hobbles in on three legs, with one hind paw dangling just above the ground. It could be a fractured leg or a dislocated hip, but if I were playing the odds, I’d bet it’s a ruptured cranial cruciate ligament.

A quick comparative anatomy lesson is in order. Just like people, our pets have knee joints in their hind limbs (and only in their hind limbs). The human knee is partly held together by a pair of criss-crossing ligaments called the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments (ACL and PCL). The same is true in dogs, except the nomenclature is different. Instead of a knee, we call it a stifle. And instead of anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments, we say cranial and caudal.

Regardless of what you call it, if a dog injures a cranial cruciate ligament it has the same problem as a human with a torn ACL: The joint simply isn’t being held together anymore. Sometimes this injury is purely the result of trauma. Just as people can rupture an ACL while skiing or turning too quickly on a basketball court, dogs can blow the ligament by just running around in the yard. But that’s not how it usually happens.

Far more often, a pre-existing joint disease contributes to a dogs’ cruciate ligament injury. While my patients may suffer sudden lameness after exercise, the groundwork for that injury was almost always laid down in advance. Degenerative joint disease is common in the stifle, and that constant inflammation weakens the cruciate ligament. With hindsight, many owners recall their dogs showing intermittent lameness in the prior weeks and months. It improved after a few days of rest, but with each round of exertion, the ligament weakened until finally giving out.

This brings good news and bad news. First, the good: Preventing degenerative disease can reduce the risk of cruciate injuries later on. The single best way to do this is to make sure dogs maintain a healthy weight and engage in routine low-impact exercise like walking and swimming.

The bad news is that degenerative joint disease results from a convergence of environmental and genetic causes, many of which are not well understood. Although weight is a factor, it is not the most important one. Some dogs just seem destined to have bad joints. So while you might be able to reduce the injury’s odds, you can’t eliminate them.

Once a dog has been diagnosed with a cruciate injury, options can be frustratingly limited. Smaller dogs can sometimes recover with time and rest, but the joint often remains unstable and prone to re-injury. Larger dogs very rarely respond well to conservative efforts, and the majority of dogs with cruciate injuries cannot recover without surgical repair. And worse, since the underlying causes affect ligaments on both sides, an injury to one is very likely to eventually injure the other one. Delaying treatment can multiply their troubles since overuse of the opposite leg steadily increases the odds of both legs being affected.

While the prospect of knee surgery can be emotionally and financially stressful, I’m at least happy to say that the results are broadly excellent. Orthopedic surgery is increasingly the province of highly-trained specialists, and nearly all of these dogs eventually return to a happy and active life. That doesn’t make the news of a cruciate injury any more welcome, but it hopefully makes it a little less daunting.

Dr. Mike Fietz is a small animal veterinarian at Georgetown Veterinary Hospital. He has lived in Charlottesville since 2003, the same year he received his veterinary degree from Cornell University.

One of these beauties could be yours (clockwise from top left): Ringo, Sailor, Benny, Sugar Foot

Take me home!

Visit the CASPCA to meet your new best friend.

Hey there, I’m Ringo Star. And here’s everything you need to know about me: I’m sweet, a great cuddler, love my toys, and am quiet, well-mannered, and good on a leash.

I’m Sailor Mewn, and I’m always on the lookout for another toy to play with—or someone’s lap to climb into.
I enjoy cuddles and kids, but prefer to be an only cat.

Benny the Boxer here. Some of my finest qualities include my knowledge of “sit” and “shake;” excellent manners; and I’m irresistible to children, who adore me.

My name’s Sugar Foot, and if we connect, I will love you—and your entire human family—forever. Other cats? Not so much. But I do have a couple feline BFFs at the CASPCA.

CASPCA, 3355 Berkmar Dr. 973-5959, caspca.org, noon-6pm daily