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Friendship Hospital for Animals News

Feb 13

Treating Luna’s Pulmonary Valve Stenosis

Meet Luna:  A young Rat Terrier who presented to Friendship Hospital for Animals for evaluation of urinary issues with the Internal Medicine service.  While being evaluated by Dr. Stephanie Skinner, a loud heart murmur was heard and Luna was referred to see our Board-Certified Veterinary Cardiologist, Dr. Chris McLaughlin. Dr. McLaughlin performed a heart ultrasound,... Learn More

Sep 01

Tips for Helping Your Pets Adjust to Back-to-School Season

Back-to-school season brings about significant changes in household dynamics, which can often affect our beloved pets. As families return to their regular schedules, our furry companions may experience separation anxiety, stress, or boredom. However, with a few simple strategies and some extra care, we can help our pets navigate this transitional period smoothly. In this... Learn More

Jun 28

Beat the Heat: Essential Tips to Safeguard Your Pet from Heatstroke

During the height of summer, weather conditions can become more than miserable for your furry pal—they can be downright dangerous. Protect your pet from the threat of heatstroke with the following tips. #1: Monitor the weather By keeping a close eye on the temperature and humidity, you can time your pet’s outdoor excursions to the... Learn More

Jun 07

Cancer in Pets

What is cancer? Cancer is a collection of related diseases. It can start anywhere in the body. Cancer cells divide without stopping and may invade into surrounding tissues. Normal cells typically form and divide when they’re needed by the body, then die when they’re damaged or old. Cancer cells disobey the rules: abnormal, damaged, and... Learn More

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Mar 19

5 Household Hazards for Your Pet

In honor of National Animal Poison Prevention Week, which takes place March 19 to 25, our team wants to share some of the most common household products that are toxic to pets. #1: Medications One of the most common household hazards that pets ingest are medications—from an entire pack of beef-flavored heartworm preventives to their... Learn More

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Jan 24

Fix Your Pet’s Skin Quickly With These Helpful Treatments

As temperatures fall, so do humidity levels in your home and outdoors. A drop in humidity often leads to dry, itchy skin and can leave your furry pal uncomfortable during the winter months. Prevent excessive scratching and licking by soothing your pet’s skin with a combination of at-home and veterinary-approved therapies. At-home dry skin treatments... Learn More

veterinary technicians practice CPR on canine mannequins
Dec 15

RECOVER Initiative – CPR for pets

What is CPR? How helpful is it from a pet owner’s perspective? Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, also known as CPR, is an emergency first aid technique that sustains blood flow to the brain and heart in the event of cardia arrest. CPR entails chest compressions, assisted breathing, and advance life support measures including medications and defibrillation. Cardiopulmonary... Learn More

Apr 23

The Dog Aging Project

Logan is a participant in a study called the Dog Aging Project. To enroll him in the study I had to complete information on Logan’s physical and nutritional health, and his lifestyle. Today I signed up to participate in the “access to stairs” survey as part of the study. The Dog Aging Project is looking... Learn More

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Apr 09

Pet Poison Prevention Q&A

Dr. Sara Lister is a veterinarian with ASPCA Animal Poison Control.  Her previous work includes Oklahoma State University (class of 2007), followed by internship at Friendship Hospital for Animals. She continued to practice emergency medicine and general practice for the past 10 years, before joining Poison Control. If you think your pet may have ingested a... Learn More

Gray shorthair with yellow eyes looking up from garden next to to lilies
Mar 30

Lilies and Cats: The Lethal Lily

It is quite an unfortunate fact that most cat owners are unaware of the health hazards of lily plants. Flower shops typically do not ask if the recipient of a floral bouquet has a cat in the house and despite educational campaigns from veterinarians, the public is still mostly unaware of just how dangerous lilies... Learn More

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Sep 10

Treats – How much is too much?

Showing love through food can quickly become a problem for some pets. Commonly pet owners start off with a few small additional treats which over time expands to high calorie treats given more frequently. This quickly contributes to pets becoming overweight and even obese.  In 2018, an estimated 60% of cats and 56% of dogs... Learn More

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Jul 31

Do Pets Grieve?

Survivor Pet Your survivor pet may exhibit signs of intense stress after the loss of a housemate. It can be two pets that have been together their whole lives, yet it can also be pets who have only been together a short period of time. This can also occur to a dog after the passing... Learn More

dog and cat cooking
May 12

Cooking for Your Pet

You asked: I would love to know more about how to feed my dog unprocessed or minimally processed food. I’d like a guideline for calorie-density and appropriate volume, balanced sources of protein. What is the importance of variety of nutrition sources? For example, hard cooked or scrambled chicken eggs, salmon, red meat? What grains might... Learn More

woman working from home with her dog
May 05

Preventing Separation Anxiety

A record number of new pet adoptions have happily taken place during the current pandemic.  With ample time at home to train and care for a growing puppy, many have determined now is a great time to adopt.  Additionally, dogs and cats that previously spent hours each day home alone, are undoubtedly a little perplexed... Learn More

Amur Tiger at the Bronx Zoo
Apr 15

Coronavirus & Cats

With the recent report of a tiger at the Bronx Zoo testing positive for coronavirus, there may be renewed fear about the spread of coronavirus between humans and domestic cats. Multiple cats were showing symptoms The tiger at the Bronx Zoo that tested positive for coronavirus displayed symptoms of a dry cough. Several other tigers... Learn More

Apr 10

Dangers of Blue Green Algae

In the late summer of 2019, news reports and Facebook accounts from around the country were describing acute neurological signs and even death in dogs that had been out swimming in bodies of water.  Even here in the DMV, there were accounts in northern Maryland of dogs falling ill. Blue Green Algae, also known as... Learn More

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Apr 03

Telemedicine – Now Available!

For some time now, Friendship has been evaluating telemedicine as another layer of providing care to our patients. There are benefits and limitations to any new procedure and the launch of this service will be exciting and challenging. Technology is expanding in ways that allow us to better visualize and assess patients remotely, in real-time.... Learn More

Friendship provides state of the art, comprehensive services for our clients and patients. But, more than that, we provide a caring team who understand the unique human-animal bond. View Our Services