Useful Links
Blogs
- Christie Keith writes articles on various topic. Examples:
- Suds over Drugs: Benefits of daily bathing to treat dogs with resistant skin infections and atopy (environmental allergies). Includes recommendations for the following products: Douxo (her biggest thumbs-up), Zymox (over-the-counter), and Vetericyn VF spray. Available at Amazon: Douxo, Zymox, and Vetericyn.
- Also see Got a pyoderma? Step away from the systemics, which talks about using shampoo and other therapies rather than systemic antibiotics in most cases. See page 2 for treatment details.
- Drug Resistant Staph Infections in Dogs and follow-ups:
- Xena and the superbug
- Superbug bites dog, or what I learned the hard way about MRSA and MRSI
- And the superbug bites again: More MRSI woes
- Kyrie and the Superbug, round three -- with a surprise
- Suberbug bites dog, the sequel
- Superbug bites dog, the Michigan edition
- Superbug bites dog: Biting back
- Also see:
- Also see below: Using medical grade honey to treat infections
- Ten holistic pet care tips you can trust
- So Your Dog Has Struvites
- Anesthesia-free dentistry for pets: Still a bad idea, Biting down on anesthesia-free dentistries and Anesthesia free dental cleaning revisited
- Your Whole Pet column for the San Francisco Chronicle
- Dogged Blog
- Suds over Drugs: Benefits of daily bathing to treat dogs with resistant skin infections and atopy (environmental allergies). Includes recommendations for the following products: Douxo (her biggest thumbs-up), Zymox (over-the-counter), and Vetericyn VF spray. Available at Amazon: Douxo, Zymox, and Vetericyn.
- Speaking for Spot Veterinary blog by Nancy Kay, author of Speaking for Spot. Here's a good example:
- Nutritional Management of Canine Epilepsy and Epilepsy Task Force
- Also see If You Need Help Paying for Veterinary Care for resources for pet owners.
- See Dr. Kay's new website, Spay Neuter Advice, to learn about the latest research and what your options are, to help people navigate this decision-making process.
- Fully Vetted Veterinary blog for pet lovers. Here's a helpful example:
- Your Pet's Best Friend A small town veterinarian talks about pet care, veterinary medicine, and what happened today. Example:
- Leo's Pet Care
General Health Information
- VeterinaryPartner Reliable, up-to-date animal health information from the veterinarians and experts of the Veterinary Information Network (VIN).
- All Creature Health Care (Vetspace/2ndChance) Articles writte by Ron Hines, DVM, PhD.
- PetEducation Drs. Foster & Smith's source for expert pet information.
- PetPlaceVeterinary approved articles.
- VetInfo4DogsVeterinary information for pet owners.
- Information for Animal Owners & Caretakers from Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine.
- Guidelines for Veterinary Clinical Practice Links to current consensus guidelines for veterinarians in the prevention and treatment of various conditions, including pain management, vaccinations, chronic valvular (heart) disease, leptospirosis, Lyme disease, atopic dermatitis (environmental allergies), antibiotics used to treat urinary tract infections, enteropathic bacteria (in the digestive system), and more.
Forums Where Vets Will Answer Questions
- VetLIVE Fees range from $17 to $50 for questions, chats, nutritional consultations, and second opinions from veterinarians.
- JustAnswer Charges a fee on a sliding scale ranging from $15-$90 for a veterinarian to answer your question. Also offers a monthly membership that allows you to ask additional questions (cost not shown on website).
- Dr. Nancy Kay, author of Speaking for Spot, is now offering consultations.
- AskAVetQuestion is no longer answering questions, but answers to common questions are provided on the site.
See Outrageous fortune? New veterinary venture into online Q&A gets a rough reception and Virtual Vets: A Guest Post from VetLive.com for more info.
Where to Buy
- Amazon - If you would like to support my site, use this link to Amazon, as I will get a small percentage of whatever you buy.
- See Shopping for more links.
Miscellaneous
- FDA Safety Reporting Portal Use to report problems with pet foods and medications online. See How to Report a Pet Food Complaint for more information.
- Tick Disease in Dogs
- The Dog Oiler: Using Essential Oils for your Dog and Pet Health Needs
- Veterinary World Comes to Consensus on Epilepsy Task force publishes diagnostic approach to epilepsy in 2015. For more information on canine epilepsy, see the following reliable sites:
- Canine Epilepsy Resources includes a link to a support group
- Epi Guardian Angels
- Guidelines for Treating Urinary Tract Infections
- Urinary Guidelines from the International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases (ISCAIDincludes updates developed since 2014, especially regarding bacteria found on urinalysis with no clinical signs.
- How to Avoid UTI Frustration (summary)
- Antimicrobial Use Guidelines for Treatment of Urinary Tract Disease in Dogs and Cats (full text)
- Pet Insurance:
- Should I Buy My Dog And Cat A Health Insurance Policy? Written by veterinary Ron Hines, this article covers the advantages and disadvantages of pet health insurance better than most, as well as giving you some guidelines for what to look for in a policy.
- Is pet insurance worth it? A two-month Consumers’ Checkbook investigation found that seven out of nine companies raised rates as pets age, which can end up making pet insurance unaffordable just when it's needed most. The two companies that do not raise rates based on a pet's age were Healthy Paws and Trupanion (always check to make sure the information provided is still current).
- Questions to Consider When Purchasing Pet Insurance
- Pet Insurance University: A Vet’s Guide to Pet Health Insurance
- Pet Insurance Review
- Pet Insurance Review Guide
- 365 Pet Insurance Reviews
- Your Pet Insurance Guide
- Is Pet Insurance Worth the Cost?
- Do You Recommend Pet Insurance?
- 80% Reimbursement: A Straightforward Model for Pet Health Insurance
- Hospice Care:
- Resources to help with vet care:
- Financial Assistance for Dogs with Cancer: Resources from The Dog Cancer Vet Team
- Waggle is a fundraising platform for veterinary bills. 100% of funds go directly to your pet's care.
- Need Help Paying for Veterinary Bills?
- Keeping Your Pet When Money is Tight – Where to Find Help
- If You Need Help Paying for Veterinary Care
- How to Pay for Pet Care - Veterinary Financial Assistance
- Help exists for those struggling to pay veterinary bills
- 5 Ways to Pay for Vet Costs
- Pet Financial Aid Resources for Low-Income Families
- HSUS list of pet financial aid-related organizations
- Help with pet veterinary costs
- The Ultimate Guide to Financial Aid for Pets
-
Crowdfunding:
- Cofund My Pet Crowdfunding exclusively for veterinary bills
- Crowdfunding Your Pet's Care
- PlumFund
- PetChance
- GoFundMe
- GoGetFunding
- GoFundMe Helps Raise Money for Animals in Need
- The Riedel & Cody Fund for helping dogs with cancer
- Chocolate Chart Find out how much chocolate of different kinds it takes to cause toxicity in a dog the size of yours
- Using medical grade honey to treat infection:
- Amazon If you would like to support my site, use this link to Amazon, as I will get a small percentage of whatever you buy.
- Interesting products -- these are things I've heard about that look promising, but I have not received any direct feedback about them. Please let me know your results if you try any of them.
- Doggie Goo for allergies
- DOGtorRx for a variety of conditions, including adrenal disorders.
I regret that I no longer have much time to respond to questions. See my Contact page for more information. My name is Mary Straus and you can email me at either or