You've surely driven around your city and seen signs for a low-cost vaccine bus. As a mobile service, it seems like a pretty convenient way to stretch the dollar and still make sure your pet stays healthy, right? Let us explain why that’s so very wrong.

As veterinarians, we've shared a lot of information about how to keep your pets safe around water. What you might not realize, however, is that, after saving your pet from a near-drowning, they might not be out of the woods. Just as with humans, pets can fall victim to dry or secondary drowning, and we explore that and how to keep them safe below.

We've all been there. The bills have been mounting but life continues to move on in other ways, including pets that perhaps don't feel well. And we know that veterinary services during this COVID-19 pandemic are more challenging to receive. So you're scrolling the internet and you see an ad that claims “Discount pet drugs—no prescription required”. Even we in the veterinary community understand the appeal of this, but FDA experts say it can be risky to buy drugs online from sites that tout this message and others like it.

As many of us remain quarantined due to COVID-19 and summer quickly approaches, those with swimming pools are likely getting prepared for The Big Open. And as temperatures outside continue to rise (well, for some of us!), dogs may look for ways to cool off when they go outside. Even when it's not very hot out, adventurous dogs may find any body of water irresistible.

Blood tests are an easy, safe, and relatively inexpensive way to peer inside your pets and find potential health problems. Analysis of the numbers and structure of blood cells is important in the diagnosis and monitoring of disease and infection. These tests can help us identify a problem before clinical signs or symptoms appear. But what exactly are we looking for when we do a blood draw on dogs and cats?

It's hard not to panic when we get this constant influx of news on the COVID-19 virus, especially because the stream of information is steady, relentless, and always evolving. And that's also true when it comes to information about the COVID-19 virus and pets. Once you break down the information about how this virus relates to pets, you'll realize that fear is largely unfounded. And, yes, that's true despite the news of a tiger and two cats recently being diagnosed.

You may have seen the quote: “The best therapist has fur and four legs” floating around the interwebs by way of inspirational memes, but is there any truth to this saying? According to studies performed by the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI), our pets can actually benefit our mental health in a variety of ways.

These are challenging times. On top of the worries about COVID-19, you might have kids trying to e-learn while you’re balancing working from home and keeping your surroundings clean. Add to that a dog - and possibly a bored dog - and it can feel overwhelming. Many dogs need stimulation to stay happy and healthy and, quite frankly, to stay out of trouble.