It’s Mother’s Day on Sunday 10th May so we thought it would be a good time to celebrate mums of the furry variety!

In keeping with this theme, we stumbled across a beautiful story of a mother dog in Chile. She saved her litter of nine pups from a forest fire by digging a hole to allow the week old puppies to take shelter.

The devoted mother, who was nicknamed Blacky, had no time to escape and local residents witnessed her taking the puppies away from the blaze and burying them under a metal container to protect them.

Rescuers who went in search of the pups found them alive and well and they, along with their mum, were put up for adoption.

You can see images of Blacky and her pups and read more about this amazing story here.

Happy Mother's Day to all the devoted mums out there!

An endocrine disease is a disease that is caused by a hormonal imbalance. These diseases are relatively common and can greatly affect your pet’s quality of life. Some diseases can even be life threatening if they are not diagnosed and treated correctly.

Endocrine diseases can develop because a gland is not functioning properly or the control of the gland is faulty.

When too much hormone is produced, the disease is referred to as a hyper disease. Tumours and abnormal tissue growth commonly cause an overproduction of hormone. 

A hypo disease occurs when too little hormone is produced. Endocrine glands that are destroyed, removed, or just stop working cause these diseases. 

Keep a look out for the following:

• Changes in appetite and thirst
• Changes in weight
• Changes in coat and skin
• Changes in behaviour

There are multiple ways we can treat an endocrine disease but diagnosis of the actual cause of the disease is essential.

We will cover some of the common endocrine diseases in this newsletter but remember that there are plenty more out there so make sure your pet receives regular health checks with us. 

Cushing's disease is one of the most common endocrine diseases seen in dogs. It is a slow and progressive disease caused by the overproduction of the stress hormone cortisol.

Cortisol is a normal hormone that is produced by the adrenal gland, and is essential for normal body function. Unfortunately, in some animals, the adrenal gland produces too much cortisol and can have detrimental effects on your pet’s quality of life.

In some cases, Cushing's can be caused by an external source of cortisol, such as the long term administration of cortisone.

Watch out for these signs of Cushing's disease:

• Excessive thirst and appetite
• Excessive urination
• A pot belly
• Ongoing skin problems, thin skin and hair loss
• Poor tolerance of heat and excessive panting
• Lethargy

Blood and urine tests are needed to diagnose Cushing's disease. It is also important that other endocrine diseases such as diabetes are ruled out.

Cushing's disease is just another reason we like to perform regular health checks on your pet. If we are able to detect and commence treatment early we can slow the progression of the disease and help your pet live a longer and healthier life.