Posts in Category: The Animal Health Foundation News and Events

Wynston is a very loveable Yorkshire Terrier with the heart of a lion. He weighs about 4.5 lbs., and that’s when he’s soaking wet. His favorite people are “Everybody”! He even has a few kitty cat friends around his neighborhood as well as his favorite taunting squirrel “Peanut”. Of course they are all bigger than him, but he doesn’t know that. His favorite pastime is giving lots of kisses and a close second would be chasing his squeaky ball or any one of many many toys in his toy box. During the summer you may find him in the pool taking a ride on his boogie board. He enjoys eating treats and is always willing to do a trick or two. His specialty is making everyone smile. Wysnton also has a few nick names  that he doesn’t mind you calling him like “Winnie Pooh”, “Little Pooh” or “Mister”. Wynston is looking forward to his therapy visits and is ready to make new friends wherever he goes.

Breed: Golden Retriever
Brithday:  February 28th, 2013
Weight:  75 pounds
Human/Partner:  Steve Booth

Henry is a fun loving pup who likes to greet everyone.  He likes to lay in the front yard and watch life go by.  Henry enjoys hikes, riding on our boat at the river and fetching the morning paper (except the big Sunday edition.  He knows lots of tricks like spin, high five, shake, roll over and his favorite……BANG (play dead).

“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself”

Cassie is a Chocolate Havanese and her birthday is November 26, 2012.

Cassie came into Deborah’s life when she needed a pet to help her through some difficult times.  Right away she brought so much joy, Deborah knew she had to find a way to share this gift with others.  That’s when Deborah discovered the Animal Health Foundation. I found the joy Therapy Pets brought to those in need and couldn’t wait to have Cassie bring that same joy to someone in need.

The AHF couldn’t be more proud of Cassie and Deborah, who both look forward to visiting nursing homes/hospitals to brighten an individual’s day.

Welcome Cassie and Deborah!

Board Member Dr. Alice Villalobos Received the Southern California Veterinary Medical Associations’ Highest Honor – The Don Mahan Award.

Below is the article that appeared in the SCVMA monthly publication “Pulse”.

Dr. Alice Villalobos: From ‘Concrete  Society’ to Renowned Veterinarian

From the moment she graduated from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 1972, Dr. Alice Villalobos was a veterinarian with a special pedigree.

She was one of the profession’s first oncologists. She had, in fact, unofficially done a three-year residency in veterinary oncology while she was completing her studies at Davis. “When I went to my first lecture about the cancer cell, I was very inspired,” she recalled in an interview. “I felt it was something I could do [that was] worthy of devoting my entire career to. And that is to kill the biggest pest in the body, which is the cancer cell.”

Student Villalobos worked for Dr. Gordon Theilen, a cancer research specialist widely regarded as the father of veterinary clinical oncology, who designed a three-year residency program for Davis that she was the first to complete. That oncology training and mentorship have served her well. Today she is regarded as a pioneer in the field, has written a textbook on the subject and is in wide demand as a speaker.

After receiving her DVM degree, Dr. Villalobos returned to the Los Angeles area where she grew up and worked as an associate in Manhattan Beach. In 1974, she opened the Coast Pet Clinic/Animal Cancer Center in Hermosa Beach, which developed into the first multidisciplinary private oncology and radiation therapy referral service in the United States. She also worked 10 years as a research affiliate in radiation therapy at UCLA’s Rilger Center.

“When I got out of vet school, I never knew that I was going to be a leader in veterinary oncology. It became a rapidly growing specialty and board certification was established in the mid ’80s but we already had a radiation oncology practice with three oncologists, internists and a surgeon. Many people called us Davis south.”

In 1999, Dr. Villalobos sold her clinic to VCA. Today she operates a Tuesday clinic at VCA Coast in Hermosa Beach called Pawspice (it rhymes with hospice). It “embraces treating advanced disease using kinder, gentler approaches that do not compromise the patient, expert pain control and immuno-nutrition that helps patient well being,” she said. “We try to have pets at home with their families. The whole idea is that the patient feels comfortable at home and the family members have privacy. We prioritize pain control and quality of life big time.”

Her team also runs a busy Wednesday clinic at ACCESS in Woodland Hills called Animal Oncology Consultation Service & Pawspice. This schedule allows time for writing, speaking at national and international meetings and participation in organizations dear to her heart. Her textbook, “Canine and Feline Geriatric Oncology: Honoring the Human-Animal Bond,” was published in 2007. She has written two monthly columns for Veterinary Practice News and now writes occasional columns under the title, “Dr. Alice at Large.”

Dr. Villalobos comes from the “cement society.” She grew up in the Crenshaw District near the Forum in Inglewood. Her parents immigrated to Los Angeles from Mexico as children. “My parents considered education very important,” she said. “I was the first one [the fourth of five siblings] to go away to college.” Her father worked in a factory and her mother worked as a seamstress. “We got by just fine but we didn’t have a lot of money,” she said. “Jobs and student loans helped me pay for college.”

Young Alice went to St. Mary’s Academy and attended El Camino College and Long Beach State. She transferred to UC Davis as a senior, then won acceptance to veterinary school.

As a child, she said, “I always loved animals. I collected bugs in the back yard. I wanted to have a dog but we couldn’t have one. A stray came into our yard when I was in second grade and he was scratching all the time. I wanted to help him. We took him to the vet. He took a skin scraping and showed me a terrible creature under the microscope – a sarcoptic mange mite. I’ll never forget that ugly creature. I asked the doctor how much it would cost to fix the dog. The doctor took off his glasses and he looked at me and he said, ‘30 dollars.’ I knew right then that I was going to be a veterinarian and take care of my own pets.”

Today, she said, she likes to show clients cancer cells under the microscope. “I think it really means something to them.”

Her goal is to “create a movement throughout the United States and the world to increase the awareness of all practices, whether general or specialties, to the concept of hospice or Pawspice so that pets can spend their last days on comfort care at home with their families – and not in the hospital. We were trained to not send an animal home that can’t move. But now we’re asking emergency room doctors and clinicians to rethink and send patients home for hospice. People prefer a little more time at home to say goodbye to their pets with help from a house-call doctor or their local veterinarian.”

In 2004, Dr. Villalobos put together her Quality of Life Scale. In wide use today by veterinarians and pet owners, it “helps people make the decision to continue hospice to improve the patient’s quality of life or to make the final call for euthanasia so that we can assure a peaceful and painless passing.”

Dr. Villalobos has a protocol for euthanasia that is “very gentle and kind.” She wants family members to feel comfortable and unrushed and, she said, she never separates the pet from the family. She sedates the pet first so that the pet falls asleep with loved ones nearby. Family members who feel uncomfortable can leave the room before euthanasia. She wants it to “be a peaceful experience for all . . . and a memorable experience” even though it is a difficult time.

On January 31, Dr. Villalobos was presented the H. Don Mahan award at SCVMA’s annual Celebration and Installation of Officers. The association’s most prestigious award goes annually to a person who has served organized veterinary medicine in an extraordinary manner.

Dr. Villalobos and Ira Lifland, her husband of 32 years, are “the American mom and dad” to three Asian families. They are guardians and god parents of 16-year-old Cindy Zhou, who has lived in their home in Hermosa BeacherHHH eermosa BeachHfor two and a half years.

In 1977, Dr. Villalobos founded the Peter Zippi Fund, which has helped more than 14,700 homeless animals. The recipient of numerous honors, she was named Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year in 1999, received a UC Davis Alumni Achievement Award in 1994 and won the CVMA’s Distinguished Service Award in 2014. She has held many leadership positions and has served as president of the Society for Veterinary Medical Ethics, the American Association of Human-Animal Bond Veterinarians and the Sierra Veterinary Medical Association. She is veterinary chair for the National Academies of Practice and is a director of the Animal Health Foundation.

She stays fit by jogging and skiing. She also loves dog walking, community work and travel.

–by Jim Bell

On May 5, 2012 – Cinco de Mayo, Jessie Carrillo recalled – her cat gave birth to a litter of kittens. The next day, the mother died and Jessie raised the kittens. One of them was special.

“Cosmo was my favorite cat in the whole world. He was my best friend,” Jessie said. But Cosmo, who was gray and white, found something to eat that he shouldn’t have one day when he was outside not long after his first birthday. It was a cork and it lodged in his intestines, obstructing the duodenum.

“He was acting really bizarre. After a day and a half, I realized that he wasn’t going to get better and I took him in [to the Cat Care Clinic in Orange]. They did an x-ray and they saw the blockage.”

The doctor told Jessie that Cosmo was very sick but that surgery might save him – although he might not survive it. The operation would cost $2,000 – an amount far beyond her means. Jessie wanted to do whatever she could to save her cat. The doctor suggested that Angel Fund could help. So Jessie submitted an application for assistance. She was grateful for the $250 contributed by both Angel Fund and the Cat Care Clinic.

“It was a blessing that [Angel Fund] was there because I couldn’t afford the surgery,” she said. She was working as a receptionist at the time “but my job was not affording me $2,000 for surgery.”

After the surgery, she took Cosmo home but he soon died. “He was OK for a couple of hours but then he died in my arms. I was lucky to share that last moment with him but it was really rough. He could have been euthanized but they gave me hope that he might make it. I think the surgery was just too much for his body.”

Jessie is grateful to Angel Fund and to the doctors and staff at the Cat Care Clinic. “They were really understanding and sympathetic. They were kind and they did their best.”

Today, Jessie misses Cosmo very much. Losing him, she said, was “just part of life.” But she has his sister, a beautiful black cat named Boo, now 2½.

Veterinarian Jeff Kahler explains the symptoms of Cushing’s disease and how it is diagnosed and treated. The example of a 10-year-old Scottie with hair loss on his flanks, increased drinking and eating, and apparent weight gain illustrates a possible case of Cushing’s disease, which involves hormonal abnormality. Owners concerned about the disease or anything unusual should see a veterinarian for an examination. The Modesto Bee (Calif.)

Mac is a 10-year-old Scottish terrier who has lived with Joe and Paula for almost all of his life. He has always been a healthy dog. Joe and Paula give Mac a monthly tablet for prevention of heartworm disease and intestinal parasites as well as a monthly topical flea preventative. He is fed a good diet and is not allowed to eat from their table. Recently, Mac has displayed some changes in his body and his habits and Joe and Paula are concerned.

Mac has begun to lose hair mostly on his sides and he seems to be getting a bit portly. He has been stout as described by Joe and Paula, all his life but lately he looks like he’s getting fat. He has become a much more aggressive eater and his thirst has become increased as well. Through their research, Joe and Paula have concluded that Mac might have Cushing’s disease and wanted some advice on how to proceed. Their need for veterinary intervention is obvious and acknowledged by Joe and Paula, but they would like to be educated on the diagnosis of Cushing’s disease as well as its treatment. They would also like to know if there might be another possible cause for the changes in Mac’s stature and behavior.

I must commend Joe and Paula on their active role in trying to determine what might be Mac’s problem. When caretakers are familiar with their companions and the changes that are apparent, it can make our jobs as veterinarians and investigators much easier. Joe and Paula are of course correct in surmising Mac’s need to see his veterinarian, and they are also correct in their conclusion that he may have Cushing’s disease.

Cushing’s disease is something we have discussed here before but some of the information bears repeating. This disease is one of the more common in the group called endocrine disorders. These diseases involve hormone systems in the body. In the case of Cushing’s disease, the specific area of concern involves the adrenal gland or glands and sometimes the pituitary gland. The “technical” name of the disease is hyperadrenocortisism. This is because it involves increase in the size and production of the area in one or both adrenal glands responsible for producing cortisone. With this increase in produced cortisone, the symptoms of Cushing’s disease occur. These include increased appetite and thirst, increased panting, thinning and loss of hair over time, usually equally on both sides of the body, development of a pot-bellied appearance, and thinning of the skin. Any or all of these symptoms can occur with this disease. Mac’s symptoms as described by Joe and Paula certainly do fit.

There are two types of Cushing’s disease. One type involves the development of a tumor in the pituitary gland in the brain that produces an excess of a hormone called adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which stimulates part of each of the adrenal glands to produce too much cortisone. The other form of the disease involves the development of a tumor in one of the adrenal glands that directly produces excess cortisone and causes the disease. The pituitary form of the disease is far more common.

To diagnose Cushing’s disease, we use blood samples testing for the presence of cortisone in the blood before and after stimulation of the adrenal glands. If the testing is positive, treatment for the disease can be initiated and is usually effective in eliminating the symptoms. Not all dogs that are positive for Cushing’s disease need to be treated right away. It depends on the severity of the symptoms and which type is involved. Of the two forms of the disease, the pituitary form is more amenable to treatment with medication. An important point to understand about this form of the disease is that it is not considered curable. It can be effectively treated. The adrenal tumor form of the disease is curable in some cases by removal of the tumor, although some of these tumors are not amenable to surgery.

As far as the possibility of another disease causing Mac’s symptoms, diabetes and low thyroid condition are two that come to mind. I strongly suspect, as do Joe and Paula, that Mac has Cushing’s disease.

Welcome new AHF Caring Creatures Pet Partner team member Cinta Abbott.  Cinta and her handler – Pauline – will bring oddles of smiles to everyone they visit.

“Cinta is a Maltipoo (Maltese/Poodle mix) who has been with our family since she was rescued at 2 years old.

She was a great companion dog for our elderly mother where she got use to wheelchairs and walkers. But she needed to get exercise and so she participated in dog agility classes learning to jump over obstacles, go through doggie tunnels, and weave around pole courses. In this picture, she is very happy going over a jump.”

Veterinarians work hard every day to help people and their pets in their communities.  The AHF — through the Angel Fund — is happy to help.

Dr. Coward of the Animal and Bird Clinic of Mission Viejo recently reached out to the Angel Fund for the Jackson family’s dog Cody.

Dr. Coward wrote us a nice letter of thanks for our help and we wanted to share it with you.

The AHF is pleased we could be of assistance to Dr Coward and  the Jackson’s.  Thank you Dr Coward for your kind words.

The Animal Health Foundation Board of Trustees thanks Cynde Carlton and Shakai for years of bringing smiles to those in need.  Shakai has been retired and will be taking a well-deserved rest at home!