Rx for Fido, Fifi and Friends

As any urban dweller knows, the U.S. is quite literally going to the dogs --to say nothing of cats, canaries, parakeets, turtles and, indeed, a whole Noah's ark of creatures. Accompanying the pet population explosion is the spectacular growth of medical care dedicated solely to Fido, Fifi, Polly and friends. There are now 30,000 doctors of veterinary medicine in the U.S., and the number is rising. In addition, there are more than 1,000 U.S. and Canadian animal hospitals. These range from small storefront one-doctor facilities to such gleaming temples of animal care as the nine-story Animal Medical Center on New York's East Side, an edifice that has operating rooms, pharmacies, research labs and a 24-hour emergency room.

Nowhere has this heightened interest in animal medicine been more emphatically displayed than at the annual meeting of the American Animal Hospital Association (A.A.H.A.), which attracted some 2,500 vets from the U.S. and 15 other countries to Boston this year. The conventioneers were shown everything from daily birth control pills for fecund bitches and orthopedic braces for dachshunds (whose elongated proportions make them prone to backaches) to monster gas-filled balloons that can deliver anesthetics during surgery on horses. Still, the greatest interest was stirred by the plethora of scientific papers underscoring a little-known facet of the pet craze: for all their infatuation with the animal kingdom, Americans all too often mistreat their pets--frequently out of misguided kindness.

Like their masters, many pets are too fat for their own good. The reason, explained San Antonio Vet Oscar Woytek, is that Americans tend to feed their animals, especially dogs, the same high-quality, cooked table meats with which they gorge themselves. That not only adds beastly pounds, but hurts the animal in other ways. A German shepherd, for instance, can exert so much pressure with his jaws (700 Ibs. per sq. in.) that he can easily splinter a cooked bone into tiny shrapnel-like pieces, some of which may perforate his intestines. It is far better, says A.A.H.A. President Warren Walker, to give dogs uncooked shank or knuckle bones, which are harder and less likely to fragment.

Root Canals. Teeth are also often neglected. Milwaukee Vet Ray Pahle pointed out that he regularly removes tartar buildup from canine choppers, caps those that have worn down and has even done costly root canal work on abscessed teeth. Pahle also suggested an easy remedy for animal bad breath: brush the offender's teeth daily--if he allows it. Other vets noted the growth of a more serious problem: heartworm--a mosquito-borne parasite that lodges in the heart, can reach a foot in length and blocks the oxygen supplied to the body. Eventually the dog tires after the slightest exertion. Several drugs are now available to prevent and treat this spreading canine disease.

Some pet problems can be handled with the oldest of remedies: loving care and companionship. In many cases, Topeka Animal Dermatologist George Doering reported, dogs resort to tail-chewing as a ploy to get attention from a neglectful master. Doering's prescription: either devote more time to the pet or, if Rover is willing, bring in another dog as a playmate.

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