Blog list

On Monday August 5th, TJ the German Shepherd Dog was rushed through the front door of our lobby to receive urgent care for a ghastly leg injury. The origins of TJ’s injury and what his life was like before that day are shrouded in mystery, but from the moment a Good Samaritan found him on a front porch in Livermore, TJ’s story took a dramatic turn for the better.

My dogs shed excessively. When I leave the house I have to use the lint roller on my clothes, the house has to be vacuumed twice a week and when we go on vacation we find hair in our suitcase even though the dogs never go near them! Like many dog owners, I get tired of living with so much dog hair. Here are some of the frequent questions clients ask me about shedding.

n older cats, as in older people, a variety of health problems become more common than they are in younger cats and kittens. This week’s article will point out several things to watch for in your cat as they become older.

The next time you’re giving your cat a belly rub, you may want to take advantage of the opportunity and check for any unusual lumps or bumps. Just like people, cats can get mammary gland tumors (breast cancer) and early diagnosis and treatment can affect long term prognosis. According to The Cornell Feline Health Center, estimates show cancer affects 30-40% of all cats and about ⅓ of these cases involves the mammary glands.

When cats are sick they hide their illness.  This makes a veterinarian’s job challenging and sick cats may go undetected at home by their owners.  Sometimes the only indication that a cat has a problem is that they are not following their normal routine.   You may have an idea that your cat has a heart problem if your veterinarian hears an abnormal beat or rhythm during a regular physical exam, but sometimes there are no indications that there is a problem until your kitty is really sick.

We have another stellar veterinarian joining our team this month – Dr. Stefanie Wong! Dr. Wong is our first homegrown veterinarian - she grew up in San Ramon and took her pets to Bishop Ranch Veterinary Center & Urgent Care when she was young! We interviewed Dr. Wong so you could find out more about her – we hope you will be as excited about her joining our practice as we are.

We are proud to announce a new addition to our BRVC family - Dr. Trevor Miller has joined our team of highly skilled veterinarians! Dr. Miller embodies our core values, what we refer to as the 4 "C"s: Communication, Client Education, Compassion, and Customer Service. Read our interview to get to know more about Dr. Miller, where he is from, what motivated him to be a veterinarian, and why he is excited to work at Bishop Ranch Veterinary Center & Urgent Care.

Did you know that dogs don’t get clogged arteries and heart attacks like humans?  If only we knew why, we could make millions in pharmaceuticals!  Even though dogs don’t have heart attacks, heart disease is still a common problem.

Two of the most devastating viral diseases for cats are Feline Leukemia and Feline AIDS. Each is caused by a virus for which there is no cure once a cat contracts it. Both viruses are in the family of viruses called Retroviruses, which puts them in the same group as the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Fortunately, repeated studies of veterinarians who routinely come in contact with these diseases, and repeated unsuccessful attempts to grow these viruses in human cell cultures has confirmed that neither virus is transmissible to humans. 

Writing about pets and small children is a subject very relevant to my world since I have a two year old, a baby due in July, two dogs and a cat. Even if you don't have little kids of your own, you might have friends with kids, grandchildren or neighborhood children who want to play with your pets.