The cornea is the clear outer window of the eye and is made up of three layers:  the epithelium (outer layer), the stroma (middle layer) and the endothelium (innermost layer). The epithelium serves as a protective barrier and prevents irritants and infectious agents (bacterial and fungal organi...

Heartworm is serious and infections with the parasite can lead to death in affected dogs and cats. Although prevention is nearly 100% successful, more than 1 million pets in the United States have heartworm infections. Medications to prevent heartworm target the larval stage of the parasite &ndash...

There are many diseases and conditions common to both cats and dogs — including heartworm. Dogs are considered the natural host for heartworms, meaning that after being infected, the parasite can mature, mate, and multiply inside a dog fairly efficiently. Cats, on the other hand, are considere...

In recent years there's been an increasing prevalence of heartworm infections in both dogs and cats. The belief that “heartworm isn’t really a problem in my area” is no longer a safe or reliable assumption. Diagnoses have been made in every state of the United States including plac...

Heartworm disease once had a reputation of just being a "southern" problem that dog owners in the Gulf Coast and southeastern regions of the U.S. needed to worry about. There was also a time when heartworm disease in cats was not thought to be much of a concern and, therefore, was rarely discussed d...

Epilepsy is a disease of the brain that is characterized by recurrent, unprovoked, focal or generalized seizures. Two key points in that definition are important: Recurrent: A dog that has a single isolated seizure does not have epilepsy. Unprovoked: The seizures are not caused by something outs...

When pets develop diarrhea, their owners are often quick to make an appointment with their veterinarian, and those who've experienced previous bouts often expect that antibiotics will be prescribed for the pet. It's based on a belief that antibiotics are the quickest way to resolve the problem....

Cocaine and methamphetamines are the two most commonly used illicit drugs by people in the United States.1 Unfortunately, where these drugs are present, pets can be unintentionally exposed - cocaine and methamphetamine rank among the top five substances involved in illicit drug exposures in both dog...