Life has definitely changed in the past several of weeks. Daily we hear of more and more store, restaurant, and beach closures and of event cancellations. "Social distancing" has become part of our everyday vernacular. In St. Petersburg, for now, we are still allowed—among other things—to go to the grocery store and to the park. We are allowed to walk outside freely (with the very strong recommendation that we endeavor to keep a distance of at least 6 feet from another person). Those are a few of the things that those of us with pets, particularly dogs, still need to do.

When the current outbreak of novel coronavirus disease, or COVID-19, first came to light in December 2019, researchers indicated that animals were the likely source of the virus. So people are naturally asking, Can my pet contract and transmit this virus? That question has become even more valid after one dog, the pet of an infected owner in Hong Kong, recently tested "weak positive" for the virus.

Update: For an explanation of the latest findings of the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), including a list of pet food brands linked to heart disease, click here.

Imagine a doctor that diagnoses medical conditions and dispenses medical advice for FREE! You don’t even have to leave the house! Where do we sign up, right? BUT, the doctor is never available for an appointment to follow up on what he told you; he won’t even pick up the phone when you try to call with additional questions! In fact, he doesn’t really care if you follow his advice or not—or if his advice actually causes harm. We are, of course, talking about “Dr. Google.”

Northeast Animal Hospital has been keeping pet owners up-to-date on recent controversial trends in pet food. Our recent blog post provides guidance to help families understand the issues, along with some pet food brands recommended by our veterinarians. In this article, we want to share some thoughts for owners who still have questions about what they should feed their pets.

Recently we were invited to go hear music outside of The Ale and the Witch on a Saturday night. My husband and I had been craving Thai from Sab Café next door to the pub in the Plaza Tower and I wanted to get some pictures of Downtown St. Pete Animal Hospital, so we jumped at the chance. We arrived downtown at around 5:00 and had a really delicious dinner, then headed out to the courtyard. People were starting to fill the tables and chairs outside as a band played.

“Discount pet drugs—no prescription required” may appeal to pet owners surfing the Web, but FDA experts say it can be risky to buy drugs online from sites that tout this message and others like it. The following are some facts that we would like you to be aware of:

In April 2015, a new strain of canine influenza was identified by the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. An older strain, H3N8, has a vaccine and is discussed in this article. The new strain, H3N2, is currently being researched for the development of a vaccine. It is not known whether the H3N8 vaccine will protect against the newer H3N2. We will update this article when more information about the new strain is available.—Updated May 13, 2015.