Deciding to add a new animal to your family is an exciting time! It can be very rewarding to choose to adopt a dog or puppy from an animal shelter or rescue program. Not only will you be adding a wonderful companion to your family, but you will also be saving a life. There are still millions of shelter animals being euthanized annually in the United States that would have made wonderful family pets. Here are a few things to consider before, during, and after the adoption that can help ensure success.

Before Adopting Make sure you’re ready

Research what type of dog is right for you and your family
Many factors may play into the type of dog you seek to adopt. Breed, energy level, sociability, haircoat, age, your personality, and lifestyle are just a few. Many shelters are experienced at helping to make lasting matches and may even have standardized, research-backed questionnaires for you to fill out to help with this process.

Learn about your local shelters and rescues

Most areas have more than one animal welfare organization and each may have different missions and philosophies. You may wish to give your adoption support to the agency your philosophies align with the best. Consider asking your regular veterinarian about the local shelters. Chances are, they’ve examined animals from most of the nearby facilities. They will have opinions about the health and well-being of newly adopted animals and about shelter operations. It can also be useful to ask friends what their experiences have been. Ultimately, you should not only feel great about the dog or puppy you are bringing home, but also about the organization you choose to support through your adoption. There are many things to learn about and consider!

During the Adoption

What to expect

Rescues and shelters take variable approaches to the adoption process. Some require you to fill out involved questionnaires and will call landlords and perform reference checks. Others take a more open, trusting, and conversational approach. Some shelters will send animals home the first day you visit and others take a slower approach. It can be helpful to familiarize yourself right away with how the shelter you visit works so you won’t be disappointed after you’ve matched with a dog.

Almost all shelters will require their animals to be spayed/neutered before adoption. Many shelters will have already performed the surgery before animals are made available for adoption, while others wait until adoption papers have been signed. This is also something you may want to find out about early on. Less commonly, shelters will send animals home with a voucher or other system and require spay/neuter at some point after adoption. It can be helpful to try to keep an open and compassionate mind during the adoption process. Remember that shelters are busy and chaotic places not only for the animals they house but also for the humans that work there.

What to ask

Once you have found a dog that you are interested in, ask the shelter for as much information as can be provided! Get a complete history, but recognize that sometimes there is not much information known. Find out when and where the shelter obtained the dog; was it brought in as a stray, surrendered by an owner, transferred from another shelter, or in some other situation? Ask what is known about the previous living situation and how the dog has behaved since being at the shelter. You should also be shown the medical records the shelter has kept since intake (and any previous records that might exist). You will want to ask about any ongoing medical issues, whether the dog is on any medication, and if there are known medical issues what anticipated care will be required. Inquire about what sort of follow-up services the shelter offers such as health insurance, microchipping, obedience training, or consulting for behavioral issues or medical issues. Finally, be sure to ask about return policies as it is important to know what options exist if the adoption does not work out.

After the Adoption Veterinary visit

Vaccination boosters, parasite examinations, microchip implantation, and other important preventive care may also be needed during the early time after arriving home.

Be patient

It can take weeks for a new dog to adjust to a new home, yard, family, and environment. Keeping things quiet for a week or so, learning about and employing crate training, and establishing a solid routine can help. Especially for an older dog, patience during the initial adjustment period, and offering enrichment (opportunities to play, learn and explore new things) often pays off in spades once the dog settles in!

Use your Community Resources

Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for help if things aren’t perfect initially or if you have questions. The shelter you adopted from will ideally be your first source of information and happy to hear from you and to provide support!

Dogs and cats can get more than just drunk when they drink ethanol, isopropanol, or methanol — they can get a trip to the emergency room. Pets can die from ingesting alcohol. 

What are ethanol, isopropanol, and methanol?

Isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol) is in rubbing alcohol (70%), some anti-freezes, some detergents, glass/window cleaners, perfumes/colognes, and alcohol-based topical sprays, including some pet flea-control and grooming products. Isopropyl alcohol is more than twice as potent as ethanol or methanol.

Methanol (methyl alcohol, wood alcohol) is most commonly found in automotive windshield washer fluids (20-80%) but is also in some gasoline additives, “canned heat” fuels (e.g., Sterno®), and some household solvents (e.g., paint removers).

Although the strength of these three alcohols varies, the clinical signs associated with their ingestion by dogs and cats are quite similar.

All poisoning problems boil down to the amount of alcohol ingested compared to weight, just like a dosage of medicine. Thus, when pets drink an alcoholic beverage that was left within reach or that was given to them intentionally by someone, it can cause a significant toxicity problem. In addition, significant absorption can occur through the skin or by inhalation.

Dogs are highly susceptible to the effects of alcohol. Signs of mild inebriation may occur with even minor exposure. Within 15 to 30 minutes after the pet has drunk the alcohol on an empty stomach (or within 1 to 2 hours on a full stomach), central nervous system (CNS) signs, such as staggering, excitement, or decreased reflexes, can begin. Behavioral changes can be seen, as can an increased need to urinate. As the problem gets worse, the pet may become depressed, have a slow respiratory rate, or go into cardiac arrest. Puppies and kittens are at particular risk because of their small size and immature organ systems. 

Alcohols are depressants, so many of the clinical signs associated with them are due to their effect on the CNS. Alcohols irritate the gastrointestinal tract. They also act as diuretics, and the alcohol and its metabolites are eliminated by the kidneys. Liver damage may occur after exposure, although it is much more common in animals that have repeated or chronic exposure. 

Clinical Signs

Clinical signs of intoxication can occur within 15-30 minutes of ingestion of alcohol. Signs include nausea, vomiting, thirst, urination, dehydration, lethargy, incoordination, disorientation, becoming cold (hypothermia), low blood pressure, and alcoholic bad breath. In severe cases, blindness, tremors, tetraplegia, respiratory depression, coma, or seizures may develop. Death is uncommon but may occur, especially if the pet has severe respiratory and cardiovascular depression, low blood pressure, and/or hypoglycemia. 

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is based on a history of exposure, combined with appropriate clinical signs and laboratory tests.  

Treatment/Management/Prevention

The treatments your veterinarian may use can include assisted ventilation, intravenous fluids (to improve elimination of the alcohol/metabolites, to provide cardiovascular support, and to correct electrolyte abnormalities), seizure control, and other supportive therapies. In addition, if the alcohol toxicosis is due to the ingestion of bread dough, your veterinarian may need to wash out your pet’s stomach with cold water to inhibit further alcohol production and to break up the dough mass for removal. In addition, your pet will be confined to prevent accidental self-injury.

Prognosis

Most dogs with alcohol intoxication can recover with adequate symptomatic and supportive care. Recovery may take 8-12 hours and tends to take longer if it was a severe intoxication or if isopropanol was involved.

Preventing Alcohol Toxicosis

All alcoholic beverages and alcohol-containing fluids should be kept out of reach of your dogs and cats. Consult your veterinarian before giving any ethanol-containing liquid medications.

Do not feed raw bread dough to your pets or leave bread dough out to rise in areas that can be reached by them. Always dispose of discarded bread dough carefully. 

The ASPCA National Animal Poison Control is available 24 hours a day at 888-426-4435. Expect an initial consultation fee of around $100.00 and additional follow-up is at no charge. You will be assigned a case number your veterinarian can use to communicate with a toxicology specialist before beginning treatment.

This invasion of circulating white blood cells creates inflammation throughout the body. Signs can include poor appetite and fever. Joints are commonly affected, making the pet seem stiff or painful or appear to have trouble walking. Sometimes pets may have signs associated with bleeding as well. A bloody nose, dark bloody stool, or bruising may be seen.

Not all pets will have symptoms. Some pets will only appear sick for a short time, then start to improve. We don’t fully understand why this happens, but it may be associated with a pet’s ability to fight off the infection. 

Diagnosing Anaplasmosis 

A veterinarian’s physical examination is often not useful as a sole means of diagnosis; however, in pets showing signs, it will point the veterinarian in the right direction for testing. A complete blood count, also known as a CBC, may indicate a decrease in red blood cells (anemia), or a decrease in platelets (thrombocytopenia). Sometimes anaplasmosis can be diagnosed by finding the organisms in a blood sample by using a microscope.

Additional lab tests may need to be sent off to confirm the diagnosis. Occasionally, these tests can be positive in a dog or cat who is not showing symptoms. This does not necessarily mean the pet has the disease, but it can mean that they were exposed to it at one point. The veterinarian will then need to take into account the exam, signs, and the rest of the lab work to make a proper diagnosis. 

Treatment and Recovery 

Anaplasmosis is treated with certain types of antibiotics, most commonly doxycycline. Treatment is usually for 2-4 weeks; the longer course tends to be given if the pet also has Lyme disease, but it all depends on the specific case. Pets usually feel better within a few days after taking the antibiotic. If the anemia or thrombocytopenia are severe, a blood transfusion may also be needed. Most dogs and cats make a full recovery.

Prevention

No vaccine is available to prevent anaplasmosis. The best form of prevention is tick control, either through treating the yard or through applying tick preventive medications to the pet. Consult your veterinarian for the best prevention options for each pet.

In conjunctivitis those membranes become red and swollen. Dogs and cats with conjunctivitis normally have cloudy, yellow, or greenish discharge from the eyes; a lot of blinking or squinting; and redness and swelling around the eye. Green or yellow discharge often indicates a bacterial infection; clear or whitish discharge is more likely to be caused by allergies or a bit of debris in the eye. Usually both eyes are affected, but not always. Sometimes other signs are seen, such as itching, hairlessness around the eye, discharge from the nose, sneezing, or coughing.

What we normally call “pink eye” in people is a type of conjunctivitis. The condition can be caused by several reasons, such as bacteria, herpes virus or allergies.

Any breed of dog or cat may develop allergic conjunctivitis. All breeds predisposed to atopic dermatitis, a hypersensitivity or over-reaction to a variety of commonplace and otherwise harmless substances like pollen, are also predisposed to allergic conjunctivitis. Allergic conjunctivitis is most common in young adults but can occur at any age.

In this allergic condition, the following are frequent contributors:

• Allergies
• Atopy (genetic tendency towards allergies)
• Dust
• Food allergy
• House dust, molds

Treatment

Allergic conjunctivitis is most commonly treated with eyedrops or ointments containing corticosteroids, such as dexamethasone or hydrocortisone. Your veterinarian may check first for a scratch on the cornea (called a corneal ulcer) by instilling a yellow dye called fluorescein. If the eye has a scratch, medication without steroids is used, as steroids can delay healing of the scratch. Oral corticosteroids and/or antihistamines may also be helpful, especially in those pets with associated skin disease. Over-the-counter topical antihistamines may be beneficial, particularly in itchy dogs, but ask your veterinarian which one is best for your pet’s situation. However, topical mast cell stabilizers and antihistamines have variable clinical results.

A sterile saline eye wash can be used once or twice a day to clean the eyes and remove the accumulated discharge. Saline may also reduce surface irritation by flushing dirt, dust, debris, and pollens away from the eye.

Preventing damage to the eye is important as pets with allergic conjunctivitis may scratch at their eye with their paws or rub their face on furniture. This rubbing can lead to a corneal ulcer and associated pain and damage to the eye. Using an Elizabethan collar to prevent scratching may be part of the treatment plan from your veterinarian. This is especially important in short-faced breeds like pugs and shih-tzus, who are particularly prone to eye injuries. A recheck examination may be recommended by your veterinarian after treatment. If signs have not improved, your veterinarian may suggest sending your pet to a veterinary dermatologist or ophthalmologist for a work-up or recommending allergen testing to try and determine what your pet is allergic to. This step is usually reserved for dogs or cats with severe allergies.

Prevention

Allergic conjunctivitis is caused by allergies, so the best way to prevent it from happening again is to remove whatever your pet is allergic to from your home, if possible. Even if you can figure out what allergen they are reacting to and remove it or deal with it, you may not be able to eliminate it. If dust is found to be a cause, keep household dust to a minimum, and consider using an air purifier to filter out dust.

Allergic skin testing or food trials may be needed to find out the cause of the inflammation. In those cases, you may be able to determine if your dog or cat is reacting to something like dust or an ingredient in their food.

In many cases, allergic conjunctivitis can’t be cured, but with the help of your veterinarian (and perhaps a few steps taken around the house) it can be managed and you can make your pet more comfortable.