Your pet’s health is important
Avoid prematurely death of your pet by following up on its health.
During summer, dogs are and cats are vulnerable to ticks. Pet owners are advised to vaccinate their pets regularly to prevent them from getting various diseases such as tick-borne diseases and fevers.
A well-known veterinarian from Witpoortjie issued some advice on how to prevent your pet from contracting tick-borne diseases and viruses that can be deadly for your animal.
According to the vet, dogs and cats should be dipped at least once a week to prevent ticks. The vet said, “You should make regular visits to your vet, more so during summer, because there are more ticks.”
“The symptoms include loss of appetite, loss of energy and the inner part of the eyelid is white instead of a healthy pink colour. Although the symptoms portrayed might not always be tick bite fever, it is better to be safe than sorry. Early detection can still save your pet,” she said. Another concern pet owners should take into account is rabies. The vet said, “The rabies virus is endemically carried by meerkats. Dogs and cats should be vaccinated against this virus annually. When you are bitten by a dog you should immediately go to hospital as you are unlikely to know whether it was rabid or not.”
Evans Mathenjwa, a Witpoortjie resident and dog owner, said she takes her dog to the vet four times in a year to get vaccinated and checked for other diseases. “My dog’s health is my priority because when it is infected by diseases it can also have a negative impact on my health as I live with this dog. I take my dog to the Roodepoort/ Krugersdorp SPCA every four months for check-ups and vaccinations,” said Evans.
