Veterinary staff keeps pets healthy, happy

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kia Atkins
  • 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  The U.S. Army Misawa Branch Veterinary Services staff helps manage the overall health and well-being of military working dogs and servicemembers' privately owned pets.

The veterinary clinic is a full-service facility that allows its staff to perform routine health check-ups, vaccinations, spaying and neutering, blood testing, X-rays, ultrasounds, and surgeries for all pets.

"It is important to bring your pets to the clinic to make sure they are healthy and protected against disease," said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Travis Lausier, 35th Force Support Sqadron veterinary technician NCO in charge. "There are several deadly diseases pets can contract and spread such as intestinal parasites, distemper and rabies."

According to the veterinary technicians, neutering or spaying pets is another method of maintaining a healthy pet.

Spaying female pets reduces risks such as mammary cancer and pyometra, which unspayed female dogs are at high risk of getting. Pyometra is an infection of the uterus.

"I've seen a few dogs die of pyometra," said Susan Clark, 35 FSS veterinary clinical operations supervisor. "For female dogs in particular, spaying can be a lifesaving act."

Neutering male pets can help with temperament problems and reduce the risk of testicular cancer, said Lausier.

"An unneutered pet is going to be frustrated," said Lausier. "These temperamental issues can lead to urinating and marking places indoors. It's just healthier for animals to be spayed or neutered."

Not all illnesses are physical. Many of the animals that come through the clinic suffer from psychological issues as well.

"It seems a lot of people are going to the Shimoda mall and paying $800 or more for a puppy or a cat. Shortly after, they realize the pet does not fit with their lifestyles and want to give it away. Pet owners should do their research and review their financial practices prior to taking a pet home," said Clark.

"Some of these pets are on their seventh, eighth or ninth home," she added. "A lot of the time these animals have behavioral issues because they haven't had a consistent home and owners to properly train them."

The veterinary clinic also handles registration of animals and microchipping.

According to the Status of Forces Agreement, servicemembers' pets must be registered through the veterinary clinic, microchipped and fully vaccinated.

"Pets are considered personal property," said Clark. " Just like a vehicle, when you obtain a pet, you must register it at the clinic under the sponsor's name."

Pet owners who leave their animals in the care of someone else for an extended period of time must fill out special forms to let the clinic know who is "pet sitting". This also allows the owner to have full responsibility to pay for veterinary services, if rendered. If the pet owner wishes to transfer their pet to someone else there is mandatory paperwork that must be completed.

Neglecting to transfer paperwork can cause problems when servicemembers move from a base, retire or separate.

"It's similar to situations where you buy or sell your vehicle, but don't complete the transfer paperwork. If something should happen to the vehicle, the original owner is still responsible for it," said Lausier.

"There are also some other things like health insurance portability and accountability," he added. "Your pet's medical records are like your medical records. They can't just be given to anyone."

New pet owners are able to register pets and make appointments during normal business hours. For information on hours of operation go to http://35fss.com/veterinarian.htm or call DSN 226-4502.