For pet owners...

[badger]

when my elderly dog was having a host of problems, I always tried to take care of things naturally rather than putting harsh chemicals in/on him. One thing I found works well for minor ear irritation/infection was a couple of drops of Neem Oil. You can get that in local health shops/Whole Foods-type stores.

And while I'm on the subject, another natural remedy that really helped us was using activated charcoal if he got into anything he wasn't supposed to. He had colitis, so even little things set him off, but when he had indiscretions picking up garbage on our walks (he was so fast and would never let go once it goes into his mouth), he would just have the worst diarrhea.

The last couple of years of his life, I came across activated charcoal and whenever he ate something he wasn't supposed to, or his stomach was making an awful lot of noise, I gave him one pill and settled his stomach.

[roadie gal]

If you own a particular breed it's important to know if they have a genetic predisposition to medication sensitivities. Collies, and a number of the other herding breeds, can have a genetic mutation called MDR1 which makes them sensitive to a lot of meds. Ivernectin, the main ingredient in heartworm meds can kill them.

I didn't know this until after Toby got neutered. He had a horrible time coming out of anesthesia. For 24 hours we had to drip water into his mouth. He couldn't get up to eat, drink or pee. Later we found out that he was mu/mu for MDR1 and that he's very sensitive to the anesthesia that they used. We had Cameron tested as soon as we got him. He's also mu/mu, so we had the vet use a different drug when he got neutered.