Vets care for all pets, both large and small

CORNWALL — There’s a new vet in town, and she’s bringing expertise in large animal care.Dr. Leah Osowiecki has joined Dr. Katherine Skiff Kane at Housatonic Veterinary Care. The Cornwall Bridge office will continue to be a comprehensive mixed practice, caring for small and large animals.Osowiecki, a native of Thomaston, tells the classic tale of falling in love with the idea of working with animals at a young age. For her, it was at her cousins’ Bantam dairy farm that she decided she wanted to be a vet.She earned degrees at the University of Vermont and in Colorado, where her master’s degree was cutting edge at the time: integrated resource management in agriculture combined with business and ranch management.“Large agriculture is booming here,” she said. “It’s very exciting. There is a movement back to backyard sustainable farming, goats, chickens, cows; and with that there is an increased demand for vet care. People are more conscious of where their food comes from and their carbon footprint. We love it, but there has to be more attention paid to where animals are coming from. It can be a real public health issue.”Kane added that biosecurity is very lax in this country, but it can have a huge effect. She referred to the foot-and-mouth disease epidemic that swept Great Britain. There are also many diseases and illnesses that can pass between animals and humans.Kane bought the established practice in 1991 from Dr. Everett Vreeland, who passed away last week, on Sept. 5 (for his obituary, turn to Page A10).“He was a great mentor and did a mixed practice for 40 years,” Kane said. “He would be very happy to know Leah’s here.”The doctors spoke about staying on top of trending issues in small animal care as well. Those fleas that were rampant after a mild winter are back with a vengeance, with eggs hatching in August’s hot humidity.“Last winter was the real problem,” Osowiecki said. “I did an externship here in January and that was the biggest complaint.”Kane said people tend to get complacent as summer winds down, and also miss a lot of flea sources.“It takes a multiple approach. You have to treat the animals and the environment.”Fleas appear to be developing a resistance to the drops most owners use on their pets, and there is a common misconception that their eggs are sticky.“The truth is, they will drop off wherever your pets go. It can be your sofa or your car. How many people think about treating their vehicle?”Frequent vacuuming, mouse control, getting rid of things that attract wildlife such as raccoons are all important. Bombs that spray pesticides throughout a home are hazardous and not effective, because they don’t reach under furnishings, the doctors warned. Kane recommends flea traps and herbal sprays.One of the most common mistakes people make is treating their dogs but not their cats.Kane is open-minded about integrated approaches to medicine. Osowiecki is trained in animal acupuncture.The most telling sign of the times is the deferred animal care due to the economy. The demand for routine checkups and preventive care is down.“At the same time,” Kane said, “we are seeing people deferring their own health care so they can get their pets treated.”