Page 13 - Stuart Exposure - December '21

Stuart Exposure, Page 13

Fundraising Event from page 12
tip of the tail In addition to the $80,000 raised by the event itself,

several major check presentations were made. Martin
Canine Obesity resistance resulting in diabetes in some pets. Diabetes is a County Sheriff’s Office donated $5,000, Del Toro Law
donated $5,000, Vortex 1 Security Solutions donated
difficult to manage disease and reduces pet’s longevity as $3,000 and Treasure Coast Hope for Homeless donated
well as quality of life. $1,000.
Hypertension And Kidney Disease For more information visit www.elev8hope.org/mrs-
Current evidence links obesity with high blood pressure. rinas-house-of-blessings.
Hypertension causes pressure on the kidneys leading to chronic
kidney disease. Also studies show that obesity causes excess Photos by Liz McKinley and Fred Kirkhart
hyaluronic acid in kidneys that causes damage over time.
Respiratory
Fat accumulates along the outside of the lungs and in the
Most dogs today are obese. In fact, we have gotten so abdomen. This compresses the spongy lungs and makes taking
used to seeing overweight dogs that we now think this is in enough air difficult. Also dogs that have reduced airways
normal. I am often surprised when I see a canine patient due to conformation such as pugs, English bulldogs, French
at an ideal weight. Today we take much better care of our bulldogs, etc., have even more trouble breathing with fat
canine family members than in the past. Our canines have accumulating around the neck as well. Obese pets may even
become true family members and as such are spoiled like have disrupted sleep patterns and poor quality sleep.
our children. It is a good thing for ourselves and our pets Cancer
to be part of the family, but one of the main ways we spoil In humans the link between obesity and certain types
our pets are to give them extra treats and food. Just like in of cancers are becoming more and more apparent. It stands
people, obesity is a silent killer. to reason that this may be one of the reasons we see cancer
There are many serious medical consequences that develop in our canine friends as they get older.
result from obesity. Most importantly, it reduces quality Obesity is a serious problem as we are seeing more and Chief John Budensiek of Martin County Sheriff’s Office;
of life and reduces life expectancy. more dogs that are very overweight. It is something that Rinamarie Shpiruk, Elev8hope CEO; Richard Del Toro, Port
Chronic Inflammation needs to be addressed so that our canine companions can St. Lucie assistant chief of police; and John Snyder, Florida
Fat cells actually produce proteins that lead to multiple be with us as long as possible. Remember food does not State Representative
inflammatory processes in the body. As you can imagine equal love. Don’t make the mistake of overfeeding your
chronic inflammation will break the body down over time. pet just because they like to eat. We can control what they
Getting a pet back to ideal body weight can stop this process eat. Let’s make it our mission to keep our dogs healthy and
in its tracks. fit! Just remember, our pets are very good at getting us to
Osteoarthritis do what they want us to do!
We know that the more weight on the joints the more Established in 1981, Palm City Animal Medical Center
breakdown of cartilage. This process leads to arthritis in is dedicated to providing the best possible care for your
the joints. But we also know that fat cells produce products pets. With focuses on compassionate care in surgery,
that lead to inflammation within the joints contributing to physical therapy and rehabilitation, preventative medicine,
arthritis in a big way. Also the more weight a pet has on its extensive diagnostics, and emergency service, Palm City
joints, the more painful the arthritis will be for that pet. We Animal Medical Center combines exceptional medical
see many pets on multiple medications for arthritis that could care with a caring philosophy for pets and their owners.
be reduced or stopped if they were at a normal weight. For more information, call (772) 283-0920, visit www.
Diabetes palmcityanimalmedicalcenter.com or find us on Facebook at
It has been shown that excess fat leads to insulin www.facebook.com/PalmCityAnimalClinic.
Staff members at Kyle G’s Kitchen