Your Weekly Paws

Knoxville author Marilyn Mascaro writes of the coming of the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, through the perspective of her ancestors.

Sometimes we just don't have time to fit everything into the episode. Here are a few of the unaired questions from previous episodes.

Eyes are one of those things that you don't wait a few days to slowly check out. Eye problems can go south in a hurry. Dr. Allen talks about some common eye problems and treatments.

Dr. Allen talks about a few common surgeries in animals, such as spaying and neutering, tumor removals, orthopedic surgeries, and a lot more! He clues us in on why these are sometimes needed and sometimes just a good idea in general.

Heart disease is a fairly common problem in older dogs. Dr. Allen talks about heart problems that can affect our canine companions and treatments.

This week's episode is about things that cause indoor cats stress and anxiety, some of the behaviors associated with stressed-out cats, and steps you can take to make your cat more relaxed.

Pocket pets, aka small mammals, aka exotic pets, are a group of pets a lot of people will have, especially with small children. Rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, rats, and more are pocket pets. Dr. Allen gives some tips for caring for pocket pets.

This week's episode is about getting ready to go to the veterinarian. Many times the veterinarian gets a huge amount of information from the pet's history. The more information you can gather beforehand, the easier it will be for the veterinarian to determine what's wrong.

Everybody loves a new puppy! As soon as you get one, once you've sort of settled in, you should contact your veterinarian for a "new puppy" visit. This is very important for the health and care of your new puppy. Dr. Allen talks about vaccines and some other tips for your new animal friend's future.

Dr. Allen discusses diseases he sees in dogs that are often signaled by changes in urination or thirst. Several of these are very common, such as urinary tract infections. There are things you can notice ahead of time to help your veterinarian identify the problem.

This week's episode is about your older pet. We all love our new puppy and kitten and enjoy playing with them. Then, they're kind of young adults and early middle age and settle into a routine with us. But eventually, they're going to be late middle age and older. Dr. Allen tells you about what to expect and watch out for.

This week's episode is about choosing the right dog and dog breed for your personal situation. It may seem like a no-brainer, but it's amazing how many times folks visit the animal hospital with problems with their pet, only to find out they have chosen the wrong dog for their lifestyle. Dr. Allen gives some guidance for picking the right dog for you.

Skin is something every pet comes in with. But sometimes, pets get skin problems, caused by a whole variety of reasons, which Dr. Allen will talk about.

Many times, a dog being lame will prompt a visit to the veterinarian. There are some things you can do ahead of time that can really make the visit a lot smoother and help the veterinarian to help identify the specific problem a lot easier.

Dr. Allen gives some tips on how to decrease stress and anxiety on vet visits and more! Many times when pets come to the veterinarian hospital, they're anxious. They're licking their lips, their body language is out-of-sorts, and they're wondering what's going to happen to them. They're encountering all kinds of unusual sights and smells, meeting people they've never been around before, and they're very stressed. This is not fun for the pet, not fun for the owner, and can make a veterinarian's job even harder.