veterinarian

The levels of toxins associated with blooms of blue-green algae have reached above the "danger" level at Red Lake in Alpine Count, and at the "warning" level at Indian Creek Reservoir.

The Alpine County Health Department has been working with The Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (Red Lake), South Tahoe Public Utility District (Indian Creek Reservoir), and the Alpine Watershed Group (AWG) in determining these levels.

A world-renown veterinarian living in Truckee leaded guilty today to one count of tax evasion.

Jack Ray Snyder, 63, was indicted in 2018 after it was alleged he failed to report significant income and filed false tax returns between 2012 and 2014. Besides the income discrepancy, Snyder was charged with deducting non-deductible personal expenses and overreporting his property taxes.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A 39-year-old South Lake Tahoe man drowned in Lake Baron in Meyers on Thanksgiving Day.

David Schmidt was walking his dogs Cheena and Oreo along with a friend's dog at Tahoe Paradise Park. According to close friends, it appears one of the dogs fell through the ice and David went to save him. David left his keys, wallet, phone and jacket on the shore and went onto the ice when he broke through. Friends said he would be too smart to just walk onto thin ice without a good reason.

An El Dorado Hills woman who was convicted of felony animal cruelty charges in 2016 has been sentenced to an additional 240 days of jail time for violating the conditions of her felony probation. The jail sentence was handed down in El Dorado County Superior Court on November 9, 2018.

Ginger Turk, 48, a puppy broker, has had many run-ins with the law over the years due to her illegal practice of importing tiny, under-aged, un-weaned, high-priced ($4,000+) puppies from South Korea and selling them over the internet and in person.

A world-renown veterinarian living in Truckee, California is facing tax evasion and filing false tax returns.

A federal grand jury returned an eight-count indictment today against Jack Ray Snyder, 61, alleging he failed to report significant income and filed false tax returns between 2012 and 2014. Besides the income discrepancy, Snyder is charged with deducting non-deductible personal expenses and overreporting his property taxes.

In the 18 years that Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care have been caring for bear cubs, 96 have passed through their doors. Most of those 96 have wintered at the facility on Cherry Hills Circle, and today, Layton, left his temporary home in South Lake Tahoe and went back Laytonville, Calif., the area he was found in.

Late in the evening on June 23, 2017, Layton arrived at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care after being found alone, full of mites, foxtails, ticks and underweight. He weighed in at 15 pounds and was about four or five months old.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The four bear cubs who have been spending the winter at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care (LTWC) will soon be heading back into the wild.

Last summer, the nonprofit organization in South Lake Tahoe lost two of their six cubs suddenly to a virus called Canine Adenovirus. This came as a shock to the group who has rehabilitated animals from not only Lake Tahoe, but from around the state since forming forty years ago in 1978.

It was a ceremonial send off today of a former four-legged protector of the South Lake Tahoe community.

It isn't cheap to care for hundreds of wild birds and animals each year so Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care is holding their annual membership drive. Funds raised go to medicine, housing, equipment and food for the injured and orphaned wildlife.

Memberships start at $35 and go up to $10,000, or more. Memberships account for 20 percent of the agency's budget. Click here for membership information.

A Washoe County Sheriff's deputy trying to scare off a group of bears in Incline Village Saturday morning shot the mother bear with a live round instead of a rubber round.

At approximately 10:45 a.m. on Saturday, May 6, 2017, deputies responded to a report of a group of bears near residences in the area of Driver Way and Village Boulevard in Incline Village.

On arrival, deputies encountered a mother bear and three cubs. This group of bears had been previously identified as food aggressive and deputies have had numerous encounters with this group in recent weeks.

Dear Hopeful Henry,
I love my cats but sometimes all the cat hair all over my clothes is so frustrating. Any quick fix suggestions for clean clothes that still have hair stuck to them?
Thanks, Amy

Dear Henry,

What are your thoughts on Microchipping your pets?
Thank you,
Arthur

Dear Arthur,
Very good question! Just last week we were able to return a dog that had been stolen because it was micro chipped. We located the dog and because we were able to verify the legal owner via the microchip it made getting the dog back to his owner a much easier process.

Dear Hopeful,

I know you're of the canine set, but I need some hints and tips to share with my feline friends.

Signed,
Meowwww

Dear Meowww,

Of course, always love to help friends of ALL animals! Here are my TOP TEN useful, and surprising cat tips:

Cats Dig Running Water

Dear Hopeful Henry,
I have a 15 year old cat who has started losing weight and is just not that interested in food (except for turkey sandwich meat). We have been to the vet and basically he is just old. He still cuddles and plays and uses his litter box so I really don’t want to have to put him down yet. Do you have any suggestions that might encourage his eating?

Thank you,
Skinny Cat

Dear Skinny Cat,

Fallen Leaf Campground will be closed starting Monday, June 27 so county and state public health and vector control officials can start pesticide treatments to minimize the risk of plague.

The treatments are a public safety precaution after tests on 15 rodents resulted in one positive case of plague on June 20, 2016. There is minimal risk to the public at this time.

The campground will close at 7:00 p.m. Monday but all campers will need to check out by noon. The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit expects it to reopen by Friday, July 1 in time for the holiday weekend.

Every year, countless dogs die in cars on summer days. Sometimes it’s not even that hot outside. Many times the window is cracked and the car is parked in the shade. The startling truth is that even in seemingly safe conditions the temperature inside your car can soar to life-threatening heights in just ten minutes – about the time it takes to run into the post office or the coffee shop or the pet store.

Even on a relatively mild day, your car can turn into an oven with frightening speed.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has released information regarding the death of Carson Valley veterinarian Lance Gorrindo earlier this week:

“At the time of Lance Gorrindo’s death he was the sole suspect being sought by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in connection to an active Lewdness with a Minor investigation. The identity of the victim is confidential by law and not subject to disclosure.”

Formal charges had not been filed against Gorrindo prior to his death, according to Carson Valley Times.

Dear Henry,

My question for you is: does spaying contribute to and/or cause urinary incontinence. I understand it can. What is your opinion?
Thank You
Bruce

Dear Henry,

Just curious, my cat has started sticking his tongue out, I mean a lot. He will just sit and stick his tongue out at me. It’s cute but should I be concerned?

Thanks,
Arnold

Dear Arnold.

I’m actually glad you brought this up. While yes it’s cute, I had a kitty with this habit. While some cats just do this for no apparent reason my concern with your kitty is that it is new behavior. If you cat was doing this its whole life and your veterinarian had seen no signs of trouble then I would say you just have a silly kitty.

This week we had a request for help from a family whose 10 month old German Shepard got his muzzle stuck in a knuckle bone purchased from a pet store. He had eaten out the center of the bone and the bone became lodged onto his jaw. After the owner tried for an hour to remove the bone it became apparent that an emergency vet appointment was need. The bone had broken his tooth and was causing extreme pain. Alpine Animal Hospital was nice enough to squeeze them in right away and was able to remove the bone with a minor surgery.

A horse living in the Greenwood community of El Dorado County has been infected with West Nile Virus according to county health officials.

"The horse is recovering and expected to survive, but the case reminds us that the virus is circulating and horse owners need to take precautions," said Fred Sanford with the El Dorado County Environmental Management Division (EMD). "Horses exposed to West Nile Virus (WNV) are vulnerable to serious complications and even death. Fortunately, a vaccine is available from many veterinarians that can protect horses."

Health officials in El Dorado County are reminding residents and visitors that chipmunks, squirrels and other wild rodents can carry plague, and that a few simple precautions can prevent the spread of the disease.

"While human cases of plague are fairly rare, there are many areas in California, including higher elevation areas of El Dorado County, where wild rodents have been found in the past to carry plague," said Karen Bender, Supervisor with the El Dorado County Environmental Management Division.

Pet owners would do most anything for their animals, protecting them from all kinds of hazards. But now, it has become clear that one problem dog owners are facing with alarming frequency is their pets overdosing on marijuana edibles.

A Pleasant Hill woman owns a dog that ate something while on a hike that made him very sick. She told KTVU she was shocked to hear the veterinarian say the dog was stoned.

Marko is a playful Beagle-Boston Terrier mix.

"We go on hikes every Monday and Tuesday," said Marko's owner, Kristy Safarians.

But this Monday's hike didn't go quite as planned.

Find out how stem cells function to heal tissues in animals and people at the next lecture series held at the Tahoe Environmental Research Center in Incline Village on January 15.

Dr. Dori Borjesson from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine will speak about current veterinary clinical trials using stem cells to treat inflammation and spinal cord injury in small and large companion animals.

Borjesson is a veterinarian and Professor at UC Davis, specializing in regenerative medicine and stem cell therapy.