Kearney, Nebraska.
Even if you don't smoke, exposure to second-hand smoke, even for a short time, can have negative health effects. We know that second-hand smoke is bad for us humans, but how does it affect pets?
Dr. Brandon Beebout of Beebout Veterinary Medical Center said smoke contains 7,000 chemicals. If you are a bird owner, your bird's respiratory tract is very sensitive to all pollutants. Bird owners should also be aware that cooking in nonstick pans can be fatal to bird owners. “Believe it or not, there will be small amounts of contaminants and they will cause problems,” Dr. Brandon said.
Thanks to smoke, you can see some differences between short-nosed dogs and long-nosed dogs. Dogs with long noses apparently have a much larger surface area of nasal epithelium, so they are actually more susceptible to nasal cancer, like Collies, Labradors, Dobermans, and Borzois. Dr. Beebout said there are even studies that show these dogs are 250% more likely to develop nasal cancer. “Nose cancer is not very common in dogs anyway,” says Dr. Beebout. “Most families that smoke are smokers. You just have to think about it.”
Then there are short-nosed dogs such as pugs, boxers, Shih Tzus, and Pekingese. In fact, because smoke passes through your nasal passages and reaches your lungs, you're actually more likely to get lung cancer. “We don't want nose cancer, we don't want lung cancer, and we know that it happens. We know that there is a link,” Dr. Beebout said.
Cats have short noses, which makes them more susceptible to lung cancer. According to Dr. Beebout, the results of the Detroit study show that about one in three smokers learned that smoking can harm their pets. Trying to be healthy is a motivation to quit smoking. Our pets motivate us to do different things. Getting up off the couch, getting up in the morning, going for a walk, or a Border Collie or Jack Russell Terrier jumping up and saying “I do” protects us from a sedentary lifestyle. You have to walk 2 miles. ” It is definitely good for our health.
Dr. Beebout said this is just a four-minute talk about how we know this is a really good motivator because we want our pets to live a long life. And when you get nose cancer or lung cancer, we know that it's not very treatable and of course the prognosis is poor.
What about second-hand smoke when you're in the car with your pet?
There is no risk-free level of second-hand smoke. And even beyond that, Dr. Beebout said there's third-hand smoke – which sounds like a made-up word, but it's all the chemicals that get deposited, those contaminants that get deposited on the couch, and the dogs. It's when the sofa licks or the cat cleans itself, and they land on them. It actually increases oral cancer, and oral cancer is very common in cats and dogs. Squamous cell carcinoma comes to mind, the most common type in cats. Many people don't think about third-hand smoke, but it's a good reminder to think about when owning a pet.
“I encourage everyone to at least get outside or be aware of what they can do for their pets. Even better, quit altogether and say, 'I'm going to enjoy a new lifestyle, It's all because of my pets that I decided to go for more walks. “Pets can actually save lives,'' Dr. Beebout said.
If you have questions for Pet Docs, Dr. Brandon and Dr. Pao Beebout:
Bebout Veterinary Medical Center
- 4507 1st Avenue Place
- kearney, nebraska
- (308) 236-5912
hilltoppetclinic.com/
facebook.com/HPCKearneyNE
