Aging with Pets
By Dr. Anna M. van Heeckeren
Do you or someone you know have allergies to common household pets? Did you know that household members who are allergic to their pets are one of the top 10 reasons why pets are relinquished to shelters? We can help by providing you with the information you need!
In order to help reduce the number of pets that get relinquished to shelters due to allergies, our founder Dr. Anna M. van Heeckeren reached out to her colleagues at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Armando Hoet, DVM, PhD, DACVPM from The Veterinary Public Health Program stepped up to the challenge and found three interested students.
These students were responsible for finding and compiling credible information that was published in peer-reviewed articles by experts in their field. They used this project to meet their graduation requirements in 2013, and are now Masters of Public Health with a focus on Veterinary Public Health.
Three publications were created to help people manage the ‘allergens’ that cause allergic reactions of household members (or people who may visit your home) to your pet. There is one for those who are:
Or Click Here to download more than one fact sheet.
This kind of collaboration is one example of how partnerships can help train students involved in keeping pets and people healthy at home. We are now able to share this expertly researched information. This information can be passed along to any One Health Family Member, or anyone else who needs it.
UPDATE: In 2020, there was an exciting announcement for those who love cats and are allergic to them. Researchers developed a special diet for cats that reduced the allergens that cats shed in the third week of feeding it daily. Very cool results. Here’s more information about how this diet works in the “real world.”
This lightly-edited blog post with photo was originally published on onehealth.org on 8/9/16 by Dr. Anna.
