International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day!

Every dog has its day – and this is it! International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day causes dogs of every kind to wag their tails with glee when their owners serve up unusual or home-made doggy snacks to mark the occasion.

Every canine in the world knows the best way to celebrate this important day! Today, dog biscuits are often used in training and as rewards in the show ring.



There are even special types of biscuits which clean dogs’ teeth – so giving that best friend a treat can help to keep him healthy and happy in celebration of International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day!

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February 23, 2025

FLU SEASON REMAINS HIGH NATIONALLY BUT IT IS MODERATE IN ARIZONA AND IN DECLINE. 

IT WILL BE A HEAVY PRESENCE FOR 3-4 MORE WEEKS AND THEN WILL BE VERY LITTLE IN THE VALLEY.   IF YOU HAVE HIGH FEVER, SEVERE ACHES AND PAINS, AND COUGH… IT IS MOST LIKELY FLU… BUT TEST FOR COVID.  WE HAVE FLU MEDICATION SO BE IN TOUCH. 

COVID IS LESS THEN ½ OF WHAT IT WAS LAST YEAR. THIS IS GOOD NEWS. BUT IT IS STILL AROUND.

RSV REMAINS… LOW… AND REMAINS STEADY……LESS THEN ½ OF LAST YEARS NUMBERS. 

*CURRENT COVID VACCINE IS IN PHARMACIES. IT IS STILL A SOLID MATCH FOR THE CURRENT COVID VIRUS

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 2025 IMMUNIZATIONS:

DATA CONTINUES TO SUPPORT BENEFIT FROM COVID VACCINATION. BENEFITS OF THE SHOT INCREASE WITH AGE AND WITH CONDITIONS THAT PREDISPOSE TO COMPLICATIONS (EMPHYSEMA/COPD, HEART FAILURE, DIABETES, IMMUNE SUPPRESSION)

CURRENT COVID STATUS:

THE CURRENT COVID STRAINS ARE VERY CONTAGIOUS AND PRESENT THROUGHOUT ARIZONA… WE ARE SEEING SEVERAL EACH WEEK, MOST DUE TO TRAVEL OR LARGE EVENT ATTENDANCE.

IF YOU GET SICK AFTER TRAVEL OR ATTENDING A BIG GATHERING… DO A COVID TEST. ALL STANDARD COVID TESTS WORK TO IDENTIFY THE CURRENT STRAINS.

ALL DOING WELL.  BE PROACTIVE TO PREVENT NEED FOR HOSPITALIZATION. PROTECTION IS UP TO YOU AND NOW IS A PERSONAL DECISION. DO WHAT MAKES YOU COMFORTABLE.

DATA 100% SHOWS THAT GOOD MASKS MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THEY ARE NOT PERFECT, BUT THEY DO REDUCE RISK OF EXPOSURE AND INFECTION.

• I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH… IF YOU DON’T WANT COVID FROM TRAVEL… WEAR A MASK IN THE AIRPORT CROWDS AND ON THE AIRPLANE (UNTIL 10,000 FEET) … THIS IS NOT AS ESSENTIAL AS IT WAS WHEN COVID WAS MORE SEVERE… BUT IF YOU WANT TO AVOID INFECTIONS IN GENERAL DURING TRAVEL... IT’S A RECOMMENDATION.

• EVEN SELECTIVE MASK USE WORKS WELL… SUCH AS ONLY IN CROWDED SPACES IN THE AIRPORT, AND DURING TRAVEL ‘TO’ YOUR DESTINATION, SO THAT YOU ARE NOT ILL DURING YOU VACATION/TRAVEL TIME.  LESS IMPORTANT WHEN YOU RETURN FROM VACATION.

• GET BOOSTED IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO…PARTICULARLY OVER AGE 65 WITH HEALTH ISSUES OR OVER 75 WITHOUT HEALTH ISSUES.  EVERY 6 MONTHS IS THE RECOMMENDATION FOR THIS GROUP. 

I RECOMMEND THE COVID BOOSTER GENERALLY FOR THOSE OVER 65. BUT…

• I HIGHLY RECOMMEND A BOOSTER FOR THOSE 80 & OLDER.

• I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE BOOSTER FOR THOSE OVER 65 WITH HEART FAILURE, SIGNIFICANT LUNG CONDITIONS, AND DIABETES.

CONSIDER BOOSTING WITH THE NEW COVID VACCINE TO REDUCE RISK OF COVID AND TO REDUCE COVID SYMPTOM SEVERITY. 

TOP PODCAST DONE WEEKLY

BY DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM

(UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA)  

He is a world-renowned epidemiologist who was credited with first elucidating TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME in the 1980’s.

He provides comprehensive and understandable/actionable ideas related to COVID.

Dr. Osterholm Update: COVID-19 Podcast

February 20, 2025



'We Cannot Give Up or Give In'

In "We Cannot Give Up or Give In" Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss the confirmation of RFK Jr. as HHS Secretary, recent layoffs at the CDC and NIH, and a new vaccine policy being adopted in Louisiana. They also discuss seasonal and H5N1 influenza activity and a measles outbreak in Texas.

According to Dr. Osterholm……

•  GET YOUR LATEST AVAILABLE BOOSTER IF YOU HAVE NOT HAD COVID OR IT’S BEEN LONGER THAN 4 MONTHS SINCE YOU HAD COVID YOURSELF

•  A GOOD MASK, N95 OF KN95, DOES HELP REDUCE TRANSMISSION…. USE IT AT HIGH-RISK LOCATIONS

• GOOD VENTILATION IN ROOMS/HOME/BUSINESSES IS A GREAT WAY TO PREVENT TRANSMISSION

• VACCINE, VACCINE, VACCINE…THIS IS OUR PROTECTION. ALL VACCINES ARE EFFECTIVE AND WITH TIME WE ARE SEEING THAT

• BOOST, BOOST, BOOST…THIS WILL BE NECESSARY TO PREVENT RECURRING SURGE AND TO RAISE ANTIBODY LEVELS IN THOSE ALREADY SET WITH THE PRIMARY COVID VACCINE SERIES.

• ANTIGEN TESTING IS USEFUL, BUT OF LIMITED VALUE. DON’T DEPEND ON IT…BUT USE IT.

Know that unvaccinated remain a source of potential infection. Avoiding unvaccinated persons will reduce your risk of COVID.

Steve Martin Blames ‘SNL 50th COVID Curse’ After Martin Short and Maya Rudolph

Test Positive (for COVID)

The diagnosis of his "Only Murders in the Building" co-star has forced the postponement of shows on the duo's comedy tour, Martin said.

Steve Martin says that Martin Short and Maya Rudolph have tested positive for Covid after attending the "Saturday Night Live" 50th anniversary special on Sunday.

"Maya had Covid. Marty has Covid. I wonder why? The SNL 50th Covid curse is real," Martin posted to Instagram on Thursday, along with a photo of the "Bridesmaids" star and his “Only Murders in the

Building” co-star star sharing a kiss at the star-studded special.

Short’s illness has forced changes to his and Martin’s upcoming "Dukes of Funnytown" Tour."Unfortunately, we have to reschedule this weekend’s sold out Durham and Knoxville dates to 10/17 Knoxville and 10/18 Durham. So sorry for the inconvenience," said Martin. "I think we’ll be funnier then, anyway."

Why isn't the U.S. Using a Bird Flu Vaccine

in Poultry?

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is expected “in the coming days” to announce a new strategy to fight the escalating outbreak.

The United States has so far avoided vaccination as a strategy to eradicating bird flu in poultry, instead relying on culling infected flocks. With the escalating outbreak driving up egg prices to record highs, could that approach soon change? 

And as millions of flocks continue to die, why aren’t vaccines being given already?

The Agriculture Department on Friday gave its strongest sign yet that the federal government could be shifting its strategy. The agency said it granted a conditional license for an H5N2 bird flu vaccine designed to work against variants of the H5N1 virus, the strain circulating among herds of dairy cows and domestic poultry in the U.S. H5N2 belongs to a family of bird flu viruses which includes H5N1.

The license to Zoetis, a New Jersey-based vaccine manufacturer, is an acknowledgment that the vaccine has met the USDA’s requirements for safety and “reasonable expectation” of effectiveness, a company spokesperson said.

After you received your COVID or any other vaccination outside our office, please let us know!

We would like to document this information into your chart.



What we need:

1. Your name
2. Name & date of vaccination received
3. Brand name
4. Lot number if available
5. Which dose you have received

The Texas Department of State Health and Services (DSHS) has been tracking an ever-growing measles outbreak that has nearly doubled in the last two weeks.

When first reported on Feb. 5 in Gaines County, officials warned there would be additional cases.

"Due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in Gaines County and the surrounding communities," the alert said.

The outbreak is the worst outbreak in decades and now the highly contagious disease has spread into New Mexico.

The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) is testing residents and has confirmed three cases just last week, bringing their total to eight.

The cases meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s outbreak criteria due to the three unrelated cases in Lea County, bordering Gaines County.

Although the New Mexico outbreak is close in proximity, a connection remains unconfirmed.

We Are Here to Take Care of Your Healthcare Needs.

We Are Here to Serve!

Our office is using techniques to reduce exposure to a minimum during your visit. These include: 

• Multiple Super-HEPA filters to filter out potential virus and

particles in the office.

• High Level UV light air cleansing in the office to eliminate

bacteria and viruses in the air.

OUR OFFICE SCHEDULE  

DOORS OPEN     

7AM - 4PM Monday through Thursday

7AM - 11AM Friday

IN OFFICE

APPOINTMENTS: MONDAY – THURSDAY

7AM – 11:15AM & 1PM – 3:30PM

APPOINTMENTS: FRIDAY

7AM – 10:30 AM

DR. LAKIN WILL CONTINUE ‘TELEHEALTH’ VISITS WITH FaceTime, WhatsApp or ZOOM WHEN NEEDED.

Dr. Lakin's Info For COVID-19 Kit &

Recommended Treatments

SUMMARY OF A COVID KIT & CHECK LIST:

This is what you should have at home to prepare for possible COVID, to monitor yourself if you were to get infected:

DIGITAL ORAL THERMOMETER: MANY BRANDS ARE FINE…HERE IS ONE EXAMPLE:

PULSE OXIMETER:  TO CHECK OXYGEN LEVELS. MANY BRANDS ARE FINE...HERE IS ONE EXAMPLE:

OTHER ITEMS FROM THE HOME MEDICAL KIT:

• TYLENOL, ADVIL, OR ALEVE
• Sudafed 30mg tablets
• Chlorpheniramine 4mg tablets
• Robitussin DM syrup
• Imodium AD

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory committee meeting scheduled for next week — the first since Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in — has been postponed, a senior HHS official said Thursday.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, was scheduled to meet Feb. 26 through Feb. 28. The group of independent experts convenes three times a year on behalf of the CDC to weigh the pros and cons of newly approved or updated vaccines.

In an emailed statement, Andrew Nixon, a senior spokesperson for HHS, said next week’s meeting was postponed to “accommodate public comment in advance of the meeting.”

“The ACIP workgroups met as scheduled this month and will present at the upcoming ACIP meeting,” Nixon wrote. He didn't answer a question about when the meeting would be rescheduled.

The postponement was first reported by Stat News.

After Pope Francis was hospitalized last week for bronchitis, the Vatican has now announced that he has pneumonia in both lungs, with tests continuing to indicate a “complex clinical picture.”

Earlier in the week, the Vatican had said the 88-year-old had a “polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract.”

These are the latest in a series of lung-related health concerns that have plagued Francis, and it’s a reminder for older adults to take respiratory infections seriously — even if you’re not as old as the pontiff.

I asked CNN wellness expert Dr. Leana Wen about the different types of respiratory infections. How are they diagnosed and treated? Why are older adults especially at risk for serious disease due to respiratory infections? And how can everyone reduce their chance of contracting pneumonia and other respiratory infections?

Wen is an emergency physician and clinical associate professor at George Washington University. She previously was Baltimore’s health commissioner.

Glenn Close & Conan Eat Dog Biscuits | Late Night with Conan O’Brien

Glenn Close isn’t one to turn down a free Milk-Bone.

You Snooze... You Lose !

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