Guam is a great place to live and to raise children. English is the official language and we use American currency. There are many cultures here and it is, overall, a safe and friendly place. We are a territory of the United States with all its benefits and rights. All of your USA licenses and such apply here. For example, your driver's license is accepted here, though if you stay 6 months or more you will need to get a Guam driver's license. We have Kmart, Macy's, Ruby Tuesdays, IHOP, Applebee's, Home Depot, Foot Locker, and many other stores you are used to.
Veterinary medicine, however, is seasonal and geographic; and we have been told the number of parasite related cases (for example) we see is exponential compared to what veterinarians are used to seeing in the states. Being that we are on a tropical island, our basic rule of thumb is: if a parasite can cause it, we probably see it - daily.
The list below has been created to give you a general idea of the most common diseases we see at Wise Owl Animal Hospital:
Non-Parasite Related
- Parvo, parvo, parvo and more parvo (you will see a lot of this. We have a 90% survival rate)
- Feline pneumonitis (Chlamydia)
- FIV - we have little FeLV but almost all the boonies (stray) cats are FIV+ by 2-3 years old
- Heatstroke
- Health certificates to
- Australia
- Europe
- Japan
- Korea
- US Mainland, Hawaii & Alaska
- Poultry permits to Saipan & CNMI (hence the need for the Category II USDA Accreditation)
- C-sections (we have a lot of breeders on Guam)
- Trauma from
- Hit By Car/boat
- Dog fights
- Abscesses - not related to fights or known wounds
- Cruciates, Luxating patellas, and FHO's
Parasite Related
- Hookworm anemia in 8-10 day old puppies and kittens
- Tick Diseases (no Lyme) - diagnosed more than once a day
- Ehrlichiosis
- Anaplasmosis
- Babesiosis
- hemobartonella in cats (Myconacterium pneumotropica)
- Dermatophytosis
- Heartworm (diagnosed 3-5 times per week)