Full Moon Drive Your Pets Crazy?
We have all heard the anecdotal stories from hospitals, news outlets and police reports stating that a full moon always brings the “crazies and loonies’ out of the woodwork.
We have even personally observed bizarre behavior and said, “Must be a full moon.”
Well, I recently came across a study completed by the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Although the report was originally published last year, I found it to be very interesting.
The study was completed by Raegan J. Wells, DVM; Juliet R. Gionfriddo, DVM, MS, DACVO; Timothy B. Hackett, DVM, MS, DACVECC; Steven V. Radecki, PhD Veterinary Medical Center, Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado.
The purpose of the study was to determine the frequency of canine and feline emergency visits with respect to the lunar cycle.
The study was based upon the clinical records of 11,940 dogs and cats that were evaluated on an emergency basis during an 11-year period.
The emergency types were categorized as animal bite, cardiac arrest, epilepsy, ophthalmic, gastric dilatation-volvulus (a twisting of the digestive tract that leads to partial or complete obstruction and a reduction in blood supply), trauma, multiple diseases, neoplasia (the formation or existence of tumors) or toxicosis (the harmful effects of a poison, including any disease).
The results were…
“Of 11,940 cases, 9,407 were canine and 2,533 were feline. Relative risk calculations identified a significant increase in emergencies for dogs and cats on fuller moon days (waxing gibbous to waning gibbous), compared with all other days.”
The study went on to report…
“The results suggested that more emergency room visits occurred on fuller moon days for dogs and cats. It is unlikely that an attending clinician would notice the fractional increase in visits (0.59 and 0.13 more canine and feline visits, respectively) observed in this study at a facility with a low caseload. If the study is repeated at a facility with a robust emergency caseload, these results may lead to reorganization of staffing on fuller moon dates.”
So the next time that your dog howls, without any obvious reason, at the full moon, maybe it is more than a coincidence.
Lunar cycle effects causing injury or illness to your pets?
Who knew?
Maybe we need to watch our pets a little more carefully during a full moon.
I dunno…can’t hurt, can it?
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