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Background and Aim: Police dogs in Iraq have been working mostly as explosive detectors since 2003. The health problems of these dogs are unique and have not been reported in literature. This investigation assessed the prevalence of health problems in Police dogs referred to Baghdad Veterinary Hospital during 2015-2017. Materials and Methods: A total of 1220 police dogs that were referred to Baghdad Veterinary Hospital in 2015-2017 were studied. The dogs were mostly German Shepherd dogs (GSDs) or Belgian Malinois (BM), with an average age of 4.6 years. The dogs' health problems and some of their risk factors were studied. Results: Congestive heart failure (CHF), babesiosis, various malignancies, and intestinal parasites were the most commonly diagnosed health problems, followed by general aging, bronchopneumonia, otitis, nutritional deficiencies, and anemia. GSDs were more prone to CHF, while BM had more diagnoses of malignancies. Age was associated with both health conditions. Conclusion: The presence of health problems in these working dogs highlights the need for a stricter and more organized preventive schedule to keep the dogs healthy and efficient at old age.

Behavioral problems are very important because they are one of the most common reasons for the relinquishment of cats. In this study, the frequency of behavioral problems in 167 cats attending Small Animal Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, was evaluated with the use of a questionnaire. Interaction with other animals and people, outdoor access, breed, and sex of the cats were evaluated for association with the occurrence of the behavioral problems. Aggression towards people and other cats, Elimination problems, Scratching objects, Fearfulness, Attention seeking, Excessive grooming, Chasing small animals, Hiding, Vocalization in owner's absence, Obsessive behaviors and Eating fiber material were the behavioral problems evaluated in this study. Results showed that 94.6% of the cats were reported to have at least one behavioral problem with the mean number of behavioral problems for one cat being 2.71. Fearfulness, attention seeking, Aggression towards other cats/people, scratching, and Elimination problems were the most prevalent behavioral complaints reported by cats owners respectively whereas; obsessive behaviors were the least common behavioral complaints.Data analysis revealed that inappropriate elimination is significantly more common in cats with outdoor access while interaction with other cats and people showed an association with scratching in cats. Intact female cats tended to seek less attention from their owners than their other counterparts. Breed assessment, on the other hand, showed that Persian cats are reported to have more elimination problems and less aggression problems towards people than DSH cats.

In recent decades, exotic pets are increasingly invited to homes with a wide range of variation in species and requirements that are more specialized. During a one-year period, 2408 exotic animals admitted to the Small Animal Veterinary Hospital, University of Tehran were assessed. Rabbits, hamsters, squirrels, turtles/tortoises, guinea pigs, lizards, hedgehogs, reindeer, monkeys, and snakes were referred, respectively. Owner referral cause and their gender in addition to the disease diagnosis were analyzed. While no statistical significance (P>0.05) was observed in the total number of men and women presenting these animals, gender-based preferences were spotted for owning specific types of animal species in this study (P<0.05). Furthermore, analysis showed that snakes and rabbits were more commonly (P<0.05) presented for checkup; while chelonians, lizards, hedgehogs, and monkeys were more presented with health problems (P<0.05). Other animals’ results did not show statistically significant difference for admission reasons (P>0.05). The health record assessment included 1587 animals with complete health files. The most common diseases diagnosed in most of these animals were metabolic bone disease/musculoskeletal problems and dental problems. In addition, eye problems in chelonians and urinary problems in hedgehogs were the most common diagnosis of those species. In conclusion, since the most common health problems of most participating animals were associated with mismanagement and inappropriate diet, it is highly recommended that owners be thoroughly educated by veterinarians to reduce the possibility of such conditions in exotic captive animals