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989 days ago
If you have read this blog for a while, you know that our job is interesting for many reasons. One is that we have cool patients – let’s face it – I get to play with dogs and cats at work. But another reason is that we are all scientists, and the challenge of the medicine gets us going too. But a fact is that some our most interesting cases can also be some of our most challenging and also some of our saddest cases. It’s an odd feeling to feel exhilarated by making a diagnosis of something uncommon, when the outcome is not good. A case I had this weekend is an example of just that. A five year old Lab came in collapsed. He was fine with the owners left early that morning, and he had been outside in a fenced yard during the day. When they came home, they found him unable to stand, and this normally happy guy could only give a weak wag of his tail. They lifted the big boy into the car and brought him in. When he got to us, he was laying on ...
995 days ago
Working in a veterinary ER can be really draining. Death, grieving owners, and financial stresses all take their toll on our emotions. Burn out is common in any ER. Amongst the hectic parts of our job are sweet patients with an amazing will to live who remind us why we do what we do. It's these patients that make our job so extraordinary. Shane, a Miniature Schnauzer puppy, was one of these patients. Here is her story. Shane, a 3 pound, 9 week old bundle of joy, originally presented to the clinic with vomiting and diarrhea. She had recently been purchased at a pet store. Her new family had barely gotten to know her yet, but it was clear that they loved her dearly. When a puppy comes in with symptoms such as Shane's, we always recommend beginning diagnostics with a Parvo test. Shane's test resulted in a strong positive. This adorable little fluffball had a long road ahead of her. Parvoviral enteritis (Parvo for short) is a highly infectious disease of puppies that ...
1004 days ago
Dakota (Codi for short), an eight and a half year old Terrier / Doberman mix, presented to the clinic Tuesday night because she had ingested a corn dog stick. I (Renae) was spending much of my time working with a Parvo puppy that night, but, fortunately, I was able to witness most of the happenings of this case. This was a cool one that Dr. Susan and all the techs were talking about for the rest of the night. Codi's family was eating corn dogs that night, and, apparently, Codi was patiently awaiting her share of the yummy meal. Codi must have felt it was her lucky day when the family's son dropped his corn dog on the floor. No one saw her eat the dropped goodie, but all they could find left on the floor was a small piece of the stick. Lucky for Codi, her family knew the corn dog stick could be quite dangerous if it obstructed her GI tract or if it perforated her stomach or intestines. Codi's family quickly brought her to Dr. Susan. Dr. Susan evaluated Codi. Her ...
1004 days ago
[This is Susan here - I think Renae will be posting another case later today or tomorrow.] One night a few weeks ago, it was cold here. Really cold. There was a lot of snow as well. A big St. Bernard named Beethoven came in to our ER that night. Normally an outdoor dog, he had a thick, heavy coat. But it was too cold even for him that night, and his owners had brought him indoors earlier that evening. That’s when they noticed something was not right with him. He seemed agitated, and he resented his owner handling him – he even went so far as to try to bite her. This was unusual for him, as his owners described as normally a happy, friendly dog. They also noticed he seemed to have some intermittent limping, especially in his hind legs, and at times yelped as if he might be in pain. At one point he seemed disoriented and started falling into a wall. He was trembling at times too. So they brought him in to see us. On first look, Beethoven did not look that sick. He did seem a bit ...
1016 days ago
I will start by introducing myself. I am Renae, one of Dr. Susan's technicians. I've been working with her for nearly four years. My first experiences working in veterinary medicine began with Dr. Susan when I was an intern. She has taught me A LOT along the way! She's a smart cookie, and she loves to teach, so I know I will continue to learn from her. Dr. Susan and I have been through many ups and downs together during our ER adventures. We have shared many laughs over the antics of our patients and over the goofy ways we entertain ourselves on the slow nights (from Dr. Susan's previous posts: fruit wars, dressing up clinic cats, making smiley faces on other technician's rear ends when there isn't a thing that tech can do about it - that was my rear end by the way, etc.). We have shared countless tears over ill and dying pets, often crying with the owners as they say good-bye to their beloved furry friends. We have also shared in the glory of many successes with our patients. There ...
