CASE OF THE MONTH
Every day sick pets come in to see our doctors. Some pets have a story to tell so we decided to pick the best success story each month. Check here every month to see who's story will be shared with us!
"Kota" - Bone tumor on the left front leg
This trooper had to have an amputation for a bone tumor. We removed it early, hoping to prevent the cancer from spreading to other areas like the lungs. Dogs do very well on three legs, as long as the other legs are strong and healthy.
He did very well in surgery and is back to chasing gophers! Kota is ALWAYS wagging his tail.
"Stinger" - Severe dog bite wounds/sepsis 
Stinger was attacked by dogs while on a walk with his owner. He came in with severe wounds to the right side of his torso, right leg and spinal area. He was so infected that bacteria had entered his bloodstream, making him very sick (called sepsis). He spent several days in the hospital with us and did require surgery when he was stable.
His surgical drains have all been pulled and 90% of his wounds have healed. He is truly an amazing, tough little patient.
" Cooter" - Naproxen (Aleve) toxicity
This little guy was very lethargic, had been vomiting and had black tarry stool from ingesting an adult dose of Aleve. We were monitoring his kidneys closely and placed him on protectants for his GI tract. Fluid therapy also helped to diurese his kidneys.
His bloodwork (and kidneys) are back to normal and his vomiting/diarrhea has stopped.
"Pee Wee" - Sick diabetic with pancreatitis
As you can see from his face, this little guy was very sick. He spent two days in the hospital as he was a new diabetic, producing nasty ketones (which make them feel sick), and he also had pancreatitis so he couldn't keep any food down for several days. His electrolytes were all abnormal.
Fortunately, he is now on a road trip with his dad, eating well without vomiting and he doesn't seem to mind his new insulin injections!
"Sydney" - Snakebite 
This very concerned little boy was worried about his dog who he helped nurse back to health after experiencing a severe snake bite. Some snakebites are far worse than others and Sydney was incredibly sick. Internal complications arose, but this special girl was fortunate enough to withstand the venomous bite.
She has since gone back to eating and her swelling is gone.
"Diesel" - Attacked by another dog
This little guy had been attacked by a large dog and suffered severe abdominal wounds. Bite wounds covered his back, and a hernia was present on the right side. He was incredibly sick. Emergency surgery was performed after stabilizing Diesel. Abdominal contents were found to be herniating out of his abdomen - stuck through several holes perforating the abdomen wall under the skin. The tissue was at risk of strangulating itself and compromising blood flow. Luckily the rest of the GI tract was unharmed.
Diesel had his drain pulled and is back to wagging his tail once again.
"Bear" -Trauma to left eye, enucleation
Bear had experienced some trauma to the left eye which created permanent damage. He could not see out of this eye and he was painful when he presented to us at the clinic. An enucleation procedure was performed to remove the non-visible eye which also took the pain away.
Other than sometimes bumping into things, his owner says he is back to himself !
"Indy" - Vomiting, ingested foreign body
Indy had been vomiting and was lucky enough to bring up some of the toys he had chewed at home. When the vomiting persisted, the owner brought Indy in for an xray which was suspicious for foreign material in the stomach. It was not apparently moving. A gastrotomy surgery was performed to remove the foreign material from his stomach and to our surprise, Indy had ingested parts of a blanket!
Indy's owner says he is doing very well since the surgery and is back to eating normal food. Way to go Indy!
UPDATE: We will always love you and miss you sweet Indy. Indy passed from unrelated an condition several months later.
"FRED" - Found abandoned, comatose
This little baby kitten was found cold, weak and abandoned. He had actually passed away as he stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating. The staff at our clinic wouldn't give up as we started CPR, put him on oxygen, applied warmth, gave dextrose (sugar), fluids and other drugs. He was so severely covered in fleas that he was profoundly anemic from blood loss. His gums were white instead of pink. It took several hours to get him relatively stable. In the past 24 hours, he has started eating, grooming and purrs when he is held. He is a true survivor, but he is not yet out of the woods...we will keep you posted on Fred's progress.
NOTE: Fred is doing great! He is behaving like a normal kitten. Dr. Clarke is adopting him afterall...
"COSMO" Tipple - Vomiting and weight loss
This girl presented to us for sudden vomiting, diarrhea and inappetance. She was trained by her handler to protect property and she worked with local officials. Then weight loss and fever occured. Within a week, Cosmo started crossing over in the back legs and became very dull mentally. Though she was a complicated case, we discovered cystic ovaries on abdomen ultrasound and performed a spay. We were concerned she simply wouldn't make it as she deteriorated so rapidly in 1 week. The new crossing over in her rear legs was very concerning - we were fearful for cancer or some other serious neurologic disease as her tests were all negative.
She has since regained strength, increased weight, eats better every day and is happy doing the things she loves once again!
"MAC"Cattell - New diabetic with ketones
("Mac", on the right, is getting a dirty look from his sister "Beth"......)
He had been drinking more water and started omiting when we did bloodwork and urine tests to discover diabetes. Mac was so sick he was producing ketones by the liver which really make a diabetic feel terrible. He was started on insulin and several other medications.
He is doing well at this time.
"PRUSKA" Carneiro - Dystocia required C-section
This sweetie presented to us with difficulty in parturition (delivering puppies). 4 were born successfully at home. She was too tired to deliver the last few pups so an emergency C-section was required. To our surprise, 3 more puppies were trying to come out but 1 prevented them by being breech (backwards) in the pelvic canal.
Pruska is a great mom and now has a total of 7 puppies to nurse!
"MR. KITTY" Rau - Bobcat attack
Mr. Kitty presented to us with lethargy. We realized he had a fever the day he came in to the hospital and we shaved his coat to reveal wounds over his back. His family later saw a bobcat hanging around their garage - eating the cat food! Mr. Kitty had been attacked by the bobcat and he took several weeks before recovering from the wounds. On the right chest wall, not visible in the photo, a deep abscess appeared a week after the bite. He had lost significant weight and for days would not eat well on his own, but he has since fully recovered as you can see below! This guy was great to work with as he never stopped purring...
Mr. Kitty back to his normal routine at home.