The little red wagon

This was a funny email I got from my mom...thought everyone would enjoy!

 
A firefighter was working on the engine outside the Station, when he noticed
a little girl nearby in a little red wagon with little ladders hung off the sides and
a garden hose tightly coiled in the middle.

The girl was wearing a firefighter's helmet.

The wagon was being pulled by her dog and her cat.

The firefighter walked over to take a closer look.
'That sure is a nice fire truck,' the firefighter said with admiration.

'Thanks,' the girl replied. The firefighter looked a little closer. The girl had
Tied the wagon to her dog's collar and to the cat's testicles.

'Little partner,' the firefighter said, 'I don't want to tell you how to run your
rig, but if you were to tie that rope around the cat's collar, I think you could go
faster. '

The little girl replied thoughtfully, 'You're probably right, but
then I wouldn't have a siren.'

A Good Butt Chewin'!

These are some pictures of a sweet old dog named Hobo.  He got his name because he was a wanderer of the streets, living off of garbage can scraps.  A good soul picked him up, after trying to catch him for several months, and has become his guardian.  Hobo does not get along with all of his roommates and from time to time will pick some fights. It is not such a smart idea on Hobo's part because his legs are rather short and he does not always get away so quickly...as with this time.

You can see he has three holes on his back end.  He was obviously trying to run away but didn't quite run fast enough. When an animal bites another animal, the bite itself introduces bacteria to the wound and an abscess will form beneath the tissues. In order to promote draining of the wound, we placed two penrose drains.  The drains will stay in place for 3-5 days and will then be removed.  Hobo will also be treated with antibiotics and pain medicine. 

Maybe next time he will pick a fight with a smaller dog!

Now that is a dirty mouth!

This is a picture of a dog who is only two years old and already has an exuberant amount of accumulation of tartar on his teeth. It can also be see that he has retained deciduous teeth, also referred to as "baby" teeth or "milk" teeth. From this picture notice that he has a tooth on the upper arcade and the lower arcade which should not be there. On the upper arcade of teeth the tooth which is curved backwards is the retained tooth. Just below those teeth ,on the lower arcade (next to the finger in the picture), is the other baby tooth.  Notice how it has pushed the permanent tooth in towards the tongue. These deciduous teeth usually come out on their own much like a child loses his teeth.  For whatever reason these teeth have remained intact causing crowding of other teeth and accumulation of food and debris.  It is important to have these teeth removed. If the teeth are not lost naturally by 6 months of age, we recommend having them manually removed. This is a procedure which is done under general anesthesia and oftentimes is done at the same time of having a young dog spayed or neutered.

So, if you want your dog to keep his teeth and to have "fresher" breath, make sure he only has the amount of teeth for which his mouth is designed and he has routine cleanings.  Don't let it look like this mouth.

Look for our ad in the Lee Ledger the whole month of February for a $10 off coupon.  

February Is Dental Month

February is Dental Month and we are offering $10 off our dentals. Coupons are in this weeks Leesburg Ledger or mention this post!

This is one sick puppy!

This little guy is Sebastian, and the second picture is the results of his Parvo test, which is positive and is making him feel very sick.  Parvo is a very serious virus in puppies which is included in the vaccines of puppies.  The virus is spread by the fecal-oral route, which means it is shed through the feces and picked up by other puppies by ingestion. The incubation period for the virus is 7-14 days, therefore it could take that long for the puppy to show clinical signs once the puppy has been exposed to the virus.  Clinical signs are inappetance, vomiting, diarrhea, and weight loss. Parvo is primarily a virus of puppies, but cases have been documented in adult animals.  The average time to see Parvo in a puppy is between 6 weeks and 6 months.

Vaccinating appropriately and maintaining clean living quarters is the mainstay of prevention.  Puppies are not considered completely vaccinated until they have had a set of four vaccines one month apart beginning at the age of 5-7 weeks.  The last vaccine should be given after 16 weeks of age which is when it is believed all maternal antibodies are gone, which may interfere with the vaccine.

Sebastian will stay with us on IV fluids, anti-emetics, antibiotics, and analgesics until until hopefully he can regain his strength and go home. Parvo is a tough virus to have and Sebastian has a long fight ahead of him.

War Eagle? Quack Quack?

So, I sat down with my husband last night to watch the National Championships between the Tigers and the Ducks.  I got about 6 minutes into the game and my phone rang...colic call. Great! Just what I wanted to do when it is 32 degrees outside!  But, it is my job, so when someone needs me, I must go. I took off my Snuggie, put on my thermal underwear, jeans and boots, left my husband snuggled up by the fire and headed out to the country.

Kenny was the horses' name and he was definitely colicky.  For clarity, colic simply means an acute onset of abdominal pain. Typical signs of colic in a horse are pawing at the ground, rolling, biting at the flank area, and sweating.  Kenny's only symptom was wanting to lay down and roll. Many owners will feel the need to see if they can wait it out and hopefully the horse will "work it out."  Let me give a little piece of advice... the earlier the call the cheaper the emergency fee. I would much rather be working on a colicking horse, or any other emergency for that matter, at seven or eight o'clock rather than midnight! And might I just add, if I have to get up out the bed and out of my pajama's, the emergency fee is much larger. Sorry, but that's just the way it goes.

So, I get out to the barn and treat Kenny as I would any typical colic.  He received intravenous pain medicine and a smooth muscle relaxer, some sedation and was tubed with some warm water and mineral oil and treated with Ulcerguard.  After talking with the owner this morning, he seems to be doing fine. 

The lesson here is that Kenny's owner did the right thing.  When she noticed he was feeling painful, she called the vet.  We were able to treat Kenny's pain while it was manageable.  Colics are medical conditions that can escalate very quickly and turn into a surgical condition in just a matter of an hour or so.  My advice...don't play the "wait and see" game.

Oh, and congratulations Tigers!

Hills Pet Fit Challenge!

Hill's Pet Nutrition has started up the "Pet Fit Challenge."  The Challenge is open now and you may enter at any time over the next three months (closes March 31, 2011)  If you have helped your pet (dog or cat) lose weight using either Science Diet or Hill's Weight management foods, and have the pics to prove, you should enter. The winner is chosen based on the submission of an essay and photographs about their weight loss journey.  Finalists will win an expense paid trip to an undisclosed location and will have chance to win up to $1,000,000.  Minmum prizes are $10,000.  Go to PetFit.com for full details and get entered to win some big bucks!!!