Your Pet's Best Friend

Quicksand: struggle, and you just get in deeper.

I wish that I had seen this sign when I looked at the appointment schedule today.  Wolf was just in for his annual check-up.  "By the way, he's got bad breath."  Actually his breath isn't so bad.  That's his ears you smell.  They are full of stinky pus.  "Well, I guess he has been shaking his head every now and then." I reckon he has.   I've talked about why dogs stink before, but this post is about something else.

It's not uncommon for a pet to be presented for one problem and, lo and behold, I find more than one problem... or a completely different problem.  Of course, nobody wants to make two trips when one will do, so we try to handle as much as possible during the visit.  Unexpected problems can naturally make the visit take more time than was allotted on the appointment schedule.  Now we're running behind, but maybe we can make it up. 

The people who are waiting are not the people whose problem is causing the delay.  They suffer because the guy ahead of them has more problems than we scheduled for.  It's not fair. It's not good for business either.  Everybody has something they'd rather do than wait.

So I try not to let these things get away from me. If it's really some big deal, then we need to schedule a special time to take care of it.  Unfortunately, sometimes these things are like quicksand.  You do one thing, and it sucks you in a little deeper... and deeper... and deeper... aaaaagh! I can't breathe!

Wolf's ear was so sore, he wouldn't let me examine it fully, so I had to sedate him.  No problem: I can look at someone else in the other exam room while he's getting sleepy. [ Now I've stepped in the quicksand.]  Gee, he's not sedated enough -- that ear's too painful.  We'll have to give him some more. [I'm sinking up to my knees now.]  Still too painful; we'll have to have him inhale a little gas and go all the way to sleep. [Waist deep now]  Geez, there's a ton of stuff in these ears and it doesn't want to clean out easily.  Well, he's already anesthetized, so we need to get the job done.  We can't just knock him out for nothing!  [Nothing above the surface but my head and shoulders now -- THROW ME A VINE!]

It takes another 20 minutes to get things cleaned out and find there's a polyp deep in the canal that is the source of the problem.  No way to get that today -- too much swelling and infection.  He really will have to have another visit to handle that.  Cortisone to shrink the swelling and antibiotic flushes to get the infection under control and we'll see him back next week. [Slow, steady swimming motions finally get me out].

If I could have predicted the future, I  wouldn't have started that mess today.  Sometimes you just don't know there's quicksand on the trail.

Getting really hot, really fast.

Here's a picture from our Philmont trek in 2004.  We constantly reminded the Scouts (and each other) to keep drinking lots of water.  Even if you don't feel hot, you're losing a lot of water.  You'd think I would take my own advice, especially when it's such good advice.

I headed out to the country yesterday (on my "afternoon off") to vaccinate and blood test some horses.  The horses are all caught up, shouldn't take long.  Even though it was 97 in the shade, my truck is air-conditioned.  I'll stay in the shade, wear a big hat, it's nothing strenuous.  Besides, I like hot weather. I didn't take any water with me. Whoops.

It was hot: the horses were all wet with sweat and they were just grazing in the yard.  Still, it was no big deal filling out the paperwork, filling a few syringes, poking the first three horses.  Horse number four acted like a nut (it may not have been an act).  She seemed calm enough grazing, but when we shortened the lead rope, her front end headed skyward.

The owner has had some medical problems and wasn't strong enough to hold the mare.  His younger help were strong, but not skilled in restraint.  I tried to get them to help me get her pivoting around us, but they couldn't get with the program.  My straw hat got mashed down on my head when she slung her head at me. I finally managed to get an ear, then her nose, then circle her until she was tired, and then I was able to apply the twitch.  At that point,  she was happy to stand still for her blood test and vaccinations.

It's been quite a while since I've had the necessity to "cowboy up" like that, and I wasn't much anticipating that kind of exertion.  Suddenly, I was really hot.  I must have looked a little rough, as the owner asked, "Would you like something to drink?"  Well, I'll probably be okay until I get back to town.  "All I've got is Gatorade."  I'll take one.  [It was grape flavored, and I haven't drunk a grape soda since I puked up 12 ounces of Nugrape in the Ozarks 46 years ago.]  Eight ounces, two gulps, straight from my mouth to my pores.  I never felt it hit my stomach (though, of course, I know it did... probably).

I've written about heat stroke before, and this is a good time to think about it.  When it's this hot, it doesn't take much to put you over the edge.  Dogs are at greatest risk if tied out so that they can get tangled up.  Even dogs that are free to do as they please can overdo it.  If you're outside with the dog, encourage them to stop and cool down, hose them with some cool water, get them a drink.

If you can overheat in a hurry, without noticing it coming on, as smart as you are, then so can your dog.

Happy Birthday to Me

Most of the cards I received were variations on a theme: "Man, you're old, ain't ya?"

You know, "Congratulations, you're officially too old to die young."  Thanks.

I liked this one much better: "Distinguished, yet youthful".  Inside, "It's a look not everyone can pull off."

Even if it's not true, I like it.  Everybody has to grow older, but you don't have to grow up and be old.  The Lost Boys had the right idea.

Happy ending to a long day

Worked till 2:00 PM.  Grabbed a sandwich and ate lunch in the car on the way to Murray, Kentucky (2.5 hour drive from old Kennett).  Met son at dorm for end of semester load-out. Filled  the van full of dirty clothes, clean clothes, unicycle, accordion, books, CDs, fencing equipment and stale groceries.  2.5 hours to drive home and at 9:00 the phone is ringing.

Just yesterday, we X-rayed Sweet-Pea to see how many puppies she had, as her owners felt she was due within the week.  There was only one... one BIG one.  When there's just one pup, it gets all the nutrition available for a litter, and it gets big.  It didn't look quite as big as the pelvis on the X-ray,so I hoped she might deliver on her own.  At 5:30 she started pushing, but she couldn't push it out.  So, time for a C-section.  Mom's a little groggy and pup's a little confused, but everybody's going to be fine.

We're BACK!!!

At 2:45 PM today the power came back on.  It was like Star Trek, when Scotty gets the engines back on line.  Lots of stuff to do, but we'll be open for real tomorrow.  I'm still not shaving until the power comes back on at home (another 7 to 14 days).  Man do I look dirty. I've been keeping a journal and I'll be posting that when I have a little time.

We are "out of order" due to the ice storm.

Like many thousands of other folks, we have been without electric power since Tuesday noon.  KVC has running water, but no power, no heat, no hot water, no lights,  no work.  At home we have hot water and gas range, but no heat, no lights.  We are blessed with plenty to eat, plenty of family.  However, I'll be off-line until further notice.  Our town looks like a cross between Narnia under the rule of the White Witch and the Tunguska Meteorite explosion.

Continuing Education takes me away.

I'm off to the Missouri Veterinary Medical Association annual winter meeting for continuing education.  Lots to learn, but I can't say I'm looking forward to spending most of my time sitting down for the next four days (driving or in lectures).  Just another part of the job.

Ancillary services at the veterinary clinic

I started my veterinary career with the viewpoint that "Dammit, Jim, I'm a doctor", not a pet-store operator... or a boarding kennel operator, or any other non-doctor type thing.  After all, I've got way too many hats to wear just as the doctor: pediatrician, obstetrician, dentist, radiologist, surgeon, pharmacist, internist, dermatologist, etc.  Then, as a practice owner I'm in charge of inventory control, personnel, marketing, legal, accounting, capital improvements, and blah, blah, blah.

Why would I want to worry about boarding so that I can go to work on every holiday at least twice a day?  Why would I want to clutter up my reception area with leashes and chew bones?  Why would I want to devote a ton of space and time and capital to stocking prescription diets and Science Diet?

Well, I wouldn't want to.   None of those things are money-makers.  They don't have much to do with being a doctor.  They aren't fun.  So why do I DO all those things?  They are services that my clients asked for repeatedly, and the clients pay the bills.  The customer may not always be right, but he is always the customer.  I'm here for them, not the other way around.  And it's nice to see them come in when their pet is not sick.

Every now and then a request is made that we can't really make fly.  Grooming services, for instance.  It's hard to keep a reliable person, it makes a lot of traffic and takes up space that we need for patient handling.  I tried it for a couple of years, but I much prefer to refer people to a groomer that we have confidence in.

  Once in a while, someone asks where the nearest pet cemetery is.  When they find out it's a hundred miles away, they say, "Man, you ought to start a pet cemetery here."  Yeah, Dr. Mobley's pet hospital and cemetery.  That is what they call a "mixed message".  I don't think so.  Nothing like walking through all the little tombstones on your way in and out of the clinic.

Then there's the request that brought these thoughts to mind.  Not long ago, I posted about a dog who had eaten rat poison (or they thought he had).  Today I had an email from a company that makes and sells rat poison... in England.   They read my blog, and thought that a link from my site to theirs would be a good fit.  "Hey, kids, be super careful and never let your pets eat rat poison... and here's where you can buy some!"

 I guess when you're in the business, you have the viewpoint that everybody can benefit from your product.  Hey, that's the way I feel about my product: a healthy pet with an enthusiastic owner.

Prodigal Great Dane, a new chapter

Lot's of stuff going on lately.  Today I started at 7:30 AM, and worked without a break until 1:30 PM, when I was able to grab my lunch/breakfast.  Not much time for blogging, but I'll catch up some stuff soon... maybe.

You may remember the Prodigal Great Dane.  We saw her on a follow-up a month or so later, looking much better.

Today she is back in, and she does look great.  Did I mention I love a happy ending?

Venting, ranting and raving? No, not so much.

There's an old cowboy saying: "Don't tell people about your troubles.  Half of them don't care, and the other half are glad you've got them." 

On the other hand, if somebody actually asks, "How are you?", you could pretend that they actually want to know.  Instead of replying with a perfunctory, "Fine, how are you?", you could take it as an excuse to rattle on about your bad back.

I'm pretty bad to complain while things are going wrong, as opposed to suffering in silence. Unless. of course, it's a Scout function: "A Scout is cheerful." 

A long rant on the blog would undermine my warm, fuzzy, sage professional image.  If I were going to vent, though, this would be the weekend.

Happy trails.