I can tell that Christmas is not far away. the other night we had a cat come in with a linear foreign body, otherwise (in this case) known as tinsel. The cat had to have it surgically removed from his intestines. Watch your holiday decorations, folks.
We had a cat in our hospital last weekend who was slated for a kidney transplant at another specialty hosptial somewhere up north, at a teaching hospital, I think. I don’t know anything about organ transplants in animals. I think it is absolutely amazing that we have the ability to do this, but I don’t know anything about how feasible it is, or how good the prognosis will be. I don’t even want to know how much something like this will cost. The owner of the cat did tell us that they must adopt the cat that donates the kidney.
Oh, and that puppy who was given all those medications by its owners? Euthanized.
Well, Michelle, I know now from reading your amazing stories why you consider a polydactyl cat to be no big deal!
Congratulations on doing a great job.
La franchise ne consiste pas à dire tout ce que l’on pense, mais à penser tout ce que l’on dit.
H. de Livry
::sigh:: I just found out last night that one of my most favorite co-workers quit. Not only was she one of my favorite people to work with, she was also the friend that was supposed to go to either England or France with me early next year. Now I am sure that whatever new job she gets, our vacation time will no longer match. 
Thing that irks me, she quit out of many of the same frustrations I have. Why doesn’t management treat their good employees better? Don’t they wonder why everyone is getting so pissed off? How many good people do we have to lose? I actually quit my job two weeks ago in a fit of pique but then the head of personnel asked me to stay so I took back my resignation. I feel really on edge though. The hospital can really be a great place to work, but they need to get some crap straightened out fast!
I crave an art that passionately transcends the mundane instead of being a device for self-deception.–Griffin, from The Griffin and Sabine trilogy.
I really hate it when a dog wags its tail and licks your hands when you are trying to euthanize it.
OK, everyone knows that anti-freeze is deadly to pets right? Pets LOVE the taste of this stuff and will drink it right down, but it kills FAST. Please make sure your pets never come in contact with this stuff!
Antifreeze is highly poisonous but has a sweet taste. A few ounces (100ml, less for kids) is considered a lethal dose in humans, so you can imagine how little it would take to kill a small dog or cat.
I just (re)read an article in National Geographic about polar bears, and one of the things mentioned was that the scientists studying them had to guard their research trucks. Some of the bears will bite through radiator hoses to drink the antifreeze. This isn’t good for the vehicle OR the bear.
I know I usually complain about people who euthanize their pets for no good reason, but equally frustrating is the client who refuses to let go. A while back I mentioned the dog who had nasal cancer so we surgically removed his nose. Now, at the time of the opertaion, we discovered that the cancer had spread much deeper than originally thought. The dog wouldn’t have more than a few weeks left to live no matter what we did. The humane thing to do at this point is euthanize the dog right there on the operating table. The owners were notified of the grave prognosis, but they chose to go through with the operation and take the dog home. Sure, they bought the dog a few more weeks of life, but it would be a few weeks of pain and misery. How can anyone want that for a pet they love?
Currently we are treating an old boxer for a broken leg, secondary to bone cancer. The dog has not been able to walk, at all, for months. Now his limbs are being eaten away by the cancer. Treating a broken leg due to cancer is like putting a band aid on a slashed jugular vein. Again, the doctors tried and tried to make the owners understand what kind of condition their dog was in, but either they are totally stupid or are in complete denial. Meanwhile, the dog is suffering and the cancer is running wild.
I understand that it can be a very hard thing to say goodbye to a beloved pet. Owners want to feel as if they have exhausted every option so that when the time finally comes to euthanize, they can do so without guilt. But put yourself in the animal’s place. They may not understand everything, but they know they are sick and in pain. When a sick animal stops eating, that is a very strong sign that they are preparing to die. But then this creature is left in a strange place, with people they don’t know, people who hook tubes up to their arms, down their noses, into their necks, stomachs, or bladders. These strange people do many other scary, sometimes painful things to them. How can anyone who loves their pet want their pet’s life to end this way??
A few month’s ago we had a very sick German Shepherd in ICU. He was having a blood transfusion, and while he was transfusing, his owner sat with him. She was very quiet the whole time, when all of a sudden she looks up and says, “oh, I think he is going.” We all sprang into action, hauling him out of his cage and putting him on the exam table. He was indeed going agonal. We asked the owner if she would like us to start resuscitating him, and she said, “absolutely not!” She then took the dying dog’s head in her arms and began to whisper to him that it was ok, that he could let go and go to Heaven, and he didn’t have to fight anymore. The last thing that dog saw and heard was his mother’s loving voice. There were 4 techs and 1 doctor standing around, and we were all crying our eyes out. It was one of the most touching things I have ever witnessed. I wish more owners could be like that lady.
Oh yeah, last night we had two dogs in the hospital for eating chocolate. We had three other people call in with the same problem, but they decided to take their chances and not come in. KEEP THE CHOCOLATE AWAY FROM YOUR PETS! Keep it locked away in a cabinet. Animals can smell candy through the bag and they don’t care if they eat the bag, wrappers, and candy all at once. The only thing that was good about the whole situation, was that by the time I left work this morning, I was so sick of cleaning up chocolate smelling vomit that I don’t think I will want any chocolate for a long, long time.
I just brought my 10 yr old cat Grover back from the vet on thursday. He was weak and lethargic for a day so I found a 24hr vet clinic here on Staten Island and had my roommate drive us over. He was in for three days while they treated him for previously undiagnosed diabetes. He’s doing better now, but not back to his old self. I have nothing but good things to say about the staff at the clinc. They even called me the day after I brought him home to check on my success giving him his twice daily injection! I cant understand how someone could refuse treatment on a pet just because it cost “too much”. I had to borrow the $325 for the bill, but never even considered not to. I mentioned the vist and diagnosis to my best friend back home via e-mail and her response was “you and your cat are definitely related!”. I nearly wound up in the hospital due to my own undiagnosed diabetes!
My heartfelt thanks to the doctors, techs and office staff, people like Michelle who perform a difficult, stressful job, often dealling with distraught, irrational people, and I for one am VERY glad they’re there when our pets and we need them!
Happy Holidays to all!
But Ryan, sometimes people just don’t have it to spend – there’s a world of difference between pain-in-the-ass unexpected expense and just plain not having the money. Not everybody knows someone they can borrow hundreds of dollars from, and if it’s a choice between feeding your kids and saving your cat…
I do agree that it is a very bad idea to have a pet if you have no extra cash, but not being able to spend thousands doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a pet or that you’re bad or irresponsible if something comes up that you genuinely can’t afford.
Catrandom, looking into pet insurance for Enid since Michelle recommended it
Catrandom-I understand what you mean, and aggree. I’m sorry I wasn’t clearer in my posting. I can understand that a person may have responsibilities that simply come before their pet. It can and should happen. But, I do know some people who have said “If the vet says it’s gonna cost more than $100, I’m gonna say put 'em to sleep” not because they had other, more pressing needs for the money, but they just didnt want to spend it on “just the dog”. I didnt have the money to spend on my cat, but was fortunate enough to have Family/Friends who A-Did have the money, and B-Knew how important Grover is to me, and I owe them a lot more than money!
-No wife, No S.O., no Kids…But I’ve got my cats, so I’m never really alone!
Happy Holidays
(beware the Dreaded Tinsel)
About 20 yrs ago I was working at a metal fabrication shop, and noticed a co-worker
would bring an emaciated, sick Irish setter to work with him every day, and then put the dog in the paint shed till quitting time. As an animal lover since birth, I asked him WTF??
He said he was new in town, livin in flophouses, and couldn’t take care of his dog. Being married at the time, and living in
a house with a big yard, I said I would be glad to take the dog. He said great. So I took the dog home, the wife fell in love with him, and we took him to the vet. Vet said he had heartworms, advanced case, and that many adult dogs wouldn’t survive, even with treatment. We said go for it anyway, cost$350
(we were quite poor at the time). Well, he survived, and we nursed him back to excellent health. A few weeks after that, I let him out in the front yard…He took off down the street, looked back once as if to say “thanks”, then took off. I never saw him again, lol. I have never regretted it though.
Pardon the long post, this thread reminded me of that.
I always advise getting a pet from a shelter or rescue organization, but if you must get a pet from a breeder or “nursery” ::shudder::, PLEASE make sure you know your rights as a consumer. There are pet lemon laws that exist to protect you. I mention this because there is a “nursery” in my area that consistently sells sick animals. They con people who don’t know any better into buying these sick pets and then use the customers ignorance of their rights to get out of having to pay for vet care. Last night we had a puppy come in that had parvo. We called the owner of the nursery, who had the nerve to try to weasel out of paying for the dog’s care because, “dogs don’t recover from parvo.” Who the heck did this woman think she was talking to? Maybe the poor lady who bought the dog would believe that, but US? Then the nursery owner tried to offer the woman a different dog. The woman almost went for that deal, what an idiot! She just bought a dog with parvo, and she wants to get a different dog from the SAME place?? We really got on the nursery’s case, and in the end, they agreed to treat for parvo up to the cost of the dog, which is in accordance with Florida’s pet lemon laws. That place really just needs to be shut down once and for all, but as long as there are uninformed consumers out there, they will continue to sell sickly pets and get away with it.
We had another parvo dog come in this morning. The guy told us that before he bought the puppy, he had looked at two litters from two breeders. One litter was up to date on all vaccines, but the puppies were too expensive. So instead, he chose a pup from the other breeder, who sold cheap pets but they were unvaccinated. Because he was foolish in his choice, he now had a sick pet that was going to cost him more than if he had just spent the extra money and bought a healthy pet in the first place. But no worry, because as soon as we told him how much treatment was going to cost, he decided he didn’t want the dog anymore. Isn’t that convenient? Pet gets sick–get rid of it!
We also reported someone to animal control. A guy called up and said that his dog had fleas so bad it had ripped up its skin and was bleeding. He tried to remedy the situation by dipping his dog in flea dip and letting the dip stay on the dog’s (open and bleeding) skin for 4 hours. Now the dog was in horrible pain and was ataxic, and of course, he had no money to treat the pet. This of course was no problem to the guy, because the doctors at my clinic make so much money that they wouldn’t mind treating his dog for nothing. When told this was not the way we worked, he became verbally abusive. One thing led to another and it finally ended with us having to call animal services, who hopefully went out there and took the darn dog from the guy.
Why are there so many stupid people out there?
Michelle – God! I couldn’t do your job for love or money! I just couldn’t handle all of that. I’d want to carry a cattle prod and zap the bedoobies of these ignorant assholes!
A friend of mine, who is no longer a friend of mine, decided for like, oh, the fifth fucking time that she wanted to get a dog. She has to “buy” one because if you adopt one you don’t get to pick the exact color and stuff. Yes, she actually SAID this to me! So she gets this dog and trains it and then the very second there is some kind of problem, she gets rid of it. Problems like, basically, she’s lazy and no longer “feels” like taking care of it.
She has done this at least five times that I know of. She gets all into getting a dog, plays with it until it’s no longer “cute” and then gets rid of it. She has no sense of responsibility as her excuses and reasons are extremely lame. I can’t think of ANYTHING that would make me give up one of my cats or my dog.
In a way, they are my children and I am responsible for them. I get very frustrated with people who get dogs and then expect them to come pre-trained. Like dogs are born knowing how to sit, shake and be house trained. These same people seem to think that HITTING will actually train the dog! And if it doesn’t get the command right off, YELL at it even louder! The poor puppy is reduced to a quivering mass of fear… God, makes me want to go over there and give them some of their own style of “training”.
Okay, my rant is done. I just wish people would really understand what they are getting into by getting a cat or a dog. It’s a lot of work. You will have to make a few sacrifices. But you will also have a companion that will love you unconditionally. Even if you DO forget to get them Christmas presents!
Best!
Byz
Well, Byz, there are just some people out there that don’t feel the way we do about animals. A few weeks ago we saw a beautiful yellow lab puppy for a bone disorder. The dog had been purchased with the intent of it becoming a hunting dog, and the bone disorder “ruined” it. The puppy still could have been a wonderful housepet, but no, these people only wanted a dog that could hunt, and since this one couldn’t, they just didn’t want it. One of the doctors at my clinic adopted it. I just don’t get it. I think you should get a pet because you want a friend to share your home with, not because you want the animal to do specific things.
Is “nursery” a euphemism for “puppy mill”?
Life is a tragedy for those who feel and a comedy for those who think.
Well, this place is not exactly a puppy mill because they don’t actually breed the cats and dogs right there. This place BUYS the animals from mills and sells them to the public. It’s a bad thing any way you look at it though. I wish my hospital would report them to the authorities, but that would make waves, so of course we say nothing. We just treat 'em and street 'em and the nursery continues to sell sick animals.
Update on my cat Grover.
I spent the week with him, delaying a trip upstate to see my family for the holidays. I finally felt he was well enough to leave with my roommate for 3 days after being sure that he would recive his daily meds. I wasn’t a problem as his girlfriend is diabetic and gives herself injections several times a day. I call three times on the first day and he is fine. The second day. I call in the AM and noone is home. I get paged later that afternoon and my roommate is sobbing and can barely tell me that Grover had gotten lethargic and incontinent during the night, and when they took him back to the vets, he was diagnosed with pancreatitis, and his bowels and heart were being comprimised and he was in great pain and nothing could be done to save him.
Pretty crappy holiday.
I still appreciate all the staff did for him.
“The universe doesn’t give first warnings or second chances”
Sorry to hear about your cat. He was obviously much loved.