Incredible But True III

This is a little segment I like write periodically about recent experiences that seem hard to believe. Whether funny, inspirational, despicable, stupid, or miraculous, as incredible as these short stories may seem, they are oh so true. . .

Unwilling patient

A client picked up a kitten that she saw thrown out the window of a moving car. The kitten amazingly did not seem very hurt, but there was some bleeding from the mouth and she wanted her looked at. On her way over, she let the kitten loose in the car while she drove, and the kitten proceeded out of fear to climb up into the dash board of the car, out of the reach of the client.

Upon arrival, two of my techs were unable to help this client get the kitten out of the dash, and one hour later, the client gave up. She said she would leave the windows open and let her come out when she is ready, perhaps try to lure her out with a can of food. This was last week, and I still have not seen the kitten or the client.

Terrible patient, delusional owner

A Sharpei came into my office for seeming to have been bitten by “something” in the back yard and was “freaking out” every time the area was touched by the owner. On the disposition line of the check-in form the owner had written, “very sweet.” Despite the owner’s assertion, in typical Sharpei fashion, the dog was extremely stressed and apprehensive when approached, snapping, and literally climbing the owner to get away from us. After we managed to get a muzzle on the dog, things did not get any better.

During the exam, the dog remained curled in a tense little ball and could not have been more stiff if it had been a corpse in rigormortis. I had to pry the legs apart, expending a considerable amount of force just to get a look at what turned out to be little more than a scratch on the skin. From the dog’s reaction, however, one would have thought there was a compound fracture, as it screamed, clawed my assistant, and urinated all over itself (and us).

All the while, the owner kept saying “you are such a good boy!”

Too many health problems for one little dog

Three years ago, a wonderful owner of a young, cheerful little Bichon Frise came into my office for a chief complaint of a bad cough. I treated what was ultimately kennel cough successfully, but this was only a tiny blemish in what would be a future of a number of diseases that this dog would ultimately have to contend with.

Since then this dog has been treated for severe skin allergies, pancreatitis, diabetes, ACL tear in the knee, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma, ear infections, and is currently dealing with severe cataracts and chronically infected anal glands.

Fortunately for him, his Mom is fiercely dedicated his care, sparing no expense and painstakingly keeping up with all of his treatments. Fortunately for us, despite all he has been through and continues to go through, he remains sweet and amiable, and his owner is an absolute pleasure to work with, considered by the doctors and staff alike to be both client and good friend. Thanks to her, he remains alive with good quality of life and happy as a clam despite his constant health problems.

Lost Cat Found After 3 Years – Because Of A Microchip

Ian and Sarah Hawley had lost their beloved kitty, Kofi, 3 years ago, following his disppearance from their Nottingham, England home. According to a report by British newspaper, Evening Star 24, after 3 years of not having found any sign of Kofi and now living in a different in a different town altogether, Kofi was picked up after having been reported as a stray to the RSPCA in Ipswich, an astounding 140 miles away from his original home. The RSPCA inspector who recovered the kitty, was able to find his owners because of a microchip they had him injected with when they originally adopted him.

Mr. and Mrs. Hawley had adopted Kofi along with his brother Ted from the RSPCA in 2006 when they were both 9 months old, and were elated to have their cherished companion back. Kofi was a bit on the thin side and had several scabs on his skin, but overall was found to be in decent shape. According to his owners, he is eating alot, playing, and seems very happy.

Aside from the positive feeling we can take from this happy reunion, we should also take away an important lesson: microchipping our pets increases our likelihood of recovering them in the event of their disappearance. For those unfamiliar with microchipping, it is the implantation of a tiny microchip by injection under the skin, typically over the back between the shoulder blades. The chip contains the pet owner’s contact information, which comes up on the screen of a scanner when passed over the chip. When animals are found and turned in to shelters, veterinary clinics, or the police, animals are typically instantly scanned in an attempt to locate the pet’s owners.

If this story is not enough to convince you that microchips are a good idea, consider that one of the main manufacturers of pet microchips, Home Again, is responsible for the recovery of 1 lost pet every 6 seconds!

Sincere congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Hawley, whose smart decision to chip their pet led him back to them.

The positive side of the Michael Vick controversy

It may seem strange that a veterinarian can find anything upbeat emanating from such tragic and disturbing crimes as those committed with the venue and financial backing provided courtesy of Michael Vick. But once one can get past the outrage and sadness evoked by such events and step back with a clear mind to watch how the aftermath plays out, there almost always is some positive that one can take from the situation.

In this case, let us begin by seeing what became of the victims, the 66 Pit Bulls that were confiscated from Vick’s cruel dog fighting facility. As reported last night by ESPN, sadly, 17 of them had to be euthanized, the magnitude of their mental and physical abuse having taken them beyond any possibility of rehabilitation. The remaining 49 ended up at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, one of the nation’s largest no kill animal shelters. While one additional female had to be euthanized due to irreversible aggression, and a puppy euthanized for severely poor health, however, the rest began a compassionate 6-12 month journey of recovery with the ultimate goal to find homes for every dog. And although Frank McMillin, Best Friends lead veterinarian concedes that 100% of the dogs will not be adoptable, even those that will not ultimately be able to be placed, will have a 100% chance of living out their lives in peace.

In another regard, the high profile nature of this case brought to light a dark, underground, cruel element of our society that many heretofore were not aware of, and/or did not realize the scope of. This kind of attention has increased awareness among our law enforcement and our citizens in general, making it more difficult for dog fighting operations to thrive under the radar.

Finally, contrary to many animal rights activists’ feelings that Michael Vick’s sentence was far too lenient, I think that justice was ultimately done. While overall, Vick will not have served a great deal of time (the ESPN story also reported that he has been released to a halfway house as the next phase of rehabilitation back into society), he lost his cherished football career, his money (he recently filed for bankruptcy), and will forever have those vile pictures of animal cruelty fixed to his name like a ball and chain. His fall from eminence to infamy sends a message about what our nation thinks of those who victimize innocent animals.

While the Vick case brought us all great sadness and outrage, it ultimately also showcased a better side of humanity through the likes of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. Most importantly, the Vick case brought awareness of the tragedy and cruelty of dog fighting, and galvanized our efforts to stop it.

Veterinary Medicine Enters the New Millenium

I am proud to report that last week, my practice made a very significant transition from traditional x-ray film to digital x-ray. Instead of burning the x-ray to a film that has to be developed, the image is instead captured digitally and virtually instantly transmitted to a high resolution plasma screen that remains saved on a vast database. This cuts x-ray turnaround time considerably, but being able to adjust x-ray technique from a mouth pad, makes the time savings exponential, eliminating the need for re-takes when x-rays are too light or too dark. While time savings offered by digital x-ray makes my practice run more efficiently, cuts down stress for the patient, and minimizes the waiting boredom for the owner, most importantly, digital x-ray provides a quality of image never before attainable using x-ray film, maximizing our diagnostic capability.

Since only April 9, 2009, I have already picked up on several subtle lesions that I am quite certain would have gone unnoticed on x-ray film. One such case even led to a life saving emergency surgery.

Unfortunately, this kind of technology comes at a considerable cost, approximately $70,000, a staggering budget appropriation in the context of our overall gross sales. Given the importance of this technology for my patients and for my practice, I found that it was imperative that I find a way to somehow incorporate it into my practice, which I was able to do without passing the cost onto already economically challenged clients by raising prices. All I had to do was something our government simply cannot, and banking CEOs simply will not: study the budget carefully to eliminate wasteful and/or unnecessary spending, and suspend all bonuses or raises for myself, respectively. (sorry, had to throw in my dig at wasteful government and greedy banking executives)

I am not the first veterinary practice to have digital x-ray, but with so many that still have not made the change from x-ray film, it still places my practice in a select few that have taken this step toward veterinary care in the new millennium. For the sake of our nation’s precious pets, I hope more will follow our lead, realizing that a little pay cut and trimming of financial fat is a small price to pay for the level of medicine this technology allows us to practice.

Webpoll Suggests Pets Increasingly Fed Top Quality Diets

I am both surprised and pleased that our sister site’s (Web-DVM.net) most recent webpoll indicated that a commanding percentage of pet owners are opting to feed their pets top quality diets, despite economic circumstances being less than rosy across the country. According to our webpoll, the question and results from 205 total participants were as follows:

I Feed My Pets (Dogs/Cats):

– Whatever table food the family eats – 7%
– Whatever pet food is cheapest or on sale – 21%
– The best pet food that I can find – 71%

What pleases me about these results first and foremost, is that these statistics reflect an increasing level of concern for pets as family members, who deserve the best possible nutrition that is in our power to offer. It also underscores a big point that I always try to impart on my clients that, like in human medicine, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Feeding top quality pet foods that are free of preservatives, have wholesome and reputable nutrient sources, go a long way toward preventing many of the most common diseases we regularly treat in veterinary medicine, such as skin infections, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, respiratory infections, dental disease, autoimmune disease, and pancreatic disease, to name some.

Where many people looking to feed the best possible food within the confounds of a tight budget get duped into buying poor quality food, is that the nutrient breakdown of grocery store brand diets, often fairs well in comparison to that of top quality and holistic diets. What they do not realize is that the percent nutrients do not compare when taken in the context of the quality of the nutrient sources. For example, protein derived primarily from skin, hair, and hoof, protein sources often utilized by cheap grocery store pet food companies, does not compare to that derived from food animal muscle and organs as we see in better quality diets. A few grocery brand pet food companies have even been known to resort to rendering plants for nutrient sources. Rendering plants are plants that process animal tissue waste from road kill, euthanasia, necropsy, etc, to utilize components of tissue used in skin creams, glues, and other household items.

Grocery store pet food brands are also heavy in fillers to expand the volume of the food, such as corn and wheat. Fillers are not a natural component of the intended staple diet of the canine or feline, and often lead to digestive problems, food allergies, obesity, and predispose to diabetes. If the first two ingredients of any pet food is either wheat or corn, that food should be avoided. Canines and felines need diets primarily comprised of meat and vegetables. Fillers should represent a minimum of the overall ingredients, ideally avoided altogether if possible.

Cooking for the animals allows for quality control of the ingredients, but it can be difficult to get the right mix of nutrient breakdown for the specific species, size, and age of the animal. For this reason, nutrient deficiencies and obesity are a common sequel for pet owners feeding a home cooked diet. Still, it is preferable to feed home cooked than resort to grocery brand pet food. I would caution, however, that if this is the course one chooses for their pet(s), to consult with one’s veterinarian for advice on what is best to feed and in what proportions, as well as offer a good vitamin supplement to prevent any nutritional deficiencies.

For the most part, it seems according to our webpoll that a majority of pet owners see the merit in feeding the best quality food available to them. Please understand that no one is suggesting that anyone put their family in financial harms way to feed the family pet an expensive holistic diet. What I do suggest, however, is that pet owners realize that generally quality of life will be better, and veterinary bills will generally be lower, for a pet fed the best possible quality diet.

CATalyst Names Its 2009 Top 10 Cat Friendly Cities

The CATalyst Council, an association of the veterinary community, academia, nonprofit organizations, and animal welfare organizations, announced their 2009 top 10 most cat friendly cities, according to a Fox Business report. In no particular order, the aforementioned top 10 cat friendly cities are: Tampa, Phoenix, San Francisco, Portland (Ore.), Denver, Boston, Seattle, San Diego, Atlanta and Minneapolis.

The CATalyst criteria for a city’s inclusion in their top 10, included cat ownership per capita, level of veterinary care, microchipping and cat-friendly local ordinances. For the 2010 list, the CATalyst Council plans to include shelter data as an additional inclusion criteria.

According to the Fox business report, despite dogs being called “man’s best friend,” cats are in reality America’s number one companion, outnumbering dogs by 10 million nationwide among the pet owning public. It is this fact that motivates CATalyst to applaud and honor cities whose feline friendly policies and attitudes recognize the importance of felines in American lives.

The CATalyst Council hopes that bringing felines to the forefront in this manner will also help in their efforts to advocate for the proper care and attention that these intelligent and sensitive creatures deserve. Despite being America’s number one pet, care of cats lags behind that of the dog, with significantly less cats receiving regular veterinary care compared to dogs, and animal shelters generally seeing more cats given up than dogs. This naming of the top 10 cat friendly cities is but one step in the CATalyst Council’s campaign to raise feline welfare awareness, which is to include to government, animal welfare organizations, shelters, and the general public, according to CATalyst director Dr. Jane E Brunt. For more information, please visit their link below:

http://www.catalystcouncil.org

I must say, I was quite pleased to learn that Tampa, a prominent city in my home state of Florida, made the list.

Beware of Exotic Animals In Your Neighborhood

Do you live in close proximity to tigers, lions, alligators, grizzly bears, chimpanzees, or other potentially dangerous wildlife? Well according to a report by MSNBC.com, Susan Williams, a citizen residential Okeechobee, FL, had no idea that she had such animals living right next door, until she called Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission amid neighborhood rumors that her neighbor had a tiger, a grizzly bear, and four other species of bear, living on his property – all confirmed to be true, with all obtained legally by permit for each animal. Per the report, the FFWCC maintains that most of Florida’s most dangerous animals do not reside in zoos or sanctuaries, but in people’s private homes.

Think that this is only a kooky Florida problem? Guess again. The tendency for people owning exotic animals in residential areas posing significant risk to citizens was clearly evident in Connecticut, when someones pet chimp brutally attacked a 55 year old woman, according to the report.

Unfortunately, without major legislative changes to existing law in most states, not much can be done to change this situation. With over 400 Class I and Class II exotic animals permits among private individuals in Florida alone, achieving such legislature could be a big challenge.

Some lawmakers seek a compromise where the private owners of exotic animals would be required to notify the local authorities of the types of animals on their property, who would in turn notify surrounding neighbors. Opponents of this, however, feel that such notification could put people at additional risk, as it may encourage thrill seekers and kids to scale fences to get in close proximity to these dangerous animals. Still others propose that legal property size limits for Class II exotic animals be set at a 5 acre minimum.

However this turns out, this certainly gives us good reason to instill in our children that they should not, and may not trespass on private property, for if they do, who knows what they may run into??

It’s Just A Dog

I was sent this moving essay by e-mail from a staff member of my clinic. I was so touched by it, that I felt compelled to share it with my readers:

It’s Just A Dog

From time to time, people tell me, “lighten up, it’s just a dog,” or, “that’s a lot of money for just a dog”.

They don’t understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for “just a dog”. Some of my proudest moments have come about with “just a dog”. Many hours have passed and my only company was “just a dog”, but I did not once feel slighted. Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by “just a dog”, and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of “just a dog” gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.

If you, too, think it’s “just a dog”, then you will probably understand phrases like “just a friend”, “just a sunrise”, or “just a promise”. “Just a dog” brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. “Just a dog” brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person.

Because of “just a dog” I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future. So for me and folks like me, it’s not “just a dog” but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment. “Just a dog” brings out what’s good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day.

I hope that someday they can understand that it’s not “just a dog” but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being “just a man”. So, the next time you hear the phrase “just a dog”, just smile, because they “just don’t understand”.

by Richard Biby, Contributing Editor
Versatile Hunting Dog Magazine, February 2006

Portuguese Water Dog: The Next First Dog??

As reported on the basis of inside accounts by all the major cable news networks, the Obama’s tentative pick for a White House puppy is going to be a Portuguese Water Dog. This may seem like a good choice for the Obamas, given the allergies the girls suffer from (PWDs do not shed and are considered to be hypoallergenic), the fact that PWDs are generally very friendly and personable, and certainly are attractive looking dogs, especially as puppies. However, although I have been an unwavering supporter of President Obama, I must be honest that I disagree with his choice of dog for the first family.

To begin with, President Obama has been candid about his preference to set a good example by rescuing a dog. While there may well be some PWDs out there for rescue, being a fairly non-mainstream breed makes them very hard to come by. One would be hard pressed to find a PWD in a shelter for certain. While I am certain the President has much greater resources at his disposal to mount a search for a PWD needing rescue than would the rest of us, I still think there is a fair chance that he may find himself having to ultimately purchase one, a breed that tends to be very expensive. To be sure, the President can likely afford an expensive dog, but to buy one would seem irresponsible of our leader given the enormity of dogs in need of good homes. If rescue is the President’s goal, alternative breeds that share similar traits to PWDs, including the tendency to be hypoallergenic, that many indeed are frequently in need of rescue, are Standard Poodles and Labradoodles (Labrador Retriever/Standard Poodle cross breed).

Another reason President Obama should reconsider his choice of PWD is the fact that they are rabid water dogs! While Standard Poodles and Labradoodles certainly have an affinity for the water, they do just fine with lifestyles that do not include regular access to swimming. PWDs, on the other hand, seem to NEED frequent access to swimming, sometimes making the lives of the their family quite difficult without it. Not being able to regularly fulfill their natural passion for swimming and the intense exertion of energy associated with it, some PWDs can become rather destructive, excessively hyper, and frequently vocalizing dogs. I am not certain about this, but I am not aware of the White House having any sort of pool, lake, or river that the first dog could frequent, so for now, I assume there is none. To my readers, feel free to correct me if I am wrong about this.

These are indeed quite valid reasons the first family really should reconsider their choice of Portuguese Water Dog for their first pet. While in the correct environment, PWDs make lovely, gentle, and fun family pets, I think Standard Poodle or Labradoodle in genuine need of rescue would be a much better choice.

In the off chance you happen to be one of my readers, Mr. President, I would be happy to direct you toward some excellent and reputable Standard Poodle and Labradoodle rescue groups, so feel free to e-mail or call me.

Depressed Economy Making General Practioners More Proficient

Since veterinary medicine does not require residency and board certification in a given specialty to practice, the majority go into practice right from veterinary school and practice what is known as general medicine and surgery. This leaves a wide range of skills attained by the general practitioner, with some leaving most highly technical diagnostics, procedures, and surgeries to referral based spets, while others utilize mentorship and continuing education to upgrade skills, knowledge, and diagnostic equipment in order to make it less necessary to refer highly technical cases.

In a depressed economic climate with the general populace having less disposable income and desire to spend, pet owners are increasingly saying no to referral specialized medicine, to a degree that I have heretofore not seen. Many of my colleagues agree with this assessment clearly witnessing this trend. Left no other recourse than just doing nothing or putting a patient to sleep, I, as well as many of my colleagues, feel inclined to offer these pet owners the alternative of letting us take a shot at some of these highly technical, referral based cases.

For example, just over two years ago (my home state of Florida was in recession before most of the country), a lady brought her cat to me because of chronic ear infections, which later turned out to be the result of a tumor deep in the ear canal. The necessary surgical procedure to resolve the problem, a total ear canal ablation (TECA), is a surgery that many GPs leave to the realm of board certified veterinary surgical spets. With the owner unwilling not able to spend the kind of money necessary for the referral care, I offered her the option to have me do it. I explained her that I had scrubbed in on a few of these surgeries as a student, and felt that I may be able competently perform a TECA if I reviewed the anatomy well and re-studied the procedure. At any rate, it was a better alternative to simply electing euthanasia, especially since I was not going to charge for OR time, just for anesthesia and medications.

The end result of this case could not have gone better. The tumor had been contained and completely removed, and that patient is still alive and well. Since then, after having gotten a few more TECA procedures under my belt, I now feel justified in charging for my OR time when performing a TECA, which still saves the pet owner $1500 – $2000. when compared to what it would cost a surgical spet to perform a TECA.

This is a very common story in the veterinary industry right now, whether GPs out of necessity venture into highly sensitive or technical surgery, or become proficient in advanced imaging like ultrasound and echocardiography. While the underlying reality of the cause for this trend is indeed quite sad and distressing, if we can weather this recession and come out survivors, we will have done so while as a side effect, creating a more highly skilled generation of general veterinary practitioners.