Animal Updates

vet updates

Carol  ·  Jun. 14, 2010

i got 5 animals into the vets today...plus little big bud went twice (he got kicked out at noon for whining and barking and had to go back in at the end of the day for his second round of the cushings bloodwork)

Well would YOU wanna be left there all day?
Lil' Big Bud

dusty is better but she still has cellulitis in that leg so she is starting her third week of two different antibiotics...plus her blood sugars are still too high so i am to up her insulin dose to 30 units twice a day. she needs another re-check on friday.

You mean you haven't cured me yet? what kind of saint are you?
Dusty

sammy had her bloodwork and is booked for full dental extractions first thing tomorrow morning...she will feel so much better without a mouthful of rotting teeth.

You know what makes me feel even better? When YOU KNOW WHO (the other dogs) stay away from my resting place
Sammy

scrappy's blood glucose level is good so he is to stay on the same insulin dose.

Can I also stay on this same couch too? I'm pretty comfy
Scrappy

new dog in from VAS today...she is a little pomerainian...she is at the vets tonight already for bloodwork and chest xrays..if her chest is clear, tomorrow she will have her abcessed teeth removed, her left eye removed and a plum sized, hard mammary tumour off too. that is some big surgeries for such a tiny old girl...i hope it all goes well. the clinic staff have named her "poppy" which is just fine with me....she is a sweet little thing.

we got edwina's new temporary area set up with her l;ovely new log house and tiny crippled duck pool...she really enjoyed it all....ESPECIALLY her bath until she decided it was time for bed, then she flew out and went back to the chicken coop....bad duck!

nicole took a call on a kitten today..i said ok to us taking her in so nicole has picked her up and taken her home to foster (maybe she will post a pic for us all to see her????)

note to everyone...little kitten needs a great permanent home so please ask around for her!!!!!

i took three more folks thru on the potential staff tour...this whole process has been difficult and discouraging in that you just cannot anticipate a heck of alot from resumes. the issue is...that saints is unique...people can't get a sense of what working here means til they actually walk thru and see.

it is not for everyone..it is hard, fast paced, chaotic work with little pay...it is not like working with animals stacked neatly in kennels and cages..it is about working with them right under your feet....unless you have lived it...you don't get it... til your feet have actually walked thru here.

i think i am so discouraged because i just have so much to do to get ready for the open house and i am finding the whole hiring process sucking all of my time and energy out. i am so much better with doing for the animals or getting rid of clutter and crap that gets in my way...the people stuff i just find exhausting cuz i never feel like i accomplished much by the end of the day.

bibi got himself yelled at THREE times today...he is picking on maude...and no one picks on maude...for chrssakes she is 17 and totally confused enough anyway.

he got his come-up-pence tho....kodi came flying out of the dog room and started herding bibi right away...bibi said "holy shit batman!!" and fell over hurting his arthritic knee. now he is hobbling around on three feet so he can't bother maude for now anyway which is good.

Hiya ... Bibi is it? You better run. Ah SHIT
KodiBibi

what goes around, comes around...bibi, you might want to remember that...bug her again and YOU WILL BE LIVING WITH KODI FOREVER...or at least til kodi actually passes away..and by the looks of him flying around with his gynormous tumour, knocking you over today, that won't be any time soon either...so BEWARE!

ok..i am totally bagged...diabetics, meds and bed.

Comments

amy

Thanks Carol, very interesting. I am guessing my vet does not think he has Cushings as he is not displaying any of the symptoms (except being overweight).

I had all the testing done with another local vet who has a reputation of testing for everything under the sun if you are willing to pay for it. After paying over $600 for inconclusive results I got the second opinion from my usual vet. I trust him.

Thanks so much for your response, having not known any dogs that had Cushings it is interesting to hear what it really is all about.

Amy

hornblower

I love how Kodi is smiling in almost all his photos! Sounds like he's happy there, bossing everyone around.

Carol

re cushings
we used the new drug on both apollo and copper with not very good results so we are back to the old stand by lysodren which worked well for our past cushings dogs for quite awhile. there are animals who are in mild and temporary cushings from past steriodal use..they toddle along fine without meds for awhile but if they are true cushings and stay cushings, eventually the damage it causes to the brain/kidneys/liver/pancrease catches up to them.
it can be a difficult disease to manage because it could be from hormonal disease or it could be from an adrenal tumour..and the treatment is different for each.
we have never had a mild border line case, by the time our old guys get here and we figure it out..it is full blown disease with problematic symptoms so no one has ever told us not to treat.

nicole

cutest kitten ever. he is so happy and bright and not scared. he has met uno and gitsy who like him and jazzy who hissed at him. Zoe has named him Drake (she was going for beyonce, but he is a she so he's drake for now).
I spread the word about him at work and one of the vets at northwest nuclear has a family she knows who is looking for a cat so she was going to chat with them. we shall see if they are fitting of a saints animal. plus emma called me as well so hopefully we won't have any problems finding him a home (also it's fun having a young animal around here!)
i will post photos tomorrow as i borrowed my dad's camera but don't have the cable i need to upload them.

amy

Curious as to what you do when you do get a positive for Cushings.

My dog was borderline and when I got a second opinion was told to forgo the latest and greatest medication (at $5.00 a day) as my dog is seemingly happy, healthy and not losing hair. He is overweight though but the vet told me he personally would not pursue the new meds if it were his dog.

Know the other method of treating it is rather chemo-like. Hard on the dog but shows some results.

Curious as to how you have treated dogs with Cushings in the past..

Thanks,
Amy