@dochappycamper Brings Furbaby Friday to Thursdays with #home4Ary

Welcome to a Thursday edition of Furbaby Friday with Dr. Tammy. This week has been an exciting one at the veterinary hospital. One of our clients came in at her wits end. She came home to find her dog had created a HUGE hot spot over her hip and rump area. It was bad enough that this person felt she could no longer give her pet the care she needed. Heartbroken, she surrendered her in hopes someone else would be able to fulfill the obligation.

Meet Ary...

She is as sweet as she looks in her video debut. The hot spot she's sporting on her right has improved a great deal in just the two days she's been with us. From her previous allergy testing, we found out she's allergic to many of the local grasses and pollen, fleas and a variety of other environmental allergens. We suspect she may also have a food allergy component as her itching is constant...all year long. We've started her on a food trial to determine what proteins are her triggers.

Before you judge her previous owner too harshly, having a pet with allergies isn't easy. In fact, it's downright difficult at times and frustrating as hell. The larger the dog, the more costly medications will be. If they're lucky, caretakers of pets with allergies are able to find out the combinations of shampoos, oral medications and other therapy that work early on in their treatment plans. Realistically, it can take many attempts and treatment failure before improvement is noticeable. Visits to the veterinarian can be long and drawn out and just because one rash responded to antibiotics doesn't mean the next one won't be caused by yeast. Allergies for pets are ever changing...

and that's exactly what ends up becoming the last straw for many pet owners. Some give up entirely. They curl up into a fetal position and hope the allergies just go away. Others decide to ignore the problems. As long as their pet is eating and drinking, who cares if they scratch, chew and lick themselves raw 24/7? They'll put up with the smelly ears and skin because they've become immune to it.

The rest of the world is not...

It takes a village to raise children and it takes that and more to help manage pet allergies. It takes patience, dedication and understanding that allergies will NEVER be cured.

Let me repeat that in case you missed it. Never. Be. Cured. They can be managed and quiet effectively but it will take time to figure out what works and what doesn't for your furbaby. It takes a close working relationship with your veterinarian to help you find the combinations of therapies that make your pet comfortable.

If you feel like you are up for the challenge, and you live in or near the Seattle Metro area, why not meet Ary and see if you have a connection? Who knows? You just may be the one to bring great joy to this wonderful creature's life.

Come over to Ary's Facebook page and say hello! 

Until next time,

Dr. Tammy

#FurbabyFridays: Reflections of Twenty Years As A Veterinarian And The Battle With #DrGoogle

This year marked my 20th anniversary as a full time veterinarian. I've had some amazing days and some that I don't care to experience ever again. As I enter my last year in this career, I've begun to reflect up on all that I've seen and heard over the years. Some of it will shock the hell out of you as it did me at the time I went through it and still does as the memories run through my brain. So much more of it will warm your heart and make you laugh until you beg for mercy! 

I'm going through my older posts here and updating them a bit to share again and then add more. Sharing my memories and experiences as a veterinarian and animal lover is my way of giving a bit back to a profession that helped create who I am today.  As I move on to pursuing my writing and publishing career, I'll continue to use what I've learned as a veterinarian and from those I've met along the way. Who knows? Maybe some of you will recognize bits and pieces of it in my books! LOL!  Here's a bit of one of my days a year ago...

I've got a lot of stories to tell having been a veterinarian for over a fifth of a century. Some will make you cry and others will make you laugh until you pee your pants. Still quite a bit more will have you shaking your head and saying WTF???? Today was one of those days for me.

Just when I think I've heard everything when it comes to my four-legged patients, in walked in an adorable and obviously very pregnant pit bull. Her owner was in complete denial. He told my receptionist that he already knew what was going on with his dog because he googled it.

Seriously. You read that right. This man actually asked GOOGLE to diagnose his dog.

According to Google, his precious "child" was going through a false pregnancy. Here is the conversation that followed after I picked my jaw up off the floor. Not only could I feel at least two puppies in her uterus, I heard their heartbeats with my stethoscope. Her mammary glands were full of milk and getting ready for the arrival of the pups. Her body temperature was a little low as well. This is another indicator that BIRTH IS COMING!!!

"So why do you think she's going through a false pregnancy?"

"Cuz it's only been a month since she was in heat. She's not been around any other dogs except at my friend's house." 

"When was that?"

"Two months ago, but that can't be it. She wasn't in heat then when they tied up."

Now I got him. "Dogs won't breed unless they are in heat and definitely won't be tied up unless the female is in heat and receptive to the male."

"I don't get it. I bred her twice last time and it didn't take. She was definitely in heat then and all she did was fight the other dog off."

Here's where I wanted to smack my head against the wall repeatedly but I refrained myself. I had a hell of a time keeping from laughing though. "Uh, hate to tell you this, but when she fought the male off, she wasn't in heat. THIS time she was, and at the right time to get pregnant. Your dog due any day now."

"But Google said—"

I held up my hand. "With all respect to Google, I disagree. If you want, we can take an x-ray and count the puppies to see how many and how big they are."

"Don't have any money for that, Doc. I just want you to fix her false pregnancy. That's what I came here for today."

"It's not a false pregnancy. She is going to give birth. Nothing false about that."

"Google said her symptoms go along with a false pregnancy so there ain't no pups in there. I used to work at the shelter and I learned a lot. What I didn't know, I looked up on Google. So far I've done right by all of my dogs, except for the two puppies that died last year."

"Oh, sorry to hear that. What happened to them?" I had a pretty good idea. The most likely cause of their death would have been parvovirus. It is a deadly virus that is highly contagious. Too many people in our area don't get their puppies vaccinated early enough, or for a long enough period of time. Because of that, these pups are unprotected when their owners take them to the local dog parks and beaches.

"Well, Google said they had worms so I gave them dewormers, but that didn't work."

"Did you give the puppies vaccines?"

"Naw. They weren't old enough yet. Everybody knows you don't start vaccines on pups until they are five or six months old."

"Where did you hear that?" Oh I regretted that as soon as I said it.

"My friend who's raised dogs all his life told me. He's raised tons of litters. Just to be sure though, I googled it."

"How about you take these handouts that explain everything you need to know about your dog giving birth. They also tell you what to look for while she's nursing them and how old they need to be when they have their first veterinary exam and vaccinations." 

"Thanks, Doc but you didn't need to go through all this trouble. If I have anymore questions I'll just hit up Google!"

Take home message:

Getting veterinary advice from Google or any other search engine on the Internet is a bad thing. Using Google to look up information your veterinarian has discussed with you can be a GOOD THING. Take the time and ask questions of your veterinarian while your pet is getting it's annual and semi annual exams. Just because someone has raised animals all of their lives doesn't make them experts. Please, please please be responsible pet owners and seek proper veterinary care for your new and current fur babies. 

 

Being a pet guardian is not a right. It's a privilege and an honor.  

Until next time
~Dr. Tammy