Hank- A Stray Pointer Looking for a Home

This is Hank.  He's a stray Pointer.  Sort of a stray, you might say.  At one time, he had a home. 

He showed up at a clients house and wouldn't leave.  Looking sort of worn and tattered.  Too thin.  Skin scraped up and irritated.  Bird dogs tend to be a little on the thin side naturally, but usually not too the point of seeing one's backbone.   

He actually belonged to her neighbor down the road.  So she called him, and he came to her house to pick him up.  Hank took off in the opposite direction towards the woods.  He wouldn't go near his owner or the truck.  Now, sometimes dogs and cats will develop an aversion to a person or something if they get spooked or scared around one.   Like they are riding in a car, and the car backfires and makes a loud noise that scares them.  So from then on, they associate the car with scary loud noises and don't like to ride.  

Hank was in the woods.  And his owner got in the truck to leave and was heading out of the driveway.  Hank immediately runs back to my client, standing in the driveway, and sits down.   The owner sees this in his rearview mirror.  So he turns around and comes back.  Hank takes off again.   

My client begins to get concerned about how Hank is acting.  So she asks the owner, "He doesn't seem to want to go with you.  Should I try to find him a home?"   And the owner says, "Yeah."  So that is how Hank became a stray.   He seems like a nice dog.  From looking at his teeth, I think he is somewhere between 2 and 3 years old.     Not a puppy but not a really old dog either.  He gets along with my client's other dogs and cats.  He appears to have been neutered as well. 

If you know anyone who is interested in adopting him, give me a holler.   His video is on youtube, if you would like to share it with others that might be looking for a Pointer type dog.  And I am listing him on Petfinder.    Thanks.

George and Gracie- Part 2. and Part 3.

I am the most unorganized blogger that ever lived.  I have to admit.  I have to often go back and look for blog posts to see who you've seen.  Or not.  Or seen twice. Or almost saw twice.

It takes a little while to resize photos,  string together video clips in imovie,  and upload them to youtube.  Youtube probably takes the longest, as last night I was trying to upload these clips and it was saying it would take an hour.  Forget that.  This morning, it took about 15- 20 minutes between the two. 

So here's the update on George and Gracie, the 2 pound puppies, you saw getting a bath a few weeks ago.   Well, it's their current update, and the one from 3 weeks ago. Put it that way.  

When they first showed up, they weighed about 8 and 9 pounds respectively. 
On their second visit below they weighed 16 and 17 lbs.

Photo from 3 weeks ago- 3/1/11, I think.

And here is their little video clip from last week.    They are no longer Little George Burns and Little Gracie Allen.  They are now Medium George Burns and Medium Gracie Allen.  23 and 24 lbs.

Anyone seen any Cat Kidneys on Ebay? A functional one, perhaps?

Mr. Leon needs one.  For the past 2 or 3 weeks, I've noticed that Leon wasn't his usual self.  Not eating so well, vomiting up hair balls a little more frequently, pooping off schedule, etc.  He had lost a little weight. He was ADR- Ain't Doin' Right.

Sure, he still gives clients the Stink Eye if they happen to sit in his chair before he gets there.  That is sort of funny, by the way, to see a 17 year old cat sitting in front of a chair, staring at the client,  while everything else is going on in the background.

So I sent off a blood sample to the lab, to check for the usual suspects in old cats- diabetes, hyperthyroidism, kidney problems.   This is what came back.

 

Some things were fine.  His glucose was good. His thyroid levels were okay.   But that BUN and creatinine are too high.  I am sort of surprised that his phophorus is still normal.  Usually it starts creeping up in kidney failure.   

I switched his food to K/D, low protein food for kidney patients, and gave him some fluids subcutaneously.  That was Saturday night.  He seemed to feel better on Sunday morning.  Ate his K/D canned food.  Gave him more fluids last night.  He had to pee in a cup this morning.  (Totally true- he was using his litter box about lunch time, and here comes this little cup from the side. . . )   Specific gravity of urine, which is a measure of how concentrated the urine is,  was 1.008.   Ideally, with normal functioning kidney you expect to see 1.030- 1.040 or higher.  1.008 means not much happening with those kidneys.  

You can lose 2/3 of your kidney function and still concentrate urine normally.  You won't see BUN and creatinine start to go up until you've lost about 3/4 of your kidney function.  Just so you know in case you ever need those little facts in the Trivia Challenge at Blind Pig Tavern on Baldwin Street.  You could win some bucks.  

It was a year ago that Leon grew Herman. and had him removed.  Y'all remember Herman. He lives in a jar.  In case you don't, here's a link to all things Herman.  And if Herman had been anywhere else at the time,  like in the oral cavity, or under a leg involving blood vessels, or a lymph node, I wouldn't have been able to remove him.  And would have had to put Leon to sleep.  So in that one respect, Leon has been living this past year on borrowed time.

Leon has been here from almost the beginning.  He was brought in to be euthanized back in 1995. We think he's a 1994 Model.  We weren't exactly looking for another hospital cat at the time, but no one wanted him.  (This was before Petfinder.  almost before the internet, actually) .  So I kept him.    He's like an institution of Granite Hills Animal Care.   The Colonel Sanders of GHAC.   

I think he's feeling a little better this week than last week, and his kidney values might stabilize on the food and occasional fluids. And they might not.  So I'm watching him closely to determine when it's time to send him to Cat Heaven. Not too early and not too late.

I'll have to put a plaque on his chair.  "Sit here at your own risk of being haunted by a Grey Tabby Ghost.  Giving you the stink eye."

Lucky got her sutures removed yesterday

Hi all.

Lucky got her sutures removed yesterday. 

 

Her updates might become less frequent now, as the fun stuff is over with.  Right now,  we are on poop monitoring and no one wants to hear about that.   Her discharge instructions are posted below.  Click on the photo and it should enlarge a little making it easier to read.  

As  it says, Lucky nows 2 distinct tubes. One for urinating and one for pooping.  At the very caudal aspect, (closest to you if you are looking from behind) both open into a common area where the tissue didn't heal together.  A little pocket there.  

It might be handy for carrying change for the bus, perhaps.

She doesn't have much muscle tone to her anal area. She did before surgery.  That might return.  In the literature with dogs, some regained continence but only after several months.  So now, we are just waiting and watching to see if she urinates and poops in her litter box.  She has been urinating in the box and pooping there some of the time.  We aren't sure how much of the pooping is a conscous effort. Even if she is fecal incontinent, that is still better than Priscilla's situation where she ('Scilla)  has to have help expressing her bladder twice a day, and is fecal incontinent. 

Lucky still has to get spayed. So the plan is to wait a few weeks to let her get over this, and then spay her.  Once she is older, and larger, with healthier perineal tissues,  we might try to close the pocket at that time.  It depends on if she is able to keep the area clean on her own.  She can live with a little change purse there.  There is an increased risk of getting a urinary tract infection in the long run.  But if you didn't have a urinary tract infection before surgery from pooping through too tiny of a single opening as if it were squirt cheese, then that doesn't seem too terrible of a concern either.  

 

I'll probably spay her before looking for a forever home for her, or a foster home.  It might depend on the poop situation.  Below is a video of her around the office yesterday afternoon.   

 

Thanks again for all your help. And drop me a note if you find yourself suffering from withdrawal of Lucky updates.  Someone suggested a litter box webcam.  Where you can see "progress" as it happens.  

 

I'll think about that one. . . . . .not.

Bessie- Walker Hound Puppy

This is Bessie.  She's a 5 week old Walker Hound puppy who was in for her vaccinations the other day.

Normally, we wouldn't be vaccinating puppies at 5 weeks old. Most aren't weaned until they are about 6 weeks old.  But in Bessie's case, we are.

The last litter than Bessie's Mom had, all the puppies died before they were 6  weeks old.  Like 8 of them in a 24 hour period, which is unusual, and one worries about things like parvo virus and intestinal parasites.  Usually one doesn't see parvo in such a young puppy, but if the Mom isn't vaccinated, it is possible.  And hookworms can suck puppies dry and make them anemic.  It takes about 3 weeks for hookworms to mature.  So puppies appear to be fine for the first couple of weeks and then start getting ill. 

Bessie's owner was planning on waiting for a few days to get her, but then the Mom died, the day before this video was shot.  Eclampsia, maybe?  not sure.  So it was time to get Bessie out of there and into her new home. She did have lots of roundworms and hookworms so that might have been a role in the death of the previous litter.

 

The yellow Lab is Elvira.  She was a stray that lived at a front end loader, parked in the pasture, for a few days, before anyone could get their hands on her. 

She's Back!

Now, I know the word is that Lucky has been telling the other ladies at the Ladies Auxilary that she went on vacation for a few days in Williamsburg.  

But, the truth is. . .  she had "a little work done."  It's true. You know. . .  the usual. Nose Job. Face Lift. Boob Job. Ass augmentation surgery.

Now, one can BE an asshole, and that it totally free.  It won't cost anyone a dime. 
But, let someone NEED an asshole. . . and that is another story entirely. Be prepared to spend bookoo big bucks.   Lucky returned from "vacation"this afternoon.

This is the "I hate this lampshade thing" look.  Just in case, you can't tell.

So now we wait.  Antibiotics, Stool softeners, Pain meds. Sutures come on in 2 weeks.  There still can be problems down the road-  megacolon, chronic contipation, fecal incontinence.  

Priscilla was happy to see her but even she wasn't digging the satellite dish as you can hear her hissing and growling at Lucky in the video.



Thanks again to everyone for her donations.  If this had happened 10 years ago, surgery would not  have been an option due to the expense.  So thanks to Facebook, Twitter, and other Social Media sites for making it all possible. 

And while Lucky doesn't appear thrilled in that lampshade pic, I am sure she is smiling on the inside.

She had enough money in her fund to cover the surgery with a little left over to cover any rechecks and followup.   Sundown Surgery and the Grace Fund are two of my favorite pet charities, along with Old Dog Haven (love them), so if down the road you find yourself looking for funds to make donations to, please keep them on your list.   While there aren't too many other Lucky's out there with her problem, fortunately, there are other pets who find themselves needing surgery to fix a medical problem (foreign bodies, trauma cases, orthopedic cases) and an owner who can't always make the finances work out on such short notice.  That is where the GRACE FUND and SUNDOWN SURGERY fund can step in to help. 

Charlie Brown and Lucky Update

This little guy came in today for his puppy vaccinations.  He's about 13 weeks old. 2.2 lbs. Chihuahua who will have to grow into his ears. 

 

Here's a short little video of him (the batteries died) 

Lucky also had surgery today at the UGA Vet Teaching Hospital.   I heard from her student today about 6 pm.  She got out of surgery around 5 and will be spending the night in ICU on fluids and pain medication.  They were able to correct her fistula a ittle easier than expected, it sounds like.  She's not out the woods yet, but doing as well as can be expected.  Now we wait and see how everything heals.

Thanks to all of your donations, your prayers and good thoughts, she's gets a second chance to be a normal cat.  I'll keep you posted.

Lucky Update- 2/25/11

Okay y'all.

Lucky's fund has grown a little more.  It takes a few days for any online donations to show up. The same with donations mailed in.  We are closer to her estimate, but not totally there.  I think with what I've sent in, and with what people have said they sent in, we are around the $1500 mark.  The official total is still $1050 when I called the office today.  That's when I found out that it takes a few days for credit card payments to show up.

So, I have decided to go ahead and schedule her surgery for next week. She's getting dropped off on Monday with surgery probably happening on Tuesday.   Thanks for everyone's help so far. Donations or just spreading the word about her.

I originally thought I wouldn't be able  to schedule her surgery until the funds were totally raised. Between 2000-$2500.   But now that we are a little closer I think it's wise to go ahead with the surgery and let the surgeons actually see what we (they) are dealing with.  With the knowledge that I (we) might need to raise a few more funds. 

Here's a little video clip I shot of her earlier.




Thanks again for everyone's help so far.  Lucky OWES everyone a LOT of chores around the house.  I'm just sayin'.

I'll keep you updated on her surgery next week.

Wellness Programs

Hello-
I would like to hear your opinions about the subject of wellness programs that are billed monthly.  Sort of like budget billing for your utiity bill.  But for your pet care instead.  Leave questions or comments in the comments section below.  Thanks.

For awhile we've been seeing dogs and cats come into the office.  Some are sick as they aren't vaccinated.  Others have things like heartworms and fleas.  Some are overdue on their vaccinations.  Like a year past due.   Some dogs got 6 months of heartworm prevention at their last visit and then forgot to get anymore.  So the dog went off heartworm prevention for 6 months and now has heartworms.

We mail out reminders when dogs are due for their yearly checkup and vaccinations.  But we don't send a reminder for heartworm prevention in 6 months as sometimes people buy less, sometimes they buy more, and there isn't a convenient way to set up a reminder based on quantity that they purchase except to do it manually. 

Cat yearly checkups and vaccines run around $70 and Dog annuals run around $100 for vaccinations, their exam, check for intestinal worms, and a heartworm test that checks for heartworms, ehrichia, lyme's disease, and anaplasmosis. 

So by the time, you have that done, then get their heartworm prevention, and flea and tick medication, you have a nice little chunk of change and Fido has to go home and do chores around the house.  I can only assume that people don't bring Fido back when he is due for his vaccinations because of the lump sum of paying for his stuff.  If the owner was highly organized they could work the amount into their budget, but most people aren't that organized.  Or as is the case with senior citizens, they might only have a small monthly budget to deal with in the first place.

Pet Insurance can be obtained to cover emergencies and that breaks down into a monthly payment for the owner.  And some insurance companies do offer coverage for the pets annual checkup, medications, and spay/neuter.  Some people ask about pet insurance. Some already have it and are familiar with it. And Most don't know that it exists.  So when you mention it to them, their eyes begin to glaze over.

What do you think of a wellness program where the owner pays $15-25 month to cover their annual checkup, vaccinations, medications, etc. The routine stuff, not the emergency stuff.  It certain makes owning a pet more budget friendly, and I think I could set it up through paypal as a subscription for those with an email address.  Or if no paypal account, we would enter the amount in the credit card machine each month.   I think there is some law about not keeping credit card numbers on file that can be stolen, but I think it would be okay if I kept the file locked in the drug safe. 

Care Credit is one payment option for clients. It is used more for emergencies and larger hospitals.  The main reason is that it is used more for larger hospitals, I think,  is that it would cost me $300-400/ year just to be able to offer it to clients.  And then the client still has to qualify. 

Does anyone already use such a wellness program for their routine pet care?  If so, how do you like it, and if you elaborate in the comments about how it works,  that would be great.  Is it billed to your credit or debit card monthly? 

I would hope that people would bring their pet to the vet, or pick up their refill medication, if they knew it was already paid for. 

And two additional things- 

I made up some magnets, pocket mirrors, and bottle opener keyrings for Lucky's Fund last evening.  They are at the office if you are local and want to see them.   $5-7 bucks each.  I  have some, maybe most, of them listed online too if anyone who lives out of the area wants to purchase any. 

And the other thing-  For clients who read my blog, and happen to also have a Facebook account, LIKE the Granite Hills Animal Care page, and I'll give you $10 credit off your next visit.  (just a few minor restrictions on where it can be applied.)

I think Facebook can be a useful tool to let clients know if we are seeing outbreaks of things like parvo virus, kennel cough, etc.   Or if the office happens to be closed for an afternoon.  Things like that. 

Thanks for reading this LONG post, and let me know what you think about Wellness Programs.  Yay or Nay? 

Items Being Sold For Lucky's Fund.

Hi all.

I wanted to do a quick update as people are selling items on behalf of Lucky and her surgery fund.

The first I mentioned the other day.  Karen Weidert has paw print pendants that you can purchase on her Facebook page (even if you don't have a facbook account).   I am linking to her page and to purchase a pendant click on the SHOP NOW tab at the top, above her name.   Karen's Facebook Page.


The next is from my friend Rebecca who has listed catnip toys in her Etsy Shop.

 

 

Drop her a note if you want one or something different.  Someone asked about a cat bed as they cat doesn't play with toys.  She said sure- make it larger and leave out some of the stuffing but keep all of the cat nap.   Here's the Link to her Etsy Listing.


The last one is by a website called Squigglefly.
They sell digital stamps and are donating any cat images to Lucky's Fund for the remainder of February.   If you don't know about digital stamps, watch their videos on their website.  You download the stamp and you can use if for card making, scrapbooking, gift tags.  Even just print it out on paper for your kids or grandkids to color with.  (OR for you to color with. No judgement here. :)  )

Squigglefly's Website Link. 

Thanks all.