Jack

This is the lovely Jack. He is an 8 year old Labrador Retriever. His owner noticed that he was uninterested in food and a bit off form. He was brought to us at The Animal Hospital when he began to vomit. Previously, he had to have a surgery to remove a plastic toy from his belly and they were very worried that this could be a similar situation. They had seen Jack with these symptoms before and given his mischievous personality this was a very high possibility.

On first examination, we were not 100% convinced that this was the problem. He had a number of issues noted at the time, including a potential heart complaint and an enlarged prostate. His bloods showed a number of issues including pressure on the kidneys and dehydration due to his anorexia. He was placed on intravenous fluid therapy to make him feel a bit better and give him some much needed energy while we tried to figure out what exactly was happening here.

Radiographs did not show any immediate problems. There was no obvious foreign body and all we could see was gas in the stomach. We also could not feel anything strange on palpation of his abdomen but why was he vomiting nasty brown material? As there was no improvement in Jacks condition, and we feared things could turn for the worst, it was decided between the vets and the owner that an exploratory surgery was needed and to our surprise we found a very hard potato blocking the intestine! This was a 1st for us at the clinic! He had to have part of his intestine removed as a result.  Jack had sneakily stolen an uncooked potato from his owners and ate it whole!! This was definitely not his best decision.

Jack recovered really well after his surgery and went home to his owners 2 days later. We have since seen him for a wound check and he is back to eating his food and in good form. His wound his healing well. We will see him again next week to have his stitches removed.

We hope he has learned his lesson and will not repeat his naughty habits of stealing things he shouldn’t again!

For his uniqueness and great spirit, Jack has been awarded November Pet of the Month. Well done Jack!

Milly

Milly is a 8 and a half year old Labrador. Her owners noticed that she had lost some weight over a short period of time, so she was brought into us at The Animal Hospital for investigations. On examination, it was noted that she had lost a dramatic 12kg since her last visit!! Milly was very weak, vomiting and had no interest in food. We needed to find out exactly what was going on if Milly was to have any chance of surviving.

We started by placing Milly on intravenous fluid therapy to combat her severe dehydration and give her body some energy. We ran some blood tests for more information. This told us her kidneys were under some pressure. Xrays and ultrasound examinations showed a very suspicious looking bowel. We could not determine exactly what the thickened area seen was exactly. We feared it could be a tumour. The only option to save Milly was to actually open her up and have a look and see if it could be removed or fixed. The owners were willing to do what ever it took to give Milly her best chance and the surgery was performed one day after her admission.

The fluids had helped Milly but she was still a very weak dog and we worried that the surgery might be a lot for her frail body to handle. She had the will to live  and survived the anesthetic with no issue. The surgery was succesful! We found a large piece of what looked like plastic causing problems all the way from her stomach to her intestines. Although difficult to remove and part of her bowel had to be repaired, we were glad to have found no tumours! This meant Milly had a chance of surviving. We had to monitor her very closely after her surgery, as there is always a chance of wound breakdowns or post surgery complications.

She was allowed no food for 24 hours and then the nurses gradually introduced her back to solid foods. She was offered small bits of bland food at regular intervals and we were delighted that she was keen to eat. Her appetite had finally returned. Her form was much improved and she was stronger every day. After a few days recovery in the hospital, she was allowed home to her owners with strict diet rules. So far she is doing really well, and gaining some weight slowly. The biggest problem her owners have had so far was keeping her quiet and away from her surgery stitches, which is a good sign that she is feeling well in herself. She will be due back to us this week to have her stitches removed all going well.

We would like to award Milly October pet of the month for her bravery and her great will to survive!

Well done Milly!