Shelby is a 7 year old Bischon Frise. In late 2016 she was brought to the Animal Hospital very off form and with a high temperature.
We routinely see cases like this and usually an antibiotic and an anti inflammatory rectifies the problem.

This was not the case for Shelby however………..

Several weeks later all Shelby’s lymph nodes were swollen and she had lost a lot of weight. This is a very worrying sign and and rings a lot of alarm bells. Despite weeks of treatment and further tests here in the Animal Hospital Shelby continued to deteriorate.
Eventually we sent her to the Referral Hospital in UCD, After many investigations Shelby was diagnosed with a problem with her immune system.

She was put on immunosuppressive treament along with other meds. Gradually over the coming months she slowly returned to her old self.

At a check up several days ago she was in fab form. She continues to receive daily meds and will probably do so for life…….

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!

Mika and Kuma

Mika and Kuma are a mother daughter pair. They have both had a tough time over the last couple of months with medical issues that needed attention. They are husky dogs crossed with wolves, among some other breeds, but they don’t have any traits of their wolf relatives. They are both very humble dogs. allowing all sorts of procedures to be carried out on them without complaint.

Kuma is the Mammy, she is nearly 9 and a half years old. She had a large growth on her face that we were concerned could be something nasty and concerning. It was advised that she should have it surgically removed and sent to the lab for a biopsy. Her procedure went well and after a short recovery,she has been back to have her sutures removed and the wound has healed very well. Luckily for Kuma, the biopsy revealed that it was not a dangerous growth, rather a benign tumour and it is expected to be curative.

Mika is the daughter of Kuma, She is nearly 8 years old. She has a very close relationship to her Mammy and hates to be parted from her. She became unwell in May this year. She went off her food and had a very high temperature. As she had been in season recently, we were worried she could have pyometria. This is an infection of the womb and can be fatal if surgery is not carried out to removed the uterus. This is the same procedure as when a female dog is neutered. However, in a case like this the surgery is much more complicated and risky due to the high levels of infection present in the body. Tests and radiographs revealed that this was the likely cause of her problem and surgery was completed the following morning. On the table under the anesthetic we could clearly see the very enlarged uterus that was filling up with all sorts of nasty stuff. The whole womb had to be immediately removed if Mika was to to have any chance of surviving.

Mika had to be hospitalised for a few days after the procedure for observations and administration of medications. She went home to her eager owners shortly after, as well as her mother who missed her very much. She was seen for regular check ups and bandage changes here at The Animal Hospital. Unfortunatley, she had some wound complications after her surgery and recovery was slow. Finally now we are glad to report that she is doing really well and her wound has healed and her form is great. She is a very lucky girl!

For Mika’s bravery and patience and Kuma’s fantastic mothering skills and complience here with us, we are proud to call them both our July Pets of the Month!! Their owners should be very proud!! Well done Mika and Kuma!!

Mother and daughter love!