We have set it up for chronic conditions where the owner will bring their pet in for therapy several times a week. The techs are the ones who take them back and perform the therapy. We have to wear ear protection, and if the owner comes back to help hold, they also have to wear eye protection.
Of course, I had lots of vaccine to make this morning. But I also was appointment tech again so every once in a while I had to run in and help a doctor. Some were new puppies getting their first shots, some were there for blood tests, and plenty needing nail trims. Mike lets me trim nails while he holds the dogs for me. Supposedly we the techs do a better job because we 'wittle' away the nail and round the edges. He says he gets in too big a hurry. I prefer to trim anyway!
One puppy stood out today. He was a small breed, but quite a screamer. Jen came and got me because he was proving to be a handful - and that's just for a puppy visit! The owner had her young daughter with her who was quite concerned the puppy was getting hurt. She would cover her ears when he screamed and he screamed when Jen tried to look in his mouth, and when she tried to look in his ears, and when the needle touched him for vaccinations ( and also when it hadn't touched him yet). You can always tell when a puppy or kitten will be a handful when grown. They all come with their own personalities! To contrast that fiesty puppy, we also had a 15 week old springer spaniel pup. Usually these hunting (sport) breeds can be quite hyper but this puppy was so laid back we could do anything and he didn't care!
It seemed to be puppy day today. We had an emergency c-section this afternoon. An owner who raises sled dogs had a female who had one puppy last night and nothing since. She had quite the discharge and an ultrasound showed at least one live puppy. When we have a c-section, everyone drops everything and helps. The mother is put under but kept light while the doctor tries to get in and out as quickly as possible because the anesthesia crosses the placenta and also sedates teh unborn puppies - sometimes to the point where they die. As the doctor gets each puppy out, someone has to take that puppy and dry and stimulate them to breathe. Because they have not gone through the bierth canal, they have fluid in their lungs that must be forced out. We carefully use a motion that helps expel the liquid. We also use a baby nose bulb to suck out mucous from the puppy's nose.
I also put drops of Dopram under the puppy's tongue to stimulate breathing
The mother looked like this -
All three of her puppies were solid black!
We ended up with one live puppy and one dead puppy. Sometimes there are no live ones so this was ok. What was strange is we had another call during this c-section about another dog possibly needing a c-section. Holly thought (and hoped) it was an April Fool joke. Well, it wasn't, but this Great Dane had had one live puppy at home and that was all she had. The ultrasound and a palpation revealed no more pups. This breeder had a Gread Dane C-Section last week which resulted in 10 puppies! Then you almost need 10 techs or people - one per puppy to stimulate them. I am glad we didn't have that one!
Needless to say, it was a full day. Tomorrow I sleep in! But right now listening to a wonderful thunderstorm. Haven't heard that in months. In fact Bunni is quite concerned about it and very clingy. As her siblings all snore on the sofa...
No comments:
Post a Comment