Monday Blues

Monday already. I was lucky getting Tony to take my two kennel shifts this weekend, otherwise I would have had to work every day. April and May are hard because the kennel is busy but my helpers also get busy! Good for business though.
We were about half full in the kennel, many of which were going home today. Plus I had three dogs coming in. Two dogs were here just for the day and  for one of those it was his first time. "Willie' is a huge white German Shepherd Dog that is a Canadian champion with severe separation anxiety disorder. Actually I think he just has anxieties but, regardless, it made the day with him difficult. He had to be kept in his plastic crate when inside because he would climb out of my indoor run. Also his owner had put a dog bed in the crate, knowing he would rip it up, which he did. After a late lunch, I put him in the outside covered run along side other dogs. He actually was fine out there. The owner was sure he'd freak out and start biting the wire and break teeth (which I have had other dogs do) but Willie was quite happy out there. He stayed there until his owner came and picked him up. Score Lori!
                                      
I was appointment today but there weren't too many fortunately. Too busy with the kennel, boxing up pig tissue to send to the University of MN Diagnostic Lab, getting hours done so we can get paid, answering the phone, doing lab work....Lots of things going on.
I know my readers don't like 'gross' stuff, but after all, this IS what I do. Lab work is always interesting to me. Along with checking slides for ear mites, and heating slides, staining them and checking for yeast and bacteria (two animals had to have that done) while the doctor waits, there's also fecals to be run. One fecal from a calf, had to have a special test done to check for crypto. This causes diarrhea and can be transferred to humans. SOooo Megan didn't want to do it. On go the gloves, and I mixed and stained a slide and checked it. Eventually I called Mike to check because I couldn't find anything. Luckily, he couldn't either.

                                     
Of course, my slide isn't this pretty color but the oocytes ARE extremely tiny. I have to use a purple stain and it's negative staining, meaning everything stains but the crypto. We don't get to run this test very often but  it is something we have to be very careful about. Mike has told me he's picked up crypto before from calves and it's not fun. You have to stay very close to a bathroom!
All right, enough bathroom stuff. Today Emily got freaked out (word of the day) because she oped the walk-in cooler and there were 3 dead 200# pigs. No one knew anything until we tracked down Dennis. A farmer had brought them in Saturday afternoon and Tom needed to do a necropsy to find out why they died. Thus the pig tissues I had to send to St. Paul. Even when you come to expect certain strange things, you still get surprised occasionally. Friday I helped Mike operate on a pig in the barn and we put him in a wire dog crate to wake up (the owners). Again, it was Emily who opened the door into the barn and there was a pig standing in front of her peeing! She kind of screamed.....We had to hurry and get him back in the crate because horses were due to come anytime. They would have been upset at a loose pig running around the barn.
                                 
Mike called right before we closed up today. He had gone out on a cow o.b. - or a cow having a calf for the layman. When he called, he said he never did catch the cow. The owner had the cow in a one acre field and not penned up. Mike said he'd catch the cow but after 45 minutes he had to give up. In his words " the cow's as wild as swamp grass"....not sure how swamp grass can be compared to a wild cow but there it is! After chasing this cow around the one acre (and remember, she's trying to push a calf out...), the cow busts through into a 10 acre field. That's when Mike decided he was done for the day.. All in a days work for a country vet!
                                   

Vaccination Clinic Time!

Today's a busy day. I'm surgery tech which, on Thursday's has kept me very busy. Then tonight we have our second vaccination clinic. However it's already late so I'm going to post a few pictures Samantha was kind enough to take so I can go to bed tonight. Up at 5:15  to start a busy day again. I'll try to write more this weekend...

That's me, second from the left, seated at the table. I'm one of two of us that takes money for the products and shots people need today. Many people have multiple animals so it can take a while. Each animal has a slip filled out for it. I often have to fill out checks for people or hold dogs while owners write checks. Pulling dogs do not make for neat handwriting!

This is a picture of the outside of our clinic with the line going out to the road. We have people go in one door of our barn, and out the other door.

More people in line. Surprising there's not too many dog problems in line. I am constantly amazed though how many people carry their cats in their arms through this activity. They may be standing in line next to cat-eating dogs!!!!

Dr. Jennifer Bauer (in pink) is waiting for the next victim. Dr. Dennis Nelson is in the background. Tonight we had all 4 doctors working which makes the line move faster. There were some screamers though, and it really echos in the barn. Screamers are dogs that literally scream when the doctor vaccinates them, or draws blood. It tends to make clients give little nervous laughs as they worry that their dog will react the same way.

Just to show the cars lined up on the road as our parking lot isn't big enough. I never get to see this sight as I'm on duty inside... One more clinic in a week and a half. Can't wait until it's over.

Back to the writing board

It's been a while since I've written. It isn't because nothing's been going on. Au contraire...I've been putting in lots of extra hours. Routinely it's been 10 or 11 hours a day, sometimes 12! Mainly it's because the vet clinic cut hours. Doesn't make sense? Well, it means there's less people to do the same amount of work. And some things just have to be done before the close of the day. Also one of my two kennel assistants went to only being able to work weekends because she's doing an internship at a vet clinic. All this means I often have to do kennels at 5:00  which can take a couple of hours. Needless to say I'm quite exhausted at night at simply fall asleep on the sofa...
What's funny is I'm often writing the days blog in my head while at work...just can't stay awake long enough to put it in the computer. Oh well, I'll try to be better.
Today was actually fairly boring by the usual standards. EVERYONE decided to take the day off so Megan and I opened up at 7:00. Between 7 and 8 I had 2 surgery dogs to walk, eye ointment to put in the boston terrier's eye that had a melting ulcer, antibiotics to put in his food, charges to put in the computer for the exploratory/foreign body surgery I got to help with yesterday, meds to get ready for that dog, instructions for Tony my kennel guy, biplates with cultures set up to look at, checkins to do for the day,sterilize more surgery packs from yesterday, answer the phone...Whew! Makes me tired again.
I'll tell you a little about the surgery yesterday. This border collie cross, "Lyric" had disappeared Tuesday with her buddy lab. They came home at 11:00 at night but Lyric soon started throwing up. The owner, a practicing nurse, got upset the next day when Lyric vomited up thread.When the owner tried to pull the thread out of her mouth it wouldn't come. She left to get some scissors, and while gone, the dog swallowed the thread again. That's a clear danger sign that thread is caught in the stomach or intestinal area. We put Lyric on fluids for the day on Wednesday to rehydrate her and watch her. Thursday then we did exploratory surgery and ended up removing a clump of plastic or rubber with threads and grass all wrapped up from her stomach. Mike also cut into her intestines in 4 places and eventually found this 2 foot long piece of black thread. The intestine had already started 'telescoping' in on itself and the dog would have been in serious trouble within days.


The dog was doing really well this morning and I sent her home with a list of instructions and a very happy and grateful owner. The Boston Terrier "Snuffy" went home with his owner too. His eye had been sewed shut by Mike yesterday to allow the ulcer to heal. I really hope the owner can figure out how to insert the tip of the ointment tubes into the corner of his eye  three times a day. Snuffy wasn't real thrilled when I showed  his owner what to do.
Coco the wirehaired pointer went home from the boarding kennel, thank goodness. That dog spends the whole time jumping and barking. It's nerve wracking for the people who go back there, but its worse for the other dogs who have to listen to it.
I said good by to Bridget, the black and white pitbull boarding with us from the Humane Society. I'm hoping Krista will pick her up tomorrow and take her to the shelter. No one can see her here where she's been since February. The shelter's been full and Bridget's the last of the three that stayed with us for a while. We spayed her yesterday (it was obvious she had already had puppies). Bridget's a good girl but she IS a pitbull and a powerful little thing. We've taught her to sit and tried to teach her a little self control. Pitbulls are nothing if not enthusiastic and that's how Bridget views life. When I went in her kennel to give final hugs, she kept pushing her big broad head against me, wriggling her whole body. I hate to see her live in a small kennel but I can't take a dog like her home. Chances are good that she'd eventually kill one of my cats or even one of my small dogs. And there's no way I could tempt her like that. When I took her to Dennis yesterday to put her under though, I had to muzzle her so she wouldn't bit Dennis. She growled at him and I know she scared Megan, Pam, Emily, Dennis. But she really likes me and is so grateful for the slightest attention. Please help her to find a good loving home...

Wednesday the 15th

What a busy busy day. I haven't written for a while because it's been slow. Well, today tried to make up for it. Normally I am appointment on Wednesday so I need to be ready for our first  one at 8:00. Unfortunately I also have to do kennels in the morning (although I'm training Tony right now). Usually that's not a problem but today, again, the kennel is almost full as well as having multiple surgery dogs to take out.
Here's a rundown of the dogs; Shih Tzu brothers Swiffer and Bruno, and Yorkie siblings to them Buttons and Dakota, Rex the chow mix, Emmit the Brittany Spaniel, Sophie Jo the Brittany Spaniel, Lilly the Cairn Terrier, Molly the Cocker Spaniel, Maj the English Setter, Charlie the Terrier Mix. That's the boarders - oh yes, and Gracie the cat. Then there was Abby the German Shepherd that I had to hand walk because she was so nervous and growled at me when I went to get her, Kia the Australian Shepherd who had a swelling where a tumor had been removed, Scout the yellow lab there to be spayed, Zoe the black lab with ascites (fluid in the abdomen to be drained off), and finally Jethro the Saint Bernard to be neutered.Oops, and Emmy the Miniature Poodle for a dental.
All those dogs (and one cat) I was responsible for this morning. Tony and I worked together to get them all outside, kennels cleaned, new water, food, dogs back in. It took about 2 1/2 hours which was really pretty good. Almost all of the towels and blankets were dirty so laundry was a non stop chore all day (and I didn't really make a dint). Meanwhile, Emily (the surgery tech for the day) had started her first surgery - helping Mike with the St. Bernard neuter. I helped Jen sedate the miniature poodle that came in this morning for a dental. By then Emily was done and ready to do the dental. Since there were no appointments scheduled, Jen wanted to start the dog spay. I helped her give a pre-med shot (it relaxes the dog and causes them to vomit anything in their stomach).
After a bit I brought the wobbling lab to the surgery suite and Jen asked if I wanted to put the catheter in. Certainly I said yes, as the doctors much prefer you to try at least. I have done it before, not always successfully. However today it worked! First you shave a spot on the leg, then insert a catheter needle into the vein at that shaved spot. If you get it in, the catheter must then be taped so it stays in the vein. Once there, you flush the needle with saline solution, then inject the anesthesia in. Once the dog is limp, you have to put the endotrachial tube down the throat and attach it to the oxygen/isoflourine machine. Where was the doctor you ask? Jen was doing what I usually do - which is hold the dog. If you have ever had catheters put in for surgery, you know how delicate the procedure can be. But it's wonderful when things go smoothly.

Of course, it's a lot easier to do a Lab then do a Yorkie! I'll let the doc do the tiny dogs...
Eventually it was time for lunch. No surprises there today but when I got done I had to help Mike take fluid off the Lab with ascites. First Mike tried to get her on the table (with my help). However Zoe kept giving him the eye and, when he reached to try to pick her up, she snapped at him. I had been keeping a close eye on her and had her head so there was no bloodshed. She didn't mean it - may have though if he had kept pushing. With a muzzle now on, we got Zoe on the table and eventually sedated. Then Mike shaved an area on her stomach and inserted a needle to drain the fluid. Ascites can be caused by a failing heart, or other failing organ, or a tumor (cancer). Supposedly this dog was only 4 years old but she was in very bad shape. She was extremely thin - scarecrow thin - except for the huge swelling of her abdomen. We could drain the fluid off but eventually it will be back. While the fluid drained, the dog had to be kept still. That took about an hour. Eventually I had to trade off with Emily as an appointment actually came and I had to help Mike.
                                                                         

Ascites in dogs

 Appointments were vaccinations, checking missing teeth  and spot on the toe, remove staples from 

a healing surgery (you use actual staple removers). In between appointments I had to put up the things UPS delivered - some of which needed to be refrigerated - as well as mark them off tn the order book. Also a pig producer came in wanting rope kits. These are kits Tom designed where pieces of rope hang in the pig pens for the pigs to 'chew' on. The ropes are then collected and saliva on the ropes is squeezed off into tubes, This saliva is then sent to the University of MN to be tested for various pig diseases such as PRRS. It's all kind of icky but also simple enough to be kind of cool! Anyway, Tom was out of town and there were no kits made up but one. So Beth and I quickly got 6 kits together - I cut the rope pieces with an exacto knife. This is why you try to have an inventory of everything you can think of - and still someone will want what you haven't got ready.

I also had a lot of blood chemistry to do - all on the same dog.  There was the ALT and CREA, LYTES, CBC. And then the two snap tests - Thyroid (T4), and Cortisol. I love doing blood work but weeks can go by before I get to do much. Also had to check the glucose with an alpha-trak, and make a blood smear slide for Mike to look at. Not much else I could actually do with that blood! Of course, once you've trained on the equipment, it's not really a big deal. But I enjoy it.

Lastly I had to check my surgeries in for tomorrow. These clients brought in their 3 pugs for dentals. Gidget, Otis, and Princess are all adorable pugs. I went over the consent form with the owner and took the 3 dogs back. I guess the Boxer will show up in the morning - for a tumor removal.

By the Way - looking at a rabies vaccination certificate for a boarding dog, I noticed the vet clinic she had gone to was called "Pol Veterinary Services". Dr. Jan Pol, who signed the certificate, has a Cable show on the TV - "The Amazing World of Dr. Pol" on National Geographic Wild. The show is about a mixed animal practice vet in Michigan. Cool! I'm taking care of a dog who used to go to him!

Well, better get to bed. It's up at 5:15 tomorrow top get to work on time. I hope Tony is ready to take over!

Tuesday

I don't know what went wrong with that last blog. The pictures moved around and the print after the splint dog was tiny! I hope this blog doesn't do that.
Today was a relax and get a few things done. After letting the big animals outside and feeding them, I went in to warm up and have a little breakfast. Sitting on the radiator is so wonderful - if a little hard after a while. When the kids are home in the winter, they hog the radiators and I don't get to sit on one. I've caught Jacky warming up on it too! But I didn't want to get too comfortable  because the barns still had to be cleaned. So up I get and gather the dogs and outside we go. It was a little windy but at least the temperature wasn't too bad - about 25 degrees, and that's ABOVE zero! After cleaning both barns, I started on the yard. 10 dogs and cold weather means a lot to clean up close to the house! I only had to blow on my hands a couple of times to warm them up.
Not too much accomplished this afternoon. The dogs were all tired so they conked out. I washed dog beds all day. I have a little 'squirter' that insists on marking the beds. He is locked in the kitchen at this moment as I can't figure out how to stop this unacceptable behavior. Also found out a cat peed on the kitchen counter again. If I only could figure out which cat it is....that cat would no longer be here.
Enough bad stuff. Back outside to put the animals back in. Walking between the barns I suddenly saw the moon rising. I clomped back to the house to get Emma's camera (lost mine in Hawaii) and got a picture.The moon wasn't as good as when I first saw it  but still nice.

By the time I finished in the horse barn, you couldn't find the moon at all - it was that hidden by the clouds.
Because I was now hauling around the camera, I decided to take pictures of some of the animals. Just don't look at the walls which need painting. After all, it IS a barn...

Gitana chewing a horse treat

Sabrielle

Piper

Monday Blues

Starting out at 7 am. There's never a long enough weekend! I started out like I always start Mondays - doing the kennels. Mondays are the day most dogs are picked up so i need to get them out quickly so they can be ready to leave in case the owners come early before work. When I walked in to let the dogs out, I noticed Riley, a 2 yr old black lab, had shredded her rubber mat. Little bite size pieces all over the kennel. Well, hopefully she didn't get hungry and eat some! The 5 dogs this morning are all big and noisy. Of course only one pottied in the outside run so I had to walk the other 4. Again, no leash manners at all.
Megan needed help getting blood from one of her dental patients. We often run blood work before a dog is put under in order to check for underlying health issues. We usually get the blood ourselves - either from a front leg or from the vein in the neck - so we can run the blood chemistry before the doctor wants to anesthetize the dog. This time Megan decided to hold while I drew the blood. I was lucky, found the vein right away and took 3 cc. It's good for your self confidence to be successful occasionally!
The day was kind of crazy for everyone. Only two doctors since Dennis had classmates' funerals to go to and Jen had her day off. Emily went to the doctor and then home with an ear infection and tonsillitis. I was float today to that's what I did. Sent off some packets of Amoxicillin to a pig producer. We send out a lot of antibiotics to pig producers. and they usually need it ASAP so you hope the clinic has it in stock. UPS comes at 1 so you always plan to get things boxed up by then.
We had a lunch and learn with a rep from Virbac. I ordered Subway for the gang - salads for the ones who are dieting. The subject 'du jour' was dentals and how to make more money from the clients. February is dental month so we usually are doing 3 dentals a day during this month. Most people never think to look in their dogs (and cats) mouths. Often it isn't until the breath is so bad the owner can't stand it. Dogs get gingivitis and periodontal disease just like people but its hard to get them to brush their teeth! Also a lot of the commonly bought dog foods actually have a lot of sugar in them as well as other 'junk' that destroys teeth. I actually love cleaning teeth. Usually it's very visual and you can see the difference the cleaning makes. It is not Megan's favorite thing though.

After Cleaning

Ok, enough of teeth. After the lunch, appointments started up. I wasn't needed so did some answering of phones. Then a German Shepherd came in that had a splint on. He had been hit by a car in early December. The splint had been on for 9 weeks and was starting to smell bad. usually that means the splint has gotten wet and the skin is starting to go bad. Mike took off the splint after x-raying the leg. However the smell was SOOO bad that I took the splint right outside. While Mike and Pam cleaned up Bronson's leg, I decided to take the splint apart. All the padding, duct tape, white tape had to be taken off the wire frame. And all that was wet and stinky. Mainly I wanted it cleaned up and thrown in the dumpster before trash pickup on Tuesday morning.

ok, not a German Shepherd. But the splint is similar

With enough candles and sprays, we finally cleared the air in the clinic. The dog's leg was bandaged and will go home tomorrow. Another day put to rest. Only two dogs put to sleep today. :(

Jacky went to Illinois today so I got to take care of the animals when I got home. Sweetie that he is, Jacky cleaned the barns before he left so all I had to do was bring the animals in and feed them. Snooze time on the sofa and sleeping in in the morning...(do you hear that dogs?)

Weeks End

Well, look at that. It's already Sunday and I haven't written a thing since last Tuesday. That's what happens when  I fall asleep exhausted at night. So this blog is just a recap of the rest of the week.
 Wednesday - appointment day. No great  interesting appointments. It's been so slow that there were only 2 appointments in the morning and I only helped with one of them as I was on the phone with a client during the other one.  Mostly just vaccination appointments - our bread and butter I guess you would say. Mostly the animals are good but sometimes you have to hold the dog or cat just right so the doctor doesn't get bit or scratched. Most of us techs are pretty good at it, you have to be for self preservation!
 Thursday - surgery day. I had two dentals - both springer spaniel sisters. The one dog was very scared and you had to move slow and hold tight! Their teeth were atrocious so it gives you a really good feeling to send these dogs home with sparkling white clean teeth. Both dogs had gingivitis (yes, just like people) which means their gums were very red and inflammed. One dog had the start of ulceration of the cheek from the rough tartar rubbing against the inside of the cheek. This was the first time they had had dentals and it was very satisfying!

Let'see. Thursday was a long time ago. I did bring Emma's cat, Juju, in to be shaved. He has very cottony fur that mats easily. He looked great on the outside but when you petted him you could feel all the mats under neath. Emma and I have both tried to comb them out but Juju was never cooperative.  Finally I bit the bullet and brought him in. I do this quite often at the clinic. Medium and long haired cats - often very fat - have to be shaved once a year because of matting. Juju had to be asleep for this as its a rare cat who lets you shave him while awake. I was very glad I had brought him in - the mats were horrendous! And the skin was starting to be affected. I usually do a "lion" cut - meaning a shave down the body of the cat, the legs to the knees or hocks depending on matting, the neck but I try to leave the 'ruff' around the head like a lions mane, and I leave the tail. Sometimes I actually have to shave the tail because of mats! Then I leave a tuft on the end, just like a lion's tail. Juju's tail was ok though. Here's a before and after picture.

It will grow back, I promise. Juju was a little loopy all night but it didn't slow him down at all. By the next day he was back to his old tricks of jumping on the kitchen counter and stealing the meat that was defrosting....

Friday - I'm float. That means I do whatever needs to be done.  At one point a couple brought their dog in to be cremated and ashes saved. They weren't clients any more but wanted the ashes after cremation. We are the only clinic in the area that does this. Other clinics often send bodies down to Iowa or over to Mankato but one of our doctors has a crematorium on his farm so we do this almost every day. Problem was this dog, a young black lab, had died suddenly, probably from being hit by a car. Owners will bring their dead animals in and the pets will often be bloody, stiff..not in good shape. Once the owner leaves, we have to bag the animal, which is hard if they've been dead any time at all. Pam helped me and we added this blue bag to  the growing pile. Not a good week for big dogs in the area. Often the cold weather takes its toll on old animals. It's still hard. Later in the day, I helped with a 'put to sleep' appointment - an old yellow lab, his time up. With the owner silently crying, Dennis and I quickly took care of him. The dog died with his head resting on his owners feet.

 I took care of the kennels, went into some appointments, unboxed the UPS deliveries, answered the phone   (a LOT). Typical float day.

Saturday - my turn to work and open up. The doors are unlocked at 7 so I have to be there earlier to unlock the other doors, get the cash box out, transfer the phones, turn on lights... Once that was all done, I had one cat I had to take bandages off. The cat was a declaw from Friday. We keep the declaws overnight  and take off the bandages on their feet the next morning. This is so 1) we can get the bandages off as owners have a hard time doing it, and 2) so we can check for bleeding. This little tortoiseshell was a real sweetie to work with. She had also been spayed at the same time and was ready for food at 7 in the morning. I cut the bandages off, pulling half her fur out as I pull the tape off. Sometimes I can do it myself and sometimes I can't. There's a rare cat that we have to gas down to get the bandages off! Cats can be very tricky patients.

It was a busy, busy morning. Lots of appointments (including another put to sleep). Two steers to be examined for health papers so they could go to a show next week, vaccinations, ear infections, itching...Pretty normal. My job was at the front desk though so I took care of the clients as they came in and answered the phone. As usual, Tom through a wrench in with a call to get some things ready for a pig producer. With waiting rooms full, phone ringing, steers waiting... the pig producer came in 5 minutes after I hung up with Tom. No time to get his things ready! Karla, who was working with me, had to go get the pig stuff ready while Dennis did the appointments be himself. There's only one doctor and two techs that work on Saturdays. Sometimes it's too many, sometimes not enough. Today it wasn't enough.

But we survived another Saturday. Jacky picked me up for lunch in town and we came back to wash the cars in the barn at the clinic. By the time my car was done, I had to start the kennels. Neither kennel help was able to work saturday night. Not too bad - just 5 dogs. But none of them wanted to potty in the outdoor runs so I hand walked each dog. I so wish people would leash train their dogs. If only they trained their dogs like in Europe. Every dog was a struggle and my hand was sore after fighting the leash. But I was successful as each one went for me. I'll be glad when these go home though - almost all are without manners at all and spoiled!

Glad to be home with my own, although they test me every day. Still, they know when they better straighten up!