A diagram of the life cycle of hookworm.
A hookworm as seen under a microscope.
An enlarged view of a hookworm's mouth, with the teeth it uses to hook onto the lining of the small intestine.
A hookworm egg as seen under a microscope. These are typically found in the fecal matter of animals. A fecal sample is how a Veterinarian can definitely tell if the animal has hookworm or not.
Some of
the smaller appointments we had today were a ferret with blood sugar problems,
a Dalmatian with bladder problems, and a Yorkshire Terrier named Meme with a
corneal ulcer. The ferret was being
checked to see if he had Insulinoma, which is a tumor of
beta cells (insulin-producing cells) in the pancreas that causes the body to
make excess insulin, therefore causing glucose deficiency. Dr. Todd checked his blood sugar with a
blood glucose monitor, and the blood sugar reading was low (65 mg/dL) in comparison
to a normal reading (90-125 mg/dL), but Dr. Todd said it wasn’t low enough
to be diagnostic for Insulinoma. After
checking the glucose reading, Nancy gave the ferret 25 cc’s (cubic centimeters,
same as 25 mL) of lactated Ringer's solution, which is the same thing as the sub-q
(subcutaneous) fluids that go under the skin into the subcutaneous tissue layer
to hydrate the animal (the fluids will form a fluid bubble under the animal’s
skin, and the fluid inside will slowly disperse throughout the body over a
given time period. This is a very
effective way of hydrating an animal).
After the ferret, we had the Dalmatian who was having bladder problems. Dr. Amanda took a urine sample and tested it
to see what was wrong. While she was
looking at the urine and analyzing it, I helped Dr. Todd with Meme. After Meme was taken care of, I asked Jen
what happened with the Dalmatian and she said that he had bladder stones and a
possible bladder infection, and he needed antibiotics and a surgery in order to
get rid of the stones and infection.
However, the owner couldn’t afford surgery, so we will have to see what
happens with the Dalmatian.
The ferret getting his blood glucose checked.
The Dalmatian with the bladder stones and possible bladder infection.
Meme
was very tiny, and I held her for Dr. Todd as he looked at her eye. He placed some staining drops in her eye
(which stained her eye green momentarily and allowed him to see the ulcer), and
then inserted some numbing drops in her eye so she wouldn’t feel anything
touching her eye. In order to have the
corneal ulcer heal, he took a clean needle and gently began to lightly scrape
the ulcer part of the eye. He explained
to me that this scraping would cause blood vessels (hence more blood) to the
ulcer, which would cause the ulcer to heal.
He also gave the owner some antibiotic drops when he was finished
scraping the cornea, so hopefully Meme’s ulcer will be healed within a few
days. Dr. Todd also then continued
working on Faith (the constipated cat from yesterday). The saline solution he injected into her
colon didn’t help soften up the stool, so he spent a while trying to break it
up again. However, he was able to get
the majority of the rest of the stool out, so that was good and Faith seemed to
feel better when she woke up from the anesthesia.
Meme, the Terrier with the corneal ulcer.
Dr. Todd using a needle to gently and lightly scrape the ulcer in order to draw blood to it so it would heal.
There weren’t any appointments for
a couple of minutes after Meme, so I walked around the recovery room to see the
new patients we had. There was a
Domestic Short-Haired cat named Pogo with renal failure, a Long-Haired
Chihuahua named Precious with chronic heart failure, a lab named Nickson who
had Calcinosis Cutis, and Jack, the boxer from yesterday who had gotten
attacked by another dog. Pogo is an
18-pound cat who had eaten a lily, which are poisonous to cats. The exact reason as to why they are poisonous
is unknown, but ingesting even a little part of the plant can cause renal
failure and death if not treated quickly enough. When he came in he was vomiting and being
very lethargic, and he was receiving plenty of fluids and antibiotics. Precious, as I stated before, had chronic
heart failure and he was receiving oxygen while also being on the antibiotics
Furosemide (used to treat edema,
which is where watery fluid collects in the cavities and tissues of the body,
and causes increased passing of urine), Vetmedin (used to manage congestive heart
failure in dogs by helping the heart pump more efficiently), and Benazepril
(helps treat high blood pressure and congestive heart failure by dilating the
blood vessels to allow better blood flow). Nickson
has had a case of the skin disease Calcinosis Cutis, which is where calcium
deposits form in the skin. This
disease is caused by local skin damage, and the cause can be either dystrophic or
metastatic. Dystrophic means that local
factors cause the damage leading to calcification, and metastatic means that there
is too high of a calcium concentration in the blood, which leads calcium
deposits in the locally damaged tissues. Nickson has had this disease for a little
while, and he was coming in to get checked.
His skin condition has improved a bit, which is good. After Nickson, Jack came back in today to
have his bandaging changed, so Dr. Amanda changed the bandaging for him and he
was all set to go back home.
Pogo, the cat that ate a lily.
Precious, the chihuahua with chronic heart failure.
Nickson, the lab-mix with Calcinosis Cutis.
The two last patients I assisted
with today before I left was a beagle named Buddy, and a beagle mix named
Boomer. Buddy came right before I
left. His owner brought Buddy to the
hospital with the decision to euthanize him.
Buddy’s back legs were paralyzed, and he couldn’t control his bowel
movements anymore. He was also ill (with
specifically what, I don’t know), so his owner decided it was time to put him
out of his misery and put him to sleep. Boomer
had been here all day because he was a lepto (Leptospirosis) suspect, and he was vomiting. Lepto is an extremely contagious bacterial disease
(to other dogs, animals, and humans) that is spread through urine (so if a dog
who has lepto goes to the bathroom in a park and another animal or person
touches it somehow, they can get the disease).
Lepto causes massive aches, inflammation, and fevers, and lots of rest
and antibiotics are needed to get rid of the disease. Like I said, we didn’t know for a fact if
Boomer had the disease or not, he was just a suspect. He threw up a couple of times as the day went
on, and he was resting in his cage a lot as well as receiving plenty of fluids
with Ampicillin, Baytril, and Cerenia.
The Ampicillin and Baytril were both fighting the bacterial infection
(the Ampicillin specifically fighting the infection in the urinary tract), and
the Cerenia was helping to calm the vomiting.
Unfortunately, Boomer became really bad in the afternoon, to the point
where he wasn’t moving anymore and the doctors couldn’t think of anything else
they could do for him. Dr. Amanda called
the owners and told them what was going on, and she suggested euthanasia so he
wouldn’t be suffering anymore. It was
either that, or hope that he would recover over the next couple of days; though
of course, there was no guarantee of that happening, and Boomer would be in a
lot of pain if they chose to not euthanize.
When the family came to see him, they decided to euthanize him and were
really torn up about it. I helped Nancy
take them into a private room with Boomer, where they stayed until they were
ready for a doctor to come and euthanize him.
After he passed away, Lauren made a clay paw print for the family, and
Nancy wrapped him and placed him in the freezer in the back.
Buddy, the paralyzed beagle.
Boomer, the beagle-mix who was the possible lepto suspect, and who became very ill as the day went on.
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