Rubber Bands

A few days ago a client brought in a German Shepard it seemed to have an injury on its neck.  Once we got all the hair shaved away and could see the injury everyone (including the client) was shocked.  It seems that someone had put a rubber band around the dogs neck.  Since it was so tight, it had cut through the skin and imbedded itself in the neck.  The doctors managed to dig the rubber band out of the neck, but it will be quite a while till it heals. 

This is not the first time we have ever seen an injury like that.  Children are often the villains.  They just don't think about what they are doing.  Check your pet on a regular basis for anything that is unusual.

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Some Dogs Only Chase Cars

Ok, it probably was my fault.  But, I am just a pup and was trying to have some fun.  The problem started when the guys came to mow the lawn. I decided to chase that nasty big machine and got a little clumsy.  I don't think you want to know the rest :-( .  I've got a lot of stitches and my arm is in a cast, but the Doctor says I will eventually heal up just fine.

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Nestle

Nestle is Dr Meakin's best friend.  She is a Chesapeak Bay Retreiver and a really nice girl.  Her favorite pastime is swimming in his pond and fetching ...anything.  Unfortunately, some of the logs she has hauled around caused a bit of a dental problem.  One of her molars split in half. <ouch>.

Typically, when an animal has dental problems, the solution is to remove the tooth in question.  This is the least expensive solution, and considering that animals rarely break teeth until they are pretty old, it is a pretty good answer to the problem.

But, Nestle is young, and she is also the Dr's dog.  Regardless of cost, Dr Meakin was determined that her broken tooth would be repaired, not removed.  Dr. Meakin found a dentist who was willing to do a repair on an animal and Nestle now has a root canal and a complete restoration on that tooth.   It looks great, and I'm sure it feels a whole lot better

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Katie
This dog originally appeared on our adoption page with the following listing.... Katie is a 14 week old rottweiler / collie mix.  We found her and a cat in a carrier abandoned on our front porch.  Why anyone would give up an animal with such a nice disposition, I'll never know.

A few days later we were contacted by her rightful owner.  The owners friend was supposed to be keeping her pets for her while she was away for awhile. The friend got tired of them and abandoned them on our porch. Then told the owner when she got back that she took them to us. The owners cat was adopted out. But she was glad to be getting her dog back.

With friends like this...who need enemies.

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Who Shot the Tiger?
A frantic client called asking if someone would come to her home immediately.  She reported that her cat had been shot with an arrow but was still quite alive and in obvious pain.  When Dr. Dan arrived it was quite a sight! The poor cat was thrashing around trying to dislodge a 2 foot practice arrow which was sticking out both sides of the cats body.  Apparently someone had decided to practice their rather dubious hunting skills on this poor cat!

The Dr. did not dare remove the arrow without first knowing what damage it had done, so the animal was sedated and immediately  transported to the hospital.  X-rays revealed that this had been one very lucky cat.  The arrow had completely missed hitting any bones, major blood vessels, or organs.  The Doctor removed the arrow repaired the damage, and we are pleased to note that the cat has healed up quite nicely and is back home doing fine.

The arrow was given to the police to help locate its rightful owner :-)

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Momma Cat
One morning when the employees reported to work they found a box on the front porch which had a cat and her 5 newborn kittens. This poor abandoned mother and babies were taken inside immediately and Momma was provided with food and water. She was not only excellent mother who cared for her kittens passionately, but a really friendly loving cat.  She did not mind a bit when anyone handled her babies, and was overjoyed to be petted.
A week later another box was found on the porch.  This time it was  4 kittens only...no mother.  Since their eyes were just opened we guessed that the kittens were about than two weeks old, and much to young to be away from their mother. 

The employees were looking at the possibility of finding a foster mother for the kittens who would be willing to bottle feed babies every few hours.  Then Pam, the Practice Manager, suggested trying to give these kittens to Momma.  Momma was presented with a crying baby, and watched closely to see how she would respond.  Momma sniffed the kitten and began cleaning it.  She then pulled it close and allowed it to nurse. Over the next few days Momma was given all of the kittens.  Momma was now tending to 9 kittens!

All of the kittens thrived.  When the oldest ones were no longer nursing they were taken from Momma and after being spayed/neutered put up for adoption.

Just when it looked like Momma's tour of duty as a mother was about up, a kitten was found along the side of the road. It's eyes were open, but it was very tiny.  One of the volunteers took the kitten home to foster.  Unfortunately this kitten had decided it wanted to die, and force feeding was the only option.  Not a good option, but the only one.  In desperation, it was decided to see if Momma would accept another foundling.  She still had plenty of milk, so that would not be a problem.  Sure enough, Momma accepted this kitten too!  The poor half dead kitten perked up and did great. 

Eventually, even this last one was weaned. One of the clients at All Creatures upon hearing Momma's story and meeting Momma, asked if she could adopt her.

Momma is now spayed, and living in a great home....trust me....she has earned it.

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Gone Fishin'
The winner for our strange case of the month was a goose who was brought in for treatment. The poor thing had tried to swallow a fish hook! That made it Dr. Dan’s turn to go fishing ...down the long neck of a goose. Careless fishermen cause injury to waterfowl every year. We are happy to report the goose is doing fine and able to eat again.