Bruno the Dog October 29, 2010
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Meet Bruno. He is an 11 month old crossbreed dog and he was at the clinic today to have a small operation. He was going to be neutered.
Bruno
Bruno arrived here at 8am, having been fasted for 12 hours prior to his surgery. After being given a to make him relaxed and calm, he was brought to the theatre at about 9am. Here, he was clipped up, and cleaned in a sterile way, while being carefully monitored by one of our nurses under the anaesthetic.
- Being monitored during his procedure
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Aggression
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Wandering
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Unwanted Pregnancies
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Territorial marking
Bruno during his operation
Bruno recovered well from his operation and went home to his happy owners in the late afternoon. We will see Bruno back in 2 weeks for his stitches to be removed. In the meantime, he will have to wear his collar and be restricted in his exercise. The owner will also have to watch his diet closely, as after neutering they can be prone to weight gain.
Recovering after his surgery
If you are interested in having your dog neutered at the practice, or would like to hear more about the procedure, please contact the clinic. We offer free pre-neuter checks with our nurses. Here we can tell you all about the procedure and examine your pet to ensure he or she is suitable to go ahead with neutering.
Cleo the Pomeranian and her story June 28, 2010
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Cleo is a beautiful 10-year-old Pomeranian. She arrived at the practise for an examination of a large mass on her abdomen. Her owners were worried that due to her age there would be nothing that could be done for her. She was admitted straight away to have x-rays taken of the mass to determine what it consisted of. This confirmed the vets suspicions, Cleo had a very large inguinal hernia.
Cleo's x-ray showing large hernia
The vet recommened surgery for Cleo to repair the hernia. After discussing the risks of such a surgery with a dog of her age and the benefits to Cleo after completion, the owners were happy to go ahead.
Cleo being prepared for her surgery.
The sugery confirmed a long-standing hernia. This was successfully repaired after a lenghty surgery. Cleo was given strong pain killers after her surgery to make her more comfortable. These made her quite sleepy. She stayed with us at the hospital so that we could watch her closely while she recovered.
Cleo after her surgery
Cleo was sent home to her delighted owners the following day. She returned for her stitches to come out 2 weeks later and she was making a great recovery.
Cleo with Lisa being collected by her owner
It it important that any unusual lumps, bumps or growths are checked by a vet to ensure that any serious problems, like in this case, are treated and fixed.
O’Sullivan puppies first vaccinations June 16, 2010
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The O’Sullivan family and their three beautiful Shih Tzu puppies getting their first vaccinations with Paul and Tracy.
Tracy and the O'Sullivan family
Dogs need blood too, ya know! May 31, 2010
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Bruno Mc Donnell
Bruno came into us on the 4th of May, he was panting a lot and was very down in himself. This seemed to have happened very quickly and the owner had no idea what could have happened. The vet asked a few questions about Bruno and the owner had mentioned that recently he had laid down some rat poison, and that Bruno might have eaten it.
He was admitted into the hospital for observation.
While he was with us he started to bleed from his nose and coughing up blood. One of our nurses noticed that the blood was not clotting. This is how rat poison works, it contains an anti-clotting factor which prevents the blood from clotting. Clotting is the bodies natural way to stop bleeding. If the blood is prevented from clotting the animal will bleed continuously and will pass away if medical treatment is not given.
When we noticed this about Bruno’s blood we started to give him Vitamin K which help to bring back the clotting factor in blood. But as Bruno had lost a significant amount of blood and it needed to be replaced.
Luckily we have a list of clients who we are able to call in an emergency and who are willing to allow their pets to be blood donors. Skye Fitzpatrick is one of these willing dogs!
Skye Fitzpatrick
Luckily Skye’s owner Jen, was able to being him straight to the surgery where we sedated him so he was relaxed and where able to easily take one pint of blood from him and was then tranfused to Bruno.
Dogs and cats can receive one donation that is not matched, i.e a dog that is blood type A can give to a dog that is blood type O, but cats cannot give blood to dogs and visa versa. Any further blood donations have to be matched.
Bruno stayed with us for a few days so we could monitor him for any reactions to the blood transfusion, to watch his blood levels and keep him on Vitamin K.
But as you can see for the picture he was a very happy dog going home!
Christine, Bruno and his family.
Bruno was in with us recently and he is doing great and his owners now know the importance of making sure any poisons are laid properly and away from areas which are occupied by pets!
Interesting Case – Millie’s Story April 28, 2010
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This is Millie and her owner. Millie is a Shih Tzu and is 6 months old. She was brought into the practice when her owner noticed something strange in the corner of her eye.
Millie and her Mum
When we took a closer look we saw that she had a problem in her right eye which we call “Cherry Eye”, when you see the picture you might understand why!
Millie's "Cherry Eye"
“Cherry Eye” happens when the third eye lid protrudes in the corner of the eye. It is a condition most commonly seen in American Cocker Spaniels, Basset Hounds, Beagles and Shih Tzus. In many cases this does not cause a problem or irritation for the dog and can be corrected with medication. But in Millie’s case it was causing her discomfort and she was scratching at her eye. We treated her conservatively with medication but unfortunately it didn’t help and we had to have Millie in for surgery.
Millie during surgery
In a lot of cases the gland can be replaced back into its normal position, however, with Millie, this was not possible and it had to be removed. When this is done there unlikely to be any side effects.
Millie went home that evening to her Mum. Keep an eye out for pictures of Millie after her surgery!
Nettles Last Visit! March 12, 2010
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Just to let you all know Nettle the Hen came back into us to get her stitches taken out. She is doing great at home and is practically back to normal.
A BIG THANK YOU to Nettles owner Chloe for the lovely thank you card she sent us!
The lovely Thank You card we recieved from Nettles owner Chloe!
Nettle Update! February 19, 2010
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Just a quick update on Nettle, she is doing better today. Walking around and eating more than she had been . She will be going home this afternoon and we will ask her owners to send us in pictures of her progress!
Unusual Inpatient! February 18, 2010
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Having a Wednesday off can sometimes mean you miss one or two interesting cases that come in either Tuesday evening or on Wednesday. So you can imagine my surprise when I came into work this morning and was greeted by ………
Inpatient in Question!
Poor Nettle was brought in by her owner Mrs Gray after she was attacked by a dog. She had a very serious wound on her side that needed stitching. She was suffering from shock but Mary and Christine looked after her very well and she had a comfortable night.
This morning she was taking out so Amy and Lorraine could re-examine her wound and she if she was standing properly.
- Amy and Nettle
- Lorraine and Amy giving Nettle her morning check over!
We will be keeping a close eye on Nettle over the course of the day, and all going well she will be going home this afternoon.
In the Spotlight – Geller Armstrong! February 16, 2010
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Geller is a 2-year-old Bichon Frise owned by Phyllis Armstrong and her family. He has been with us since he was 10 weeks old. He came into us on the 11th of February to undergo his neutering operation. He was checked over by Paul at first, to make sure that he was healthy enough to undergo a general anaesthetic. Here he is with Amy after his inital check.
Amy with Geller before his surgery
After this Geller was given a small injection, which helped to relax him and maked him a little sleepy. He was then brought into theatre where he was given his full general anaesthetic, and was prepared for surgery.
Neutering is generally done at 6 months of age. There are a few reasons for it to be done. The main reason being to stop some behaviour problems, such as marking around the house, aggression and posessiveness over toys and food which are all controlled by hormones. It also helps with stopping them wanting to get out of the garden to go looking for a girlfriend! Which is most definitely hormone driven! It also completely prevents testicular cancers and greatly reduces the chance of prostate cancer later in life. The surgery generally takes about 20 – 30 minutes, during the procedure they are monitored at all times by a veterinary nurse.
Paul performing Gellers neutering surgery.
After the surgery, they are placed under an infra-red heat lamp and monitored by the nurse. The heat lamp helps to keep them warm and comfortable while they are coming around from the effects of the anaesthetic. When they are able to stand up and walk they are placed into a kennel with a nice bed, where they can relax until their owners can come and collect them. This is generally about 4pm or 5pm the same afternoon.
Geller recovering in his kennel after surgery.
When their owner arrives the nurse goes through our post surgery care sheet. This is just a few tips for how best to look after their pet after they have had an anaesthetic. It also covers how to give any medication given and when we would like to see their pet back, just so we can make sure things are going well.
Geller’s surgery went very well, and he will be coming back into us on the 25th of February to have his stitches removed. I will make sure to keep you updated with how he is coming along. But as you can see his Mammy was very happy to take him home!
Geller's Mammy was very happy to come and collect him and take him home.
