December 2007

Our Pet of the Month is 'Vesta' Mentis, one of our favourite patients. She is owned by George and Sophie and is also sister to an energetic boxer called 'Cassius'.

Vesta's parents came to see the vets at Happy Tails very worried. Vesta had been vomiting intermittently for the last 2-3 months and in recent times had become disinterested in food. Even on special prescription diets she was still vomiting.

An ultrasound revealed that an area of the stomach was thickened and abnormal, further testing and biopsies were carried out. The thickened area of the stomach explained Vesta's inappetance and the intermittent vomiting. The thickening had caused this area of the stomach lumen to become very narrow, inhibiting any large particles of food passing along to the rest of the digestive tract.

Vesta was referred to the specialist surgeons at North Shore Specialist Centre and the affected area was surgically removed. Histopathology of the affected area revealed a heavily inflamed Gastric Adenoma, possibly a result of underlying Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD).

Almost as soon as the surgery was over, Vesta's parents noticed a marked improvement; she was bright, happy and eating well. After multiple post surgery check ups and acupuncture (with Dr Alison), Vesta is recovering well and hasn't vomited. Mum and Dad describe her as a totally different cat.

May 2008

Chico is our special patient for May. He presented one evening as a stray that had been involved in a car accident. A good samaritan brought him into Happy Tails where the staff rushed him into the emergency treatment room.

Distressed and in shock, Chico was disorientated and losing a lot of blood. He was placed onto oxygen, intravenous fluids and given some pain relief straight away. His injuries were serious and extensive. He had deep bruising along his belly and his Left leg sustained several nasty open fractures with damage to his muscles and ligaments as well. His Right paw had also lost most of his skin from being dragged along the road and one of the toes was also broken.

Once stabilised Chico was placed under general anaesthetic and further investigation and tests were carried out. His blood tests revealed he was stable and had not become anaemic yet. X-rays of both legs confirmed a fractured left Tibia and Fibula as well as a dislocation at the hock joint. The second digit on the right leg was also fractured. Luckily x-rays of the rest of the body revealed no other serious injuries to the organs or lungs.

Chico was scanned for a microchip and we were able to locate his worried owner, Amy. Amy was contacted and she rushed down to see Chico. It was agreed and decided that the best prognosis for Chico, given the extent of his hind limb injuries, was to amputate the badly fractured and dislocated left leg. The 2nd toe on the Right foot would also be amputated and the skin from the removed leg would be used as a skin graft to repair the open wounds on the right paw.

Chico was a brave and affectionate patient in hospital. Despite his pain and injury he was happy to receive attention from all the girls at Happy Tails. Chico was scheduled for surgery the next day.

Chico’s surgery was perfomed by Dr Audrey with the help of Dr Susan. Together they worked for hours to removed the badly fractured leg and prepare the skin graft for the other foot. After a long surgery, the remaining right foot was bandaged to protect the skin grafting. Chico recovered very well and within a few hours was sitting in his cage and eating!

The very next day Chico appeared to be a completely different dog, he was relaxed, happy and eager to go for a walk! He was taken for a short walk around the hospital and he loved it! He was managing well to hop and balance his weight on his three legs. By the 3rd day Chico was playing ball, tug of war and enjoying his walks with the nurses. He became a favourite with all the staff and we were almost sad to send him home!