Good day, good times

Today was one of those days where I really, really love my job.

The morning started out with a dog who ate a BUNCH of food last night; he was seen by the overnight doctor and they elected outpatient therapy.   Eating WAY more than your stomach can handle can just result in abdominal pain, but can cause more serious problems with the stomach lining or even shock-symptoms if the stomach is large enough.  Unfortunately for the dog, he was in the latter category; and he returned this morning with severe gastric dilation.  Due to his history of previous GDV surgery and a gastropexy, there was no risk of torsion, however his dilation was serious enough that I recommended decompression.  The owners allowed us to treat, without too much difficulty.

I anesthetized him, placed a secure tube in his trachea to protect his airway and continue the anesthesia, and then passed an orogastric tube.  We flushed his stomach with water and emptied it.  When he woke up, he was good as new and went home wagging his little tail by the end of the day.

I also saw a particularly courteous client who came in because he thought his cute little 10# maltese mix was painful.  The case wasn't interesting in the slightest, however the owner thanked everyone for their time, was patient, thanked us for being available on the weekend, and appreciated our concern and care.  He genuinely loved his dog and wanted to make sure to do the right thing.  That's my ideal type of client.  Thank goodness for people like him.

I also got a thank you card and cupcakes delivered to the hospital today from one of my previous patients, who I'll write about soon.  She had a severe condition ( a pyothorax) and is now back to normal, happy and healthy as can be! That story will come sometime soon --

Thank goodness for days like this -- I love my job!