Please read below some of our outstanding stories of pets who overcame amazing feats and others that left a footprint on our heart in their passing.

Princess

Princess is a two and half year old female spayed 17 lb mixed breed dog that presented to our clinic with bloody urine and a fever. The owner’s father mentioned that Princess was urinating out small stones ¼ to ½ the size of a pea every day over the past four to six months. Princess also was drinking and urinating excessively.

The pet was diagnosed with urinary bladder stones and hospitalized for further diagnostic testing. X-rays and a sonogram were performed and clearly documented that Princess was loaded with bladder stones (greater than 40) ranging in size from mm to large marble (see picture above of one of the stones removed).

The next day Princess had surgery to remove all the stones and made a complete recovery within 2-3 days. The stones were analyzed at the lab and the pet was place on prescription pet food to help prevent stones from forming. This disorder is a combination of hereditary factors, breed predisposition, and dietary concerns.

Princess went home on antibiotics, pain medication, and herbal medicine to help with post operative healing.

Princess will have regular (2-3 times a year) exams. Princess will have urine tests and sonograms every six months to monitor and help prevent recurrence of this serious life threatening condition.

We would like to thank the pet owner, Tracy, and her father for entrusting us to care for their pet. Dr. Gower performed diagnostic testing and Dr. Nancy Su performed Princess’ surgery. Thank you to the entire staff for their dedicated care and support.

                                                                                    Sincerely,

                                                                                    Dr. S. Gower

 The Story of Carmen

"Carmen" O'Connell is a 10 year old  female spayed, Miniature Italian Grey Hound weighing 12.3 lbs. Carmen presented on 11/12/08 with a large irregular swelling on her left forelimb that was partially fluid filled. Carmen was not lame on the leg. Carmen was diagnosed 3 years prior with a cancerous tumor on this leg and given a life expectancy of 3 months. Pet owners, Janet and Mike, decided to decline surgery and do herbal and homeopathic treatment at the time.

Dr. Gower recommended limb amputation at the shoulder joint which Janet and Mike then agreed to. The biopsy results did come back stating that the tumor was positive again for cancer and Carmen did great post surgically. Two days later Carmen went home walking on three legs. Carmen did great at home but began vomiting after 5 days and 12 days later developed sever acute kidney failure. She was admitted back to the hospital for several days for IV fluid therapy and then treated as an outpatient with owner performing fluid treatment at home over the course of two weeks.

Carmen has made a complete recovery from amputation surgery and kidney failure treatment. Carmen is an awesome gentle creature who trusted our staff and completely tolerated all forms of care treatments to help her with such life threatening medical problems.

A special thanks to Carmen's owners Mike and Janet for entrusting us with the healthcare of their pet Carmen.

                    Sincerely,

                        Dr. S. Gower

The Story of Precious

Precious was a 6 year old male neutered Main Coon cat that presented on 11/05/08. Precious was a beautiful, long haired, gentle animal that had a history of venturing inside and outside.

Precious’ owner brought him to our hospital with the concern of listlessness, walking slow, crying, hiding and not eating for a day. Precious also had a history of catching birds. On the day of his exam, Precious had the following symptoms:

      1. Fever of 102 degrees

      2. Tender and sensitive spine

      3. Diarrhea

Blood tests were run and precious was treated symptomatically and sent home on medications pending the test results. Precious’ results were received the next morning, Leukemia and AIDS viral tests were negative, stool sample was negative for parasites as well. The chemistry test on the blood documented severe kidney failure and mild anemia. Pet owners were notified and Precious was hospitalized to treat him for acute onset of kidney failure.  Additional diagnostic tests; x-rays, sonogram and urine specimens were taken and precious was immediately placed on IV supportive fluid therapy and hospitalized.

Precious’ sudden illness was likely due to the ingestion of some toxin that caused destruction to the normal healthy kidneys. Precious’ treatment was based on hydrating with fluids, electrolytes, nutrient replacement, maintaining body temperature and supportive nursing care to give her body time to rebound from the deadly toxin ingestion.  Some incriminating concerns were:

1. Antifreeze ingestion
2. Stagnant water collecting outdoors in paint cans
3. Leptospirosis; bacterial disease found in droppings of rodents
4. Fertilizers, pesticides, etc.

The Damage to Precious’ kidneys caused a sudden loss of kidney function and failure of the kidneys to produce urine; a rapid deadly process. Precious showed signs of abdominal pain enlarged kidneys and decreased body temperature.

Since a significant possibility existed that precious found some antifreeze and drank it ( which antifreeze is known for having a sweet taste) an IV drip of Vodka was initiated which tends to prevent ethylene glycol (antifreeze) crystals from forming in the kidney. So we kept Precious “drunk” with a high blood alcohol level. Most pets with this type of kidney failure die within 36 hours. Precious’ desire to live was amazing; it wasn’t until almost 3 days before he started to show signs of suffering and then our last resort was to put Precious down. He was a beautiful pet and I was grateful for the opportunity to try to save him and ultimately prevent ongoing suffering.

I would like to thank Rob; our assistant manager for his help in caring for Precious. I’d also like to thank Jillian and Steven; Precious’ pet owners for entrusting me to care for their beloved pet.

                   Sincerely,

                        Dr. S. Gower

Chewbacca's Story

This months pet profile is dedicated to Chewbacca an 8 year old female spayed Yorkshire terrier. Chewbacca's owners Janet and Michael who are clearly pet lovers with 5 other dogs at home were very concerned about their little Yorkie and rushed him to us as soon as they could. Chewbacca came into our clinic and presented with lethargy, diarrhea, fever, panting, abdominal pain and severe vomiting 5-8 times daily for 4-5 days. Chewy owners had switched to a raw food diet just 4 days before they brought Chewbacca in which had seemed to correspond to the onset of the pets clinical symptoms. The dog was admitted into the hospital for intravenous fluid therapy, diagnostic tests, X-rays, EKG, blood tests and a sonogram were performed and Chewbacca was then diagnosed with the following:

1. Severe Pancreatitis (Inflammation of Pancreas)  
2. Secondary Kidney Failure
3. Urinary Tract Infection
4. Gallbladder and Kidney Stones
5. Secondary Myocarditis (Inflammation of heart muscle)

Pancreatitis is a serious, life threatening disease that can present with mild vomiting and abdominal discomfort to a more severe form of vomiting, dehydration, weakness, abdominal pain and even the possibility of collapsing. The underlying causes are often related to unhealthy high fat diets.

Chewbacca relapsed 10 days later and was sent to a 24 hour facility for consultation with an associate veterinary internist. Chewbaccas owners unfortunately had no other choice but to euthanize Chewbacca to prevent her from any further suffering.

I'd like to dedicate this months pet story to Chewbacca because she was just a sweet, gentle, loving and trusting creature. She never once complained or lost her patience with all of my poking and prodding. I'd like to give a special thanks to Michael and Janet for their devotion to their pet and their trust in our care. I'd also like to thank Robert, the assistant manager and our staff for their ongoing support and care in interacting with both Chewbacca and the family.

                                                                Sincerely,

Dr. S. Gower