The Other Side of the Exam Room

            Boots in the sun

Today, I was the on the pet owner side of the patient in the hospital. My cat, Boots, went to Animal Dentistry and Oral Surgery Specialists, LLC to have his oral cavity examined

He has had some issues prehending food, but we attributed it to a previous injury. Recently, I noticed he had some bleeding from the crown of one of his canine teeth after brushing. We scheduled the appointment.

The following radiograph (x-ray) shows that there has been significant disease in his teeth for a long time. The infection inside of the mandibular canine teeth (pulpitis) spread to the bone. The wide pulp cavity of the canine teeth show that the damage was done when he was very young. Other that picking up food gingerly he never showed signs of problems or pain that were noticed by my husband or by myself.

 

Boots’s mandible prior to surgical extraction of the canine teeth.

Despite having 6 teeth surgically extracted, he ate his dinner with much more ease than he ever has before.

My job is literally to be able to tell when an animal is in pain or is sick. I am so embarrassed to admit that I missed the signs in my own little guy. I am sad that I allowed him to be in pain and discomfort for years. I can’t expect you, the client that is not trained, to know the signs and to see them all as well.

Please know that when a veterinarian recommends blood work, radiographs, or any diagnostic test, it is not out of greed for money, it is because we need the information to best help your pet to be healthy.

Thank you, Dr. Honzelka, for taking care of Boots for us today. It was worth every penny for him to be cared for and to remove the pain he was in!

Not One More Vet (NOMV)

In 2014, a new Facebook group was started called Not One More Vet (NOMV) by a wonderful veterinarian named Nicole. She was pained by the death of Sophia Yin from mental illness. Nicole thought this Facebook page would be a good way for close veterinary friends to talk about the stresses that we go through and to hopefully make an impact, however small, in veterinary medicine. It could be a place to start changing the way we view mental illness and suicide as a profession. Even the CDC has noticed that veterinary medicine has an unusually high number of anxiety, depression, and suicide, to the point that the CDC has been working on figuring out why this is the case. There are many theories, including access to methods, frequent explanation and belief that euthanasia is often the best (or only) option, perfectionism, compassion fatigue, and many others.

I was lucky enough to be asked to join this group about 2 weeks after it began. I have made new friends and seen a change in my own mental health for the better. In August of 2016, I heard that there was a backlog of people trying to join the group, but it was becoming more and more difficult to verify that people were in fact veterinarians, so I saw a need and offered to help. The group of 4 admins (Nicole, Carrie, Jason, and David) jumped on the offer and the as more veterinarians were approved to join, the requests to join came in exponentially, we have added 2 additional admins (Nora and Leigh to help as our international contingency has grown dramatically). As of today (April 1, 2017), it is no joke, but the group has reached 11,400 members! Wow, is it a lot of work to keep track of everyone and see that when they cry out for help, we are there to give it to them.

Despite having so many veterinarians connected and doing a lot to help them, we have not been able to stop the suicides. We have stopped some of them, and multiple people have come to us to share their stories of coming back from the abyss of depression and the edge of suicide and surviving. Until we can reach them all, we are not done. For this reason, Nicole, Carrie, Jason, David, and I have started Not One More Vet (non-profit status pending). On that page, we have resources available for anyone in the midst of a mental health crisis. There is also a location on the web page for veterinarians to register to join the Facebook group, as well as links to Your Daily Dose, our self care blog, and ways to contact us for speaking engagements, donation information, or general questions.

A fellow veterinarian was given this “Veterinary Survival Kit” along with the mentioned items after speaking to a middle school class!

 

If you are a pet owner and appreciate your veterinarian, please let them know! Some days we go from a euthanasia to a new puppy appointment to a giving devastating news to a family to a sick animal that just needs a little extra help to get better. We do our best to be positive and support you. We may not be able to say it, but sometimes, we (and our support staff) need your support, too. A hug, a smile, a kind word, or even some chocolate or fruit can go a long way.

Are you a veterinarian or have a loved one that is a veterinarian that you think may need help? Please contact us. We would love to help and serve you!

Chinle, Arizona and the Navajo Nation

CHINLE, ARIZONA

I will be traveling to Chinle, Arizona with Christian Veterinary Missions to spay and neuter dogs and cats for 2 two days in June to support the Navajo Nation. The goal is to alter 25 animals per day. There are 2-3 technicians and 1 veterinarian in the mobile veterinary clinic in each three-day event.

Day 1: Exams, vaccinations, check in.

Day 2: Surgery all day.

Day 3: Surgery all day

The Navajo Nation sponsors much of this trip, but the costs of flying out, staying, and renting a car are more than the trip costs. Therefore, I am attempting to raise $600 to off set the rest of the costs. This is the first mission that I will be going on while not employed by a veterinary clinic in the usual sense. There will be no vacation pay check waiting when I come home, so there will be no paycheck for my family at all that week. Although this changes my financial dynamics a bit, I am blessed to be able to do this. I am so thankful that God has given me a heart for service and missions.

So here is the part that I ask you for help in any way that you can:

1. Pray for me – for safety, for knowledge, for a clear head, and a servant’s heart

2. Pray for the mission projects in the Navajo Nation and around the world – for openness, for love, for impact, for peace

3. Financial support – all donations (check or credit card) are tax-deductible in the United States of America, you just need to follow the directions below:

How to Donate to a Short Term Missions Account Online:

• Go to http://www.cvmusa.org/ and then to Support > Short Term Missions.  Click on the “Individual” button. Fill in the Designation box with a drop-down menu to “other” (at the bottom of the list). A white box will appear, and please enter in my account number (UCVSTM1655) and write in my name, Melanie Goble – ST Missions in that box. CVM will make sure it gets designated to my trip. Please let me know if you have questions.
• Checks can be made out to Christian Veterinary Missions with “UCVSTM1655/Melanie Goble” on the memo line and mailed to Christian Veterinary Missions 19303 Fremont Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133

I Will Rise!

With a great sigh of relief and joy, I am happy to share that I have taken a giant step forward in my life. I have opened my own business! After leaving my last place of employment, I was a little lost and wasn’t sure what to do with my career. Do I get another job that may not hold out? Do I purchase a brick and mortar veterinary practice? Do I start a house call or mobile practice? What do I do? Then I got a message from a friend, that needed some help at her veterinary practice. She is a solo practitioner and does a great job, but has to do the doctoring alone. I was happy to fill in for her so she could have a  day off. Then I spoke with another veterinarian that is also a solo practitioner. She recently had a family emergency that requires her to be out of the practice on a regular basis. She was happy to have me come and help her out as well. That is when I knew that I could actually make a future for myself.

Inspiration took hold, and I created Renewed Strength Veterinary Services, LLC. A business that allows me to practice veterinary medicine and help people in even more ways. With the passing of Dr. Yin (discussed here), I realized how important it is for veterinarians to have a greater support system. Many veterinarians surround themselves with their practices, patients, and clients that they forget or just don’t have time to take care of themselves. Taking time off means either closing the clinic, which means people and animals that depend on your services may suffer – staff doesn’t get their paychecks and patients may not get seen or may switch to another clinic permanently, or putting your life’s work into the hands of someone else to take care of it while you are gone. This is scary stuff!

This is where I step in! Rather than closing, I come into the clinic and see patients, speak with clients, and hold down the fort. I promise to keep things going to the best of my abilities. I promise to take care of the clients, the patients, the staff, and the goodwill so that the business does not suffer, and ideally continues to prosper. While I offer coverage, the veterinarian can take the time he or she needs to renew their strength – mind, body, and soul!

This new life promises to be an adventure that I am blessed to share with the world!

Mongolia Update #1

I have been in Mongolia for almost a week now and it has been amazing. After a 21 hour trip, I arrived in Ulaanbaatar around 10:30 pm. Thankfully, I was through customs with my luggage in about 10 minutes and didn’t have a long wait. I was picked up and delivered to my apartment where I met my roommate. She is a recently graduated veterinary technician from Nebraska and is finishing up a 3 month-long internship in the next week. I am going to miss her when she leaves!

The following morning (Tuesday), I was up bright and early – mainly because I only got 2 hours of sleep – after devotions, we went to the small animal clinic and we began our day. The most memorable case of the day was a little cat named Fluffy. Her owners noticed her having difficulty breathing for the last few days so they brought her in for an exam. She was found to have fluid around her lungs. I assisted the Mongolian veterinarian in thoracocentesis (removing fluid from the chest cavity with a needle). Later in the day, I learned that the clinic has an ultrasound machine, so we decided to take a closer look at the chest and see if we could see any heart problems since the fluid obscured the heart on radiographs (x-rays). What we saw changed everything. There was  lot of fluid in the chest, but there was also fluid in the sac around the heart. I recommended a pericardiocentesis (removing the blood from around the heart with a needle) and it was agreed that this would be a good idea. I then learned that they did not know how to do this and would like me to show them. I am happy to say that my first pericardiocentesis was a success! I was able to drain fluid from both around the heart and from the lungs. Additional recommendations were made to the owner for care, but they decided to take her home and monitor her, even though there was a good chance that she would die. I have not heard how Fluffy is or if she is still alive, but I hope that she is.

On Wednesday, I met a wonderful woman, Ogi (pronounced Auggie), with two dogs, Sabu and Helga. Sabu is older and in wonderful shape, Helga is a 6 month old French Mastiff that has a premature physeal closer of the distal radius (the growth plate fused too early). I had one of the other doctors, Andrew, take a look at the radiographs and he is coming up with a plan to treat Helga over the next 6-12 months – most likely with external fixation to gradually lengthen Helga’s leg as she grows. We will see what can be done with the limited resources available. I have completely fallen in love with Helga. Ogi is also amazing and has offered to help me out with anything here in Mongolia. We exchanged information so we can stay in contact after we are done treating Helga.

I am snuggling with Helga

Thursday brought a ferret into the clinic. Ferrets are not common pets in Mongolia and everyone looked at her with suspicion. It was exciting to meet her. She is about 2 years old and was never spayed. She has been in estrus (heat) for 2 months. Ferrets that are not spayed (had their ovaries removed) and are not used for breeding develop estrogen toxicity. The estrogen from their ovaries damages their bone marrow and they stop producing new red blood cells. Luckily, the treatment is to spay them. Usually, it is recommended to use hormone treatment or even blood transfusions to get them into a safer state for surgery, but we didn’t have those options, so we spayed her. She did very well in surgery – my first ferret spay – and looked good the next day as well, even though she was very pale (her hematocrit was only 22% before surgery). We were also able to discuss ferret behavior. The first time this little one came into the clinic, the veterinarian thought she was aggressive and attacking them, but it was only play behavior. Later that day,we had a veterinarian that used to work at the clinic, and has since started her own clinic, come in with a case – a husky puppy that had been hit by a car the day before. He had been diagnosed with a fracture femur (broken back leg), but had been doing well otherwise. When he came into us, he was having difficulty breathing. His heart and lung sounds were muffled on his left side and radiographs showed that he had a diaphragmatic hernia – his stomach was in his chest instead of his abdomen and it had displaced his heart and lungs. As the owners decided to have him euthanized, he died in our arms. I was allowed to do a necropsy, which although sad was amazing to see how a small hole in the diaphragm could cause so much destruction.

Friday, we performed surgery on a Pekingese that had been attacked by a dog the week before. She had multiple hernias, one contained the majority of her intestines that were outside of the body wall, but still under the skin. We had to remove the contents of the hernia pouches back into the abdomen, then clean the areas, repair the torn muscles, close the hernias, and remove the spleen that had also been damaged. It was a long surgery, but Bayaraa (pronounced ByRa) did wonderfully with me as her assistant. This was her first splenectomy (removal of the spleen) and a major trauma case. Choppa (not sure how it is really spelled) did great and went home that afternoon. We had another emergency case later in the day, a cat that was in dystocia (labor complications). The owner agreed to C-section and spay. None of the veterinarians I was working with had done a C-section before and one has not spayed anything either, so they had me do the surgery while they watched so they would know what to do in the future. The kittens were already dead and rotting, the mother cat was toxic. Surgery went as well as could be expected with rotten tissue that were falling apart. Sadly, The little cat did not make it. She died about 20 minutes after surgery was completed. I cried and mourned the loss of the cat.

This week has been filled with highs and lows medically, but I know that God has a plan in it all. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to do much here and really make a difference as I am just a regular doctor, not a specialist, not a genius. What I have found is that here, I am the specialist. There is no one else to go to with more experience. Although there is a veterinary school it is all book learning, there is no hands on teaching. There is not an emergency or specialty hospital near by…or anywhere in the country. We are the specialty hospital! I am thankful that Andrew is here to take care of the orthopedic (bone) problems as they make my stomach turn, but otherwise, I am currently the go to person for exotics, behavior, anesthesia, surgery, internal medicine, ophthalmology, dermatology, and the list goes on and on. I am thankful to have had such a well-rounded education and experience thus far. I am also thankful that I have not always worked in places that had every gadget and gizmo, the latest medications or diagnostic tests, because I have very few of them here. I have about 4 antibiotics, 3 anesthetics, 3 pain medications, and some deworming medications to work with. I have ultrasound and radiography, but I don’t have blood machines – we have to send them to the human hospital and wait a day or two for results which are not always accurate. There are cages full of dogs with diarrhea and vomiting, but the test to find out if it is parvovirus is too expensive for most Mongolians to afford. There is no true isolation to prevent spread of disease either. I am  learning to practice with the basics again – focusing on my physical exam and reviewing the differentials for any case with a keener eye as I can’t test for many of them.

Outside of the medicine, I have met so many people – it is hard to keep all of the names and faces straight! I have started to learn some Mongolian, very slow going, but hopefully, I will have enough down to have a basic conversation soon. The food is nothing like HuHot, but it is very good. I don’t know that I have ever eaten this much meat and rice in 1 week before!

The best news of all was that as I was checking in for my flight leaving Chicago, my sister had her baby!  Will was born at 3:07 pm in the UK. Congratulations, Kayla and Tom, and big brothers David and Trenton! Happy birthday, William!!

Kayla and William

Please continue to keep in your thoughts and prayers:  Mongolia, Kayla and William, the Mongolian people and the veterinary community, and me – that I can do the work that I have been sent here to do with the love and peace of Christ leading me each step of the way.

The Next Generation – Making things less dead

Earlier this year, my sister and her small, but growing family, moved to England. My husband and I were lucky enough to visit them right after the move despite being in temporary living quarters. My sister is an amazing sister and mother. I don’t know how she does it, but she brings beauty to those around her. Today she shared a story that touches my heart and brings a smile to my face and soul.

Dr. David, saving lives (aka making them less dead)

The boys weren’t playing together well. We have this “make it right” ritual -they hold hands etc. This time David was making excuses why he couldn’t make it right. Specifically, his animals were dying and they would be “more dead I didn’t doctor them.” also, he told Trent he could pet them gently, but not to touch their butts. A short time later, David sent out a page, “Dr. Trenton, please come to the doctor’s office.”

I miss these little guys, my sister, and her husband so much!

Please love your families, near and far, let them know you care. Also, encourage the imaginations of the next generation. You are looking at our future: the next veterinarian, social worker, nurse, teacher, or other service worker that will take care of all of us. Let them be the wonderful person that God has intended!

Education That Never Ends

As a veterinarian, I am required to obtain continuing education credits to maintain my license. This past week, I have been blessed to be able to attend NAVC (the North American Veterinary Conference) in Orlando, Florida. No, I did not get a tan (or a sunburn as is more likely when I am in the sun), because I was learning so much! The average day started with my first lecture at 6:30 am and my last lecture ending at 6:30 pm. There were a couple 15 minute breaks and about an hour and a half for lunch – granted, most of lunch was also spent in lecture! Unlike other times in my life when I could barely keep my eyes open during classes, I only had that problem once this past week, and that was because I had been up until 1:00 am and got up at 5:30 for that 6:30 lecture! The good news, is I never actually fell asleep!

I can’t wait to bring all of the information I have learned back to Wisconsin and get back to work and implement it. From improving my oral surgery techniques, to new tricks and tips for low-stress handling of patients, to new therapies for treating anxiety and scratching (if you have ever had a pet with either of these problems, you know how hard it can be to treat for both your pet’s health and your own sanity!) and making everything I do safer for my patients and our staff I am thrilled to make some changes. Along with new information, I am also thankful that I was able to review some things that are not as clear in my head as they may have been when I graduated from veterinary school in 2005.

I was also able to see friends from the past that have scattered around the country and the rest of the world. It is wonderful to see the changes they have had in their lives – marriages, children, new jobs, adventures. Perhaps my favorite was seeing my best friend from college (she went on to a different veterinary school) and seeing more pictures of her precious son. This little boy is 8.5 months old and should have been at the conference, but was unable to attend due to health issues. He is waiting for a liver transplant and just got out of the hospital. My friend and I didn’t have a lot of time to spend together because we went to different lectures (she works in emergency medicine and I am in primary care), but having the opportunity to see her at all made this experience the best I could ever have. I have been able to see the change that has come over my friend, softened edges, although still tough as nails. She has more love in her than I have ever seen. I also learned more about the difficulties that genetic conditions can bring to a family, and also how strong it can make them. I am blessed to have my life, my family, my education, my friends, and despite some issues my health.

Image thanks to Lizzie Hug. For image information or use please contact lizzie_hug@hotmail.com

Today, I ask that you look at your life and all that you have to be thankful for with in it. I also ask that you pray for little Liam and his family. Pray that the insurance company stops fighting them so that he can receive the medical care he needs. Pray that the doctors and nurses care for him and keep him healthy. Pray for strength and comfort for the entire family. Pray that he will receive a liver in the not too distant future. Pray for all people that need transplants, and consider being an organ donor yourself (livers and kidneys can be given by a living donor), if you or a loved one passes, consider organ donation then as well – it is a gift of life and joy that can come out of pain and sadness.

I pray that you have a wonderful and blessed life!

An Open Letter To Animal Planet

In response to Discovery Channel’s Animal Planet article http://animal.discovery.com/pets/how-to-treat-parvo-at-home.htm

Dear Animal Planet

As a veterinarian of over 8 years experience, I am saddened to see that you have made this misinformation available to the public. There are enough veterinarians that your channel and your parent company work with that you could have given proper information. Parvovirus is a serious, life threatening disease, that even with proper care can be fatal. To suggest that keeping a pet home and not in a veterinary clinic with IV fluids and proper care is dangerous. So here are a couple of points for each of your points above.

1. The hallmark of parvovirus is the blood diarrhea that is caused by the sloughing of the lining of the intestines. When this happens, the animal is UNABLE to absorb nutrients and fluids through the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, taking in water mixed with sugar and potassium by mouth is not effective. I appreciate that you did say that too much potassium can be dangerous, although it would have been nice to have that be a little more exact as in FATAL.

2. Monitoring the temperature is a good idea and it is done in the veterinary clinic, but monitoring the temperature is not what will save a pet’s life. I have spoken daily to people that due to finances do have to take their pets home and I discuss with them in detail what appropriate temperatures are and what is not. We also discuss what the steps are if the temperature gets too high, most of those do require immediate hospitalization.  To keep the patient at home and wait for the temperature to spike rather than having it hospitalized to provide care to prevent that spike is using minutes that can mean costing a life.

3. Another symptom of parvovirus is vomiting, therefore oral (by mouth) medications are not generally appropriate, once again we also run into the lack of ability to absorb the medications due to the sloughing of the intestinal lining. Most antibiotics are given either directly into a blood vessel or into the muscle, there are some that are done under the skin, but all of these take training (some more than others) to administer. The average person does not know how to administer the medication safely, the average veterinarian and technician trained for quite a while before they were comfortable giving injections properly – the training usually done on models prior to doing so with live animals. An IV injection (into a blood vessel) that goes out of the vessel can be very painful as well. Look at human medicine, they have an entire career called a phlebotomy that spends most of their training learning how to draw blood, as well as how to handle the needles, blood, etc safely. An injection into a blood vessel requires you to find a blood vessel first, then poke a needle into that vessel, observe that you are in the vessel and have not broken through, and then inject a medication that is often prepared right before administration. So, to keep a pet at home, one would need to obtain the proper medication, learn how to give injections, and how to respond if there is a reaction to said medication. The article specifically mentions cefazolin – this medication is only given into the blood vessel or the muscle and requires a prescription to obtain. Where, if not the veterinarian, is a person supposed to obtain this?

4. Disposing of items and once again getting a veterinary-approved cleaning agent. Excellent advice. You do realize that animals with parvovirus are kept in strict isolation while in a veterinary hospital correct? Nothing that comes in contact with the animal can be reused without extensive cleaning. There is a reason most clinics use stainless steel cages – for cleaning purposes. There is a reason that most clinics do not have carpeting – you cannot disinfect it well enough. While in isolation, the people treating them have to put on different clothes or something similar to a Hazmat suit with boots, masks, gowns, and gloves. Does the average person have access to this? The article mentions nothing about getting rid of carpeting, clothing, furniture, etc that can be contaminated with the virus.

5. How is the average person going to learn how to care for an animal this sick at home properly? The article says to speak to your veterinarian, which is right, but is the veterinarian also supposed to do all of this training? At what price? The only time that I have had someone want to take an animal this sick home is due to cost, so having a complete training of how to do this at home is not effective and would probably cost more than just having the veterinary clinic staff do the work. The only proper treatment for parvovirus is to go to your veterinarian – from there, the veterinarian can speak with the owner about if in-home treatment is an option or not for the animal (some cases of parvovirus are not as severe as others, but all require intensive care), some of it does depend on the owner’s level of skills and the relationship with the veterinarian. I am more likely to allow a long time client that has medical experience take an animal home with an IV catheter that I have placed and that I know will return daily for care and/or observation than someone that I have never met or that has no medical experience. This is not ideal, but I recognize that finances are a big factor for many people for treatment. There are also varied levels of care available for treating parvovirus, and that once again is a discussion to have with a veterinarian. If all an owner can afford to to place the animal on IV fluids for 48 hours, a couple doses of IV antibiotics, anti-nausea medication, and hope for the best, that is still likely to have a better outcome that taking the animal home. Sadly, sometimes in an extremely severe case, the best thing for the animal is to euthanize. This saves the family a lot of money and saves the animal a painful death.

6. Can an animal get lonely while in the hospital, yes, it can happen. I have been in the hospital and I have been lonely, too. That being said, the animal is generally too sick to notice and they still get care and affection from the staff in a clinic. Will a pet parent worry while their animal is in the hospital yes, and when the animals has parvovirus they should worry. It is a horrible disease that can take unexpected turns. That being said, the owner would not worry any less if the animal is at home, unless of course they are under the misinformation that the disease “is not that bad.”

My main point is that a sick animal deserves to see a veterinarian and receive medical care. An owner is responsible for obtaining and paying for said medical care. It is a very important relationship between patient, client, and veterinarian that should never be minimized. I am thankful to be able to work with the clients and patients that I do, but when there is horrible misinformation that is present by an organization that people trust, it is a great disservice to all.

Please, remove this article “How to Treat Parvo at Home” from your website and instead have appropriate information available for the public that does search for information online so that you are not inadvertently responsible for the death of even a single animal.

Sincerely,

Melanie Goble, DVM

New Beginnings

Monday, May 6, 2013 was my first day at a new place of employment, Mishicot Veterinary Clinic in Mishicot, Wisconsin. I am blessed to have this opportunity to start fresh and have more time to spend with family and friends, while still making a difference in the lives of the people and animals around me.

As with any “first day,” I was nervous and excited to start.  The day was pretty routine with exams, vaccines, ear cytology (checking ears for infections with yeast and bacteria), and meeting new people. The unusual part came when a cat presented with hematochezia (bleeding from the butt).  When a person brings their pet to a veterinary clinic, they often call with what they think is going on, but that does not always line up with what is actually happening.  When little Chilay arrived, she was extremely dehydrated and had a discharge from her back end that was full of blood and pus. After doing some testing it was determined that Chilay needed to go to surgery. What was found surprised me! A mass in her intestines ended up being a tapeworm that was eating into her intestines and causing a partial blockage. This is what we call a parasitic foreign body – not good to have, but pretty interesting to find. Unfortunately, due to the damage to her intestines, I had to remove a portion of her intestines and suture them back together again (pictures below).

After surgery, I called Chilay’s mom to let her know what we found. Needless to say, it was a surprise for everyone.  As it turns out, Chilay was a stray that three weeks ago found her way to a bar and a new home. Was her new family prepared for the financial side of a major surgery? No.  Did they go forward anyway because they loved her and had taken on the responsibility for her health? Yes! This warms my heart. One of my goals with this blog is to share the wonderful things that happen in veterinary medicine, but also to help teach prevention of major problems.  So what do we know, or should we learn, about a new animal coming into your family?

1.  When a new animal comes into your life, it is always important to have a complete physical examination done.

2.  Check for and treat for parasitic infections – fleas and intestinal parasites are two of the most common parasites that we see. Checking stool/fecal/poop samples are the easiest way for check for many intestinal parasites, although there are different types of tests that are done on stool to find different types of infections.

3. Cats should be checked for feline leukemia (FeLV) and feline immune-deficiency virus (FIV) – this is done by blood test.  Both of these diseases are spread between cats from close contact – fighting, grooming, and so forth.

4. Dogs should be tested (depending on where you live or where the dog came from) for heartworm disease, Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, and Ehrlichiosis – these are also a simple blood test. Heartworm is carried by mosquitoes and the others are carried by ticks.  These are the most common to check for in Wisconsin, but other areas of the country have other diseases to check for, so please speak with your veterinarian!

5. Vaccinations.  This is a very controversial topic between people when it comes to both human and veterinary medicine. I encourage appropriate vaccination for your pet. The recommended vaccines will depend on lifestyle of both you and your pet. I will save this topic for another time.

6. Microchips. When you have a new animal come into your home/family, the animal should be checked for a microchip to see if there is someone who is looking for them. Once the cat or dog is “yours,” then I do recommend having them microchipped so that if they do get away from you (slipping between your feet when you come into the house with groceries or getting lost after you have been in a car accident or some other experience) then they can be returned to you as well. Many of the microchip companies will also help you find a lost pet or provide assistance with medical emergencies – like when your dog ingests your medication.

7. The most important thing with bringing a new pet into your family is to remember that you are responsible for them now. To love them, to protect them, to provide them with medical care – both prevention and treatment.

I hope that today you snuggle those you love a little closer and remember that every day is a gift to cherish and to share love and light.

Bless you and enjoy each day as a new beginning!

Chilay’s Tapeworm was 15 cm (about 6 inches) long!

This is the section of intestine that needed to be removed with the proliferative ulceration.

What am I doing here?

I recently started a new job (more to come later) and decided that I wanted to have more outreach to the people around me, both locally and globally. “What do I have to offer?” I asked myself. I am blessed to work with animals. I enjoy educating people in the exam room and speaking to groups of kids. I love to laugh and make people laugh. I have a deep love for Christ and serving the world around me. I have a passion for mission work.  Will any of this make a good blog?  I know it can, as I have read many blogs by other veterinarians, pastors, parents, people of all walks of life – including my sister, Kayla (http://schragesoapbox.blogspot.com/), who makes me smile regularly with the wonderful way she brings love into the world around her.  I hope that if nothing else, I can bring a smile to your face once and awhile.

Wish me luck and please, let me know how I am doing!