JOY AND THE WIND

Joy has developed a fear of the wind. It took us a while to figure out what was scaring her, because she would be antsy on nice days and stormy days, then we realized it was only on windy days.

Joy staying safe on the side of our bed!

She hides on the side of our bed or on her bed next to Russ's desk or - if it is really bad - under my desk. Abby has built her forts before, and that seems to help.

Remember the beautiful light breeze this past Sunday? Joy had me close ALL the windows so we would all be safe.

We will start antianxiety medication if it worsens. Right now it seems like hiding and being comforted until the wind subsides is enough.

What fears do your pets have?

THE WORST EAR HEMATOMA CASE I'VE EVER HAD

I spent an entire month with my stomach in knots over a Joy look alike with the sweetest family.

Dog had an ear hematoma from a severe ear infection. Coolest case ever, right? I love(d) ear hematomas. They are very fixable, and when the underlying issue is treated, usually allergies or an ear infection, the problem is avoided in the other ear. 

We drained and wrapped the ear. We treated the double ear infection.

Six days later (as is often the case) the hematoma was back (or so we thought). It often takes a few tries at draining the ear, and about half the time, surgery, to solve the issue.

Near the tip of the ear flap was a small opening. This was unexpected. But I did not need to poke poor Dog's sore ear with a needle again, so that was a good thing (or so we thought).

*GROSSNESS WARNING* Jen had to leave twice while she was helping!

I pressed gently on the swollen ear flap. The largest amount of purulent material I have seen since treating cat abscesses poured out of the ear flap. This was no longer a straight forward hematoma, it was a severely infected ear flap! I had seen this once in a cat. We drained her tiny triangle cat ear and she healed well. This was a big floppy dog ear. My stomach started to seize. It did not stop for the remainder of Dog's month-long treatment.

We drained and flushed the ear. We started stronger antibiotics and continued anti-inflammatories. The next week the ear flap was as infected, this time with scratches - gouge marks really - from Dog kicking her ear when her protective cone was off. (It happens.)

Every week the infection improved and the ear looked worse. I warned the family the results may not be pretty. They figured. 

The second to last recheck, the tip of the ear was very firm and non-bendable. "Oh no," I thought.

Sure enough, the tip of the ear fell off - at home! "We figured," the family said. They were less mortified than I was.

On the last recheck, Dog's ear was shorter than God made it and had scratch scars, but the infection had completely cleared. Just as amazing, the double ear infection, after so many visits and treatments and oral antibiotics for the ear flap, had completely cleared as well.

I was wrong - she was as beautiful as ever.

"I am so sorry you have been through all this," I told the family (again) at their last visit.

"We are not! And thank you so much for all of your team's care. " they said (again). 

And then Mr. said, "We just tell people, 'you should have seen the badger!'"

CAULDRON CAKES! BY AMANDA

We love everything Harry Potter in this house.

The cauldrons are made out of candy melts. The cake is chocolate cake and strawberry filling. Chocolate frosting and strawberry filling and candy rocks are on top.

When Amanda was in first grade, she started reading the Harry Potter series. Russ and I started reading the books to make sure they were appropriate for a first grader. We all loved them, and Abby did too when she started reading them soon after. Amanda has read the entire series EIGHTEEN times! (Last I asked) These are her imaginings of what Cauldron Cakes would be like. They are beautiful AND delicious!

I am as proud of Amanda's extensive brainstorming as I am of her hard work and final product!

Including trial and error, the final product took nine hours to create.

"JOY" BY ABBY

Abby won Honorable Mention in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for her artwork of Joy!

Her art as well as all of the artwork of the winners across Nebraska is hanging at the TAC building.

Congratulations Abby!

NIGEL BEGS

FREE VET CARE!

This is one strip of a series I created called, "When I Grow Up, I Want to be a Vet" from 2011 - 2012. You've asked if I am going to draw the comic again, and I loved doing it, so maybe. I started the comic to process difficult things in my career, and thankfully, I have not had so much to process once I got this all into comic form!

I will post the next strip of the series every Friday. The entire series can be found at When I Grow Up I Want to be a Vet.

Um, this is a true story unfortunately.

DEPRESSION, AN UPDATE

Six months ago, I started writing about my depressive episode in which I was hospitalized.

Bill and Cara got me these beautiful plants while I was in the hospital. They are thriving in five gallon buckets!

I've been doing well since then. I visit the therapist once a month. I am on five (5!) medications to control my depression symptoms. And they do.

It is difficult sometimes for my clients to have their pets on several medications, not just because they are hard to keep track of, but also because so many medications can seem excessive. "Each one is important," I tell them. Now I get it. Each one is important. But it is all still a lot - a lot of medication and a lot to take in and understand.

I've had no more very, very dark days. Some grey days, but nothing like the heavy oppressive days I could not get out from under.

I have been able to enjoy life, but it's been tempered, even dulled. I'll take it. There is time for higher highs, probably when I can also handle the lower lows.

If one baby tomato plant and one baby pepper plant are good, ALL the plants are better!

I purposely chose gardening as my focus for this year. Luna Dog will probably die this year, and I will need something to balance the sadness. Something grounding (haha) and soothing. I chose gardening.

Luna says, "Geez! I'm not dead yet!"

I am well. I am good. I occasionally fear a tumble down the dark abyss that is overwhelming depression, but I don't dwell, I don't dread. And now I feel like I have the tools to come back if need be.

Life is good. It is good to feel more like me again.

My kalanchoe plants from Bill and Cara - doing well too!

JOY THE PUPPY - CHAPTER 1 - THE BEGINNING

A young couple found a man dressed in several layers of badly worn clothing wandering around Petsmart with a tiny, emaciated black puppy in his arms. He was saying to himself that he could not afford dog food.

They asked the man about his puppy. He said he needed someone to take her because he did not have any money to care for her. They asked if he would take twenty dollars for her, and he did.

They brought her to me to be examined. Other than her very thin body condition, I found no other physical problems. They did not know if they were adopting or rescuing…they just saw a puppy in need and a man in distress and swooped.

Two days later, Layla came home to live with us, and we renamed her Joy Layla Finch.

The name Joy was suggested by the daughter of Joy King, who had been our very dear friend and had recently passed away. We also named her in honor of our other dear friends’ newborn daughter whose twin sister had just passed away. Joy…what an odd thing to name our new puppy during what was such a sad season for so many friends we loved. She has more than lived up to her name.

When I first met Joy, I was so angry at the man who had almost let her starve to death. My friend Janelle said, “He did take her to where he knew she would get help.” That statement stopped me in my tracks. I feel as though I owe him an apology and a thank you, though I have never met him.

So I will write one here, and though he will almost certainly never see it, I hope it serves as a reminder to let my first reaction be one of compassion not judgment.

To the original caretaker of Joy the Puppy,

Thank you for the gift of Joy. She is warm and fed. I pray that you are too. I will keep an eye out for you and try to make sure that you are.

If you had been in a different season of life, would you have kept her? If there is room in your life for a puppy again, I will do everything I can to help make that happen.

Forgive me for being so angry initially that she was such a skinny thing. I know that when you ran out of puppy food, you shared your own food with her. I would have held on to her until the last possible moment too. I will remember that before I judge someone who is probably doing the best they can.

Be proud of your dog. She turned out great. If you hadn’t protected her from the streets of Omaha in those first bitterly cold weeks, she would not have survived. If you had not taught her love from the start, it would have taken us years. If this does not reach you directly, I will try to thank you indirectly every way I can.

LUNA LOVEGOOD - CHAPTER 1 - THE BEGINNING

Luna was rescued by the Nebraska Humane Society from a hoarding situation. She soon became very ill. She had sky-high liver values and bile acid values (a measure of liver function).

She came to the hospital where I am a veterinarian to be assessed and have an ultrasound done. When liver values are so far out of balance in a young, small breed puppy, what we suspect is a liver shunt.

A shunt was not found, and it was determined that she had a condition that could not be surgically fixed. The Nebraska Humane Society team, in an effort to spare the puppy suffering, decided to have her euthanized.

The day of the puppy’s ultrasound was my day off. I received medical updates and the final decision to have the puppy euthanized in a series of several emails, all of which came at once in the late afternoon.

I sat on the bed and bawled. My husband Russ came to check on me, and I yelled, “I take one day off, and puppies DIE!”

Suspecting this was not an accurate statement, Russ gently took my phone out of my hand and read the emails. He said, “Couldn’t we take her?” Still in complete despair mode, I said “She’s probably DEAD!” Of course she was not dead. Dr. Thomassen said she would not euthanize the puppy unless she knew it was absolutely a decision agreed upon by everyone.

So we accidentally adopted a puppy!

The other doctors thought I was crazy to adopt a broken puppy, but I think they understood. We are vets. It is what we do.

I talked with my daughters. Adopting a puppy with an unspecified liver disorder is one of the best ways that I can imagine to ensure heartbreak. I told them we were adopting a puppy we knew was sick and that her lifespan may be shorter than other dogs. There was no doubt in their minds that this puppy was meant to be a Finch.

On the way home with the puppy in my lap, I said to Russ, “She’s blond. She’s really sweet. She’s pretty spacy.” (To her credit, she was still recovering from a very severe liver issue, and has since proved much sharper.) When we got home, I said to our daughters, “Let’s name her Luna Lovegood.” They cheered, and we had our name.

Our next step was a simple liver test. AND…the blood work came back completely normal!! And now I get to ponder what in the world happened.

1. Knowing Luna now, it is probable that she ingested something she should not have, causing her extreme illness and liver issues.
2. Knowing the very first place she lived had so many dogs, it is probable she ingested some urine at some point in her young life.

So my top guesses are a liver toxin from which she has recovered or leptospirosis from which she has recovered. While I know of course, that she will one day break my heart, I am so glad it is not on the second day or the second month that I have known her. She has been a challenging, exhausting, strange, wonderful, goofy amazing puppy. I am so happy she is a Finch.

PUPPY'S BIG DAY

Puppy has been through a lot in her young life.

Today was the day for her spay surgery.

Not that the stakes are not infinitely high in any similar situation, but Puppy had to survive. How could it be otherwise?

No pressure, but Kelly and I had to do everything right, and pray that everything out of our control would go perfectly.

No pressure Puppy, but then you have to live a healthy, happy, very long life.

Everything went perfectly.

In fact, by faith or by folly, I am writing this the night before Puppy's surgery in the hopes and knowledge that everything will be just fine.

Puppy, have we told you lately that we love you? 

THE WESTIE PUPPY

It was a busy Saturday morning. Kelly ran into the treatment room carrying the tiny West Highland White Terrier puppy, the puppy that her Mom had recently adopted after her first Westie had died. Puppy was having trouble staying awake.

Puppy had ingested at least ten and - later we found out - probably closer to twenty or twenty-five ibuprofen.

We administered a medication to cause Puppy to vomit, but she lost consciousness before she was able to vomit.

Stephanie asked me if I thought she would live. "No," I said, and started to cry.

I called ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center and reached Dr. Helen Myers. Thank you Dr. Myers! She advised us on medications and supportive care and recommended we get her to the nearest 24 hour care facility as soon as possible. I asked Dr. Myers if she thought Puppy would live. "This is bad," she said.

My next calls were to Russ and his Mom to ask them to begin praying.

I then called VCA Midwest Vet to let them know Puppy was coming. Thank you VCA Midwest Vet! For being and for being there for Puppy.

Puppy's gums were blue. Her temperature was dropping, and she was still unconscious. Kelly got an IV catheter placed in a matter of seconds, her Mom got her to the emergency hospital and we waited.

The first update was promising. Puppy was awake and taking oral medications.

That evening I called again. Puppy was eating! She was also being carried everywhere and properly spoiled. Her gastrointestinal system was stable, and her kidney and liver values were normal.

And then, over two days after her ordeal began, against all odds, Puppy went home.

She is home and well with no long term damage. Everything is once again as it should be.

THE WESTIES

About six months ago, there was a horrible car accident on an interstate on ramp in Omaha.

A semi truck hit a van, overturning and crushing the top of the van.

The semi truck driver was unhurt. Miraculously, the driver and passenger of the van survived with serious, but treatable, injuries. 

The driver of the van is our dear client. What the news did not report was that there was one absolutely heartbreaking fatality. The driver had her only pet, a one year old sweet Westie with her, and he did not survive the accident.

She called from the hospital to let us know her pup had passed away.

We grieved for the small dog we had all loved. We sent flowers and prayed for his Mom. And later, we felt a little bit sorry for ourselves knowing we would probably not see this kind lady again.

Mom healed and came home. Her heart began to heal too. Six months after the horrible accident, she came in smiling with the tiniest of tiny Westie puppies in her hands.

Her new pup is a little girl, and she is just perfect.

Mom was ready. She missed having a wonderful little Westie around. We all miss her previous pup. We all spent this new puppy visit celebrating this precious new life.

Puppy, you are your own little being, not in any way a replacement. You do have some big paws to fill, and you are doing that extraordinarily well. Thank you for healing your Mom's heart and bringing her back to us. We sure love you so.

I AM TRUSTED

This is one strip of a series I created called, "When I Grow Up, I Want to be a Vet" from 2011 - 2012. You've asked if I am going to draw the comic again, and I loved doing it, so maybe. I started the comic to process difficult things in my career, and thankfully, I have not had so much to process once I got this all into comic form!

The entire series can be found at When I Grow Up I Want to be a Vet.

I had mixed feelings about doing MORE emergency work, but decided to go with the optimistic view!

SEE THIS SCAR? PART 4 OF 4

Kelly and I were doing a wellness exam on a cat together.

The cat bit my right forearm. Not wanting the cat's Mom to see the nick, I put my arm under the exam table and kept talking.

"We need to go," Kelly said. 

"In a minute," I said.

I looked under the table and saw a rather large pool of blood. "Oh!" I said, "Excuse us please!" Kelly threw a towel over the blood and walked me out of the room.

Kelly sat me down in a chair and went into EMT mode. She cleaned and bandaged my wound and sent me to urgent care.

The nurse at urgent care removed my bandage to reveal what I first suspected, a small nick. She patted my hand and said, "Would you like a bandaid, dear?" I was going to say no, but I saw it was a cartoon bandage so I said yes. I left a bit embarrassed, but truly, cat bites are nothing to mess around with. I was on antibiotics for quite a while, and recovered well.

It was a tiny wound that bled a lot and left an impressive scar. Cat teeth are like that. I like my scar, and am ever reminded of Kelly's kindness and expertise.

SEE THIS SCAR? PART 3 OF 4

This is the saddest story to go with a scar. But I love the scar because it reminds me of Jake.

Jake the Doberman was in for lameness. As I felt up a front leg, I hit a soft part of bone and Jake nipped in surprise, getting my left pointer finger. His tooth had gone through my fingernail. We both immediately apologized, Jake for biting me and I for pushing on a painful area of his leg.

After I returned from the hospital, we confirmed bone cancer, and Jake was euthanized soon after. I loved that dog.

I have a small notch in my left pointer fingernail in memory of Jake.

SEE THIS SCAR? PART 2 OF 4

My favorite scar is a long raised white line on my left thumb. It used to go halfway up my forearm, but has faded.

Angela and I were holding a huge longhaired cat for his nail trim. He got a un-pedicured foot out of our grasp and kicked. His nail went up the length of my arm in a beautiful straight line. We finished his nail trim without further event, and I have the scar to show for it. I love it.

SEE THIS SCAR? PART 1 OF 4

One of my favorite scars is an Airedale canine tooth shaped scar on my left knee.

I was a high school kid shadowing Dr. Rohrig at Rohrig Animal Hospital at 80th and Dodge Streets. I am sure I was too close to whatever procedure was being done. The frightened Airedale turned and ran toward me.

I backed up, but he just barely got me with a tooth to the knee.

I was told to sit on a stool on the edge of the room with a wet paper towel on my knee. I was glad I did not have to quit watching.

I went on to work for Dr. Rohrig in college, and have since worked with him on a case or two as a veterinarian.

THE WHITE CATS OF DUNDEE

A client recently told me that there is a group of white cats that wanders around Dundee together. They call themselves (or at least the people in the neighborhood call them) The White Cats of Dundee.

Have you seen them?

FOLLOW UP

I keep a list of 50-100 patients with ongoing issues. I check half of the cases weekly and half of the cases monthly and update my list daily.

Losing contact with pet parents through death or healing is jarring. Also jarring is losing contact through lack of follow up.

I hate real life stories with open endings like I hate chairs not pushed in, only more deeply. That is my strange quirk to deal with. It is probably why I keep The List.

But you can help.

If your pet is cared for by our team, and we call to check on him or her, please call us back. If things change for better or for worse, please let us know.

Those of you who need advice about your pets, the only thing I ask from you in return is an update on your pet. Let me know how he or she is after we talk.

Knowing how my patients are doing brings peace of mind I can find no other way.

BEST ER DOC EVER

This is one strip of a series I created called, "When I Grow Up, I Want to be a Vet" from 2011 - 2012. You've asked if I am going to draw the comic again, and I loved doing it, so maybe. I started the comic to process difficult things in my career, and thankfully, I have not had so much to process once I got this all into comic form!

The entire series can be found at When I Grow Up I Want to be a Vet.

My boss really used this line, and it really worked on me!