REMINDER

Sales of firecrackers will increase in the days to come.
These firecrackers are readily available and anyone can get access to them.
Thus, firecracker poisoning may be a concern.
It is advised to check whatever you pet ingests especially when walked.
Please also educate your children or young siblings not to offer them to your pets.
Firecrackers can cause poisoning.
It's better to be cautious and avoid accidental ingestion.

If you are not comfortable with me as your veterinarian and do not trust my judgement, I think it's better to look for another veterinarian.

As a veterinarian, aside from the skills learned during college days and day to day training in the small animal practice, it is also important to develop people skills. You may see us talking to dogs and cats in order to calm them down during check ups but mostly, we are speaking with their owners and caretakers, explaining to them the different options for treatment, health management, vaccinations and other things necessary. That is called the client-veterinarian-pet relationship. this can further be simplified to the veterinarian-clent realtionship, client-pet relationship and the veterinarian-pet realtionship.

In order for these relationships to work properly, each individual should be able to communicate well, understand each other and respect one another. One must know their limitations and boundaries. In most cases, these relationships are going well. But if it becomes a roller-coaster ride, and the relationship gets bumpy, then you know there's something wrong.

Just like any other service, a client can choose their veterinarian and a veterinarian can choose whom to serve. Though as vetetinarians we have a noble duty to these dogs and cats (and other pets), their owners will still decide for them. Lucky are the pets with responsible owners. Thus, if a client is not satisfied with one veterinarian's service, he can go to another and another until he finds the one (and hopefully the pet is still alive by then). And us vets can decline to treat a patient if we think that the owners doesn't trust us, does not believe us and disrespects us.

Remembering Doodie (aka Phoozie)

She was known as Phoozie when she was presented at the clinic. Not eating, inactive and basically not herself.

She was diagnosed with chronic renal failure.

Checking Phoozie's real gender, it turns out that she is a castrated male, (a HE)!!! Yes, for the longest time that Phoozie was with his real owners, they didn't know that since they only got Phoozie from the streets and adopted his as thier own. Upon knowing this, they changed his name to Doodie.

For several weeks, Doodie was hospitalized and blood counts, chemistries and electrolytes were monitored. He got well eventually and this video is the first time he started eating again.

She went home a few days later.

Yet after a few months, since kidney disease continually progresses, she was back at the clinic.

After a few days, it was time to say goodbye.

Goodbye Doodie. We will always remember you as one of the good tempered and sweet siamese we cared for in the clinic with such loving and caring owners.

Remembering Yoji...

Warfarin rodenticide

I am not against rodenticides. I fact, these, can help control rodent overpopulation which can serve as vectors for communicable diseases and destroy household and work stuff. However, I am against irresposible usage of these products. These products are poisons and should be strategically placed to bait target species and not our beloved pets, especially dogs and cats.

FYI: Warfarin is also used as a medication, however, it may cause toxicity in large amounts.
Warfarin and warfarin-based rodenticides are not the only rat poisons available commercially but also zinc phosphide and bromethalin.

There are different ways employed to treat and decontaminate a patient that ingested warfarin-based rodenticide, so if your pet ingests one, immediately seek veterinary service and don't forget to bring with you the package of the poison.

Again, be a responsible pet owner. Dog proof your household.

Princess

One early morning, Princess, a female shih-tzu was taken to me. Apparently she was vomiting with decreased appetite on the day of presentation, feverish and unable to defecate about 4 days after surgery. She was subjected to a cesarian section from another clinic 4 days prior. The owner also noticed dehiscence of the wound area and decided to put a bandage around to prevent Princess from licking the area or further dehiscence. The area upon my inspection is wet and the sutures are slowly eating through the skin.
I took a radiograph to check for continuity of the abdominal muscle area. It seemed dehisced though i was doubtful since she was just subjected to surgery which means the area would still be cloudy, hazy and probably in diasrray due to healing and inflammatory reaction.

In the meantime, we stabilized her through fluids and medications and blood profiling was done revealing elevated wbc, slightly decreased rbc, normal kidney and liver functions. Cleaning of the area and changing the dressing was done to avoid contamination and further infection.

Further assesment and repair of the area should be done deemed necessary and a night after, we have a go signal.

Since the sutures were already cutting through the skin, I decided to first remove it and here's how it looks... (by the way she also has an umbilical hernia)

With the owner's consent, we prepared Princess for her surgical repair.
When we parted the skin and subcutis, we noticed a suture from which I am still unable too see where it came from. Aside from that, a fleshy material or organ is staring directly at me. At first i thought it was the subcutaneous fat but it wasn't.
It was the intestine! Thus this also means that the abdominal muscle sutures were also dehisced. Abdominal fluids were also seeping out. I am worried that infection can or could have entered the dehiscence.

Thankfully, the intestinal loop is still normal and vital. Careful examination of other organs was done and were replaced with care.

I decided to close the muscle only on that night leaving the subcutaneous area and skin open but with a wet-antibiotic treated bandage to keep the wound from infection.

After 24 hours, I was sure that there are no signs of infection on the outside, closure of the subcutis and skin was done.

Ten days later, Princess is back but for sutre removal only. See it on the next two pictures. one still with the suture and the next after removal.

You may also noticed that her left eye (she has no right eye due to trauma years ago) is cloudy. Antibiotic treatment plus cyclosporine was prescribed and positive change is noticed. Could be keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) but that's another story.

Roundworms!

THESE ARE NOT NOODLES!

These are roundworms.

Three cute little puppies defecated worms one Sunday morning at the clinic. Gross! Right! Though I am used these parasites all the way from parasitology class, I almost puked that morning- concerning that I already had a headache that same day.

Going back, wow! these puppies also have pets of their own. Well, actually they have parasites!!! Roundworms are one of the many parasites that can affect dogs and cats and also humans. Yup, you read it correctly: FYI roundworms can also affect us.

Basics: These roundworms can be trasmitted from dog to dog in different modes.
1. Feco-oral route: ingestion of feces with eggs.
2. Transplacental route: larvae migrate from the mother to the fetus while during pregnancy.
3. Transmammary/transcolostral: larvae migrate from the mother to the young through the milk.
4. Ingestion of transport hosts such as rodents.

Thus, regular deworming or pets is recommended at 3-6 months interval or actually depending on your pet's lifestyle and your veterinarian's recommendations. Pups can be dewormed starting at 3 weeks of age.

So, see to it you that if you have dogs, bring them to your vets.

Scabies

Sacrcoptes scabiei var. canis

PANIC AND SCRATCH ALL YOU WANT YOU INFECTED HUMANS! most likely, you got it from cuddling your previously fluffy now alopecic (balding), pruritic and crusty pets.

Generally known as scabies or mite infestation or by its scientific name, this organism is NOT a normal resident of the skin, both pets and humans but a PARASITE, which causes severe itching that you'll be scratching until you bleed. These mites burrow under the skin and reside on the stratum corneum - a layer of the skin. The irritation is due to body's reaction against these invaders and just imagine a mite eating you up!

Basically, this is detected by you veterinary staff during skin check ups. If your pet has it, you are also at risk of contracting it. Your veterinarian treats your pet while you should go to a dermatologist...

yeast!!!

DON'T PANIC!(unless you have to)

I don't think this is the cause of human yeast infections ( You unhygienic people! LOL).

Meet Malassezia pachydermatis, one of the common residents of your doggie's or kitty's skin. In normal pets, they can be seen in small numbers though may greatly increase in number if your dog contracts skin infections. This may also be found in ear infections of your pets. Usually this organism likes the warm, wet and unexposed areas of the skin; talk about axilla, ingunals, chin, skin folds and the ears.

And do humans have to panic?

If you are immunocompromised then maybe you should. Recent studies revealed that neonates and those with poor immune status may be affected with M. pachydermatis. Though humans also have a normal skin commensal of the Malassezia genus, the M. furfur, M. pachydermatis was also implicated especially in humans exposed to pets like me. (waaaah!!! panic! panic! LOLz)

I guess, it's just about health. Once you are immunocompromised, then you should atleast takeprecautions. If you are constantly exposed to pets, then hygiene comes. Consciousness helps.

Got to go now. I still have to to a self check!!! LOL

ALI

Ali was actually a colleague's case. He was admitted due to a non-healing and infected wound. Prior to admittance, he underwent umbilical hernial repair from another establishment. Yet, days after the surgery, the owners noted that the surgical incision was swollen with pus and fluid oozing and is actually not healing. Upon assessment and repair, it appears that the whole wound is actually infected and there's more pus and necrotic tissues underneath. We cleaned the area and resutured the dehisced internal layers. We left the wound open covered with wet sterile bandages with antibacterial dressing to help keep the wound clean and for new granulation tissues to form prior to closure. A few days after presentation, we also noticed something: Ali is unable to stand up. Though actually responsive and with appetite, her limbs are stiff and extended. Is this tetanus? Concerning that he had a prior history of an infected wound, we assumed that this could be the T thing. Medications against tetanus were given and Ali was monitored for a few more days - three weeks total more or less.

The picture above was taken a few days prior to Ali's release. Slowly, she was able to gain back control of her limbs and was able to stand up on her own.

Clostridium tetani, the bacteria responsible for the production of the toxin causing tetanus is actually found in the soil. It can gain entry and cause infection in pets through wounds especially deep puncture wounds or those that have been in contact with the soil or area with the bacteria. Dogs and cats are actually pretty resistant to tetanus, however, predisposing factors may make them susceptible to the disease.