Time flows strangely in a veterinary clinic.
Time
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prose
Beat The Heat
It’s summer in my part of the world and whew, it’s hot out there! Our pets are susceptible to heat stroke the same way we are when it’s hot out, which can be fatal if not caught and treated immediately (and even if it is, will often result in a lengthy vet stay). Read on to learn more about how to protect your pets from the heat.
Apollo of the Melon
A passing moment of strangeness on a long call night sticks with me, calling to mind familiar superstition and ritual, the little things we hold dear.
Stories
The most amazing part of veterinary medicine — and hands-down my favourite part — is the stories hiding everywhere I look.
You Can’t Save Them All
[My beloved Rupert, a big cat in a small world, patiently squishing himself into his scratching post bed. He got cold very easily and loved his assortment of sweaters and coats in the harsh Northern winter.]
You can’t save them all. How many times have we as veterinary professionals or even we as clients heard that phrase? It becomes a mantra at work during the bad days, a way to compartmentalize away the deaths and euthanasias that happen on your watch, the terminal diagnoses, the weeping owners, the pets who don’t know they live under a death sentence. My record of saves is good, maybe a little above average, but every now and then a pet comes along that reminds me — I can’t save them all, no matter how hard I try.
A Moment In The Life (or Skaa)
[A very talented friend of mine drew this picture of me after I came home from my second trip to volunteer in wildlife rehab in Thailand. It’s true that raising wild babies (in this case, civets) is one of the highlights of wildlife medicine — but the lowlights exist all the same.]
My time volunteering and working with wildlife — both in Canada and Thailand — was some of the most rewarding work I’ve done in the veterinary field. I saw some very amazing and special things, experiencing the joy of successful rehabilitation and release in both countries. But wildlife rehab is not without its low points and certainly some days were worse than other in the amount of pain and suffering we saw and did our best to treat. Often, the only option was a quick and painless end. Veterinary medicine is a turning coin of life and death at the best of times, euthanasia and recovery, and wildlife medicine is no different. And just like my time in ‘traditional’ vet med, some cases stick with me.
A Leg To Stand On
[Punch (brindle male, right front lower limb gangrene) and Zuka (Boerboel female, severe compound fracture of lower right hind leg), two of my Botswana amputations. Both of these pictures were taken at less than 24 hours after surgery — although Punch was pretty sulky about the leash, Zuka wasn’t shy about giving us a smile!]
Limb amputations are a relatively common surgery both in my current practice and during my volunteer trips. There are many reasons why a vet may wish to remove a leg; the presence of a tumor, a break which cannot be fixed for whatever reason physical or financial, nerve damage, severe soft tissue damage, infection…the list goes on. But amputations are one of my favorite surgeries to participate in for the simple reason of just how successful they can be at restoring life and removing pain. Read on for a glimpse into the life of just a couple of the amputation cases I’ve been privileged enough to work with.
A Long Night (A Long Road)
[The first reluctant cuddle with her pups. Roxy keeps a quiet, anxious eye on both me and her little ones as she tries to figure out unexpected motherhood.]
On Thursday I was asked to step up and foster a young dog who had just had a Cesarean, lost several of the pups, and was struggling to adjust. My foster work for the BCSPCA has always been a huge part of my life and I agreed without a second thought. Probably I should have thought about it — Roxy’s anxiety turned out to be a little more than I bargained for! Her improvement since then has been tremendous and I feel so lucky to care for her and her two remaining ups, Esther and Cyrus, but there’s no denying that our first night together was…well, rough!
New Year, New Ideas
[My year came to an end with a massive cold snap (-37C) and a callout delayed by a battery drained by the frozen weather. Luckily a friend came to my rescue, and I made a quick resolution to always make sure my car would start before taking call!.]
2018 is upon us, and resolutions are on everyone’s lips. While I’m not a real fan of New Year’s resolutions I have been recently mulling over some changes I’d like to make in my life. In this profession it’s easy to get lost in the job, but we do ourselves no favours when we stop separating work and play.
Christmas On Call
[One of our clients on Christmas Eve brought one of the best Christmas presents I’ve ever gotten: homemade bread, still warm! My vet and I snapped a quick selfie to commemorate the occasion.]
Christmas on call. Always an adventure, and this year no more or less than any before.