URINARY STONES

For those of you with a weak stomach or no interest in the ins and outs of surgery...or both...skip this post!

Those of you who like the weird and the gross, read on.

One of the coolest surgeries we do is stone removal surgery from the urinary bladder.

Stones can be quite pretty. These look like roses to me.

We take stones out for two reasons - they hurt and they can obstruct the urinary system, especially in males.

Before surgery, we do a physical exam and blood work. When we have patients undergoing anesthesia, we - of course - want it to be as safe as possible.

The day of surgery, the pet is fasted. He or she is sedated and anesthetized. An IV catheter is in and anesthesia monitoring equipment is hooked up. 

The pet is placed on their back on the surgery table in the surgery room. Lights are aimed at their belly.

Warning! Here is the gross/cool part...An incision is made into the abdomen and the urinary bladder. The stones are scooped out - I am not making this up - with a tiny measuring spoon. We have three. They say "smidge," "sprinkle" and "pinch." I use the "smidge" spoon, the smallest one.

The bladder incision and the abdominal wall incision are sewn back up and x-rays are taken to make sure all of the stones are out. The stones are sent to a lab for analysis. 

And the pet lives happily ever after, hopefully forever stone free.

THE PIGGY IGLOO

I received a Kaytee Igloo to review from Chewy.com.

Everyone who has had a rabbit or rodent seems to have had one of these! (It was difficult to find a friend who did not already have one!) And I got a lot of good feedback on the igloo.

Our guinea pig Piggy loved his. He did not climb it as some more adventurous piggies might, but he did like to spend time in his igloo.

From friends on the Igloo...

"My rats loved those things." -Jeremy Coffey

"My rats used them. The guinea pigs never cared to go in them but would push them around. All my rabbits were too big." -Alicia Weiland

"Have one for my piggie. Good quality. Easy clean. Sort of large for a pig, but he enjoys it." -Monica Massengale

"Penelope has some thing similar, and loves it!" -Nicole Dawson

"I haven't used them for my own piggies but we use them at Town and Country all the time!" -Kellie Marie

"I think my gerbils would destroy it." -Sara Tifft"

We always had to avoid these with our gerbils. They would have ingested pieces of it, too. We stuck with wooden or cardboard houses." -Kylee Karre

"I no longer have guinea pigs but when I did, they loved these. They would even move them like little turtles to the food dish." -Angela Bohling

"We had one that the piggies fought over. They loved it and did the turtle thing too--mainly because they knew if they left it, the other would steal it. I never figured out what the knobby things on the top were for..." -Cathy Babcock

Too small for almost any dog!

Luna is not impressed.

For a dog who constantly wags her tail, Joy found the igloo quite restricting.

So there you have it! Too small for (dogs and) bunnies. Not ideal for chewers like gerbils. But for guinea pigs and rats, both of whom appreciate a hiding space, these are a great addition to their habitat!

ABBY MEETS PUMPKIN

Pumpkin is one of two Frenchies of our friends the Clarks. Abby met her at a candle party. I love the look on Abby's face when she meets a dog!

I MISS MY MOM

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.

I also had a very GOOD job in Colorado, but we did get homesick, so we moved back to Omaha. Best decision ever <3

NATURAL BALANCE LIMITED INGREDIENT TREATS

I received MORE treats to review from Chewy.com! The dogs are loving this!

These treats are Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Treats, Sweet Potato and Venison Formula. Because Joy is allergic to chicken, we need to be careful with ingredients, and these treats were perfect!

At midnight, I woke the dogs and asked, "Are you guys up for a treat review?"

They both said that they were.

Luna loves it...

Joy loves it...

I love this picture of Joy! She is never half committed to anything!

Success! 10 out of 10 - would order again!

Thank you Chewy.com! And thank you Natural Balance for creating treats both our mutts can enjoy.

DAD AND CAMILLE

Dad: Is that the clinic cat?

Me: Dad, that's a Chihuahua.

OLIVIA THE CAT REVIEWS COSEQUIN CHEWS

Recently, Olivia and her person, veterinary technician Allison Parker, helped me with this post on Cosequin Chews from Chewy.com that I received to review. I chose them especially for Olivia!

I love this picture of Olivia!

She said, "meow" and that she enjoyed them very much.

Olivia is normally on Glycoflex Chews, another treat based glucosamine source.

From Allison, "She definitely likes them, but compared to Glycoflex Chews, I would go through the bag twice as quickly!"

Cosequin Chews have 125 mg of glucosamine per two chews. Glycoflex Chews have 300 mg of glucosamine per two chews.

Overall this seems like a very good product, and Cosequin is a brand I trust completely. It is always nice to have treat options instead of pills or capsules for cats!

Olivia, you look like a natural spokes-cat!

BECOMING MORE MYSELF AGAIN

Every once in a while I will try to give you an update on my depression here. Mostly I have been doing very well. I consider this year from August 2017 - August 2018 a year of healing. I am trying to give myself that much time to get healthier, but it sometimes seems like a slow road. As a veterinarian, I - as you can imagine - like to fix things.

I was on five medications for my depression and Claritin for my allergies. (I was on way more for my allergies, but Claritin and no cats seems to be the trick!)

Recently my physician's assistant allowed me to discontinue two medications, including trazodone, which I was taking to help me sleep.

I have been sleeping well for the past several months, and anymore, trazodone seemed to just be making me groggy and dull in the mornings. Now I feel sharp and more myself again. I am by no means a natural morning person, but I enjoy mornings and getting so much done at work so early. I still was getting things done and enjoying it, but it was sure a struggle. Now mornings are back to normal again and so much better.

So that's the latest. Otherwise things have just been steady, which has been nice.

My spring container garden!

SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRDS

I received this beautiful bird book from Chewy.com to review.

It is The Sibley Guide to Birds, Second Edition, written and illustrated by David Allen Sibley.

The pictures in the book are beautiful. It would be easy for a novice bird watcher like me to find and identify birds in the book that I had seen in real life.

I liked it so much that we gave it to my Mom-in-law Karen for her birthday.

10 out of 10! Would order again! (and might...)

ABBY'S CROSS STITCH PILLOW

Another my kid is so talented post! Abby made this pillow of her and the dogs...

Luna in the bottom left corner, Abby (with her pink hair!) at the top and Joy in the bottom right corner

MY AUNT SENT ME A PICTURE!

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.

This is a Real Life picture from my awesome Aunt Jeannine. I love her so much!!

SECOND ANNUAL ARBOR VETERINARY SYMPOSIUM

A few weeks ago, VCA MidWest Vet hosted the second annual Arbor Veterinary Symposium at Arbor Day Lodge in Nebraska City.

Russ and Abby and I stayed at the Arbor Day Lodge overnight. Amanda stayed home (for the first time! She did great.)

It was - like the first year - a wonderful conference in a beautiful building.

The first day I got to sit with a vet who graduated in 1960 and had some great stories.

The second day I sat at the same (lucky) table and looked up to see Dr. Clemans and Dr. Cooley! Very fun to see them both.

The speakers - including those two awesome women - were excellent. I had a very fun weekend with you all. Looking forward to next year!

Nebraska City must have had a thing with tree statues like Chicago had with cows and Omaha had with people. This was the prettiest one I saw. It is called "Flowers of Nature" and is privately owned.

This one was pretty too. It was at Arbor Day Farm. The words say, "We live our lives in bits and pieces, random encounters, colors, sounds, and moments. Some reappear in different form, some repeat themselves, some are never to be seen again." The piece is called "Do You See the Forest or the Trees?" by Sue Kalicki.

LUNA LOVEGOOD, CHAPTER 20

Our little dog Luna is doing so well you guys!

She is over halfway through with her chemotherapy for lymphoma.

I JUST learned from Dr. Clemans, her internal medicine specialist doctor who is directing her care, that Luna gives them all kisses! I am so happy she is such a good sport there and is sweet to them. She IS sweet, but she is onery too, so I was not sure which Luna she was at VCA MidWest Vet. Apparently, Good Luna. Yay.

Here are some recent pictures...

Luna says "I love you" with her eyes.

She always has to be touching one of us!

Good night Luna!

CRYING EYES

My eyes once went two years without crying. I would cry, but there would be no tears. It was at a time in my career when I was burned out, and I think my eyes just had nothing to give.

I only told Trey, a vet tech I worked with at the time, because I thought everyone else would think it was weird. “That’s not weird,” Trey said.

Now my eyes cry again, and they get carried away. When Huckleberry died, my eyes cried for a day. The day after Huckleberry died, as my eyes were recovering, a client came in to tell us thank you for taking care of her dog who had recently passed, and my eyes started crying again. They stopped long enough for another client to come in to show us her engagement ring, and my eyes started up again. It could have been the glare from the beautiful ring, but I am pretty sure they were real life tears.

So if I seem overwhelmed with emotion by the sight of your beautiful, healthy dog...I am...but my eyes may also be still crying over a sad (or happy) thing. Give me a minute...or a day. I always pull it together eventually.

WHISKEY

She was a gorgeous grey Standard Poodle who was anything but standard.

She didn't board with us. Rather, she sat in the front area with Hannah or Stephanie or Nicole and greeted everyone who came in. If it was Russ, she barked at him. If it was a client she didn't know, she held back. Everyone else was a friend.

Her hair was crazy, the good and wild kind. She often had it up in clips or a scrunchy, and other times had it out in curls and waves all over the place.

She was living well with an impressive list of conditions. Until she wasn't. Then she was just done.

Whiskey is survived by her Moms, her Standard Poodle friend and her kitty. And she leaves behind a heartbroken veterinary team.

We sure loved you Whiskey Girl. Rest well sweet friend. Until we meet again.

LINCOLN CHILDREN'S ZOO

Russ and Amanda and Abby and I went to the Lincoln Children’s Zoo. It was amazing! I feel silly for never having gone there in college.
 

I love flamingos! I had never been so close to any before.

Flamingos are just the most gorgeous birds! Look at those feathers!

This bird bit me! I said "C'mere! Will you bite my finger? Please? Bite my finger!" and he did! It was so cool! I have a way with animals.

This camel has the cutest face.

Do you think he knows how cute he is?

I got to pet this tortoise!!

These Bald Eagles are unable to return to the wild. They are scary beautiful. I did not realize how big Bald Eagles were.

Amanda and Abby <3

Ver' small monkey

Naked mole rat! Don't you just want to kiss his tiny wrinkly forehead? Me too!

Turn around...

...Bright Eyes...

EVERY NOW AND THEN I FALL APART! Okay, that's enough.

Happy goat!

Abby petting the giant bunny

"Go home!" said the llama. And so we did.

HUCKLEBERRY

Have you ever loved a patient so much that you know his last day will be your last day in medicine? So you decide that day just can't come. You know if it does, you will set your stethoscope down and walk out the door, never looking back.

But then that day comes, and it crushes you. It crushes the team, it crushes his family and it even crushes his sweet neighbor. The little guy had a huge reach.

And you hold your dear broken client tight, and you vow to be there for her the next time and you put your stethoscope back around your neck, talks a deep breath and step into the next room, never looking back.

Later, in a happier time, you wonder, “could one little dog really have been that extraordinary?”

And you remember Huckleberry and smile. He sure was.

YOU ARE A DEMON FROM HELL

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.

I wish I still had this plant! It was a kind gesture after everything!

OSCAR AND FELIX UNWISELY SAY "YES" TO DRUGS, PART 2

Rercently, Mom and Dad's little Poodles, Felix and Oscar, got into Mom's medicine. I rushed to the house to treat them.

Photo by Liz Middleton/Photos by Liz

Felix and Oscar were super happy to see me. They jumped around my knees and laughed.

Photo by Liz Middleton/Photos by Liz

I gave them both apomorphine, a medication that causes vomiting. Despite the injections, they were still having great fun. Until...

They both suddenly stopped dancing and hung their heads. Remember the story about the pie eating contest in Stand By Me? The next ten minutes were full of a parallel sort of story, only instead of people and pie, it was puppies and pills.

I called ASPCA Poison Control. THANK YOU kind team for your excellent help.* Mom cleaned up barf. THANK YOU Mom! We accounted for all the lost medication and determined, with the ASPCA Poison Control doctor that they had not had a toxic dose of any medication.

I gave both boys Cerenia, an anti-vomiting medication. They quickly returned to their happy, non-barfy selves. Dad came home and we all sat for a while holding the Poodles and enjoying, with great relief, how perfectly things had turned out.

Felix (black) and Oscar (white) Photo by Liz Middleton/Photos by Liz

*DID YOU KNOW? If your pet has a HomeAgain microchip, a consult call to ASPCA Poison Control is free!

OSCAR AND FELIX UNWISELY SAY "YES" TO DRUGS, PART 1

Before Cotton died but after we learned how sick he was, Mom called me at work, frantic. Mom and Dad’s little bonded pair of Poodles, Oscar and Felix, had gotten into Mom’s vitamins and medicines and eaten some.

On the way over to meet Mom and treat the Poodles, I alternated between knowing everything would be fine to knowing that truly one or both of the pups may not be fine.

Bailey and Cotton were heavy on my heart. Bonded pairs get split up. Pets die young. Sad things happen. I pulled into the driveway and went inside.

Felix (black) and Oscar (white) Photo by Liz Middleton/Photos by Liz