Another long weekend has passed here in Pickering Ontario, this one marking the beginning of fireworks and spring storms. Thankfully my dogs do not have any fear of loud noises, but there are some that really do have a hard time and can really hurt themselves. There are medications available that can help your pet with loud noises, but they don’t work by themselves. Used in combination with counter conditioning, your pet can get accustomed to loud noises. Don’t be afraid to talk to your veterinarian.
I always wonder what the work day will be like after a long weekend. Sometimes the veterinary clinic is quiet because no one’s pet got into trouble on the weekend. Other times you wish you had more time in the day to accommodate all the animals. From fish hooks caught in the mouth to sticks stuck in the roof of the mouth, to heat stroke, to porcupine quills to getting sprayed by a skunk, yesterday was one of those days. Oh, speaking of skunks, the best home remedy is to bathe your pet in Pepsi. Yes, that’s right…Pepsi and NOT diet Pepsi and definitely not Coke. As one wise veterinarian told me,“Coke is for ribs, Pepsi is for skunks“. Honestly, Coke does not work but for some reason Pepsi does. So as we were accommodating all the emergent cases in the clinic yesterday, there was a knock on my examination room door. “Dr. Fulop, one of the kennels in the area called and they have a bloat on the way down”. Before you knew it, our patient arrived. Out goes one case and in comes the other. This is where veterinary team work comes into play. Before I could say anything my support vet staff was on top of everything. Radiology was all set up, the intravenous fluids were waiting, everything was prepared. Maybe it’s not bloat, hopefully it’s not Gastric Dilation and Volvulus, maybe it’s the stomach virus that seems to be going around. Nope, it’s GDV! I am so grateful for my support staff. Because of their great effort and team work we were able to perform surgery quickly and we are happy to say that the patient is doing extremely well! It is days like yesterday that truly make me proud of what we do.
See our May 5th Facebook post on “Storm Phobias in Dogs”. Like us at Amberlea Animal Hospital
Wishing you the best, Dr. Kathleen Fulop.
