Kronicles of Karla: And then there was one

Rotation Schedule‏

8/31-9/20: Field Services
9/21-10/11: Small Animal Internal Medicine
10/12-11/1: Clin Path
11/2-11/22: Community Practice
11/23-12/13: "Vacation" (to study for the BCSE)
*12/1-12/8: ECFVG-BCSE
12/14-12/20: Anesthesiology
12/21-12/27: Holiday A
12/28-1/3: Holiday B
1/4-1/10: Anesthesiology
1/11-1/31: Food Animal Medicine
2/1-2/21: Animal Shelter
2/22-3/14: Radiology
3/15-4/4: ICU
*4/12-4/24: NAVLE
4/5-5/3: Zoological Medicine
5/3-5/23: Equine Medicine
5/24-6/13: Diagnostics
6/14-7/5: Small Animal Medicine
7/6-7/25: Equine Surgery
7/26-8/15: Preceptor (Externship)
8/16-9/6: Preceptor (Externship)

Random Facts

~ A fat cat that stops eating is a veterinary emergency (seriously).
~ All chickens have a cleft palate, called a choane.
~ Avocados are toxic to birds.
~ Bunnies can be normal and have red urine that glows under a black light. To my dismay, so can Guinea Pigs. Always check with a vet though.
~ Cats are not dogs, nor are dogs cats. Cows, sheep and horses aren't the same either.
~ Eyes that glow at night are actually reflecting light off the tapetum lucidum. Squirrels, pigs, birds, red kangaroos, and ALL non-Lemur primates (including humans), lack a tapetum lucidum, therefore, it is highly improbable that Sasquatch would have 'red glowing eyes.' The tapetum lucidum of oppossums reflect red, horses blue, and cats yellow.
~ Grapes are highly toxic to dogs.
~ Greyhounds are the universal blood donors in the dog world.
~ Guinea Pigs and Primates are the only animals that can't synthesize their own Vitamin C, and will get Scurvy without supplementation.
~ Infection by Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, a bacteria, causes square bruises. In pigs and turkeys this is called Diamond-skin Disease or Erysipelas, but in humans it is called Erysipeloid because Erysipelas had already been used to describe a cutaneous Streptococcal infection.
~ Manatees and two-toed sloths have 6 cervical (neck) vertabrae, while the three-toed sloth has 9. All other mammals have 7.
~ Ninety-five percent of cats have type A blood.
~ Not all blue eyed white cats are deaf, just most.
~ One bite of Polar Bear liver has enough Vitamin A to kill you.
~ Ostriches have 2 toes. Emus and Rheas have 3. Other birds have 4.
~ Parakeets are prone to cancer. An otherwise healthy parakeet that limps on one leg most likely has a renal tumor.
~ Poison Hemlock and Parsley look the same, but taste completely different.
~ Texas Bluebonnets (and other Lupinus spp.) can cause limb deformities in calves (arthrogryposis).
~ The average college grad has an IQ of 115. A child's IQ is calculated by (mental age/actual age)*100. The IQ reference range for adults is between 35 and 165 (SD 16). Mensa requires 132 (top 2%), and anyone who boasts an IQ of 165 or more (off the chart) is a mental midget.
~ The Sea Cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), 4 times the size of a Manatee, is extinct.
~ The umbilical cord of a foal must be between 36 and 83 inches.
~ Vampires exist; it's called Porphyria.
~ Whales can live for well over 100 years.
~ While humans are XX and XY, a hen is ZW and a rooster is ZZ. This quality in reptiles and fish enable them to switch from female to male, which explains the movie 'Jurassic Park.'

Monday, June 2, 2008

And then there was one

On Thursday May 22, the pups' vitals crashed and I rushed them in. After several hours the larger one went into seizures. We were able to stabilize him for a few hours but he eventually died. The next day we did a necropsy on him. He had severe pneumonia and only had half of his brain (which was the consistency of not quite ready Jello). Never seen anything like it. We've narrowed what we think they have down to Canine Distemper or Canine Herpes.

The smaller pup didn't look much better. I wouldn't move and the IV he was on didn't seem to be helping. After 3 days in ICU, he started to seem alive again and I was able to take him home (to my house, not the owner's). For the next week I tube fed him his formula every two hours around the clock (that's 12x/day). I also was given permission to take the week old pup to class every day. Having a puppy in class makes me the popular kid. He's really cute.

There was a Parvo outbreak on campus too. Half a dozen students' puppies had to be euthanized, so I've been really protective about who touches the pup. His owner calls me about 8x a day to ask how he is. He's really a fat little pup, and the owner always seems happy when I give him updates or sees him.
Now he's 18 days old (born May 15) and he's doing much better. His eyes are open, he's off antibiotics, he's drinking ravenously from the bottle about 5x a day, and he's starting to walk. Salty has been pretending he's her puppy.

In other news, Patches has been renamed SQUEAK! This was her decision, as that's what she answers to... either that or the fridge door opening. She is so fat I think she's going to explode any day now. I've been keeping Mango the Mouser out at night because I think he'll kill her babies (if she ever has them). I can feel them in her, their noses and their little feet feel well formed. I think there are four, but definitely three.
She's been very demanding these past few days, but not noisy like she typically is. She has the run of the house minus my bedroom, where even the dogs are excluded. I set up a big pen for her in anticipation to her pups/piglets coming. Should be an experience!

Even better is that they already have homes. I'd like to keep one female baby so Patches has a buddy and quits following the dog. Jossie wants a male baby so her WeeBee has a friend, and another friend at school wants one. You can see her in the video running around, and in the pict she's checking out the basket I keep the puppy in.