Blog Archives
Before & After – Shelter Vet Removes Large Mass, Saves Dog’s Vision
I received a phone call from a veterinary technician at the San Jose Animal Care Center on the weekend informing me that a dog had just come in with a large ulcerated mass coming out of its eye. Without any photo or video to aid my imagination, I started to picture what the technician was describing and prescribed pain medication and antibiotics to keep the dog comfortable and to fight off infection before I could examine it in person on Monday.
When I came into work on Monday, I found what was clearly a very happy dog, albeit with a large mass on its head that seemed to arise from the left eye or the area around that eye. It was not possible to visualize any part of the left eye.
Dog with Eye Mass, Trichoblastoma – Before Surgery
Sandy – Surrendered by Owner for Euthanasia, Saved by Shelter Vets
Owners have the ability to surrender their animals to animal shelters for any reason. Some people surrender their animals for euthanasia. This means that they want or approve that their animal be euthanized. However, by surrendering their animal, owners give the shelter the right to assess the animal’s condition and choose not to euthanize, but instead to find rescue for the animal or to treat and put the animal up for adoption.
A chihuahua mix, who we’ll call Sandy, was surrendered to the San Jose Animal Care Center because she was not doing well. She was neither eating nor drinking and seemed quite lethargic. The owners also noted that she had abnormal urine.
Sandy’s owners surrendered her to us for euthanasia. She was brought into the medical clinic in order for me to examine her. Within no time, I was able to surmise that the owners were mistaking brown discharge dripping from Sandy’s vulva for urine. This was a key observation in determining that, as a middle-aged intact female, Sandy had a pyometra, otherwise known as a pus-filled uterus.
Before & After: Cavalier King Charles Gets Second Chance After Extensive Surgery to Remove Tumors
An adorable 12-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel came to us at San Jose Animal Care & Services with multiple problems.
Before
The most obvious problem was the large mass that was on the front right of her chest. Though her long locks covered and concealed much of her body, we also found another mass on her belly and a large umbilical hernia. Like many Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, this little girl also had a heart murmur.
A rescue organization saw past her age, heart murmur, lumps and bumps, and agreed to find her a forever home. Read the rest of this entry
Tails of a Shelter Vet 