Our Mission: Aspen Grove Veterinary Care provides a family-friendly environment while fostering excellence in veterinary medicine, compassionate care, and convenience.
Several people have asked me why I haven’t posted anything to blog lately. One of my pet peeves is to read a blog that says “sorry I haven’t posted anything lately but I’ve been really busy.” So instead of just telling you that I’ve been busy I thought I’d tell you what’s been going on at the clinic and the reason I haven’t posted anything lately, which I do apologize for!
My head certified veterinary technician, Randy (who is in the picture) is not only an extremely talented technician, but is also fun, caring, empathetic…he’s just about everything a doctor could ask for in a technician. He is my right hand. Well, a couple weeks ago tragedy struck his family. While camping at a lake, his father was asked for help by some other campers in locating their friend who was scuba diving and had failed to mark his location. The started walking the cliffs surrounding the lake when his father saw the missing scuba diver. He turned to get the attention of the others and slipped backward falling off the cliff. He fell 2 stories landing on his head and shoulder.
Needless to say, Randy dropped everything and flew to Arizona to be with his father. I found a relief technician who helped a couple days a week and the rest of the staff filled in where they could. We survived the 2 weeks Randy was away, which turned out to be the busiest 2 weeks this year! Randy returned to work last week after seeing a small improvement in his father’s condition. He was only here a couple days when his father took a turn for the worst. On Monday, after hearing his father was in kidney failure and was put on a respirator, Randy literally dropped everything again and left in the middle of his shift to drive back to Arizona. Although this puts an extreme strain on the clinic, Randy’s place right now is with his family. I’m not sure when or if Randy will return but I will hold his position here as long as I possibly can. All of our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family.
In the mean time, we welcome Christie back to the team! Christie worked at Aspen Grove last summer and just graduated as a Certified Veterinary Technician. She’s graciously agreed to help us out as long as she can. Christie’s fiancee is applying to several graduate schools throughout the country in hopes of starting in the fall.
So what doesn’t this have to do with your pets…well, nothing really. It’s just about a day in the life of vet and the people who surround him. For those of you who pray, please say a prayer for Randy and his father.
Glad to see you've come back!
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I want to let everyone know that’s we’ve set a date for our annual Spring Discount Clinic. Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 18 from 8am – 3pm. We’re offering 25% off:
Heartworm Tests
Heartgard
Leptospirosis Vaccine
Rattlesnake Vaccine
Home Again Microchips
Walk-ins are welcome but I recommend an appointment so you don’t have to wait…new clients welcome!
With that promotion out of the way, I’d like to tell you a little bit about the Leptospirosis and Rattlesnake vaccines so you can determine whether or not your dog is at risk.
Leptospirosis
Lepto is becoming more and more common in this area. It is a bacteria that dogs contract from contaminated water sources such as creeks, drainage ditches, and any other source accessible to wild life . Dogs, and people, are most susceptible to developing kidney failure from this infection. You read correctly, humans are vulnerable to leptospirosis as well. If you frequently take your dog hiking, camping, or to any other places where wild life lives you should consider protecting them from the letpospirosis bacteria. If you dog contracts lepto it can be treated through aggressive IV fluid therapy and antibiotics.
Rattlesnake Vaccine
I mention this one only because I’ve heard the majority of people comment that they didn’t know such a vaccine existed…well, it does!
If you need help determining your pet’s risk factors, remember, you can always contact me and I’ll be happy to help.
So somedays I learn lessons in my life away from the clinic that I take back to the care of my patients and my clients. Their is truly no substitute for life lessons.
My 6-year-old daughter began to have stomach cramps Saturday afternoon which led to multiple episodes of vomiting which led my wife and I to take her to urgent care. There, we were expecting to get something to help with the vomiting and pain and go about nursing her through this. Unfortunately, the urgent care physician almost immediately told us that an appendicitis was likely and we immediately needed to run some bloodwork and potentially needed a CT scan and surgery in the morning.
Wow! This knocked both my wife and I back. The thought of surgery for my daughter was a shock. It brought on so many emotions, but I was mostly scared and I felt like I had no control over the situation. I had to rely on the doctor’s recommendations, a doctor of whom I’d ever met before that night, and move forward.
Lesson #1
It is a privledge for people to allow myself and my team at the clinic to care for their pets (patients). A client’s trust in a doctors is amazing and I need to remember that everyday.
Lesson #2
Doctors see and speak about medical illnesses and treatments everyday. Surgery is a word spoken without regard because it is commonplace. As much as I try to now, I should be more empathetic when discussing potential diagnoses and tretment plans. Significant surgery is not common for our clients and is a big deal for any patient.
My daughter had her blood checked and treatment began on Saturday. Bloodwork was kind of marginal (not bad enough yet for surgery) and we planned on monitoring for 24 hours. Luckily, she began to get better on Sunday, and did not need any further treatment or any surgery.
We did find out that it was just a stomach flu, not food poisoning, not an appendicitis. I made this diagnosis myself on Sunday evening at approximately 11 pm when I started vomiting and did not stop for several hours. I eventually needed IV fluid therapy, but recovered pretty well in 24 hours.
Lesson #3
Six year old children are walking petri dishes just waiting to get you sick. Love you Ally!
Check out Boss playing with his new pink soccer ball, courtesy of Ally (my daughter)! He is having so much fun playing outside during this nice weather. When he’s inside his favorite pastimes include chasing his tail (sometimes he even catches it), and hunting our broom. After all that, there is nothing better than curling up in his kennel and snuggling with Ally…yep, she crawls in there with him! This poor dog just never gets any love around here…
He continues to recover nicely and is bearing more weight on his leg each day. If we can bear to let him go and his recovery continues to go well, he will be ready for adoption in a month or so.
Update on Boss, who is doing very well! He is now putting weight on his back leg. He is such a sweet dog. During the day Boss loves to hang out with us. He has already found a favorite toy and has a permanent bed in the corner of our treatment area in the back. He enjoys watching us work. He loves it when we talk to him and show him as much affection as possible. More to come…
Boss’s owner, through tears, agreed to relinquish ownership. She could not find any other financial avenues to continue to provide care and, unfortunately, the reality of owning and caring for Boss became all to evident.
As soon as I had time, we anesthetized Boss again and prepped for the pinning I wished to do. Dissecting down to the hip I found significant muscle damage, much more than I expected. Finding the fracture end was easy but I was now able to see the true damage to the femoral head. I found a growth plate fracture but a large section of the femoral head luxated from the pelvis with the rest of the femur. This type of fracture was not evident on initial x-ray and complicated the entire surgery.
I spent 2 hours attempting to place “trangular” pins and feel comfortable that that fixation would hold for healing. After multiple attempts, I finally decided that setting pins was not going work; the damage was too extensive. I proceeded with a salvage procedure called an FHO. This removes the entire femoral head and neck, eliminating pain but reducing the function of the hip joint. The final result of an FHO is the formation of a fibrous false joint, which has an unpredictable result. Small dogs can do quite well with an FHO due to limited weight on the area; large breed dogs, however, have more loss of function and potential debilitation. We can only wait to see how big Boss will get and how he can handle the situation. This procedure was not ideal, but should at the least make him more comfortable in the short term.
Boss is recovering well from the procedure and is even starting to get around on the surgical leg and feeling very well. I continue to be amazed how quickly most dogs and cats recover from these procedures. Today is a good day. Tommorrow is uncertain for Boss, but hopes are high and we will know soon enough how good his leg will be.
If all goes well, I hope to find Boss a new home soon.
Boss awoke from his anesthesia well (remember I had to anesthetize him just to get xrays) . Were keeping his pain contolled and he is resting for the moment. I called his owner and inform her of his fracture and set a time to discuss options from this point
When she arrived, I start in on the xrays and types of stabilization needed and give a fairly good prognosis barring any rare complications. I then recommend that they see an orthopedic surgeon and give an estimate for the service. Needless to say, the price of $2500-$3500 was overwhelming and, per the owner, completely unatainable.
I tried unsuccessfully to help find some financing to spread out the cost. Since no sources of help were available and we’re at a significant impasse. She simply does not have the finances to care for Boss at this time of need.
I offered to attempt the surgery myself. Not an board certified ortho surgeon, but this surgery I have done with success and the principles are basic. This will cut the costs in half at least and the prognosis is still good.
This compromise is still unacceptable to the owner. Boss is in a lot of pain and waiting on surgery will compromise healing. I can feel the decision inching towards euthanasia. He can’t just go home on pain meds. He can’t live in this current state and I just cannot put this dog to sleep.
I offered one last alternative. The practice will accept relinquisment of Boss from his current owner. I will take on his care and his surgery and his life. The owner will no longer have a say in his care, but no longer will have the financial burden either. This sounds harsh, but is done to benefit the pet and get his urgent medical needs met. This of course is difficult for the current owner to consider, but she knows that Boss’s pain needs to be fixed. She asks for the evening to consider her options, and decide tomorrow morning.
1:11 a.m. glared at me from the light on my phone. When I answered, a frantic young voice explained how her 5 month old puppy just got away from her and returned holding one leg up and in a lot of pain. I explained that a significant trauma had probably occured and he should be looked at ASAP at a emergency facility. She questioned the cost and I told her if she felt he could make it till morning I would see him first thing and determine how bad it could be. She decided that it was the only way she was able to financially provide the first steps in handling this accident.
Boss, a happy aussie/ husky mix was still wagging his tail while laying on the exam table, but I could tell he was in a lot of pain. Any movement of his leg illicted a yelp; a serious dislocation or fracture was an imminent diagnosis. My hope was dislocation of the hip joint — probably no surgery required, something this client could afford to manage if things went well. Pop it back in place. Sling the leg and a dog this young should heal well.
We sedated and anesthetized and got our survey xrays. The hip was not dislocated, but fractured–specifically, a growth plate fracture of the head of the femur. This has to be stabilized surgically. Usually pins are placed through the neck of the femur and driven across the fracture into the remaining head to stabilize and allow healing.
Growth plate fractures are special fractures that can lead to more complications, but overall we expect a good outcome from surgery and in the orthopedic world puppies are known as “healing machines.”
I call a couple of ortho surgeons and get estimates. $2500 -$3500 is where we’re falling for this 5 minute midnight escape. I have a distinct feeling that this whole situation is about to turn on money… and the lack there of. I cross my fingers hoping for a rich uncle or a pet insurance policy I don’t know about!
Oh my goodness; this economy is scary! Every day I hear new “worst” records for housing, stock market, employment … everything. And now pet care is also seeing its fair share of distress. More and more are cutting back on healthcare, nutrition and general expenses spent on their pets. I’m hearing that shelters are getting more surrendered pets from owners that simply can’t afford to keep them any longer.
Owning and caring for our four legged family members can be quite expensive. Average annual cost to own a dog is approximately $1400 and a cat is approximately $1000. This is no drop in the bucket and needs to be considered before taking the responsibility.
There are still many options to continue to provide great healthcare at more reasonably costs. At my practice, we run several monthly promotions each year for preventative care. Everything from dental cleanings, senior screenings, to everything you need for spring (heartworm testing and prevention, various vaccinations, other parasite screens). These provide the most common annual preventative healthcare at significantly reduced costs.
Now you may ask why we don’t provide that same cost all year long. Well, by gearing up for those needs (testing consumables, buying preventatives in bulk, staffing for the increased demand) we can pass on those savings to our clients.
Now these don’t help for the emergent issues, i.e. injuries acute illnesses. My best recommendation for this is pet health insurance. For a fairly small monthly premium ($20-$30), you can have the necessary means to care for your dog or cat when tragedy does hit. Most policies also have preventative care benefits if you wish. Below are a few links for several pet insurance companies; there are lots more out there is want to seach Google. Check them out:
