Classic Lymphoma Diagnosis in a Dog

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Fuzzy Does Not Feel Well

“Doc, Fuzzy just doesn’t seem right.  He’s been sleeping a lot lately and he doesn’t walk as far as he should when we go out.  He just sits down and refuses to go further until I turn around and face home, then he miraculously has enough energy to go the direction he wants to go!  I can’t imagine what could be wrong with him,” said Antoinette, Fuzzy’s human mom.  Antoinette is no dummy.  She brings her pets yearly for check-ups, asks smart questions, like, “Do we really need all of these vaccines,” and her dogs are always happy and well-adjusted.

What’s This Hole in My Dog’s Elbow?

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“Bear Has a Lump on His Elbow”

Senior Chow Chow

A stately, stiff-legged, arthritic 14-year-old golden-colored Chow Chow stared at Doc Truli and wagged the tip of his medium-length, slightly curled tail. Bear had his doubts about a visit to the vet’s.

“Bear, honey, go say hi to the Doctor,” said Bear’s well-meaning mom. Bear stood in the open exam room doorway, his shoulders in the room, his hind end strategically positioned in the hallway leading back to the truck. Bear was hoping he was getting a dog cookie and that would be the end of it.

“You want a cookie, Bear?” said Doc Truli.

“Lies, all lies,” thought Bear the Chow Chow, “Do they think I’m stupid?”

Doc Truli held out a cookie.

“Oh, a cookie,” Bear walked over, took the cookie with his front incisors only, careful not to touch the veterinarian with his delicate lips.  bear threw the cookie down on the tile floor in front of himself and looked up at the Doc to see what her next move would be.

“He’s shy,” said Bear’s mom.

No, he’s smart, thought Doc Truli. Smart dogs are much harder to examine than silly, happy dogs.

“Okay Bear, we’re going to have you stand still while I examine you and especially take a look at that elbow,” said Doc Truli, hoping to recruit Bear through voluntary cooperation.  A trapped, cornered Chow Chow is impossible to open negotiations with, Bear and the Doc needed to be on good terms from the start.  Hence, the cookie bribe.

Bears mom started with her story. “Bear has a lump on his elbow for a long time.  It didn’t seem to hurt him, so I didn’t bring him in for a physical.  Then one day, it just looked like that.”

Relief for Dog Hip Dysplasia

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14-Year-Old German Shepherd has Trouble Getting Up

“Bilbo has been slowing down for a few years, but now it seems to really bother him,” said the sweet, gentle shepherd-mix’s mom.

Sweet, patient Bilbo's hips hurt

Hind Leg Muscle Atrophy is a Classic Sign of Disuse

Doc Truli examined the 14-year-old hips. Bilbo’s leg muscles looked sunken and small. The muscles over the femurs felt mushy and weak. By contrast, Bilbo’s shoulders were developed and thickened from years of carrying his weight on the front.

“Dogs naturally carry more than 50% of their body weight over their shoulders,” said Doc Truli, but when dysplasia and arthritis attack the hips, the shoulders take most of the weight and the hind leg muscles atrophy from lack of use.”

Because Bilbo’s hind legs were very skinny, we could tell he had been compensating for hip pain and/or dysfunction for a long time.

5-Year-Old Ginger Cat Grows Alarming Black Spots

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“What Are Those Black Spots on My Cat’s Gums?”

Heavenly Ginger Cat

“Doc, Prince Harry never used to have these black spots in his mouth, did he?” asked Harry’s concerned mom.

“I know what you are thinking.  You’re wondering if your cat has melanoma,” said Doc Truli.

Harry’s worried mom bit her lip and nodded her head.  Her red hair bounced up and down from the force of her nodding.  Her freckled nose flushed redder than normal.  Harry’s mom was incredibly worried.

Cat’s Chest Tap Proves Invaluable

Castiel After Treatment

Castiel’s Thoracocentesis Proves Therapeutic and Diagnostic

Cas, the one-year-old domestic short-haired black cat could not breathe.  In order to diagnose the fluid seen on his chest x-rays he needed an urgent thoracocentesis.

How Does the Veterinarian Diagnose Fluid in a Cat’s Chest?

Castiel After Treatment

Castiel’s Future Depended on a Fast, Accurate Diagnosis

Castiel, the one-year-old domestic short-haired black cat came to Doc Truli in a state of severe respiratory distress.  He was panting and his elbows stuck out to his sides in order to spread his chest wider to get air in.  He did not have long to live and needed risky chest x-rays to guide his treatment plan. Unfortunately, a stethoscope cannot distinguish the causes of the panting, and thus the cure for the problem.  Castiel needed stat radiographs of his chest (X-Rays).

Kitty Cat Angel Saves 1-Year-Old Black Cat Panting and Desperate

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 A Cat Who Cannot Breathe

Castiel After Treatment

Castiel, a one-year-old male neutered domestic short-haired cat with big round orange eyes panted at Doc Truli.  He sat hunched on the stainless steel exam table with his little kitty elbows abducted out away from the sides of his body and his tongue virtually folded in half and flicking in and out of his mouth in a fast, desperate panting motion.  A panting cat is a dead cat unless immediate action fixes his problem.

 ”A panting cat is a dead cat,” says Doc Truli, “unless immediate action fixes his problem.”

How to Get Better Results From Veterinarians

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What To Do When Your Pet is Still Sick?

Basically, you’ve gone to the vet.  Maybe many veterinarians.  Your  dog still has terrible skin, or your cat still vomits almost every day.  You are frustrated.  The profession that is supposed to help you has let you down and taken your money in the meantime and you are sad and alienated.  Sound about right?

Sugar Glider awaits eye surgery.

You Just Can’t Face Disappointment from Another Doctor

As a veterinarian, I must overcome the pessimism and honestly, the “wall” between you and veterinary medicine that has been built brick-by-brick over years of disappointment and poor results.  Do not misunderstand me- I love my profession.  Every veterinarian is devoted to their work moreso than any other profession we know.  But miscommunication about money, expectations, and a failure to express human concern for someone’s suffering pet have chased pet parents away from the veterinarian’s consultation room.

How to Get a Fat Dog to Lose Weight

Black Lab Flab: Part II

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Last week, we discussed how to tell if your dog is fat.  75% of dogs in America are fat, and those numbers are growing around the world.  Obesity in dogs shortens their lifespan by 2-4 years!  So, now that you know you have a fat dog and you want your dog to be healthy and live as long as possible, how do you get started?

Black Lab Flab

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“Doctor, My Dog’s Supposed to Have Extra Padding….Right?”

So here’s the rub: Labrador Retrievers are almost universally the fattest dogs a veterinarian sees in a day.  But, as dogs bred to survive the cold waters of the North Atlantic (see Labrador, northernmost part of Newfoundland, Canada.)  They seek food and they store food readily.  This predisposition to beg for food and steal food serves them well if they are retrieving ducks and game birds in the cold waters off the northern Atlantic ocean coastline.  In a modern household, their family business of pretending they are starving all of the time lands them a one-way ticket to obesity.