September 2008 - The Parklander Magazine

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PET TALK The Perils of Rocky By Glenn Kalick, DVM urinalysis. Strike three. He said he still had the prescription for the Amoxicillin and would start him on the meds. When he brought Rocky in this time, he told me that he had not realized that I was no longer practicing in Ft. Lauderdale. He couldn’t believe that the veterinarian there wanted to do all of this expensive bloodwork, i.e., x-rays, urinalysis, etc. (I have been in my present practice for six years, so that means Rocky had not been seen by a veterinarian in six years). Rocky was skin and bones. The owner said he tried everything to get him to eat, but he refused everything. He had been gradually losing weight over the years but the weight loss had been most dramatic over the past two weeks. Rocky was probably six pounds now and in his youth, was a 17-pound cat. The owner wanted the cat “fixed”. I went over my diagnostic plan, and per his usual response, he quickly shot it down. At that point, I told him that I could not help the cat without the tests, that I left my magic wand at Disney World and, for the cat’s sake, he needed to have the tests performed. If it wasn’t for his daughter next to him, crying, he probably would have taken Rocky home. He told me I could run the tests, but not the x-rays. Recently I ran into a gentleman in Publix who almost ran me down with his cart when he recognized me. He was so excited to see me and claimed that he used to bring his cat to me when I practiced in Ft. Lauderdale and that I “fixed” his cat without performing any diagnostic tests. He told me that he still lived in Davie, but would like me to look at Rocky. I told him to have his records faxed over to the hospital and then I would be happy to see him. By the time I got back to the animal hospital the records were already there— on one page. Eleven years of medical history was on one page of paper. It seems that eleven years ago, I gave one set of vaccines to a threepound stray cat that had intestinal parasites.The owner never finished the vaccines and never came in for follow up dewormings.Two years later, the cat came in for vomiting and I recommended a full work up including bloodwork and x-rays, a fecal parasite exam and a check for Feline Aids and leukemia. He refused the work up and told me that his last cat used to have hairballs and that he still had some hairball medication left. Three years later Rocky was brought in with a fight wound. It was superficial but there was a central aspect of the swelling that might later have caused him problems. I told him that the bite wound penetrated the skin and that we could be looking at an abscess. I recommended we aggressively clean the wound and start antibiotics to potentially avoid abscess surgery. Once again, he refused treatment. He said that he had Neosporin at home and he would call me if he needed me. I did get him to at least take a prescription for Amoxicillin for Rocky. One year later, Rocky’s owner called to report that he was urinating all over the house. I told him that Rocky might have a urinary tract infection; possible bladder crystals in the urine, or the inappropriate urination might be behavioral, so I suggested he bring him in for a Amazingly, Rocky is a medical wonder. He tested positive for Feline Aids (outdoor fighting cat) and had hookworms (makes you wonder if he ever didn’t have worms). Rocky was severely anemic and in desperate need of a transfusion. He had a dramatically elevated liver and pancreatic enzymes signifying probable liver disease and pancreatitis. Rocky was in kidney failure and was hypothermic. He also was hyperthyroid (when a cat has a tumor on the thyroid gland causing it to lose weight and vomit). All of these problems could cause vomiting and all of the treatments included a long hospital stay, IV fluids, medications and repeated bloodwork to monitor the success of the treatment. I called the owner and his teenage daughter picked up the phone. I told her that Rocky was very sick and to please have her dad come in so we could go over the treatment plan. She wanted to know if Rocky would be okay and I told her that we were trying, but we needed to know all of Rocky’s problems before we started any treatment. She told me that she knew Rocky better than anyone did and to take the x-ray, but not to tell her dad because he would get mad. In the meantime, she would talk to him. I took the x-ray and there it was— a foreign body in the stomach. When father and daughter came in, they took one look at the x-ray and knew exactly what it was, a cap from a tube of lip balm. It seemed Rocky loved chapstick, especially the fruity ones. Rocky was transferred to the emergency referral hospital close to his home and received a blood transfusion and 24 hours of IV fluids. He then had the gastric foreign body removed. Afterwards, his bloodwork improved, he regained his appetite and was given subcutaneous fluids every other day for his kidneys and medication daily for his thyroid tumor. There are three important facts in this story: The power of a daughter’s tears; never stop insisting on the importance of good medicine; and, in order to treat a condition, complete diagnostic workups need to be completed. 104 SEPTEMBER 2008
If you’ve ever gone through a hurricane evacuation, you know first hand how stressful and frightening it can be. In addition to the stress of leaving your home and traveling to some place safe, the fear of what may happen makes for an unbelievably traumatic event, not only for you, but for your four-legged family members, as well. Having lived in South Florida for more than ten years, and having weathered Hurricane Andrew, these are the tips that I followed to keep the stress of my canine family members at a minimum: WEATHER PERMITTING Hurricane Survival for Your Dog By Kathy Santo 1. Have a Pet Survival Kit Packed and Ready. This includes a two-week supply of dry food and medication (if needed), water, bags to pick up after your dog, and cleaning supplies in case of an accident! Be sure to include leashes, bowls, your dog’s favorite blanket and toys, a waterproof-sealed (laminated) picture of your pet (if your dog gets lost you can make copies for a flyer), up-to-date medical records, photocopies of all tags, microchip information, and a list of emergency phone numbers (vet, local animal shelters that will house dogs in an emergency, and friends of relatives). 2. BEFORE a hurricane threatens, research which hotels in and out of your area will accept pets. Store this information in or near your Pet Survival Kit. 3. Make sure your dog has all the necessary training to be a well-behaved companion. A solid “Come”,“Stay” and “Heel” command are essential for keeping your dog safe in unfamiliar circumstances. 4. Now is the time to teach your dog that it’s fun to travel and visit strange new places. A dog who is used to adventures will be far less stressed than one who never leaves his home or yard except for yearly vet visits! Kathy Santo, founder of Everyday Pets, has been a professional dog trainer for 23 years. Summer Camp was a great success this year. Completing our fourth year offering the camp, all the children learned many aspects of riding and horsemanship. We will be offering Holiday and Vacation Camps throughout the school year. Please call for dates and details. R Farm Welcomes… Kimberly Arsenault as our newest Saddleseat instructor. We are now offering a full Huntseat lesson program with instructor Leslie Venekamp. R Farm also welcomes Andrey Ferreir, Circle F Performance Horses . He will be training at R Farm doing western pleasure/horsemanship/showmanship, trail and English pleasure. Fall plans around the barn… A larger hunter jumper ring is currently under construction, which means we will soon be able to offer a full size course. We will be showing at Parkland as well as nationally. We will also be continuing the “East Coast Schooling” shows at R farm. For further information or to schedule a visit, please call (954) 421-3991. the PARKLANDER 105
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THE FAMILY FRIENDLY MAGAZINE SINCE
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EDITOR’S NOTE Remembering 9-11 an
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Dedicated Dental Dr George Gounakis
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IN REMEMBRANCE This article was wri
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FOX RIDGE ESTATES 5642 SF • 5BR/5
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In closing, a word about flip-flopp
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COMMUNITY NEWScontinued from page 1
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Hairweaving by Rhoda is the oldest
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Professional Nail Care for Ladies a
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the PARKLANDER 27
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HOME DESIGN M E E T C E C I L H AY
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Locate items in the ceiling such as
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HOME THEATER ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEMS
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HOME DESIGN V By Saerina Tauritz V
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Candlelight, combined with a down-l
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TILE AND MARBLE RESTORATION Our Pro
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Page 63 and 64: Highlighted as a centerpiece of thi
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Page 68: ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT DAN DADDONA cont
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Page 73 and 74: Tennessee Williams became a regular
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Page 97 and 98: Stoneman Douglas High School By Ama
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September 2008 - The Parklander Magazine

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