May2015

A
by Glenn Kalick, DVM
Penny
Saved
A mom and her
two sons came
in with their
Goldendoodle
for the third
time in two
months for not
acting right.
Today, he
wasn’t eating
or acting like
himself, and
mom thought
he probably ate something
again and wanted
him X-rayed like we
had done before. The
older son, who was in
high school and had
waited for a dog his
whole life and considered
him a present for
good grades, was very
frustrated because
the Goldendoodle
keeps eating the little
brother’s toys. The
Goldendoodle
has always
passed
the toys
naturally
and never
needed
surgery,
but that is
the concern
with three toys in
two months. The look of
frustration on the mom and older son’s faces and the tears
on the younger son’s face showed that a long discussion
took place before the appointment.
The X-rays showed a small ball in the stomach along with
other items. The items looked small enough that we induced
vomiting where we found a virtual toy chest. Coincidentally, I
had a puppy in the hospital that just went through surgery to
retrieve an item in the stomach. I asked mom if I could show
the younger son the puppy, took him to the radiology room,
and showed him the X-ray with the metal piece. I asked what
he thought the puppy ate, and he said that it looked like a
coin. He also remembered that his dog ate a dime and threw
it up. I told him that this 8-pound puppy was not as lucky. The
coin was a penny and certain pennies are poisonous to dogs.
This puppy was very small, and he didn’t vomit the penny.
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PET TALK
The fluid in the stomach caused the coin to dissolve, and the
zinc in the penny caused the puppy to destroy his own blood.
Therefore we gave him a blood transfusion and then brought
him to surgery to retrieve the penny. The boy wanted to know
how the puppy was so I told him that “he is still here and I’m
sure would like to meet you.”
A very excited boy saw the little terrier in a cage with an
Elizabethan collar on so he couldn’t lick his sutures or IV
catheter. He was on a heating blanket, and the IV line and
pump were on the front of the cage. My technician was
taking his temperature and was going to give him an injection.
Instead of seeing a happy, tail-wagging puppy, he saw for the
first time a puppy the day following surgery. It was certainly a
healthier- looking little guy today compared to when we first
saw the emaciated, anemic puppy the day before, but not to
a small child who only sees his dog after he feels better after
either vomiting or passing his toys. I showed him the penny.
He could see the pitting in the penny from the stomach acids.
I told him that his dog has been very
lucky that he has never needed surgery
but your mom and brother are concerned
that if you don’t put your toys away, your
dog will need surgery. I literally saw the
lightbulb go on. He seemed to understand
what I was saying.
We walked back to the examination room where he showed
his mother and brother the penny and talked about the puppy.
The mom smiled and told him that the surgery was probably
expensive and maybe the money spent on the surgery could
have been used to go on a vacation instead, so he needs to
be more careful. The little boy said that at least they saved the
penny and that can go toward the vacation. P
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