Monday, September 6, 2010

On Call, Wishing I Was Trialing

Labor Day weekend - for the past 5 years or so, Chris and I had made it our annual holiday to go to the states to trial with the dogs at Kaycee, Wyoming. The trial doesn't exist anymore, so I decided to have a wonderful weekend being on call. Sometimes, being on call means you come to the clinic in the morning to check on the patients, and then have the rest of the afternoon to do what you like - the phone being quiet. Other times, you come and don't get out until it is dark. Today is shaping up to be one of those long days. It started early this morning (1:30 am) with someone finding their cat after having been lost for 1 week. I would have said come in the morning, but they were frantic since the cat was crying. Minnie, was actually mini. She had been quite an overweight cat to start with, but after losing about 3 pounds, her backbone is showing. Unfortunately, with fat cats, when they don't eat for a spell, their livers can rebel. Minnie's liver is rebelling, and hopefully we can get her back eating soon.
In between calls, I am closely watching the outcomes at Soldier Hollow and Steamboat Springs, imagining I am there, and not doing yet another parvo test on a sick dog. The bloody stool in the dog I am looking at is not due to parvo, but due to it's eating it's own platelets, causing it to bleed. A good wack of steroids may help - I hope - we have it in it's early stage, so I will just readjust my horseshoe in my butt and clench.
I am hoping Jenny will blog soon with a play by play description of the runs at Soldier Hollow as I am cleaning up from a bulldog caesarian - 8 pups - doing my part to populate the veterinary community with the breed that can be a vet clinic's major client. We see alot of bulldogs here - and even though they are still dogs, some think this clinic is the best for bulldogs. We have had bulldog owners come from Thunder Bay, Ontario for us to see their pets. Special people bulldog owners are, very special.
Then I recheck the blocked cat - that is a cat that can't pee. It has been quite of a pisser of a case. We usually place a catheter in, then take it out in a couple of days and they can go on their own. This morning was the third time I replaced the catheter - it is becoming quite a pain in the butt, or more correctly, a pain in the urethra to fix this cat. I am going to pray to the cat gods tonight.
Now it is a dog with something stuck in it's mouth. Please people, don't feed bones to your dogs. Here I am, sedating a dog so I can remove a bone which has remarkably lodged itself on the top palate between the teeth. Thankfully a quick fix.
The phone is silent for the time being - I guess I'd better put it back on. A quick check on the Soldier Hollow website - Johnny and Sly must have had a rotton go with their 96, Denis Gellings and Jan was an RT, Faansie and Jill are leading it thus far. Yet another twinge, wishing I was there watching - better yet, competing there. It is early yet in the afternoon, and I am going to go and find some sheep for Fly and Gin for us to do shedding with. My own personal trial. Ten point sheds all the time. Perhaps we can repeat this at Virginia in 2 weeks time. Speaking about repeating, I had better go and repeat the bloodwork on the bleeding dog. The clotting gods will hear from me tonight.

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