thesecretlifeofavettech

[thesecretlifeofavettech]

Hello friends.

I have an important announcement.

We got a new puppy.

Her name is Mulder and with our other dog, Scully, we are complete.

Please enjoy my favorite pictures of her. They’re tolerating each other but there is definitely a blossoming friendship… which I think says a lot about our favorite special agents real relationship.

[thesecretlifeofavettech]

One day I would like to have 1/10 the audacity of a Guinea pig.

[thesecretlifeofavettech]

Incredible! As someone who does cat/dog dentistry for a living, I’ll be honest and say I never once considered reptiles. Now on my bucket list is to do an iguana dental prophy. 🥰

Why dont people ever talk about reptile dentistry? I see this alot in bearded dragons, It’s real common but no one ever talks about it? I’ve also seen it in chameleons….. less frequently, but it’s still a thing.

[thesecretlifeofavettech]

This poor rabbit had a malocclusion that resulted in his incisors growing into his upper lip! Thankfully he was taken in for an anesthetized tooth trim where we brought back his incisors to their normal height. He also received an endoscopic oral examination to make sure there weren’t issues with his molars. He will most likely need maintenance incisor trims for the rest of his life to prevent overgrowth.

With normal dentition in a rabbit, the incisors meet during chewing to slowly wear them down. Rabbits have hypsodontic teeth meaning they will continue to grow their whole lives! It is important to make sure your rabbit has plenty of roughage (hay, sticks, dried grasses) to eat to encourage their teeth to wear down!

[thesecretlifeofavettech]

Thankfully, being in the field long enough you begin to understand the subtle cues to help your patients feel better! It sure would make the job so much easier if they could talk though!

[thesecretlifeofavettech]

4yo DSH with severe constipation that had resulted in megacolon. The large structures you can see in the distal abdomen are the cat’s descending and transverse colon that are absolutely packed with poo. O’ had cost concerns so this cat was anesthetized and manually obstibated (poo removed with a gloved and lubricated finger) and once recovered placed on a gastric motility drug and a high fiber diet. It certainly makes me grateful that I don’t suffer on the toilet! 😅

[thesecretlifeofavettech]

To all my amazing and fantastic followers,

What a rollercoaster this pandemic has been, and especially in the veterinary field. I can’t even begin to tell you how burned out we are as an entire field but what I can tell you is that we are still here. Still working tirelessly to make sure that your pets have the best veterinary care we can provide. Still working insane hours to fit in as many sick patients as we can with the overbooked ER rooms. Still crying with you, and laughing with you, and celebrating successes with you.

We are human. Just like you. We make mistakes like you. We deserve a little grace and compassion just like you.

I am thankful for all the clients that take the time to tell us how appreciative they are, who send us lunches when they know we are overbooked and understaffed, and who embrace us with kind words and actions during these difficult times.

I am not thankful for the clients that berate us when they can’t come inside the clinic with their pet, who write nasty reviews on yelp because we couldn’t fit them in to an already slammed day, and who verbally harass us when we can’t fulfill their request immediately. We don’t deserve this treatment and it seems to get worse every month.

Take a little time to appreciate the people in your life that care for your furry friend. We are in this field because we love animals. Not because we make a bunch of money or for fun or for the “puppies and kittens”. We often are so tired when we get home that we can’t give our own pets the extra love and attention they deserve and that devastates us.

[thesecretlifeofavettech]

If this isn’t the truth. It’s good medicine to keep your brachycephalic patients intubated until they are sitting in sternal recumbency, but some of our patients breath so well with a tube, we keep it in a little longer! Often our patients will fight us as they near extubation because the feeling of being intubated is uncomfortable for them. Clearly not so much for our smoosh-faced friends!

[thesecretlifeofavettech]

Cats. Always in control.

[thesecretlifeofavettech]

Foreign Body Ingestion! 18m FS Weimaraner with a habit of eating things she shouldn’t. Any guesses as to what she swallowed this time?

[thesecretlifeofavettech]

Happy Veterinary Technician Week to all my fellow Veterinary Nurses out there. We do so much for our patients and only ask that they get better in return. I could not be more proud to call my coworkers my friends. Give a Veterinary Technician out there some love today and this week. They truly deserve it.

[thesecretlifeofavettech]

English Bulldog MRI. MN 4yo had been experiencing facial tremors and focused aggression on other dogs in the household. He went to the Neurologist to rule out a brain tumor. Luckily, no signs of tumors! He is now on potassium bromide and doing quite well. Check out those LIPS! And all that extra skin that really serves no purpose except to look all wrinkled and adorable and give them stinky faces. 😘😂 Honestly my favourite part of this video is the brief snippet you get of his mandibular premolars. Teeth are so cool!

[thesecretlifeofavettech]

I’m celebrating nine years at my current job today. I was able to find a picture from every single year I’ve been with this company. I love my career and I couldn’t ask to do anything more fulfilling in life. Cheers to all the other LVTs and assistants out there that are constantly bettering the lives of our patients. We are the voices for these animals and they depend on us for help.

[thesecretlifeofavettech]

Chicken bone GI obstruction. Young MN chihuahua mix presented with lethargy for 3 days and vomiting every time he tried to eat or drink. Gas patterns present indicate the bones have probably lodged in their journey through the gastrointestinal tract and are not completely blocking anything from going further. Surgery was recommended to the owner. Unfortunately we do not have a follow up on this case at this point in time.

[thesecretlifeofavettech]

Osteosarcoma in a rabbit. See the large protrusion coming off the tibula and completely degrading the proximal point of the fibula.

[thesecretlifeofavettech]

This my friends- is a cat toenail. This was found deeply embedded in the pad of a 15yo domestic longhair. The O said they could never groom her or handle her paws and it had been three years since her last vet visit. This is so bad, and so very sad. We try day in and day out to stress the importance of yearly pet visits. Even if the owner had not been able to examine the cat themselves, a veterinarian surely would have found this during the comprehensive examination and it probably never would have gotten this bad. Even cats need annual examinations!

[thesecretlifeofavettech]

When you wake up on Sunday morning completely regretting Saturday night's decisions.