A Veterinary Journal by Claire Poole
February
Chapter 2 - Page 4
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Friday 13th February
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Friday 13th February
Friday 13th! Not the most auspicious day for our ops list this morning. The local charity has inherited two Rottweiler dogs from a family break-up, and our job today is to castrate them. Rottweilers can be charming pets, but some can be difficult and I have had a few narrow escapes with them in my city practice, where I suspect they were often bred for the characteristics which cause us problems. These incidents have made me a little twitchy around the breed. This is a serious disadvantage. There is an old saying amongst doggy people that fear travels along the lead. This is very true - animals are incredibly sensitive to emotions. They are like little radios tuning into the waves emanating from people nearby. Waves of nervousness or irritation will always adversely affect the animal’s behaviour, so it is important to be relaxed and confident when working as a vet. It is also important to relax owners as a nervous owner will upset their pet. All vets will have had the experience of a dreadful consulting session when nothing seems to go right and the patients are all downright awkward. This usually happens when the vet is anxious or uptight, perhaps rushing to make up lost time. Part of a good vet’s job is to put both owner and patient at their ease by exuding warmth and confidence. After years of practice, it is possible to control your demeanour, but this can be hard work sometimes! So ... we take it very carefully with the Rotties. Neither dog makes a fuss when given a sedative injection - a good omen. This calms both patients - and vet, and the day goes smoothly. Vets do have an ability to read animals’ behaviour borne of many years of observation, and I find this instinct seldom lets me down. I rarely get bitten these days - if I do, it is usually because I have been careless and pressed on against my better judgement.
As well as ‘bird bottom’ week, we are also having a ‘rat’ week, and our next task is to remove a tumour from Roland the rat’s back. This has grown rapidly from pea to hazelnut size. Nowadays we have very effective anaesthetics for small creatures. Roland is injected with a combination of anaesthetic drugs, then is given a reversing agent to bring him round when the operation is finished. Before the surgery, he is given a small quantity of fluid under the skin to prevent dehydration. During and after the surgery, he is kept on a heated pad - heat loss can easily kill these small patients - and soon after recovery, he is offered food to keep his energy levels up. He recovers well and goes home with a happy owner.
Unfortunately, our next rat is not so fortunate. He is rushed in as an emergency but has broken his back and we can do nothing but painlessly put him to sleep, leaving his young owner heartbroken. Rats make lovely pets as they are intelligent and gentle, seldom being known to bite. It is one of life’s paradoxes that we spend so much time treating these little rodents while elsewhere great efforts are made to destroy them. The old factory in Clayfern is being demolished this week, and the resident rats are on the move - into the nearby houses. During surgery tonight, I see a little Yorkie who might have eaten some rat poison left in a garage.Checking the name of the product on my chart, I confirm that it is a relative of Warfarin, an anti-coagulant. These drugs work by increasing blood vessel fragility and reducing the blood’s ability to clot. The victims literally bleed to death. It appears unlikely that our patient could have eaten enough to cause a problem, and she seems well so far, but I give her an injection of vitamin K1 as a precaution. This helps the blood’s ability to clot. We will check her again tomorrow to be on the safe side. Rat poison is usually incorporated in grain but seems to be irresistible to dogs and cats,and poisoning scares are not uncommon. The cat belonging to the local school actually retrieved several sachets of poison and deposited them on the doorstep. It certainly made a change from the more usual dead bird or mouse.
Copyright Claire Poole 2005
