Dr. Sandra Truli Springer, Holistic Vet House Call Services
Truli Holistic Veterinary Services: 877-DR-TRULI
“Can you autopsy my goldfish?” and other fun minutiae.
1. “What is your opinion on fruit?”
Err, regarding what? Eating it? I like blueberries and Philly Cream Cheese on German Rye Bread…
2. “Don’t dogs go into menopause?”
Nope. That would explain your pregnant 11-year-old American Pit Bull Terrier…
3. “Can you trim her toes?” Continue reading “Top 10 Quirkiest Questions to Ask the Vet”
“Well, your wolf has a urinary tract infection.”
One hectic Easter Sunday…
“Hey Doc, the wolf in Room 1 is waking up!”
I couldn’t hear very well through the din of activity in the pet emergency room. “The what in the what is what?”
An exasperated nurse retorted, “the wolf, you know, from the wolf sanctuary, her sedatives are wearing off.” Continue reading “A Wolf in My E.R.”
Two litter pans give a cat the choice of regular, soft, scoopable clay litter, which most cats appreciate very much, or even softer pelleted newspaper litter.
Giacomo was a 2 year-old Seal Point Himalayan cat with a penchant for (this cannot be put delicately) moving his bowels on the front hall throw rug. After laboratory tests, parasite screening tests, and a detailed conversation about his stresses (none) and his lifestyle (couch potato), his mom and I decided there was nothing wrong with Giacomo. He just liked going on that rug. Continue reading “Fastidious Himalayan Content with 2 Litter Pans”
Sammy would have died if I hadn’t pumped the dog treats out of his distended stomach
One look at Sammy, and anyone would know he was in trouble.
At 120 pounds, Sammy was a gigantic, chubby yellow lab. But that night in the emergency room, he looked miserable. He was pacing around the waiting room and retching up mostly nothing with a little foamy phlegm every few minutes. He couldn’t even sit down for a second.
Sammy’s gums were almost blue and his femoral pulses were weak and thready. His stomach bulged out behind his ribs; he looked as if he had a soccer ball inside his abdomen. Sammy was in shock, and near total collapse. Continue reading “(Near) Death by Biscuits”
“It’s like she’s 20 again!”
My oldest cat patient was 25 years old. She was a tiny little 5 pound calico cat named Sweetie. She had no ongoing health problems, no kidney disease, no hyperthyroidism, no heart disease, not even a heart murmur. She had escaped all of the older cat major maladies.
She came to see me about once a week to have her ears cleaned. It wasn’t difficult to do. Her owner could perform the task at home. However, she preferred to have Sweetie’s ear cleaned in the animal hospital. Why? (you may be asking…) Continue reading “25 Year Old Cat Arthritis Cured”
A frisky Dachshund is treated for atopy, otherwise known as allergies from inhaled allergens.
Heidi came to me with a satellite-dish Elizabethan collar around her head and a terrible case of skin problems. She had lived the last 6 years in that collar, because her mom, Susan, told me that whenever Heidi had the collar off, she would immediately start to chew at herself until her skin bled.
I looked at the frisky little reddish-brown short-haired Dachshund, and from a veterinarian’s perspective I saw thickened folds of blackened, greasy skin turned thick and rolling down her hind legs. This is called hyperpigmentation and elephantitis. Heidi also had patchy areas of thinning fur and flakey, dry, dandruffy skin. I looked over her 4 inch thick pile of previous medical records, including dermatology consults, prescription diets, holistic raw foods diets, and acupuncture treatments, and I saw some things missing. Continue reading “Dachshund Dumps Collar After 6 Years”
“Free? What do you mean, free?”
I was waiting for my last patient of the day. “Chocolate” was a 2 year-old chocolate labrador retriever. He had been seen by an emergency vet the night before, and I was supposed to check him to see how he was doing. I was told he had bumps on his body, had a bunch of tests done, but still no one knew what was wrong with him or how to treat him. Continue reading “Chocolate Lab Survives Because of Publix Free Antibiotics”
From lack of a cheap vaccine, Negrita the little black cat lay dying in my arms.
I met the nicest couple. But they were in big trouble. 12 “outside cats” had passed away in their back yard within the past week. Little skinny cat bodies lying lifeless all over the back yard. They brought me a tiny short-haired domestic black cat named “Negrita.”
They spoke very little English, and I spoke even less Spanish. I managed to figure out that they believed the other cats were poisoned by the neighbor and Negrita was the remaining cat. She had started to twitch , vomit, and act lethargic just like the other cats had acted before they died. Negrita was extra special to this couple because she was the only cat who had walked into their house, curled up on a La-Z-Boy chair and moved in with them. They loved her very much.
I barely had the heart to tell them that I thought their cat had feline panleukopenia virus, otherwise known as Continue reading “Cat Survives Feline Distemper”
“Josh ate a straight needle! What do I do?”
Josh is a 6 year-old Wheaton Terrier, beloved by all. I received a frantic call on a Wednesday morning, “Josh ate a straight needle! What do I do?”
“When did he eat the needle? And by the way, are you sure? And by the way, you sew?!”
“Last night, when my husband was watching him. He saw him eat it! I don’t know how I have time, but sometimes I sew.”
Now, I’m not at all shocked that a curious, rambunctious Wheatie will eat a sewing needle. I was very surprised, to say the least, that a busy mom, dental hygienist, running her husband’s dental practice, had a sewing room! People are amazing.
“Bring him right over, I’ll take an x-ray.”
There it was — 2 inches of Made-in-China steel — straight needle. The funny thing was, it had made it through 17 feet of intestine and was just inches away from being pooped out uneventfully. Which it was the next morning. Problem solved. Dad off the hook (er, needle.)
Not to make light of the situation, a hole in your innards from a needle, or a needle loose in your insides doing what it wants can necessitate emergency surgery. But you’d be surprised how often things work out, in spite of the vet.
…unable to bring himself to touch Cappy, he boarded the elevator and rushed into his condominium.
I saw a sweet 15-year old tiny 10 pound shih tzu named Cappucino. His owner had returned home from shopping and Cappy was riding in the crook of his arm, waiting for the elevator, when Cappy slipped and fell onto the marble floor of his condominium lobby. Cappy did not move and his tongue turned blue. His owner freaked out, sure he was dead, and unable to bring himself to touch him, he boarded the elevator and rushed into his condominium.
“Cappy’s dead! He’s dead on the floor of the lobby! You’ll have to go down and get him, ” he implored his housekeeper.
The housekeeper went down to the lobby, no Cappy! Where could his body be? Turns out, Cappy woke up, started wandering around all on his own in the lobby and found a friendly doorman to sit with while he waited to be taken home.
Cappy had nothing wrong with him on examination. He probably just had the wind knocked out of him. Waking up all alone in a cold, marble lobby – not so much fun. He’s reunited with the crook of his owner’s arm, with a snazzy new harness that I taught his human to keep a finger on at all times!