Author: virtuavet

Good Pet Mommies and Great Nurses

How many kids do you know who would imagine a spider would like some grooming, let alone not smoosh the spider immediately?

These three pet-parents stand out for their devotion, hope, optimism, and dedication to learning to offer whatever their pet needs to be happy and comfortable.

You’ve Come a Long Way, Mommy

This first pet parent is a single woman on her mid-forties, divorced, with two beautiful Persian cats.  She loved her cats, but she did not realize her older cat, Simon, was in complete and utter kidney failure, with hypercalcemia and hypertension until he needed intensive care just to get him through the first night.

Does not sound very impressive, right?

Listen to this: not only did Simon get better.  Mom gives him his subcutaneous fluids, special food, hypertension meds, kidney meds, and vitamins every day.  This cat has such a poor prognosis (Phosphorus of 24, people…the vets out there know what I’m talking about), that the internist called Doc Truli to ask what the autopsy showed! Continue reading “Good Pet Mommies and Great Nurses”

Pet Vaccine License Exemptions

Person on phone: “Hello? Animal control? I need a deceased racoon carted away from the street in from of my house.” Animal Control: “You need ‘dead animal control.’ Click. Person on phone: “?”

How to Find Out if Your Municipality has an Rabies Vaccine Exemption Procedure

Many laws in the US are available online.  If yours are not, then you can get copies from the county courthouse, chat up a good clerk if you’re in a small town, or ask the local veterinarian if they know about an exemption.

Propose a Rabies Vaccine Exemption Clause if You Can’t Find One!

A rabies vaccine exemption clause is a reasonable guideline or law detailing what to do in the event a pet cannot be vaccinated safely.   Continue reading “Pet Vaccine License Exemptions”

9-Year-Old Chihuahua Needs 9 Teeth Removed

*!*# If your dog suddenly stops eating hard food or hard crunchy treats, get the teeth checked by a veterinarian who enjoys and understands working with teeth!!!!

It Starts as a Tiny Lump

“Doctor, I’m worried about this lump on Tiny.  It’s been there for a coupla years, but it’s been bothering me, and I wanted to get it checked out,” said Tiny’s mom.

A black, long-haired 9-year-old Chihuahua stood looking up and smiling at Doc Truli.  Her tail wagged faster than a puppy Boston Terrier’s tail!

“Has the lump gotten bigger, smaller, or stayed the same?” asked Doc Truli.

Tru Tip:

“Doctors want to know if a lump has gotten bigger, smaller, or stayed the same since you first noticed it.  Getting bigger might be a bad sign.  Getting smaller could mean the lump is inflammation, not cancer.  Staying the same makes the doctor wonder what made you feel the urge to make the appointment.  A good doctor will ask more questions to find out what put you over the uncomfortable edge and made you schlep your dog or cat to the vet that particular day,” says Doc Truli.

“It’s exactly the same.  I just figured, since we’re here because I got that reminder card, I’d mention it,” said Tiny’s mom.

“Well, the lump is about 4 mm, round, and fully under the skin.  There’s a chance it’s benign.  We should schedule surgery and have it removed and tested,” said the Doc. Continue reading “9-Year-Old Chihuahua Needs 9 Teeth Removed”

Low Blood Sugar Can Kill a Puppy

Low Blood Sugar in Puppies: Learn About: Breeds, Signs, Prevention, Treatment, VirtuaVet Pet Peeves, Other Diseases Masquerading as Low Blood Sugar…

“Puppy Passed Out, Shaking, Won’t Get Up!”

A 12-week-old female Maltese puppy curled up in an unnatural position in the middle of a dirty pink kitchen towel.  Slimey drool and corn syrup stuck all over her chin and her whiskers.  Her little eyes shut tightly, she barely breathed.  Then her paw twitched spastically.

(There is no picture of this because Yours Truli, VirtuaVet, was running down the hospital hallway to the treatment room, “Get the Dextrose solution and the I.V., STAT!”  No time for pictures when a little life is on the line.) Continue reading “Low Blood Sugar Can Kill a Puppy”

Baby Bunny Blues

Unfortunately, Doc could feel every vertebra and every rib underneath the fluffy soft fur. This baby bunny was in real trouble.

A Sick Baby Bunny is No Joke

Inexperienced Bunny Mom Mistakes Choking

A baby bunny rested on Doc Truli’s examination table.

“Doc, I think he’s choking.  Is he going to die?” said the Bunny’s new mom.

Doc Truli looked at the tiny bunny.  He was a soft silvery-grey and white.  He fit in the palm of your hand with his face hanging over the side.  He kicked a little, which is good for a scared bunny.  If a bunny is too sick, they do not even complain about strangers holding them.  Unfortunately, Doc could feel every vertebra and every rib underneath the fluffy soft fur.  This baby bunny was in real trouble. Continue reading “Baby Bunny Blues”

Fat Chihuahua

Well, we finally made our dogs as needy, neurotic, and fat as the average American! 65% of American dogs are fat.

Fat Dogs Epidemic in US

Well, we finally made our dogs as needy, neurotic, and fat as the average American!  65% of American dogs are fat.  Many are obese.  No one seems to either 1) know it, or 2) think it’s a big deal.

Here’s how you know if your dog is fat:

  1. Cannot feel or count the ribs.
  2. Cannot see a waistline from the side.
  3. Cannot see a waistline from the top.

Simple. See what I mean?

A fat dog is a “big” deal.

If your dog is fat, he or she will:

  1. Suffer arthritis, bronchitis, collapsing trachea, or heart failure much more easily than a thin dog.
  2. Die 2-4 years before he or she should.

2-4 years to a chihuahua or a labrador is like 20 years for us!  Imagine that!

fetching chihuahua coquette
fat fetching chihuahua coquette
fat back chihuahua
fat back chihuahua
fat side chihuahua
fat side chihuahua

Get the skinny on your dog’s diet.

The Best Cat i.v.

How do you keep an i.v. line in a cat?

Sick Cats Need TLC

Cats are trickier to care for than most dogs.

In the US, there are about 5% more cat than dog households.  About 65% to 60%.  (That means, for all you pet lovers out there, 40% of households do not have a pet.  Yes!  40%, Can you believe that?!)  Yet cat medicine is still a new endeavor.  Cats are not small dogs.  We learned that in the 1970’s, when cats went blind and suffered dilated cardiomyopathy from lack of the essential amino acid taurine.  Dogs and humans assemble their own taurine in the body.  Cats do not.  So the poor things were going blind and suffering heart attacks because no one knew!

Cats are tricky to hold, restrain, and work with.  And they oftentimes hide their symptoms of illness until they are rip-roaring super-duper sick.  A sick cat often needs intravenous fluids to save his or her life.

Many people ask Doc Truli, “How do you keep an i.v. in a cat?”

Well now, that’s a good question. Continue reading “The Best Cat i.v.”

Fibroadnexal Hamartoma

Sometimes nasty-removal surgery is indicated.

What?

Okay, okay.  Sometimes doctors get carried away.  But, if you saw this lump, you’d be speechless, too.

Ready for it? Continue reading “Fibroadnexal Hamartoma”

Fat Dachshund

Next time you see a Labrador looking fit and happy on the television, or at the beach, remember the advertising will tell you what they want you to hear.

Fat Dachshund Reminds VirtuaVet of  a Purina MisLeada’

obese dachshund
This dachshund is morbidly obese!

The Scoop on Fat Dogs and Purina Dog Food

Picture fit, thin, healthy, happy yellow Labrador Retrievers galloping along a sandy shoreline, their paws splash in the surf , their long red tongues lolling out the side of their mouths.  Happiness and health exude from their every golden fur on their hairy, shaggy, tail-wagging fit bodies.

That’s a beautiful Purina dog food commercial that implies feeding Purina Dog Food will keep your dog fit and trim and healthy.  The narrator states that a study shows that dogs that eat Purina stay fit. You know the ad if you watch American television.

Doc Truli always laughs when that ad comes on with the suggestive voice over.  You really think Purina food alone made those dogs so healthy and happy. Continue reading “Fat Dachshund”