April

Meger is a five-year-old Golden Retriever who was adopted about eight months ago when her previous family could no longer care for her. Her new family welcomed all 115 pounds of her into their home with open arms! When we first met Meger they had already successfully dropped her weight to 101 pounds. Considering a 90 pound female Labrador Retriever is equal to a 186 pound 5’ 4” female person or 217 pound 5’ 9” male person Meger was heading in the right direction but still had a long way to go. Her previous owners were feeding her 2 1/2 cups of lamb and rice dog food once daily plus a good amount of table scraps. When her current family adopted her she could barely make it all the way around the block on a walk without having to lay down to rest.

During her first Wellness Exam here in August of last year her new family members were brought to tears when they learned the harsh reality of pet obesity. Animals that are overweight are more likely to suffer from weight related diseases such as arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, and breathing problems. Also, being overweight can reduce their life expectancy by up to 2.5 years! The idea of not being able to enjoy their perfect new dog for as long as possible was not an option for them and they wanted to know what they could do to turn things around.

Meger's doctor suggested switching her to a reduced fat food and decreasing the amount fed to one cup twice daily and only vegetable table scraps. Her owners readily increased the amount of exercise she received and brought her in to our clinic for free weekly weigh-ins to monitor her progress. Not one week went by that Meger did not lose weight until she reached her ideal weight of around 70 pounds which she has been at and maintained since January! She is a frequent boarder at our pet resort and now instead of trying to get the weight off of her we have to keep an eye on her so that she does not lose any more weight with the amount of energy she now has! She can now run and play all day. Thanks to her devoted new family she now has the best chance possible to avoid weight related diseases and live a long, healthy life.

For more information about weight management for your pets please call (970) 568-7387 or visit our website wellingtonvets.com for links to helpful weight management related websites. Swim suit season is rapidly approaching and we would like to use this time to raise awareness about the severity of pet obesity and help owners achieve and maintain healthy weights for their pets. Stay tuned for more information about our up and coming pet weight loss program!

March

Jezebel is a very sweet golden retriever puppy that was adopted by the Torres family. The Torres family brought Jezebel in to meet us to make sure she was healthy and up to date on her puppy vaccinations. When Jezebel was 6 months old, she was mature and healthy enough to have an Ovariectomy procedure done. This procedure is similar to an Ovariohysterectomy which is commonly called a spay. The Ovariectomy procedure removes only the ovaries of the patient and not the uterus. This procedure for spaying female animals has become more favorable in the last few years because of the benefits for the patient. The Ovariectomy procedure can shorten anesthesia time, shorten the length of the inscion, and make for a quicker and less painful recovery time. The Ovariohysterectomy procedure removes both the uterus and the ovaries. This procedure can have a longer anesthesia time and can be slightly more painful for the patient. Both the Ovariectomy and Ovariohysterectomy are safe procedures that are monitored closely by doctors and technicians when being preformed.

Jezebel was one of the first patients that had an Ovariectomy done at our clinic and she recovered swiftly, with little pain and was back to being her playful self in no time. The Ovariectomy is a great procedure to consider if you have a household pet that is not used for breeding.

February

Oliver is a wonderful chihuahua that came into our clinic because he started to have urinary issue's. Oliver's owner was concerned when she started to notice he was having small urinary accidents in the house and he seemed to be straining when he was trying to urinate. Oliver is such a sweet boy that upon physical exam he did not even exhibit signs of pain in his abdomen. The next step in diagnosing and helping Oliver was to run a complete urinalysis to look for an infection. Oliver's urine showed a high PH, which caused him to have many struvite crystals present and red blood cells. We also obtained radiographs of Oliver's bladder to look for any obvious changes. The radiographs showed Oliver had bladder stones, which explained his need to urinate frequently and that his urine color was pink tinged. Oliver's owner and Dr. Jensen agreed that surgery, called a cystotomy, was the best course of action.

Oliver recovered nicely after his surgery and his owner started implementing plans to keep his bladder healthy. Oliver had to have a food change to bring his urine PH back down to a neutral level and his owner brought in routine urine samples to make sure his new diet was doing its job. Sweet Oliver is back to relaxing and living bladder stone free. Oliver's bladder stones were caught quickly because of his observant owner and the symptoms he displayed, however some dogs can have bladder stones for quite some time and never show any symptoms until they cause a major emergency. Annual wellness visits would be a great time to check a routine urinalysis on your pet. This is any easy and inexpensive way to help ensure a happy and healthy pet.

January

This once feral cat has a quite remarkable story. Samson was approximately one year old and had only been living indoors with his current family for a few weeks when tragedy struck. We can only speculate what exactly happened but he may have started rough housing with a dog and things rapidly escalated. His owners heard the commotion from another room and when they arrived on the scene Samson was suffering from severe head trauma. Upon arrival at the Wellington Veterinary Clinic he had visible face wounds, was open mouth breathing, and could not eat or drink. Radiographs confirmed the dog had broken Samson's mandible (jaw bone) in multiple places.

First, Samson was sedated so that his doctors could reset his jaw into place. Then, his doctors used an adhesive to fuse his canines together to keep it from moving around which would prevent the bones from ever healing properly. They were able to do it in such a way that he could not move his jaw but he was able to move his tongue freely in and out of his mouth. Last, a feeding tube was surgically placed. Their hope was that with enough supportive care his mandible would fuse back together in a way that after they separated his canines he would be able to live life as a normal cat. And it worked!

His recovery took two full months of supportive care which included eating meals through a feeding tube, receiving donated serum drops from our brave clinic cat Dutchess, various pain medications and a high calorie diet. On November 23rd, 2011 his doctors removed the splint that held his jaw in place and radiographs showed it was healing nicely. Then on December 2nd, 2011 exactly two months after the initial trauma Samson's feeding tube was removed and he became a free man.

Samson showed great bravery through the entire ordeal and became one of the most thankful patients a medical staff could ever ask for which is especially remarkable considering he had come from a background involving little human interaction. He is now back with his family and soaking up all of the love and affection that anyone is willing to give him.