Category: Case reports

Molly And The Bear Attack

Posted on by Laurence Braun Categorized Case reports, ER + Critical Care, Neurology

Molly and The Bear Attack

In late July on a Whistler trail, Molly and her owner were surprised when they encountered a bear making aggressive noises who then charged towards them. The bear pinned Molly down by her throat.

The owner tried to distract the bear to no avail – it disappeared in the bush carrying and shaking Molly by her neck. The owner thought Molly dead, and walked back to his truck only to find Molly there, albeit bleeding and going into shock.

Molly underwent two emergency procedures that night in Whistler and the owner had been nursing her at home for a week when we heard of their incredible tale and resolve. Molly had made some progress, but there were complications – she was reluctant to walk and carried her head to the right.

 

The big questions that loomed were whether she could make enough of a … Continue reading

Case Report: Raisins, Grapes, Kidneys and Crisco. Hardy Has A Tale To Tell.

Posted on by Laurence Braun Categorized Case reports, ER + Critical Care, Internal Medicine

Hardy is an aptly-named and lovely 7-month old Bernese Mountain dog who recently arrived at our Emergency Room after eating a large amount of raisins and two pounds of Crisco (vegetable shortening)!  That night his owner discovered more than 50 raisins in his stool along with some paper towel remnants.

Blood work was done to rule out the two concerns that could arise from the ingestion of these two separate potential trouble-makers:

  1. Raisins or grapes, which can cause kidney failure. (The mechanism by which raisins or grapes cause kidney injury is unknown).
  2. Ingestion of high amounts of fat (from the Crisco) can cause pancreatitis.

 

Hardy was treated with IV fluids, monitored and was discharged home after a couple of days. He was very lucky, but not all dogs are.  We have seen dogs succumb to pancreatitis, despite our best efforts.

Pancreatitis can strike fear in the heart of emergency/critical … Continue reading

Case Report:  Naughty Bruce Wayne & The Naproxen Caper

Posted on by Laurence Braun Categorized Case reports, ER + Critical Care

The mischievous Bruce Wayne recently visited the Canada West Emergency Room under less than ideal circumstances.  Bruce Wayne is a young French bulldog described by his owners as having an extremely quirky personality and a sincere love of eating. He had been found chewing on a new bottle of Naproxen (sold under the brand names “Aleve” and “Naprosen” among others) with the lid off and with the coating licked off of several pills.  It was unclear how many pills Bruce might have eaten, but it was reported that it may have been up to ten pills.

Naproxen is part of the family of drugs known as non-steroidal anti-imflammatories (NSAIDs) and discussed in more detail in our recent post on mobility for older dogs.  Prior to the development in recent years of more specific animal-approved NSAIDS, naproxen was occasionally used in dogs but at much lower dose and much less frequency … Continue reading

Parvovirus in Dogs

Posted on by Laurence Braun Categorized Case reports, ER + Critical Care

We have seen 3 cases of canine parvovirus (CPV) in the past few weeks.

Parvovirus is one of the most common causes of infectious diarrhea in puppies and young dogs. It is a highly contagious and often fatal disease.  Certain breeds are more susceptible, as are dogs with other concurrent issues (parasites or other intestinal disease-causing bacteria).

Prevention

Vaccination is effective but there can be complications with giving the vaccine too early (it may not be effective because of the maternal antibodies and there is a period of time where the pup may not be protected). Please speak to your family veterinarian about a particular vaccine regimen and the period of time to keep the pups with mom so that they can benefit from passive immunity

Until the full series of vaccine is complete, it is recommended to keep pups away from dog parks or socializing with unvaccinated dogs.

More

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(Un)healthy appetite

Posted on by Laurence Braun Categorized Case reports, ER + Critical Care, Internal Medicine, Surgery

As the holiday season approaches, this is a bit of a cautionary tale and a reminder that dogs can be, at times, indiscriminate eaters…and that “dietary indiscretions” can sometimes result in a foreign body that gets lodged in the digestive tract and has to be removed by scoping or by surgery.

In Millan’s case, our adventurous 8-month-old labrador, surgery was required to remove a deflated football from his stomach!

We see him here with the usual “I’ve had the belly surgery haircut” and then further into his recovery, a beautiful picture of him on the beach.

Again, our best wishes for the holidays and reminding you to keep an eye out for our mischevious furry family members!

 

 

 

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caring for an aging pet

Caring For An Aging Pet

Posted on by Laurence Braun Categorized Case reports, ER + Critical Care, Internal Medicine, Oncology

I have learned a lot from my geriatric animal patients over the years. I’ve had that in my back pocket, and so when it came to looking after my own geriatric girl, Mini, I had the good fortune of having shared experience and knowledge from others in a similar situation of caring for an aging pet.

A first-hand perspective

While I was in the thick of caring for Mini I wanted to share the delights but also the reality of dealing with an aging and sick dog, but I somehow couldn’t do it.  Maybe I felt it would jinx how well she was doing; then, in the last few months when her care was fairly constant (I did not leave her more than 4 hours without someone checking in on her) the worry that I was not making the right decisions for her was almost overwhelming.  After I lost her, … Continue reading