Animal Hospital Of
Statesville
181 Mocksville Hwy, Statesville NC, 28625
704-872-3625 Office/704-872-2490 Fax
Appointment
&
Medication Request
PETS
OF THE MONTH
(See our pet trivia & facts
at the bottom of the page)
Canine
Tommy Allen
Tommy is a seven-year-old Jack Russell Terrier. For those unfamiliar with this breed, they are extremely tenacious and never quit at anything they do. We first examined Tommy two days after being attacked by several dogs. He had many puncture wounds and lacerations on his body, with the worst areas being his rear legs and neck. Dog bite wounds are always very concerning because the teeth often cause much worse damage beneath the skin than they do to the skin itself. It is not unusual to have severe muscle damage without the skin ever being broken. Another concern is that oftentimes, the tissue’s blood supply has been damaged, causing the tissue to later die. This can take up to a week to determine. Tommy’s condition was compounded because of the use of over-the-counter human pain medications that had damaged Tommy’s liver. Our first course of action was surgical debridement of the obviously dead tissue and placement of five Penrose drain tubes to help infection and dying tissue leave the body. Tommy was placed on multiple medications for pain and antibiotics. We had to be careful with our medications, though, due to Tommy’s liver condition. Tommy was hospitalized and given IV fluids and replacement for his lost protein, which had become dangerously low. Sure enough, Tommy lost more skin over the next week as it slowly died away. This loss required two additional surgeries to rid him of the dead tissue. Tommy slowly regained his strength and began eating well, and he showed amazing healing processes with his skin and liver. In fact, he healed too well and formed so much scar tissue over one of his elbows that we had to surgically release the skin and manipulate the tissue to give him appropriate range of motion in his front leg. Tommy, however, never forgot the “roots” of his breed and fought through his brutal dog fight, four surgeries, and severe liver damage. Today, Tommy is running, playing, and yes, true to his breed, challenging other dogs.
FELINE
Spook Cook
Spook is a 9-year-old kitty that presented to the Animal Hospital of Statesville for bad breath and a painful mouth. She had a dental cleaning 6 months earlier at another veterinary clinic. At that time, they cleaned the teeth but did not have the availability of dental radiographs. A few short months later, Spook’s breath started to smell again and her gums became very red and painful. At home, she mainly kept to herself and rarely interacted with her owners. She has only eaten soft food for sometime now. During her dental cleaning here, we were able to assess her oral health below the gum line with dental radiographs. The x-rays revealed that her tooth roots were diseased and infected. We extracted the diseased teeth that were causing Spook so much pain. Just a week after her dental she was more affectionate with her owners and her eating improved. She will even eat “hard” food now. Much of the time, we do not realize that the change in our pet’s behavior is actually due to pain until we remove that source of pain. Pets, especially cats, hide their pain so well. This is a survival mechanism for them. Dental disease is one of the leading problems we find in pets causing discomfort and pain. It can affect the heart and kidneys when the infection spreads from the mouth throughout the rest of the body. Pets with healthy teeth and gums will live a longer, healthier, happier life. Spook’s new zest for life earned her our feline Pet-of-the-Month award.
Canine Trivia & Facts: Some 39 percent of canine owners say they have more photos of their pet than of their spouse or significant other. Only 21 percent say they have more photos of their spouse or significant other than of their pet.
Feline Trivia & Facts: 95% of cat owners admit they talk to their cats.