Critter Fixers: Country Vets - General Discussion

[LittleIggy]

At least Critter Fixers operate in sterile conditions unlike Dr. Jeff’s set-up.

[chenoa333]

On 4/11/2022 at 2:58 PM, LittleIggy said:

I listened to a segment on Morning Edition today about the stress vets are under and how the profession has a high suicide rate. ☹️

Yes. Sadly, it is true.  Psychiatrists have a high suicide rate as well.

But who knows what drives someone to take their own life. It's probably a lot more than their profession. 

Anyway, I love these 2 vets. 

[Bastet]

I was going around the dial and came across a promo, saying new episodes are coming in October.

[RealityCheck]

The new season of CRITTER FIXERS begins airing tonight Saturday October 8th at 9PM.

Quote

Dr. Hodges and Dr. Ferguson are back in Season 4 of Critter Fixers: Country Vets, kicking off with a double-episode.

[Bastet]

I didn't watch last week due to football, so I don't know if the one I watched just now is from then or tonight (my program guide only shows release year, not full date), but:

The poor abused doggy Charlotte, having been burned, starved, and shot six times at close range yet still hugging everyone who helps her had me sobbing.  I see that all the time on Pit Bulls & Parolees, since the breed is prone to adoring humans no matter what, and it never fails to astound me.  I'm glad they were able to safely remove a pellet that can be used as evidence, but I know little if anything will happen to the monster even if identified.  I hope she winds up in a terrific home.

Patrick the duck grooming himself in the exam room was cute, and I'm glad they were able to do something to give him a chance.

Dr. Ferguson talking to Oreo the rabbit was funny, but I missed the beginning of the segment when he and his owner were reunited -- what was the cause of his liver value spike?

I love them trying to increase the number of Black farmers just as they work to increase the number of Black vets; that sea of white at the auction was depressing.  It's bad enough on Dr. Pol, but that's in Michigan; this is fucking Georgia -- Black folks make up over 30% of the population there, but are still astoundingly underrepresented in groups with any semblance of power.

The pug breeder can go fuck herself.  I love every single thing about this show other than the damn breeders among the clients.  I want to sic Dr. Jeff on these assholes (well, I want to do worse, but I try to rein myself in).

[Gwendolyn]

On 10/22/2022 at 11:07 PM, Bastet said:

The pug breeder can go fuck herself.  I love every single thing about this show other than the damn breeders among the clients.  I want to sic Dr. Jeff on these assholes (well, I want to do worse, but I try to rein myself in).

Outside of Dr. Jeff, most vets try not to be judgemental about breeders because they'd rather see the dogs and make sure they're cared for, than not at all. Though it was Chugee's third litter and my mother and I were like, that's enough. Alas, the breeder will try and get another litter or two out of her.  Personally I prefer Dr. Jeff's policy and it's clear when you enter his clinic (on the door) and discussed when you make the appointment for anything that your pet will be spayed/neutered. Though the giant breed rescue we've gotten our dogs through based on new studies, now notes if you adopt a puppy from them, you can't spay/neuter until the growth plates close (fortunately our most recent rescue was 3, so he'd had the snip snip before we got him).

I get more upset with the folks that are shocked when their unspayed dog got pregnant (thinking of the ancient lady with the chihuahua, that Dr. Ferguson was like, how about we spay her while doing the c-section before your un-neutered dachsunds make more puppies).

Charlotte just broke my heart. When the blanket came off and you saw how much damage was done, my blood boiled that someone could do that to any animal. I have a dog who was shot, but I get that the farmer had to protect his sheep and my fur-baby is so lucky he didn't lose his right eye, but I want to wring his previous owner's necks for not feeding him, fencing him in or neutering him, so of course he got out and got into mischief. He's so sweet and loving, but getting used to life in the big city is tough and he's a naturally wary guarding breed, so he's all 'stranger danger'. I had to give him a big ol' hug after seeing Charlotte and told him he's lucky he kept his eye.

I got a kick out of them at the auction, when we have our annual stock show in January they televise the final auction (that raises money for college) and the cows are now well into 6 figures. But those are the fancy pampered cows. I did like Dr. Ferguson taking the number away from Dr. Hodges since he was having too much fun bidding, though it looks like they got some nice cows.

[Claire85]

The clinic posted on their Facebook page that Charlotte found a wonderful home and is doing very well.  There were some recent pictures of her and she looks all healed up. 

[Bastet]

Gods, I just cannot with the fucking breeders.  "This would be her first litter."  So you're not only grossly irresponsible once, you plan on doing it again.  Good to know, and fuck you sideways, jackass.

Gunner is adorable, and, wow, Camo the peacock is beautiful. I don't think the average person is properly equipped to have one as a pet (and I don't know enough to know if that's even appropriate, period), so I hope he's getting proper care, since the owner obviously cares very much.

Poor Franklin the owl unable to rejoin the wild where he belongs, but how great he was helped and can hopefully live out a good life somewhere.

And poor Maggie's bladder was more stones than anything else; those were enormous!!  Ouch.

[Back Atcha]

On 10/29/2022 at 10:01 PM, Bastet said:

Gods, I just cannot with the fucking breeders.  "This would be her first litter."  So you're not only grossly irresponsible once, you plan on doing it again.  Good to know, and fuck you sideways, jackass

I was going to give a good explanation, but WHO knows what I would have been called or requested to do--sideways.

Edited November 1, 2022 by Back Atcha

[chenoa333]

20 hours ago, Back Atcha said:

I was going to give a good explanation, but WHO knows what I would have been called or requested to do--siceways.

Tell us. Almost all of us are open minded and might appreciate a different, logical perspective about breeders and anything else you have knowledge about. 

[Gwendolyn]

My biggest issue with the pregnant pittie, was after watching Pitbulls and Parolees, there are so many pitties in shelters/rescues, I'm worried those puppies will add to the problem.

Found the surgery on the owl interesting, and glad they found an education program that could take him.

Those bladder stones were insane. That poor dog. Glad they were finally able to treat them, hopefully a diet change will help prevent them coming back.

[Bastet]

51 minutes ago, Gwendolyn said:

My biggest issue with the pregnant pittie, was after watching Pitbulls and Parolees, there are so many pitties in shelters/rescues, I'm worried those puppies will add to the problem.

They will.  There's no national database, but adding up available city, county, and state data consistently reveals there are at least two million dogs (and several million cats) euthanized in U.S. shelters each year for space -- there are that many more pets in need than there are homes for them.  Breeding additional puppies into that reality is despicable, and especially in the south, which is one of the country's worst areas on this front, especially pits/pit mixes, who have the highest euthanasia rates nationwide (breed restrictions and dangerous myths additionally reduce the number of available homes), and especially now, when shelters and rescues are more overwhelmed than ever.

It doesn't matter if this individual jackass finds homes for her individual puppies (even if she doesn't exploit her dog's health for financial enrichment by selling the puppies for a combined total less than what she paid in veterinary and food expenses); those are among the limited number of homes that could have gone to existing dogs had she not bred hers to create more. 

This would be horrible enough if she knew what she was doing, but she didn't, talking about how "she read" she's supposed to do X for the puppies.  So it's even worse.  On every level, this litter was grossly irresponsible, and that she spoke of it as "the first", implying there would be more (seemingly confirmed by no mention of asking the vets to spay her poor dog lest this not "accidentally" happen again), is even worse.  She's contributing to the utter crisis that is the homeless pet population, plus putting her dog's health at risk with every spay cycle (pyometra, and later mammary cancer) and every litter (birthing complications).

I understand the vets treating anyone who comes before them, and wanting, once some moron has decided to do this, to ensure everyone is healthy.  But they don't seem to counsel these clients on spaying, and spew "there's nothing better than puppies!" sentiment that furthers the dangerous attitude contributing to this catastrophe.  That I take issue with.

I love this show, and love everything about these vets (at least of what I know via the show) other than that.  The breeders and this one blind spot of the vets won't keep me from watching.  But they'll sure get me ranting.

Edited November 1, 2022 by Bastet

[Back Atcha]

7 hours ago, chenoa333 said:

Tell us. Almost all of us are open minded and might appreciate a different, logical perspective about breeders and anything else you have knowledge about. 

I think I explained earlier that the term "first litter," might not mean first of several...first of two.  Just as one's first baby is the first baby ... even if no further babies are wanted. If this owner is planning future litters, let's hope the experience (and possibly the expense*) will change her mind.

*It's not all income, ladies and gents, if that's the hope.  Things happen and often one is left with heartbreak, deaths, sad decisions, and high vet bills.

Edited November 1, 2022 by Back Atcha

[Back Atcha]

On 10/29/2022 at 10:01 PM, Bastet said:

Camo the peacock is beautiful. I don't think the average person is properly equipped to have one as a pet (and I don't know enough to know if that's even appropriate, period), so I hope he's getting proper care, since the owner obviously cares very much.

I'm 82, and when I was a kid, there was a "mansion" with a lot of property a few miles away from our little hovel (no sidewalks, unpaved roads).  Several beautiful peacocks roamed the property from the 1940s.  Eventually progress arrived and that's been a very busy commercial corner since the 60s.  Descendants of those same peacocks roam a nearby neighborhood... damaging cars, making loud noise continually, scaring visitors...yet the neighbors look upon them as "they were here before we were," so they seem to be beloved.  I haven't heard that any was taken to a vet.

[CrazyInAlabama]

So, tonight a doberman with a leg growth, a bunch of rescue but sick lizards or dragons or whatever they are.     

Then, a breeder with a 3 year old dog, dog lost two litters, and has to have a c-section on this litter.    I really am sick of breeding for profit.   Bet she'll breed that dog until dog either dies,  or her uterus falls out.    She says she loves the dog, but she only loves the money she gets from breeding her.   

Breeders that only breed for the money will never agree to spay or neuter.   As long as breeds like French Bulldogs can sell for $3500 and up for an unregistered puppy, then breeding for profit will continue.   Unfortunately, any vet who demands you spay or neuter isn't going to be in operation in a community for long.    The puppy mill operators often don't go to vets at all.     

Don't think the 'rescues' that specialize in puppy mill dogs are legit either, I know of one where one relative operated a puppy mill for small dogs, sold to pet stores, and when the dog couldn't get pregnant again, or didn't have living puppies, the dogs were dumped on a family member who ran a small animal rescue.    There was nothing rescue about it, but just another way to get more money reselling the puppy mill survivors. . 

Edited November 6, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[Back Atcha]

I'm surprised the vets didn't suggest spaying.  It was obvious that the dog has difficult pregnancies...and they even commented about the poor shape of the uterus.  Why not just spay her then and there...spare the dog a second surgery/anesthesia--maybe death.  The lady has three pups; if she's HELLBENT on more puppies, they'll be ready soon enough.  Maybe their area of Georgia isn't spay-friendly.

[Gwendolyn]

2 hours ago, Back Atcha said:

I'm surprised the vets didn't suggest spaying.  It was obvious that the dog has difficult pregnancies...and they even commented about the poor shape of the uterus.  Why not just spay her then and there...spare the dog a second surgery/anesthesia--maybe death.  The lady has three pups; if she's HELLBENT on more puppies, they'll be ready soon enough.  Maybe their area of Georgia isn't spay-friendly.

THIS!!! This poor mama dog should not have to go through this. She's got a litter of 3 pups, I wanted to see Dr. Hodges suggest to the owner they spay due to the quality of the uterus and one deformed pup. Let mama dog enjoy her three pups (sometimes after a lost litter, having a live one or something to care for, does improve their mental health, but that's no reason to keep breeding her) and then just let her be a dog and stop bringing more puppies into the world.

If there was ever a dog that should not be forced to breed, its this girl right there.

The only time I've seen them spay though is the the chihuahua with the ancient owner who was shocked her un-neutered male daschunds had got it on with the chihuahua. And a lab mix with pyometra. I know spaying/neutering is not big in the south, and since Dr. Hodges was having his own dog neutered I'm hoping they're having talks with these owners off screen. 'You love your dog, want to extend their life by preventing pyometra, mammary tumors and testicular cancer?' Not to mention you don't have to deal with your male dog running in front of cars trying to get a female dog.

One thing the Price is Right really has right is ending each ep with a plea to spay and neuter your pets.

As for the rest of the cases, I really hope they're seeing results with the cancer vaccines. I've lost 4 dogs to cancer and it's a horrible disease process. Anything that improves their chances is always welcome.

And finally those poor iguanas. How could anyone be that cruel? What was the point? Does GA have good animal cruelty laws and do they prosecute?

[Back Atcha]

5 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

  I really am sick of breeding for profit.   Bet she'll breed that dog until dog either dies,  or her uterus falls out. 

And that owner will be STUNNED, BROKENHEARTED, and consider that it wasn't her fault.  Yes, it will be!  I don't think she's cruel, but she IS ignorant. There need to be strong public service messages ... television, billboards, signs in vets' offices in that area.  Spay and neuter your dogs FOR THEIR HEALTH.

[pasdetrois]

The South is way behind on its residents accepting spaying, adoptions, enforcing anti-cruelty laws and so on. Unwanted dogs are shipped to other parts of the US on a regular basis. There was a reality show about 15 years ago about a Mississippi woman - I think she was a realtor - who had organized a system to deliver huge truckloads of unwanted dogs to the north and midwest.

I have noticed the southern animal shelter system has improved a bit over the past 10 years. I had to drive through two rural counties once just to get a stray injured dog to an emergency vet on a Sunday.

[Bastet]

I usually watch the 9:00 repeat, as I'm watching Pit Bulls & Parolees at 6:00, but last night I watched football instead.  After reading about yet another fucking breeder, obviously I will need to make sure to watch on a night I can have several drinks first.

4 hours ago, pasdetrois said:

The South is way behind on its residents accepting spaying, adoptions, enforcing anti-cruelty laws and so on. Unwanted dogs are shipped to other parts of the US on a regular basis.

Yeah, the only reason Villalobos Rescue Center (the subject of Pit Bulls & Parolees, in Louisiana) isn't even more overwhelmed than they thoroughly are is partnership with rescue organizations in the Midwest and Northeast who will take some VRC dogs whenever they have available fosters.  The homeless pet overpopulation crisis is, well, a crisis nationwide, but in the South it's on another level for a combination of reasons. 

[Bastet]

I got caught up and watched a repeat of last week's episode right before the late airing of last night's new one, but they can't distill enough vodka to get me through that fucking breeder's segment calmly.  If they didn't encourage Kale's owner to have her spayed, that's grossly irresponsible.  If they did, but producers didn't include it (showing either that conversation or the vets talking about it in their after-the-fact interview), that's irresponsible.  Hands-off presenting these breeding stories without providing the context is this show's major flaw.

And that iguana cruelty case was horrifying.  Andrea the vet tech saying in 20 years she'd never seen anything this bad was quite telling.

Bridge the doberman's owner finding out what she thought was a simple injury was a malignant tumor was sad, especially since Bridge had been such a support through her own cancer battle.  I like the son saying Bridge had been his mom's support animal when she went through cancer, and now his mom is Bridge's support human.  I hope they bought her some good time.

Charlie's owner's obsession with him not meowing amused me; I've had big talkers, occasional talkers, and one nicknamed "Stealth Cat" who literally never meowed in the 18 years we had him.

As for last night's new episode, how the hell are you "Oh no, that's bad!" knowledgeable about Parvo and still haven't had your dog vaccinated when he's almost a year old?!

Rose is actually lucky she got pyometra, as I don't know that her owner would have ever had her spayed otherwise, so now at least she's all set.

Poor overheated Possum's bright red nose said it all about her body temperature.  Stuck under a mattress for eight hours - awful.

Snoop Hoggie Hog's name amused me (I'm very simple sometimes).

Sunny barely getting started in life before seriously injuring two limbs is sad, but her youth also helped her recover, so hopefully she's now happy and properly contained.

Mr. Meanie the goose getting hit by a golf cart and merely needing therapy for his existing arthritis was good luck.  He was adorable in his little laser goggles.

I like the vet tech who laughs at Dr. Ferguson's terrible jokes.

[Gwendolyn]

8 hours ago, Bastet said:

As for last night's new episode, how the hell are you "Oh no, that's bad!" knowledgeable about Parvo and still haven't had your dog vaccinated when he's almost a year old?!

So the dog was not vaccinated? I know Dr. Hodges asked, but I missed the owner's answer. Vaccination is way, way cheaper than the treatment for parvo.

One thing to be careful depending on your state, is what your rescue may be vaccinated against. All rescues vaccinate against rabies, but due to cost they may not do the full load, on an older dog. Found that out from our vet, so we started fresh with our rescue dog, I mean if his previous owners didn't neuter, I didn't trust them to have vaccinated him against parvo, distemper and leptospirosis.

8 hours ago, Bastet said:

Rose is actually lucky she got pyometra, as I don't know that her owner would have ever had her spayed otherwise, so now at least she's all set.

I had the same thought. Also, they're lucky they caught it when they did. If cost was again the reason they hadn't got around to spaying, paying for an emergency spay and treatment for pyometra would cost more.

Ditto on being amused by Snoop Piggy Pig's name!

And I agree if the producers last week chose not to show a conversation about spaying that makes them look poor, but then again I come from the land of Dr. Jeff where spay/neuter is a must.

[Bastet]

"His abscess just kept getting bigger."  Gee, ya think?!  I don't know how some people manage to go through life without picking up basic knowledge.  At least she realized Hammy needed treatment before it was too late (which Dr. Ferguson estimated was only a couple of days away).

But, after last week's "I bought online from a puppy mill, and, my stars, the pups are in terrible shape" idiot, I was at least less aggravated tonight.

That poor chicken must have felt just dreadful.  Did we not get an update, or did I miss it?

Cricket felt so much better just 24 hours post-op, that must have been an almost unbearably painful injury.

Dallas the dalmation who jumped out of a moving car is incredibly lucky to walk away virtually unscathed.

[Bastet]

I finally got a chance to watch the season finale, and LOL at Dr. Ferguson saying, "No, why don't you let me know how those lemons and limes are doing after a day first," about Dr. Hodges wanting to practice his acupuncture skills on him.  The horse seemed to enjoy it, nearly falling asleep while he was doing it.

That poor dog with the smoke inhalation (first, for having to spend so much time in a kennel in the first place, and then having it catch on fire!).  I wonder how the fire started.  I'm glad she bounced back so well.

Was Expresso's owner just going to ignore the tumor if not for the tail injury?

Poor Gus, having to recover from one ACL surgery and turn around and have the other one done, but he sure felt good afterward.  It was funny to hear the vets say the number one cause of torn ACLs in dogs is squirrels.  I had a cat who tore his ACL and just utterly messed up his knee overall, and I never figured out how -- I figure he must have got it caught on something rather than having fallen off something, but never came up with a culprit.

What a hernia on Munchkin!  She must be a very stoic cat for an owner who works in a vet's office not to notice anything was wrong at first.

Edited December 24, 2022 by Bastet

[CrazyInAlabama]

Next season starts 8 April 2023.  It's season 5 by the way. 

[Bastet]

I like Dr. Hodges ribbing the Boston sports fan. 

I hate to disappoint Dr. Ferguson that ADR ("Ain't Doin' Right") is in use well outside of Critter Fixers (and in fact outside the South), but it's a term I love and I'd still read his CF glossary of terms.

I had no idea an eel could be that cute.  I don't know enough about them to know if it's appropriate to keep one in an aquarium of that size (or at all), but the owner obviously loves her.  It continues to fascinate me how they anesthetize/operate on a fish.

I have a neighbor who rehabilitates abandoned/injured squirrels to release back into the wild, for which she must be licensed, but it's illegal to have squirrels as pets here.  I did only a cursory search, but it seems the same in Georgia, so the presentation of Nugget's segment surprised me.

Frosty's owners being horrified when they learned how much pain he was in touched me.  A bird as a pet is not something that would ever interest me, and in some cases I have my doubts it's a good thing for the bird, but I love the image of Frosty hopping around in his dad's fabulous hair.

Those interns flipped that pig like seasoned pros!  (Also, I love the spotted pigs we kept seeing in the background.)

LOL at how many of the clinic workers are allergic to certain animals and Dr. Hodges tripping on it.  Hell, quite a number of cat owners I know are allergic to them.

[Back Atcha]

YIKES!  Wonder why my DVR didn't automatically find/tape this episode.  I WILL get to the bottom of this!!

[Bastet]

This is the first time we've seen Bear the office cat, right?

Glad to meet a new vet, and see how they mentor newbies.

Zoey's bladder stones -- holy shit!  I have never seen that many.  Almost 550!!  

"What's that?" about a hacky sack -- another reminder I'm old.

The 106.6 temperature on Max was crazy.  I'm glad they were able to get that down.  "When you come back home, me and you are going to stay in the house all day" was sweet.  I know in cats there's a potential link between weed killers and pancreatitis, whereas with dogs it's usually diet, but I wonder if that's at play here since the owner mentioned it being sprayed while the dog was outside/shortly before the dog went outside (I can't recall).

These goddamned breeders; contributing to the homeless pet overpopulation crisis is appalling on its own, but the completely avoidable health risks to which the dogs are subjected make it even worse.  "She's gonna get lots of love."  Fool, if you love that dog, spay her.  If the vets don't recommend it, shame on them.  If they do and producers don't include it, shame on them.

I'm so glad Goose and Sushi's owner found them in the field; poor mama, and two kittens is a smaller than average litter, so I fear there's a littermate or two who didn't make it, but, then again, they wouldn't have gone far at that age and she didn't mention finding any other bodies, so hopefully mama was indeed the only casualty.

I love the shot of Grandpa the bunny with his goggles on during laser therapy.  I hope that kid actually leaves him alone for the 5-7 day rest period.

I also like the chicken's owner, saying she had no idea she could ever love a chicken so much, and asking if there's anything she did to cause the impacted egg so she'd know not to do it again.

[CrazyInAlabama]

If a vet practice kept telling breeders that they need to spay their dog, then the breeder would go elsewhere for vet services, or stop going to vets (yes, people actually do that).    That's why the vets only say spay/neuter is necessary, when there's a medical issue or behavioral.    I wonder how many of the breeders are actually a puppy mill?   The sad truth is that many owners don't care about the animals they breed, because they're just owned and breed to make money.   The second a dog doesn't get pregnant or males don't sire enough puppies, they're gone.   

I wish it was different, but with so many backyard breeders or puppy mills, and there are individual owners who simply refuse to spay or neuter. 

Edited April 17, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[Rammchick]

23 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

If a vet practice kept telling breeders that they need to spay their dog, then the breeder would go elsewhere for vet services, or stop going to vets (yes, people actually do that).    That's why the vets only say spay/neuter is necessary, when there's a medical issue or behavioral.    

I wish it was different, but with so many backyard breeders or puppy mills, and there are individual owners who simply refuse to spay or neuter. 

This is sadly true. Now that everyone and their uncle wants a Frenchie, with so much money involved, that's only going to keep happening and get even worse - these dogs are biologically incapable of delivering their litters on their own, and have to have C-sections. 

 

[Bastet]

It's still irresponsible not to raise the issue ("This condition happens sometimes in dogs that have multiple litters, so you may want to consider spaying her so it doesn't happen again [and to all but eliminate her risk of pyometra as well]") and it's irresponsible not to show that, or at least include it in the talking heads, if they do raise the issue. 

Not every clinic can adopt Planned Pethood's fantastic policy, of refusing to treat unaltered cats or dogs unless they can also spay/neuter before release, but there's no excuse for not mentioning the health risks associated with delaying/denying spay or neuter (not even getting into the gross homeless pet overpopulation issue they're contributing to, just the risks to that individual pet the owner claims to love), especially when an animal is at the clinic precisely because one of those risks has come to pass. 

Shrugging Well, breeders are gonna breed doesn't cut it.  Educating, and then accepting a poor decision by the owner based on the theory it's better for the pet to continue receiving treatment at a high-quality clinic, sure. 

But, based on what's shown, we don't know if that's the case.  This practice is by leaps and bounds my favorite of the vet clinics still being covered by a TV show (it's the only one left I watch), but the breeders piss me off.  I'd like to know there's no cause to also be aggravated with the vets.

Edited April 18, 2023 by Bastet

[Back Atcha]

 

On 4/16/2023 at 11:43 AM, CrazyInAlabama said:

I wish it was different, but with so many backyard breeders or puppy mills, and there are individual owners who simply refuse to spay or neuter. 

And...there are many men who somehow take it "personally" and refuse--when neutering their male dogs is suggested. 

Edited April 18, 2023 by Back Atcha

[Bastet]

12 hours ago, Back Atcha said:

And...there are many men who somehow take it "personally" and refuse--when neutering their male dogs is suggested. 

So much so neuticles were invented -- fake balls for neutered pets, so their owners can feel good about their own, apparently inadequate, manhood.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I have a former friend, who claimed her son had a vasectomy performed on his dog, so the dog could keep his balls.    Stupidity runs in her family. 

[Back Atcha]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I have a former friend, who claimed her son had a vasectomy performed on his dog, so the dog could keep his balls.    Stupidity runs in her family. 

Cut and pasted:  "A vasectomy is a surgical procedure where a portion of the vas deferens, the tube that carries sperm from the testicle where they are formed, to the outside to fertilize the female, is removed. By doing this, even if the male dog mates with a female, the mating will not be a fertile one. The testicles remain in the scrotum and continue to produce testosterone. The male will still be interested in and can mate with females, may still lift his leg to mark territory, is still prone to benign prostatic hypertrophy, and could develop a testicular tumor, perianal tumor, or perineal hernia."

[Bastet]

How cool they're now doing their Vet For a Day program in other cities across the country.  I love that they get the kids and their parents early, and tell them what kinds of classes they'll need to take and how much grades matter because of how competitive it is given how few veterinary schools there are in this country.  The hands-on experience is terrific -- not just watching them do their jobs, but things like learning how to suture.  And seeing so many Black kids attend does my heart good.

I got a kick out of the kid who said he wants to work around animals, but if he had to do surgery, he'd probably faint.

Same with teasing Kyle for saying he's nervous about going out on his own "so young".

The tumor on Girl's leg was huge!  How frightening it must have been for them to watch it grow so rapidly, while vet after vet declined to do the surgery.  The cancer is probably going to show up somewhere else before too long, but at least now she's happy for whatever time that takes.

Poor Britney, forming crystals so young.  I hope the owner doesn't have to feed her that crappy Rx food for life.  But she's going to start jumping around again as soon as that first antibiotic dose kicks in.

[Bastet]

Holy hell.  Please tell me the woman who thought her 29-pound puppy weighed over 100 pounds is from a country where they use a different system of measurement and she hasn't yet learned how to convert.  Because, otherwise -- the fuck?  You know how much you weigh, and you think your little puppy weighs somewhat close to that?!

I thought that bird (Rea?) was a goner (as did Dr. Hodges, it seems), so was happy to see she pulled through.  I love how stunned the owners were to see her back to normal already when they picked her up.  Hopefully a proper diet does the trick to keep her healthy.

Kona's grandma realizing Kona eating a little bit of a moldy sandwich and puking shortly after would have been fatal had she not brought her in was a moment of true bewilderment.  I'm glad that all worked out.

I watched this with my cat, who has a terrible habit of eating plastic (soft plastic, like bags or wrap) so I keep them mostly out of the house and what's here closed away from her, but once every couple of years I miss something and she goes to town, and when the tortoise was all backed up because of eating the plastic lining under the flower beds, I told her, "See, this is one of the reasons I tell you not to eat the damn plastic!"  She was unmoved.

[Back Atcha]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

You know how much you weigh, and you think your little puppy weighs somewhat close to that?!

WHY wasn't that the first question she was asked, "Wait!  How much do YOU weigh?"  If the vets didn't come up with that...why didn't Production?  OY VEY!

[Bastet]

Okay, I hardly ever find kids (of the human species) cute, but I love goats, and that little boy's giggle of delight at the adorableness that was the goat kid tickled me.

On the way to the farm call, everyone's reactions to the tech not knowing what "in high cotton" or "high on the hog" meant were cracking me up, and I also like that he didn't get embarrassed, he just asked for examples of when he should use those phrases.  "Okay,  I'll make a note" was funny.

As was the quick shot in one of the interstitials of a cat meowing at a mounted camera.

I related to Maxine's owner saying people tell her if reincarnation is a thing they want to come back as one of her chickens, as people have said the same thing to me, just substitute cat for chicken.  But if she's such a good chicken mom, she should have more than "I've heard of it" knowledge of coccidia.  At least she does now.  Dr. Hodges's "It's a good thing we kept tabs on it" about pulling the soda can metal out of Maxine's mouth was right up there with any of the Dad jokes Dr. Ferguson has ever made.

Bubba Duck's owner saying she'll build him a wheelchair if she has too was great.

But good gods, can we get one frakkin' episode without a damn breeder?!  And the vets showing zero signs of attempting to educate them, or even talking to the camera about it in educational [non-judgmental; I'll take care of that for them] terms?  It's a huge blight on one of my favorite vet shows (the only remaining one I still watch), but I love everything else about them, so I'll still watch, but damn.  Stop normalizing this shit!

It's nice that V.J. is off to Morehouse, and I like Dr. Ferguson reassuring Dr. Hodges he's going to get through this transition and wind up so proud.  They have a great relationship, and good on them being honored with an official day and ceremonial key to the city.  And what a lovely father-son moment between the Hodges, which I appreciate all the more that they didn't share the contents of the note.  If the next generation can take over the practice when the time comes, how wonderful.

[Bastet]

I missed the first 15 minutes so came in just as Dr. Hodges was finishing with the turtle.  I'll have to watch the repeat to see the specifics of his MacGyver technique was.

It sounded like there was a delay between Daisy's owners realizing she had mastitis and calling the vets out.  I hope not, as they knew to take over bottle feeding the babies, so I'd like to think they also knew to get Daisy expressed and on antibiotics.

Poor Lenny, but at his size and age to get hit by a car and only lose an eye is pretty damn lucky.

Ace's owner making Dr. Ferguson a card is cute, and nice that she's the one taking charge of the rehab walks.

[Bastet]

Those owners who came home to find their goats being massacred are going to be traumatized for a good long time over that one.  I'm glad Bella, with the crazy amount of bloat from her wounds, recovered.

I thought it odd they waited for Walter the rabbit to pee on his own rather than just doing cystocentesis (removing it directly from the bladder via needle and syringe); I wondered if there's a reason not to do that with rabbits like you do on cats and dogs, so looked it up, and apparently they find it quite painful so will jump around and thus often have to be sedated, so it's preferred to let them pee (even though it's not the optimal, sterile sample you get with cystocentesis).  Learn something new every day!

I know almost nothing about snakes other than I'm ridiculously afraid of them.  One thing I do know is they eat far less frequently than a typical pet, but it still seems to me six months of intermittent issues was too long to wait to bring her in, given Dr. Ferguson's concern over how thin and listless she'd become.  (They didn't give an update at the end, so I hope she's okay.)

Same with that big, hard tumor on Porter.  I know a month can go by fast, appointments can still be hard to come by in some areas, there may be financial considerations, and we don't get all the details, so I work to adjust my thinking after my initial response, but so often that response is "What took you so long?!"

Jordan's giant fanny pack and Dr. Hodges worrying she's going to go out with a back injury made me laugh.  As did Andrea telling the little one of the two dogs who came in with ear mites that her big brother was a big baby about getting his ears cleaned. 

[Back Atcha]

15 hours ago, Bastet said:

I know almost nothing about snakes other than I'm ridiculously afraid of them. 

My kids (middle-aged men) and I drove two hours on Saturday to a 60th Wedding Anniversary celebration.  I've known the husband since I was 17 and the wife since I was 25.  My two kids and their four kids consider themselves "almost cousins."  One of their kids (G) manages the family's ski area in the high desert...with all kinds of animals and vermin.  My boys were talking about one of the snakes they had that over the years grew from 18" to six feet.  We expected G to be fascinated; instead he actually shivvered hearing about it.  He can't even think about snakes.  When they have problems with any at the ski area, he has to have his employees handle them.  My kids and I TRY to understand that fear, but we just don't get it.  We BELIEVE it, tho'.

One of my kids (on the way home) reminded us of a time in 5th grade when he spent the night at a friend's house.  He took his RUBBER snake.  The mom said she wouldn't be able to sleep if she knew that snake was in her kid's room.  They put the snake in the laundry room.  Some time later, the mom knocked on the door and apologized--she couldn't even sleep, knowing a RUBBER snake was in the laundry room.  My son grabbed the snake, got on his bike, and pedaled a FAST two blocks to drop off the RUBBER snake with me.  I'm so lucky to not have that fear (or spiders, bugs, any vermin).  Sadly, I married someone who was afraid of everything.  I often wonder if that's one of the (few) reasons he liked me.

 

[Bastet]

7 minutes ago, Back Atcha said:

My kids and I TRY to understand that fear, but we just don't get it. 

Phobias are by definition irrational, so there is no understanding them, just understanding that they exist and the people who have them are affected by them, sometimes deeply.

[Rammchick]

20 hours ago, Back Atcha said:

One of my kids (on the way home) reminded us of a time in 5th grade when he spent the night at a friend's house.  He took his RUBBER snake.  The mom said she wouldn't be able to sleep if she knew that snake was in her kid's room.  They put the snake in the laundry room.  Some time later, the mom knocked on the door and apologized--she couldn't even sleep, knowing a RUBBER snake was in the laundry room.  

I'm a reptile lover and have had all sorts of snakes and lizards and turtles as pets over the years.  A friend of my mother's came to visit us and was petrified of my iguana because his tail looked like a snake.  As Bastet said, phobias are irrational, and it's important to support the people who have them, and not be dismissive or make fun of them.

Edited June 5, 2023 by Rammchick

[Bastet]

What in the world with the unnamed state requiring a transponder tag, but not that it be actually implanted in the snake, you just carry it with you?  It's a tracking device.  Presumably, the point is so that if a non-native venomous snake gets loose, it can be quickly located and safely recovered.  If all you can track is where the dude in whose pocket the tag sits is located, that's not useful! 

And while I agree that if you're scared of dogs or cats, veterinary medicine is not for you, being scared of snakes - or chickens - does not seem a deal-breaker, as most vets don't have to treat those (whether someone else in their clinic does or not).

Also, I looked up if there's a humane way to, basically, neutralize venomous snakes, so that if they bit someone no venom would be released; these snakes are not in the wild, they are cared for in a sanctuary and then taken places for educational purposes, so if that's possible, why are they still slithering around "hot"?  Well, it turns out there are procedures, but some are no guarantee of success and some are considered inhumane.  So, now I completely understand why it's not done.  But hell if I'd be in that exam room! 

I've seen the band procedure in the field, but I'm not sure I've ever seen it in a clinic.  I looked this up, too, and apparently there's not a wealth of information out there about goats undergoing anesthesia, so that's why they're typically castrated this way.  I am learning all kinds of things (although quite superficially). 

The diabetic dog segment annoyed me as all segments on diabetes diagnoses do on vet shows.  There's far too much nuance to be shown, but what remains generally leaves the impression:

1) Diabetes requires insulin for life (rather than "may require").  While a cursory search comparing diabetes in dogs compared to my extensive knowledge of the condition in cats showed a different probability, it's still possible - even with that a high a starting blood glucose level - insulin therapy will only be needed short term, and a dietary change can take care of the ongoing maintenance.  Too many owners have been scared off by the cost and every-12-hour time commitment of lifetime insulin therapy, so I think it important not to present that as a given on a platform like this.

2) Owners can just blindly administer even a starting dose of insulin rather than being instructed on how to test at home.  Hypoglycemia can be fatal; no one should start out giving insulin without testing to see what the BG level is at insulin peak (once regulated, one can relax greatly with the testing).  I was a little confused by the presentation of Dr. Ferguson's instructions; it sounded like they were going to send the owner home to just administer the shots for two weeks and then bring in for re-testing, and use at-home test strips going forward from there.  Certainly not the worst I've seen (given the low starter dose), in that case, but not ideal.

But while I'm doing nothing but complaining, this is the first time I noticed they use Terumo, rather than Monoject, needles, and applaud them for it.  They cost more, but they're almost painless because of the way they're beveled.  Kudos there!

Edited June 18, 2023 by Bastet

[Bastet]

I've always been a bit uncomfortable with the concept of keeping birds as pets, and Sunny's story really troubled me.  I know they said it was highly unusual, but this bird's natural inclination left to her own devices was to fly for 45 miles, and they clipped her wings so she can't even fly five feet!  I know I'm not educated on the care of birds, but that just doesn't sound okay.  I only know two people with birds, and one gives them daily time to fly around the home and the other has a good-sized aviary outside.  Letting Sunny fly around the house is what this owner had been doing, so it seems to me she needs to take better care not to let Sunny escape outdoors rather than have her hobbled that way!

I got a kick out of Aggy having two speeds -- full bore or asleep.  She's a cute squatty body.

And Sassy the goat amused me, that the way to keep her from jumping was to give her the big pasture and enclose everyone else, since if the tried to keep her penned in somewhere instead, that would just be asking her to jump a fence.  Halo Farms sounds like a good organization.

I also laughed at Tom the turkey's owner thinking Dr. Hodges was saying "sauerkraut" whenever he said "sour crop".

I wonder how you create an appropriate long-term environment for a beaver that can't be released back into the wild.  But I'm sure that rehabber will figure it out; she's clearly quite dedicated from all the times we've seen her.

[Back Atcha]

17 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Letting Sunny fly around the house is what this owner had been doing, so it seems to me she needs to take better care not to let Sunny escape outdoors rather than have her hobbled that way!

She probably came to the same conclusion.  Those feathers will grow back and the bird can go back to the previous lifestyle.  Well...they grow back s-l-o-w-l-y.

[Bastet]

Finally, a cat story; it's been a while.  I know they have more dog patients than cats, but it feels like the producers have shown us more chickens, turtles, snakes, birds, and goats than cats, too!  I feel sorry for Crowley's owner dealing with behavioral peeing; a nice easily-treated UTI is a hell of a lot easier than some nebulous emotional cause.  And those pheromone plug-ins aren't enough for some cats.  I hope this worked out, all around -- that it was, in fact, behavioral (not a medical cause that simply didn't show up on the standard blood tests and thus got chalked up as behavioral), the pheromones helped, and whatever was causing the stress in the first place is no longer happening.

That wound on Marilyn -- yikes.  Nasty looking, and at her age I was worried about her heart, so glad she came through.

Snowball's owner speaks for all pet owners when she talked about being in tears because he can't tell her what's wrong.  They didn't follow up on whether the eye was indeed cancerous, though, unless I missed it.

Poor Draco; I think so many "exotic" animals shouldn't even be kept as pets, and then when they're kept by people who don't properly research what they need it's even worse.  Hopefully the teacher turned that into a lesson since he's a class pet.

How much Vanessa's owner loves chickens is cute; I've never heard them described as having a sense of humor!  I just wanted to give that man a big hug for all he went through -- thinking he was going to have to have her euthanized because he couldn't properly care for her, then being so relieved when Jordan stepped in, yet simultaneously feeling like shit he couldn't do it himself.  I hope she invited him to come visit if he wants.

 

[Bastet]

A new season started Saturday (which I did not know until my mom mentioned it to me).  Everyone is still having great reactions to Dr. Ferguson's terrible jokes.  (And now to his drawings.)  Dr. Hodges made one, and the anesthesia tech said, "Okay, Ferguson."

I remain fascinated by fish surgeries.  Klaus is huge!  I know very little about fish, so, while I know I'd heard/read they can grow large, I don't think I've ever seen one like him.

I'd also never seen the inverted vulva surgery before.  Poor baby, but hopefully Tilly will be set for life now.

The reptile rescue woman looked immediately familiar to me, so I thought maybe she'd been shown in another episode, but they said she just relocated from L.A.  Which is where I live, so maybe I've seen her here somewhere and just can't place her.  More likely she's just reminding me of someone, but that would be a kick.

Birds as pets has always been a little unsettling to me; even where the owner lets them fly around the house regularly, isn't that still dramatically different than how they're meant to live?  I'm sure it depends on the type of bird, but hearing Dr. Hodges say pet birds getting hurt in their cages is not uncommon made me sad.  At any rate, Speckle's owner clearly adores him and gets him the care he needs.  I'm glad the MacGyvered splint helped.

Jack, the rabbit with a bladder full of sludge, ouch.  Good thing that didn't require surgery, and I hope he continued to clear out at home.

[Bastet]

VJ getting an internship in London is cool.  It's a great city, so when Dr. Hodges was going to visit him, I was hoping we'd get some footage, as it's been a long time since I was last there and I need a fix.

The shell-less, unformed rubbery egg causing the chicken's prolapse was something I'd never seen on any of these vet shows.  I'm glad Buttercup's owners don't care about not being able to eat (or sell, which wasn't mentioned) her eggs for a time, and wouldn't even if that was permanent, as she's a pet.

Lila is a mystery, but thank goodness she recovered from whatever she got into (and I hope her owner takes a careful look to try and figure it out to avoid it happening again).

Cowboy's situation was a doozy, and I like Dr. Hodges saying I should not mess with this and backing out of the procedure, telling the owner they need a specialist. 

I'd never even heard of the animal the rescuer brought in, a capybara.  It's great that Dr. Ferguson has a classmate who wound up being a wildlife orthopedist (and that he knows that, to know to call her).  This is a critter who should also have been transferred to a specialist, but there wasn't one nearby.  I hope things worked out, but have my doubts.

The Denali segment bugged me, with them talking about feeding "one cup" of food.  That depends on the food -- if it's the same with dog food as it is cat food, calories per ounce varies significantly and there are brands/formulas where one cup contains a truly obscene number of calories.  Vets should give feeding advice in terms of calories per day based on body weight (e.g. for cats, it's 20 calories per pound, so a 10-pound cat should get 200 calories per day for weight maintenance [but if you need to decrease, you do it by 20% at a time, not dramatically, because I don't want to ever mention feeding cats without talking about their unique risk of hepatic lipidosis if they suddenly stop eating altogether or even just experience a sudden significant reduction in caloric intake]) not on measurements.