Critter Fixers: Country Vets - General Discussion

[Rammchick]

3 hours ago, Bastet said:

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.

BTW, the vet Dr. Ferguson called was Dr. Priya, who is a vet at the Columbus Zoo, and can be seen on Nat Geo Wild's Secrets of the Zoo:  Columbus show.  She's one of my favorite zoo vets, in fact.  Very cool to know that they went to school together.

[AZChristian]

10 hours ago, Bastet said:

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.

I thought it was great that VJ was so excited about the beauty of the city and how easy it is to get around.  Brought back many happy memories for us as well.

=================

We were on a shore excursion at some Mayan ruins in Mexico, and while walking from the bus to the ruins, we saw a weird-looking animal just strolling along in the foliage at the edge of the walkway.  It was a capybara!!

[Back Atcha]

11 hours ago, Bastet said:

I'd never even heard of the animal the rescuer brought in, a capybara.

I've seen a few online photos (over the years) of people taking their capybaras shopping at WalMart.  Check online you'll see some very interesting stuff.  They're apparently friendly, good with humans and other animals.

[Bastet]

Oh, good gods.  If you "don't know what [you'd] do without" your dog, spay her, so she doesn't have to risk her life by undergoing anesthesia in her old age to remove tumors that would almost certainly not have developed if you'd spayed her back when she was young and able to weather anesthesia with no issues.  Grrr; Abegayle's owner had me seeing red, but I try to just be happy it worked out (assuming she doesn't have metastatic cancer).

I wonder what medication Lucy was on for the past year, because it seemed like giving her Lasix was new and I could tell just listening to her she needed it.  It sounded to me like the owner had been taking her to another vet, and I'm glad Lucy is now in the hands of the Critter Fixers and hope the new medications give her months of quality time with her owner.

Those poor little kittens.  Imagine the momma cat finding the car where she stashed her babies gone, and then it comes back without them.  I wonder if there were only those two (common with a first litter, not common afterward).

And poor little Hazel, the baby squirrel -- your tree gets cut down and you fall out, then you have flies trying to hatch in your tiny body.  What a beginning.

Blue, the dog who got bit by a snake, was SO happy to feel better and have his dad come get him.  I love when their whole body wags.

[Bastet]

Otters!  So cute.  I like Dr. Ferguson saying they love when she (the rehabber) calls for an appointment, because they never know what they're going to get to see.

Boy, that poor cat (Noodle, I think) picked the right driveway to lie down in.  He's so friendly, he must have had a home.  However long he'd been fending for himself, he's got good people now and can have a long, happy life as a tripod.

I always love Vet for a Day, and like that the producers feature it each season.  What they're doing, trying to increase diversity in the profession, is so important.  I hate zoos (the good things they do don't counteract the fundamental major problems), so I could have done without getting sad seeing those elephants in captivity, but so long as there are zoos, the animals in them need veterinary care, so for kids to see zoo vet as a career option is a natural part of the program. 

I like how the mom of the kid who wound up with Skinky, after refusing the kid's request for other reptiles, wound up just as attached.

I'm glad Lily's lump was just a cyst, on general principle and especially with what her owner has been through lately; his dog having cancer would have sent him around the bend.

Corn and Fernando, damn -- that was a serious bunny fight.  Poor Corn is so cute; I love her coloring.

[Bastet]

Gods, I hope they spayed Coco, but I doubt it.  Breeders as the one blight on this series remains; I wish we'd at least hear the vets suggested spaying and the owner declined, but whether they didn't even suggest it in the first place (unconscionable) or they did and the producers don't include that (something to which the vets should object), I will always keep watching because they do so much good. 

That tiny tortoise blended into the counter.  I love that someone who'd never had a single thought of having a pet like that is now all in upon having one show up in their yard.  I didn't catch what species of tortoise he is, but as far as I know the average life expectancy of most if not all of them is pretty long.  That's a lot to take on; kudos.

Dr. Hodges was great in the same way with the owner of the emu with a bone infection and the owner of the dog with bone cancer -- he paused his explanations of the x-rays to give them each a really good hug when they got overwhelmed by the diagnoses.

Rip the goat with a hernia had such interesting coloring -- from the left side, he looked like three goats spliced together.

The owner of cranky old man Alfred (who wants to go back to being an only cat) made me laugh with her expression when Dr. Ferguson said one of the treatments was a bronchodilator, because she thought it was some sort of machine that would have to be implanted rather than a medication.  That was cute.

I had to look up axolotls, as I had no idea what - as I said to my cat - "that cute fish-lizard looking thing" was.  Apparently they, unlike most amphibians, "never complete the metamorphosis to a land-dwelling adult form and spend their whole lives in the water" per a CNN article that gives more information on them and their unknown-to-me popularity. 

It was nice to get a little history on Jordan's career at the clinic; she has such a great rapport with Dr. Ferguson, I am not at all surprised to learn she's been there since she was a teenager.  I like all the techs, especially her and Andrea, and always wish - on all the vet shows - we got more insight into them.  I think Paul was previously the only one we'd learned much of anything about.  It's one of the many jobs that doesn't bring in the pay it should, so the people doing it generally have a deep love for animals.

[Rammchick]

9 hours ago, Bastet said:

That tiny tortoise blended into the counter.  I love that someone who'd never had a single thought of having a pet like that is now all in upon having one show up in their yard.  I didn't catch what species of tortoise he is, but as far as I know the average life expectancy of most if not all of them is pretty long.  That's a lot to take on; kudos.

It was a Sulcata tortoise, which is native to Africa.  It was likely either an escaped pet from someone's house (they dig like crazy and can escape outdoor enclosures) or being so small, could've even been a baby from an escapee (or dumped, just as likely).  This is how invasive species get their start.

[Jst2Wld]

On 3/24/2024 at 9:08 PM, Bastet said:

I don't want to ever mention feeding cats without talking about their unique risk of hepatic lipidosis

Yes. Amen to that. It's so important for cat owners to know they can kill their cat by placing them on a drastic diet without consulting a veterinarian.

Thanks for mentioning that Bastet.

[Bastet]

I laughed at how Luxe's owner changed her tune on him getting a shot when Dr. Hodges said the alternative is her giving him pills for two weeks.

Olive's floppy ears are adorable.

And Apollo the baby squirrel was beyond adorable, trying to suckle on the scope.  Poor little guy; what a rough start in life.  I wish we'd gotten an update as to whether he was able to recover and be released.

I can't say I ever thought about it, but I was surprised to learn how long the molting process can last in chickens.

Willow's segment had me a bit puzzled; there was much talk of what an experienced cat rescuer the owner is, and she was clearly knowledgeable, yet there were also several references to the time that had lapsed between when she found Willow's wound and brought her in because it wasn't healing and was clearly infected.  I hate getting distracted by stuff like that.

Was this our first time learning Dr. Ferguson had played college football?

[Bastet]

I like that when Dr. Hodges came in to tell Pongo's owners he needed surgery, he got down on the floor so he was at eye level with them where they were sitting.  The daughter made me cry so hard saying goodbye to him my cat came in to check on me.  I felt such empathy for her, and mad respect that she handled that as perfectly as it could be done.  That was beautiful love.

Loki reminded me of one of my parents' cats -- when he was in the hospital, everyone was amazed at how friendly he was in such a stressful situation.  When he had to be put to sleep, practically everyone who was there that day came in to say good-bye to him (one vet cried, which I'd never experienced before).

The poor lady who backed into her tortoise.  I recognized her as someone we'd seen previously.  I'm glad that worked out.

[Bastet]

On 3/24/2024 at 9:08 PM, Bastet said:

I'd never even heard of the animal the rescuer brought in, a capybara. 

On 4/14/2024 at 10:15 PM, Bastet said:

I had to look up axolotls, as I had no idea what - as I said to my cat - "that cute fish-lizard looking thing" was.

Never let it be said television isn't educational:  Friday's episode of Jeopardy! had a category about pets other than cats and dogs, and thanks to this show I got the capybara and axolotl clues I would have otherwise missed.

Edited May 5 by Bastet

[Bastet]

I have numerous significant issues with the military and law enforcement, so I'm never down with lauding people simply based on being an active member or veteran.  But I am always down with getting them the help they need when they are damaged by their service, and unfortunately when we're talking mental damage, there is still a tremendous need for organizations to supplement where the government does not provide adequate care, and I love how many recognize what a tremendous role animals can play in that.  That's what I'll confine myself to in commenting on the "vets for vets" backdrop of this episode.

Comfort Farms looks like a great place providing a great service, so I enjoyed seeing it, but whenever I hear a male vet say the banding process to make the testicles fall off livestock is "totally painless", I want to ask them if they'd like to demonstrate on themselves.  I just did a quick search, and there are a lot of veterinary articles out there disputing that assertion (which is only logical to me).

The K-9 (Grizz?  I missed seeing how it was spelled) being saluted as his flag-draped body was brought out got me going.  I was holding it together at the burly SWAT guy crying over his partner, because my cat was on my lap and she gets upset when I cry, but that did me in.

Good catch by Jordan that the chicken had another problem in addition to the growth on his wing.  Hopefully getting the coccidia under control will give him some quality time with his family before the cancer necessitates euthanasia, letting him go out on a high note.

Harley is a pretty kitty.  Her mom needs to learn what draining an abscess means, because it's certainly not just wiping and squeezing.  Hopefully she can TNR the stray cat, and hopefully that will eliminate the fighting.  "I like big abscesses and I cannot lie" - Sir Lance-a-Lot.  LOL!

[Bastet]

I had never heard of that inverted eyelash condition; that can obviously cause some real damage with that constant irritation.  I wish we got an update on how that healed.

I wish Paisley's owner had brought her in on day two rather than waiting a week, as that's a long time to be that infected, but I'm glad it worked out in the end (I thought it a little odd they didn't say what happened with the puppies, since she couldn't nurse, and they didn't even know she was pregnant, so would have had to line something up in a hurry, but hopefully a rescue with foster who could bottle feed and then adopt them out once they were old enough and fixed got involved).  Nice of Dr. Hodges to come in on his day off to see for himself she was doing better.

Another good catch by eagle-eyed Jordan, spotting the smaller growth on Maximus.  Even though benign, if it grew as quickly as the other one, it would have to be removed, and better to not have to come back in a few months for another surgery.

I hope the chicken's neck indeed kept getting better, and she's now living a regular life.

[Rammchick]

14 hours ago, Bastet said:

I had never heard of that inverted eyelash condition; that can obviously cause some real damage with that constant irritation.  I wish we got an update on how that healed.

I think it's more usual in dogs, particularly those with a lot of skin folds around their eyes like Shar Pei's, bulldogs, etc.  That was the first one I'd ever seen on a cat.

[Gwendolyn]

On 5/11/2024 at 8:05 PM, Bastet said:

I wish Paisley's owner had brought her in on day two rather than waiting a week, as that's a long time to be that infected, but I'm glad it worked out in the end (I thought it a little odd they didn't say what happened with the puppies, since she couldn't nurse, and they didn't even know she was pregnant, so would have had to line something up in a hurry, but hopefully a rescue with foster who could bottle feed and then adopt them out once they were old enough and fixed got involved)

Was it a week? I thought it was 3 days after she delivered the puppies. I'm just glad Paisley was spayed. I wonder if the owner delayed at all because her husband had died as a result of a reaction an antibiotic?

And I thought it weird they didn't mention the puppies at all. But maybe that's for the best.

I did get a kick out of Dr. Hodges bringing in Bane to see the lady Cane Corso and Bane being completely uninterested. Mostly because I used to have a Corso Bane's color.

[Bastet]

Watching the re-run of last week's episode reminded me how much I loved the little prosthetic duck foot.  There probably aren't very many vets who treat ducks in the first place, let alone have spare feet lying around!

I laughed again at Dr. Hodges saying he was going to take his new surgical glasses with him to restaurants so he can read the menus.

In tonight's episode, Daisy the squirrel escaping when they thought she was asleep from the gas cracked me up.

I love that Dr. Ferguson's daughter is studying to be a vet, too, and that she's going to Tuskegee.  He made me tear up when he told her not to hold herself to some standard she thinks he's set, as she's already surpassed it.  It's so important that when his wife told him their daughter feels too much pressure to make him proud, his immediate reaction was to say Nicole knows he's proud of her, but then to take those words to heart and make sure he explicitly told her.

I'm fascinated by fish surgeries, every time they show it, so I liked seeing the students' enthusiasm to get the experience.  And it was great to hear the former employees now in vet school talk about how the hands-on experience they were given helped them in their classes. 

[Rammchick]

Representation is so important.  I love how this show emphasizes that anyone can be anything they want if they try.

[Bastet]

5 hours ago, Rammchick said:

Representation is so important.  I love how this show emphasizes that anyone can be anything they want if they try.

I love that they explicitly talk about the need for mentorship; they've said that, as hard as they worked, they wouldn't have achieved what they did without others taking the time and interest to actively guide them, which is why they are so dedicated to doing the same.

[Back Atcha]

On 6/1/2024 at 7:01 PM, Bastet said:

There probably aren't very many vets who treat ducks in the first place, let alone have spare feet lying around!

We have (2) vets; this one is an avian and exotic animal vet.  We have a BIG Sulcata tortoise. Dr. Driggs in Mesa, AZ, made a house call--only because I couldn't lift that big lug (over 100lbs)--the tortoise, not the doctor into my car.  All he needed was to have his "beak" filed down, but he was too squirmy for 84yr-old me.  THAT SAID, Dr. Driggs bought a 3D printer and taught himself to make many little miracles for his avian and reptilian friends.  I hope he watched and enjoyed that duck prosthesis, knowing he can probably solve many new problems now.