Dr. K's Exotic Animal ER - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run.

[LittleIggy]

I have to rant about an episode I saw last Sunday. A young woman came in with a marmoset (less than a year old) who was obviously very sick. To cut to the chase, the poor creature was diagnosed with herpes (caught from a human) which Dr. K said was a fatal diagnosis for a baby monkey. ? She was euthanized because she was suffering. The whole situation made me so furious! Primates should not be kept as pets! Why is that still legal in some states? The exotic pet trade is cruel and abusive. Go to a shelter and adopt a dog or cat! That poor marmoset was ripped from it’s mother so some idiot could have a “cool”pet monkey and pretend it’s a baby. ?

[walnutqueen]

On 9/5/2018 at 9:21 PM, LittleIggy said:

I have to rant about an episode I saw last Sunday. A young woman came in with a marmoset (less than a year old) who was obviously very sick. To cut to the chase, the poor creature was diagnosed with herpes (caught from a human) which Dr. K said was a fatal diagnosis for a baby monkey. ? She was euthanized because she was suffering. The whole situation made me so furious! Primates should not be kept as pets! Why is that still legal in some states? The exotic pet trade is cruel and abusive. Go to a shelter and adopt a dog or cat! That poor marmoset was ripped from it’s mother so some idiot could have a “cool”pet monkey and pretend it’s a baby. ?

I couldn't agree more.  Exotic pet ownership should be illegal everywhere.  Period.

Sure, Dr. K is providing a much needed service in a state that allows such nutfuckery,  But she should be discouraging the ownership of such animals, and she can't, for fear of alienating her clientele.  :-(

[LittleIggy]

I feel ambivalent about the show for that reason. I want Dr. K to explicitly state that animals like monkeys, sloths, and anteaters should not be pets. Then again, she could say that and people will just look at a marmoset on the show and say “Ooh, I want a cute little monkey!”

[walnutqueen]

17 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

I feel ambivalent about the show for that reason. I want Dr. K to explicitly state that animals like monkeys, sloths, and anteaters should not be pets. Then again, she could say that and people will just look at a marmoset on the show and say “Ooh, I want a cute little monkey!”

Yeah - I suppose I'd feel a little less ambivalent if her practice in any way discouraged the ownership of exotics, or maybe if I saw more in the way of community outreach, or donating time to charitable causes like Dr. Jeff.

Don't get me wrong - they are sweet and caring vets.  But they could be doing more.

[RealityCheck]

I think it's articles like this one that has tempered what Dr K says about owning exotics.  In the comments, the writer of the article responded with:

Quote

I'm just as entitled to have a sloth or lemur as you are cockatoo and boas.

Bold is mine and that word irritates me to no end.  

[MonicaM]

I agree 100% about not keeping exotics as pets, but I somewhat disagree that Dr. K needs to actively discourage her clients.  If she gets too judgmental and negative, then they won't want to come back to her practice and the animals won't get the expert care they need.  They'll go to someone less qualified, or worse, not seek veterinary care at all.  The people I know who have exotic animals as pets tend to be VERY sensitive and defensive, and go way out of their way to take everything as a criticism of their pet choices.  

I volunteer at our local animal shelter and we have a strict rule that no matter what ridiculous or unreasonable excuse someone gives for surrendering their cat or dog, we must keep a non judgmental attitude, be polite, and thank them for caring enough to bring the animal to the shelter.  As the shelter manager points out, if the shelter gets the reputation for scolding people, they'll have more motive to simply abandon their pets in an unpleasant manner. 

Sad when we see people who take animals to the shelter as "the good guys" but, at the same time, as much as I disagree with owning an exotic, at least Dr. K's clients are seeking expert vet care.

[MonicaM]

Sorry to post again, but I just read the article @RealityCheck posted.  That's EXACTLY the attitude I find with the people I know personally.  Exactly.  Entitled, insulted, defensive, and irrational.  Let's put this vet out of business because she very mildly suggested a wild animal might have a better life outside in nature!!!

[LittleIggy]

6 hours ago, RealityCheck said:

I think it's articles like this one that has tempered what Dr K says about owning exotics.  In the comments, the writer of the article responded with:

Bold is mine and that word irritates me to no end.  

The author of that article is an idiot: “nearly irrefutable that keeping most exotic pets doesn’t differ at all, ethically, from keeping so-called domesticated animals as long as they are receiving proper care.” Bullshit! It is absolutely irrefutable. Does this person have no idea how many animals die as a result of the exotic animal trade?

Edited September 8, 2018 by LittleIggy

[Rammchick]

I couldn't even finish reading that article.  What stupidity!  To justify someone keeping a fennec fox in an unsuitable environment because zoos do it all the time is ridiculous reasoning.  Most of us don't live in zoos or have the proper set-up in our homes for these animals, and I'm speaking as someone who had iguanas for 20 years.  Some of the people we ran across had no clue how to care for one, let alone that that cute little green lizard was going to grow up to be 6 feet long, have claws and teeth and have a tail they can whip you with.

All that being said, I cringe at some of the animals that show up in this series.  Lemurs and monkeys especially.  While I applaud Dr. K for speaking out about keeping these guys as pets, and treating them non-judgmentally, it also sends the wrong message to "glorify" this by featuring it on a TV show.  There are people who will interpret this very positively and think to themselves, "Wow, I should go out and get one of those because it looks so cool."

Edited September 9, 2018 by Rammchick

[2727]

Aside from any other considerations, mammals that require diapers/cannot be housetrained are not suitable pets. Sorry, but every monkey owner on the show has creeped me out in some way.

[Arienne]

When this show started I really enjoyed it. There seems to be a marathon today and all I hear is that dam Dr. T baby talking and valley girl screeching! This drives me crazy! I like seeing all the exotics and what type of idgets own them. But that high pitched baby talk really needs to go...…….just saying

[LittleIggy]

13 hours ago, Rammchick said:

 

All that being said, I cringe at some of the animals that show up in this series.  Lemurs and monkeys especially.  While I applaud Dr. K for speaking out about keeping these guys as pets, and treating them non-judgmentally, it also sends the wrong message to "glorify" this by featuring it on a TV show.  There are people who will interpret this very positively and think to themselves, "Wow, I should go out and get one of those because it looks so cool."

Yeah, the whole “picture is worth a thousand words” effect. Whatever Dr. K says or whatever is written on the bottom of the screen will be negated by the image of that adorable monkey or lemur on the screen. Tonight they had another precious baby monkey that had been ripped from its mother. Bet in the wild the mother owl monkey kept those hairs from getting wrapped around the her baby’s thumbs through grooming.

Wonder how long it will be before those people regret keeping those baby raccoons as pets. They were young enough to be rehabbed by specialists and put back in the wild.

The hammie with the tiny cast was adorable.

[walnutqueen]

8 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Wonder how long it will be before those people regret keeping those baby raccoons as pets. They were young enough to be rehabbed by specialists and put back in the wild.

They ignored Dr. K's suggestion to turn them over to the wildlife rehab center, where people who ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT THEY"RE DOING could care for them.  I fear this will not end well.  Juvenile raccoons are extremely mischievous and destructive, and these people seem ill prepared to deal with the lifelong commitment to raising such a difficult and totally inappropriate pet.  Grrr!

[Rammchick]

1 hour ago, walnutqueen said:

They ignored Dr. K's suggestion to turn them over to the wildlife rehab center, where people who ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT THEY"RE DOING could care for them.  I fear this will not end well.  Juvenile raccoons are extremely mischievous and destructive, and these people seem ill prepared to deal with the lifelong commitment to raising such a difficult and totally inappropriate pet.  Grrr!

I can tell you from first-hand experience that raccoons do not make good pets.  I volunteer at a wildlife rehab shelter and once grown, those cute little babies become formidable.  Teeth, claws, fearless and smart.  There's a combination you want near your kids.  Not.  At least Dr. K mentioned the raccoon roundworm that most of them carry; just because it wasn't being shed at the time the sample was taken doesn't mean they don't have it.  It's a nasty disease -- the roundworm eggs are shed in the feces and can exist in the environment for years; once swallowed and inside the body, eggs hatch into larvae, which then cause disease when they migrate through the liver, brain, spinal cord, and other organs. Kids play in the dirt, then put their hands in their mouth.  Nuff said.

I have to say, this episode was starting to make me sick.  The baby talk!  Both Drs K and T do it and it's nauseating.  Definitely not professional either.

[2727]

I actually enjoy Kelleher, Thielen, and the techs cooing over the animals but for some reason the new vet was a bridge too far for me. Her excitement and squeals come off like an elementary school student on a field trip.

It was fun to see Dr. K's husband. I also got a kick out of the vet/mom phone call with her daughter.

The owl monkey owner seemed like a breeder trying to pass himself off as an owner. But again, Dr. K can't really disallow them in her practice, for the animals' sake.

Tortoises being attacked by dogs -- are the dogs trying to eat them?

Hey, woman from Texas with the squirrel? You might have tried Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists in, like, Houston before driving all day to another state. They have a TV show too! Seems like there was another story there we weren't hearing.

Edited September 10, 2018 by 2727

[walnutqueen]

Yeah, I'm not going to bag on anyone for baby talking to the animals.  I do it myself (depending on the animal, of course) and my vet does it, too.  I lurve her!

[LittleIggy]

I baby talk to my pets, but I’m not a veterinarian on a TV show. Drs. Brenda and Emily from Dr. Pol’s practice don’t do it. Neither do the female vets at Dr. Jeff’s.

I haven’t watched Dr. K’s for very long. Is Dr. Thielen the young vet with long curly brown hair? She’s the one who goes overboard with the baby talk. Why baby talk to a snake? They can’t hear!

BTW, why take your little pet tortoise to pet sit a puppy or leave it out if you are pet sitting at home? Puppies like to chew things.

Edited September 10, 2018 by LittleIggy

[Rammchick]

It may just be the editing on this show -- these doctors may not talk that way to all the patients all the time.  I'm OK with a little bit of baby talk -- I don't recite encyclopedias to my dog, afterall -- but it seems constant on this show.  Both doctors are highly intelligent women and for me, it tends to make them sound less competent than they clearly are.  

[andipandi]

My daughter and I enjoy this show, to learn about animals and their care. She has a bearded dragon so we watch for dragon scenes.

Someone in that article posted above complained that Dr. K doesn't like dogs. I didn't take it that way at all. I took it to mean she got bored seeing them day in day out, which is why she switched to exotics. There was an episode where her dad brought in his dog, it wore little bunny ears so she could treat the "bunny."

I can deal with the surgery scenes but the one critter with the infected anal glands... urk.

[LittleIggy]

6 hours ago, Rammchick said:

I can tell you from first-hand experience that raccoons do not make good pets.  I volunteer at a wildlife rehab shelter and once grown, those cute little babies become formidable.  Teeth, claws, fearless and smart.  There's a combination you want near your kids.  

On AP’s I Was Prey, a grown woman in E. Vancouver, BC was attacked and nearly killed by a raccoon. It wasn’t rabid either (the woman expected to get the course of rabies injections but was told E. Vancouver had eradicated rabies).

[walnutqueen]

22 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

On AP’s I Was Prey, a grown woman in E. Vancouver, BC was attacked and nearly killed by a raccoon. It wasn’t rabid either (the woman expected to get the course of rabies injections but was told E. Vancouver had eradicated rabies).

I saw that episode, too.  It was such bizarre behavior!

Raccoons have been visiting my place for decades.  Current Mama Raccoon raises her babies in my back yard every year, since there is abundant cat food, water and shelter.  They never fight with my semi-feral backyard cats, and are quite content to feed mere feet away from each other (although the cats get a little hissy if a curious baby gets too, too close).  The babies are sweet-natured, much like their Mum, but when they get a little older and more curious & playful, they can be holy terrors, wreaking havoc on anything and everything in the back yard they can get their thieving little destructive paws on.  I've given up replacing the drain covers, which seem to make the most entertaining baby raccoon toys, and disappear into the impenetrable brush on a regular basis.  They also delight in pulling all the stuffing out of the cat beds.   Little fuckers.  :-)

[Anela]

7 hours ago, 2727 said:

I actually enjoy Kelleher, Thielen, and the techs cooing over the animals but for some reason the new vet was a bridge too far for me. Her excitement and squeals come off like an elementary school student on a field trip.

 

I squeal. I have to be careful at Petsmart, or when I'm with my dad in Amish country, where there are not only dogs and cats of all ages, but farm animals, goats, llamas! and so on. Ponies. 

We have raccoons around here. Before adopting my current dog, we had them in the garden, and even coming into the kitchen and dining room, since my little older dog was with me in the living room, and not guarding the garden. I walked out to see one, in the early hours, only for it to turn around and shoot out the back door. The same week, I woke up around 4am, thinking my dad was up early - I heard cupboards slamming, and thought he was irritated. Nope. Raccoon, trying to find the dry food that was put out for the feral cats. 

[DocTerv]

It's so interesting to hear different opinions on how vets talk to their patients and whether it's "professional" or not. When I was a baby veterinarian many MANY years ago it was highly unusual for women to be vets. For those who managed to make it the emphasis was on being very professional, kind but rather emotionless. Wear the white coat, don't kiss the patients (so to speak). As time has passed things have loosened up considerably. These days I wear a polo shirt and talk to my patients pretty much the way I talk to my own pets and I guess that fits our practice style fine. 

Dr Pol's practice is much more old style and their clients are used to a much less touchy/feelly atmosphere while Dr K's clientele is a whole 'nuther kettle of fish.  It all works for their specific practices because clients will pick the practice where they are comfortable. 

Personally I don't do exotics because in many cases they are kept as pets much to their detriment.  The article by the Entitled One highlights what a fine line vets who treat exotics walk every day. Do you tell Entitled One that trying to keep a gibbon as a house pet is a bad idea? This only seems to make them more determined to own a totally inappropriate pet. Or do you try to take the best care you can of that poor gibbon they feel they simply must own? Heaven forbid they should just get an actual domesticated animal that is made to live with humans. 

Still cringing about the raccoons. This can only end in tears. 

[spunky]

On 9/9/2018 at 3:55 PM, Arienne said:

When this show started I really enjoyed it. There seems to be a marathon today and all I hear is that dam Dr. T baby talking and valley girl screeching! This drives me crazy! I like seeing all the exotics and what type of idgets own them. But that high pitched baby talk really needs to go...…….just saying

I thought I was the only one who got annoyed by her baby talk. That and her decision making process. How could she not anticipate that a snake would try to slither away , while she was doing x-rays? 

[LittleIggy]

Poor tortoise. ? I cried too.

That was one grouchy pig! Those tusks were scary!

[walnutqueen]

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

Poor tortoise. ? I cried too.

That was one grouchy pig! Those tusks were scary!

Damn all these animal shows for giving me the puffy red eyelids.

I do love hearing the hysterical squeals of piggies - it evokes the untoward shrieking of the Real Housewives.

[2727]

Goodness, all that fluid gushing out of the tortoise when they put the tube down her. Poor thing. I was hoping to find out what had turned her white. 

I chuckled a little when Dr. T got scratched by the pig tusk, mostly because all the other staff was "yawn." Part of life when you work at a vet clinic!

[LittleIggy]

11 hours ago, 2727 said:

Goodness, all that fluid gushing out of the tortoise when they put the tube down her. Poor thing. I was hoping to find out what had turned her white. 

I chuckled a little when Dr. T got scratched by the pig tusk, mostly because all the other staff was "yawn." Part of life when you work at a vet clinic!

Dr. K got stuck by the tusk. The staff should act more concerned since she’s the boss! ?

[BookWitch]

As much as it sucked, I wish they would have gone ahead and found out what the bunny was blocked with.  So how much is the average pig supposed to weigh? 

[LittleIggy]

10 hours ago, BookWitch said:

As much as it sucked, I wish they would have gone ahead and found out what the bunny was blocked with.  So how much is the average pig supposed to weigh? 

Yeah, I would want to know what caused that poor bunny to die from a necrotic bowel if I were it’s vet.

[stormy]

One of my daughter's bunnies died of the same thing and the vet treated it the same way.  Rabbits have finicky digestive systems.

I was particularly sad about Malcom because that morning my daughter called to tell me another one of her rabbits had died from complications from surgery, :(

I've had two rabbits.  One died when he was three from an unknown illness and my rabbit Snickers lived to be nine (he died this past February. 

Edited September 25, 2018 by stormy

[LittleIggy]

The skinny pig was adorbs! ? Poor little bird. ?

That wobbly head disorder sounds like a kind of hedgehog MS. Glad Puppy was okay. Man, its ears were a mess! Bet Puppy felt a lot better afterwards.

[stormy]

Yeah. Poor Pineapple. It was sad she didn't pull through.

Edited October 1, 2018 by stormy

[LittleIggy]

Can’t believe I teared up over a snapping turtle. ☹️

That poor parrot! Surely the owner knew what could have done that to Quincy. 

That was a big ratty! He was so cute.

[stormy]

The owner of Quincy really bothered me.  She talked about birds but yet she continued to act like it was a complete mystery that something awful had happened to him.

Thank God, Quincy is a fighter and that Dr. K thought his prognosis looked good.  But the owner worries me.

[2727]

I guess I can add "will likely get herpes and die if taken out in public" to my list of reasons people shouldn't freaking own primates. (Maybe it's just marmosets, but I'm sticking with it.)

[LittleIggy]

44 minutes ago, 2727 said:

I guess I can add "will likely get herpes and die if taken out in public" to my list of reasons people shouldn't freaking own primates. (Maybe it's just marmosets, but I'm sticking with it.)

That episode made me furious. ?

[pasdetrois]

I also have very mixed emotions while watching this show because of the exotic pet trade. They get dumped regularly at the shelter where I volunteer.

I baby-talk to animals (and, well, babies) like nobody's business in private, but try to tone it down to whispered sweet nothings in public. I already have the reputation as the resident crazy animal lady in my neighborhood.

I think Dr. T's squeaky voice and excitement get the best of her sometimes. On the other hand I loved seeing Dr. K talk about and to the hyacinth macaw. "Oh no, my beak touched the floor!"

I really like the vet techs at this practice. They roll admirably with every situation.

Our house was a college rental when we purchased it, and we inherited a large raccoon population that the students fed every night. I nearly jumped out of my skin when a half-dozen raccoons began banging on my 2nd story windows, demanding to be fed. They would crawl up the lattice and hang out on the roof under the dormer window.

Edited October 8, 2018 by pasdetrois

[stormy]

The exotic pet trade upsets me .  A lot of people show up with pets but they are clueless on how to properly take care of them.

Edited October 8, 2018 by stormy

[2727]

43 minutes ago, pasdetrois said:

I really like the vet techs at this practice. They roll admirably with every situation.

Right? They're featured more than on other shows, I think. We see Hector a lot on Dr. Jeff, but Dyanne, Tom, Kristin, and the woman with the slight Caribbean accent are all great. I like that we saw Kristin handle the follow-up appointment when the owner came to get her parrot with the broken beak.  (Alex is the only staff who's kind of jumpy and excitable, but he's not a tech.)

I really like Dr. Matt but am not sure if he's interning or on permanent staff. We used to see another older male vet with maybe a Spanish accent? It seemed like he opted out of being on camera but Dr. K consulted with him a couple of times and we'd sometimes see him in the background when they were shooting in the big central room.

I really want a follow-up on how large that pig with scabies eventually gets. My guess? Bigger than the owner has convinced himself to believe!

[MonicaM]

1 hour ago, stormy said:

The exotic pet trade upsets me .  A lot of people show up with pets but they are clueless on how to properly take care of them.

 

I volunteer at a shelter and I'm amazed at how many people are clueless on how to take care of a dog or a cat!!!!!  Even rabbits are way too exotic for many people to give them the proper care.  

The pet trade I hate the most is the primates.  I feel terrible for those poor helpless, vulnerable babies who need nurturing from their own species.  But I feel even worse for the primate mothers who have their child cruelly taken away after giving birth.  For no good reason other than the seller wants to make big money and the buyer wants a pretend baby.   

Edited October 8, 2018 by MonicaM
Typo

[SRTouch]

4 hours ago, stormy said:

The exotic pet trade upsets me .  A lot of people show up with pets but they are clueless on how to properly take care of them.

 

Yeah, I kind of limit my viewing. Pretty much everything I watch is recorded. I work nights and have stuff recorded that will end up deleted without ever being watched when I run out of space - unfortunately, Dr K fell into that category and I've stopped recording it.

Edited October 8, 2018 by SRTouch

[Rammchick]

We had a bald eagle at our shelter with a cracked beak who would have died if we didn't try repairing it.  We used a dental compound that dries rock hard, and it ended up being very successful.  Granted, the damage to the beak wasn't as severe as that of the Quaker parakeet but something like that could have been tried.

[walnutqueen]

1 hour ago, Rammchick said:

We had a bald eagle at our shelter with a cracked beak who would have died if we didn't try repairing it.  We used a dental compound that dries rock hard, and it ended up being very successful.  Granted, the damage to the beak wasn't as severe as that of the Quaker parakeet but something like that could have been tried.

I saw a segment on some show where Beauty the bald eagle (who'd been shot in the face) received a 3D printed prosthetic beak.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qz9EvjtV7k

[LittleIggy]

5 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

I saw a segment on some show where Beauty the bald eagle (who'd been shot in the face) received a 3D printed prosthetic beak.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qz9EvjtV7k

I too was wondering if the poor little parrot couldn’t get a 3D printed beak.

That couple on tonight’s episode with the baby macaw: ?. Why on earth do people do that to themselves? The guy even had a tat going up his face. Anyway, glad the bird got better.

Yes, baby raccoons are adorable, but...Another case where I wish the person (such a nice guy) had gone to a wildlife rehab place with the baby.

Guess those people thought the natural habitat of a sugar glider was McDonald’s. Chicken nuggets and crackers? Seriously? ?

[connieinnc]

I believe Dr K said the parrot couldn't get a prosthetic beak because there was no place to attach it to

[stormy]

The owner's of Joey the sugar glider just pissed me off.

What is the matter with anyone that gets any kind of pet that doesn't find out how to properly feed it?

I fed my rabbits rabbit food and Timothy hay and a salad every day. I never gave any fruit or vegetable without Googling "is it ok to fed a pet rabbit ____?

It pathetic how clueless people are.

Edited October 15, 2018 by stormy

[LittleIggy]

Poor Merlin! Guess Monty Python and the Holy Grail wasn’t exaggerating about vicious rabbits! ?

Why would anyone get a lizard that would grow to be six feet long? ?

[stormy]

I'm glad all went well with Merlin.  I hope the owner, who seemed to be very invested in the safely of her rabbits, reads up on how to introduce rabbits to each other.  There's a process which takes time but that's what she'll have to go through.  My daughter's fiancé had the same kind of thing happen when he brought a new rabbit in to be friends with a rabbit he'd had for a year.  They nearly killed each when he was out one day and one of them needed surgery on his eye which fortunately he didn't loose.  One of the rabbits even bit his cat so they're not afraid to defend their territory.

The people with the kinkajou bugged me.  Again we have these people feeding their pet crap.  Twizzlers?  

Edited October 22, 2018 by stormy