One Horrible Day!

Recently, I shared the most horrible day ever with a client. She brought both her older cat and her young puppy in as emergencies, at the same time! Both pets were perfectly healthy the day before, and even that morning, but now both pets were facing the very real possibility of losing their lives.

The two pets presented with two very different and obviously unrelated problems. The cat was older and was almost non-responsive. She had a temperature of about 95 degrees, which is usually only seen as a pet is dying (or under anesthesia). She was pale as a ghost with a touch of jaundiced as well. She did not seem to be very aware of her surroundings.

The puppy was only 6 months old and had just been hit by a car a few minutes earlier. It was clear that she had many injuries, including a couple of broken bones. Yet, she was still alert and doing well. It was so sad, two tragedies in the same family, at the same time.

Due to financial limitations, we chose to invest in the life that had the most chance of survival and recovery. Therefore, we humanely euthanized the older cat to prevent any more suffering from her illness. That left us able to focus on the recovery of the puppy.

After sedating the puppy with heavy doses of pain medications, we were able to take radiographs and see the full extent of the puppy’s injuries. They were not good! She had a broken shoulder (1), separation in the lumbosacral (spine to hip) joint (A), a broken femur along the growth plate (B ), and multiple fractures of the hip (C & D). To make things worse, all of the injuries were along the right side; the puppy would not be able to support its own weight during her recovery; she was severely debilitated.

The fate for the puppy was also a humane ending of her suffering. I couldn’t believe it! This family had suffered more in one day than I had ever seen with my job! It was horrible. I can work the rest of my life without having another day like this one!

Sarasota Animal Hospital