Animal Hospital Of
Statesville
181 Mocksville Hwy, Statesville NC, 28625
704-872-3625 Office/704-872-2490 Fax
Appointment
&
Medication Request
PETS
OF THE MONTH
(See our pet trivia & facts
at the bottom of the page)
Canine
Booly
was one of our canine officers with the Statesville Police Department.
Booly’s primary duty was that of a patrol dog, but he also worked
narcotics, apprehension, and tracking, among other things.
He was VERY accomplished at whatever he did! During
the middle of June of this year, Booly became wobbly in his rear end, and
over a period of a few hours, went down in his back.
He had very little use of his rear limbs, indicating a problem with
his nerve function. Our
primary concerns were a ruptured disc or a fibrocartilaginous emboli,
causing severe nerve damage. At
his age and activity level, surgery was not a good alternative, so we
started him on injectable anti-inflammatories and rested him for a week in
the hospital. Over this time,
he slowly began to regain use of his rear limbs and was able to walk
again. He was discharged, but
returned a week later with more progressive disease.
Booly was a Belgian Tervuren. What
makes this breed such a desirable police dog is their ceaseless energy
supply and need to be active. This
trait, though, worked against us, as Booly could not be kept confined for
the eight weeks needed to give him his best option for recovery.
We tried treatment again in the hospital, but Booly’s condition
continued to worsen until he had no use of his rear end at all.
Booly was humanely euthanized in July.
Because of his dedicated service to Statesville and his community,
Booly is the Animal Hospital of Statesville’s canine Pet-of-the-Month.
FELINE
Rowdy Chappell
Rowdy
is a handsome, 7-year-old kitty. He
was diagnosed with diabetes a year ago when his owner noticed him drinking
a lot of water. Similar to
people, when pets are diabetic, their blood sugar (glucose) is too high
and the kidneys “leak” sugar into the urine.
This in turn causes the pet to drink more and urinate more.
Sometimes you may also notice weight loss, lethargy or vomiting.
A complete blood count (CBC) and chemistry profile revealed that
Rowdy did indeed have high blood sugar (hyperglycemia), as well as sugar
in his urine. He was started
on insulin called Vetsulin initially, which is specific for pets.
We also placed him on a special diet to help control his glucose.
Purina DM is a prescription diet we use most often for diabetic
cats that allows more control over a pet’s blood sugar and potential for
a reduced insulin dose. Once a
pet is started on insulin, we monitor them closely through blood sugar
curves to make sure we are giving the right dose.
Cats can become easily stressed in the hospital so occasionally we
perform a “fructosamine” level that is not altered by stress.
Rowdy did well and was controlled for several months on the
Vetsulin. Recently, Rowdy was
changed to a new insulin that is specifically made just for cats called
ProZinc, since Vetsulin is no longer available.
He has transitioned nicely to the new insulin and he being
monitored closely to see how his blood sugar responds throughout the day.
Diabetes is a real concern that affects many people, as well as
pets.
This is why Rowdy is our pet of the month!
Canine Trivia & Facts: An estimated one million dogs in the United States have been named the primary beneficiary in their owner's will.
Feline Trivia & Facts: A cat can jump as much as seven times its height.