Internal Medicine - Pet of the Month
The Internal Medicine team has the pleasure to work with many pets and their loving families. We have created this page to highlight those that are a part of our daily lives and to celebrate the human animal bond.
Pet of the Month – February
Jacque and Tom made a wonderful addition to their family when they brought home a cute little 49 day old Labrador puppy. They decided to name him Taz and he quickly became the bright star in their lives. Now 9 years old, Taz is still very active doing his favorite things such as chasing tennis balls in the creek and going on long walks with Jacque and Tom.
One day in December Taz declined to do the one thing that he loves the most. Eat! Jacque and Tom knew right a way that something was very wrong with Taz as eating is always one of the highlights in his day. Taz’s parents immediately brought him to our hospital where he collapsed in our lobby as soon as he walked in the door. Taz was taken to our CCU area where the night time emergency staff started to stabilize him with IV fluids and supportive care. When our internal medicine staff arrived the next morning, Taz’s care was transferred to Dr.Teresa Dye. Dr. Dye performed an ultrasound and confirmed that his intestines were thicker than normal and suspected that Taz was losing blood from his GI tract. With Taz’s blood loss it soon became necessary for him to receive blood transfusions and medications to help stop the blood loss and keep him stable. The following day Dr. Dye performed a procedure called a gastroduodenoscopy. This procedure utilizes a flexible scope inserted through the mouth and down the esophagus to allow for the doctor to visualize Taz’s stomach and small intestines. Dr. Dye collected biopsies from these areas and it was later confirmed that Taz has a disease called Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
It took several days in the hospital before Taz started to feel better. Jacque and Tom were by his side every step of the way. It was a bit of a roller coaster ride for Taz and his family for many more days following discharge with Taz going home and having to come back to the hospital a few more times. However, within a few weeks Taz finally started to respond to his medications allowing him to stay home for good. It was a very trying time for them all.
Once he started to feel better, Taz started to return to his old self. Jacque says that Taz talks to her all of the time. This is not just an ordinary bark in response to her questions but verbalizing in his dog voice like he is forming words! Tom and Jacque’s friends and family swear that they were circus trainers in past lives as they can get Taz to do any trick for his beloved treats. He is back to his walks and playtime and loves to be around people. Taz especially enjoys having the tops of his ears kissed and getting extra love from his family. Taz is now under the care of Dr. Don Westfall who will closely monitor his progress as he continues to improve. We are happy that Taz is back where he belongs and that his bowel disease is getting under control. Hang in there Taz! We have treats waiting for you when you come back for your check ups!
Pet of the Month – January
Mason is a four year old Golden Retriever who, according to his pet parents Melissa and Chip, is the happiest dog on earth. Mason can be heard coming long before you see him, simply because he wags his tail so vigorously when getting close to his loved ones, everything nearby gets hit by his tail. Mason doesn’t just wag his tail but his whole body in joy when he is happy. Needless to say, he is always a ray of sunshine and easily amused!
Unfortunately, Mason became ill after a walk with his family. Melissa and Chip were quick to recognize that Mason was not himself. Always in tune with their furry friend, they did not take the “wait and see attitude” and quickly took Mason to his family veterinarian to have him checked out.
Mason’s condition quickly took a turn for the worse and his family veterinarian sent him to VRCC for an emergency evaluation. As soon as Mason came to the hospital, Dr. Van Pelt, our emergency and critical care specialist, quickly recognized that Mason was close to a cardiac arrest. Mason had a slow heartbeat, muffled heart sounds and faint pulses. Dr. Van Pelt immediately performed an ultrasound of his heart and found that the membrane that surrounds Mason’s heart was filling with fluid causing pressure to be placed on his heart. This is a condition called tamponade and it keeps the heart from functioning properly. Dr. Van Pelt performed an emergency pericardial tap, removing 150 milliliters of bloody fluid from the pericardial sac surrounding his heart. This release of pressure allowed Mason’s heart to function properly. He soon regained consciousness and started his famous tail wagging once again.
What caused Mason to become ill so quickly with such a life threatening condition? Dr. Van Pelt suspects that Mason may have eaten a rodent poison such as D-Con. This type of poison causes extreme internal bleeding and if not treated quickly, can cause a life threatening loss of blood in a short period of time. Mason’s family doesn’t know where he encountered this horrible poison but we are all thankful that they did not hesitate to get him help when he started to act out of sorts. With immediate care and proper treatment, Mason made a fast recovery, leaving our hospital in just two days.
Mason is back home with his family and is doing the things he enjoys the most; Wagging his tail, protecting his toddler Nicholas, and being his sweet, happy self. What a joy Mason is to his family and we are happy to see him back home where he belongs.
Pet of the Month – December
Susie is a 9 pound, 4 ½ year old Yorkshire terrier who came to our department as an emergency patient after being trampled by a deer on November 1, 2011. Susie accidently got out of the front door and encountered a herd of deer that were grazing in her yard. While Susie’s parents, Coleman and Ann, didn’t witness the incident, they found her a few minutes later with life threatening injuries.
Susie was rushed to her family veterinarian who did a fantastic job of stabilizing Susie before sending her to VRCC for critical care evaluation. Upon arrival, Dr.Debbie Van Pelt, our board certified Emergency and Critical Care Specialist immediately started to evaluate Susie. Unfortunately, Susie suffered head trauma, eye trauma and a large hernia in her abdomen that caused some of her intestines to be displaced outside of her protective abdominal wall. Susie was also evaluated by the VRCC Neurology department to assess how badly her brain may have been damaged. It was decided that surgery needed to be performed immediately, as the risk of intestinal strangulation from the abdominal hernia was far greater than the risk of anesthetizing a patient with brain swelling. Coleman and Ann made the brave decision to proceed with surgery. Susie’s surgery, while complicated, was a complete success thanks to the expertise of VRCC’s Surgery team.
Little Susie remained in our critical care unit for three more days under the care of Dr. Van Pelt and our nursing staff, making remarkable improvement during that time. As her brain and body started to heal, she became more aware of her surroundings. Coleman and Ann came each day to visit with Susie helping with her recovery. Susie was soon able to stabilize herself with less assistance and was able to go home with her family on November 4th to recuperate in her favorite place with her favorite people.
Susie is back to her daily routine and endearing mannerisms. When her dad walks by, she quickly rolls on her back for a tummy rub and of course, Coleman always complies. He said Susie is so smart that they have to spell words in her presence so she doesn’t know what he and Ann are planning. Susie comes running from the other room when she hears the refrigerator open or the wrapper coming off a bag of popcorn and she loves fruit for her snack times.
Susie is still under the care of the VRCC, Ophthalmology department for her eye injury and according to Susie’s dad, she is almost back to 100% in health. In witnessing Susie’s heart and will to survive, the VRCC Critical Care and Internal Medicine team would measure that at 1,000%!
Pet of the Month – November
Our Internal Medicine pet of the month is Sparky. Sparky first came to the Internal Medicine department in 2009 at the age of 14 years. This long hair Chihuahua and her dad Ric quickly became one of our favorite families here at VRCC. Even though Sparky passed away in September, the staff of Internal Medicine wanted to honor Sparky and Ric by featuring Sparky as our first ever Pet of the Month.
Sparky had a big personality in her tiny 4 pound body. She was very protective of Ric on their walks and fearless of other dogs in the neighborhood that far outweighed this feisty little girl. With her big dog attitude, Sparky quickly developed a reputation around town and soon earned the nickname of “Queen of the Neighborhood”.
Ric always took Sparky to work with him and she was a frequent participant in business meetings. She was an international flyer and Ric insists that she accumulated more frequent flyer miles then most people could ever dream of. He recalled when his friend, a retired Denver Bronco football player, flew with Sparky to reunite her with Ric. In her excitement she pulled the 300 pound, 6’ 6” man through the crowd to get to her dad! This must have been quite a sight to see and it provided much comic relief to those who witnessed Sparky’s burst of strength to reunite.
Sparky loved to play in the first snow of the year and her favorite meal was filet mignon. She was a comforting companion to Ric when he suffered the loss of a family member, never leaving his side during that tough time in his life.
We at VRCC Internal Medicine are honored to have been a part of Ric and Sparky’s life and witness to Ric’s commitment to Sparky’s care and well being.
