Untold stories of last moments

Sometimes pet parents don't want to stay when they euthanize... sometimes they just sign them over and drop them off.

I'll let you know right now that everyone of those pets, be it rabbit, cat, dog, or rat, have never left this earth alone.

They each get special care and privileges.

I'll give a dog ice cream, cookies and yums yums to his heart's delight. Forbidden foods so sweet to the tongue. The last meal of a king or queen.
They get a soft blanket and a comfortable place to rest in their final moments.

I'll hold their paw, gently stroke their ears and whisper to them.

They will hear I love you one last time as they slip into a peaceful sleep.

Afterwards, when they are gone, I'll still hold them close, petting them.

It doesn't matter what brought them here. It only matters that they are comfortable and happy in their final moments. They were someone's light and joy, they were the smile waiting for you at home, they were the toy fetching , purr machine, squeaky happy little thing that brightened someone's life.

They deserve a good ending and I make sure of that.
It's maybe the one part of my job that I take extra care in.

So when you get home to your happy wagging friend. Give them a hug, tell them I love you, just don't take them for granted.

The Eye Twitch

It happens about once a week.
My right eye starts to twitch.
Usually the cause it quite noticeable.

Today's cause was dog.

Dog (noun) pronounced D-awg
Four legged creature who is of lower intelligence level.
Barks, has paws, and likes treats, walks, bones and rides in the car.

Dog started by whining. A very low trill sound. It escalated into a shrill screeching and finally full on Howl/ Screech. Like a banshee. A banshee that you can't vanquish however because even though you want to pull out your eyelashes, that screaming banshee is someone's loved one.

Dog is non stop banshee screaming.
Dog is in no pain what so ever. Dog has food. Dog has water.
Dog has a comfy blanket.
Dog does not like being in kennel and does not like being alone..

Dog continues this sound for two hours.
Dog is walked several times.. SEVERAL. Nothing.

Everyone in the hospital is twitching.. on the verge of snapping.

The clients question why we have a dog in immense pain in the back.
Children hide in fear
Other Dogs try to run away.

Then the sound stops.
First it's relief... then the back of your neck tingle and you know something is up.

I creep to the back and slowly peer in the kennel.
Dog is covered head to toe in poop and urine even though we had just walked dog

EYE TWITCH

Happy Go Lucky

Lucky, Shadow, Bella, Bailey, Buddy.... Why does everyone choose the most boring names for their pets?

Chance- we found him at the pound
Lucky- We found him at the pound
Shadow- He's black... or my fave.. he's my shadow.
Buddy- No explanation needed there.
Coco- she's brown
Snowy- White
Fluffy- Fluffy...

Most people just don't strike it original.. I had a client who had a dog named Boomer.. then Boomer died, then it became Boomer the second, boomer the third, boomer the fourth.. etc.

Now every once in a great while I strike it awesome and get a pet with a spectacular name.
SEE THIS IS MY HAPPY POST (i promised all you)

Count Chocula... YES!!!! He was a mean spirited kitty, completely brown. Feisty little thing!
Hitler- Can we say shocking? It was a cat, long haired, looked exactly like Hitler though, comb over and all and the little mustache.
Ninja- Another cat. Completely black

Huh guess all the cool names are cats.. odd

Then there are names that are spelled and pronounced weird.

Grohl-- Pronounced Growl..
Daphney- Pronounced Day Phay Nay Ia
Cooper- Coh Purr
Phoebe- pronounced.. Fo Bee...??


We've had a three legged dog called Tripod, one named Hopscotch and Tres.

I've had a cat who survived a fire named Smokey
A dog who ate too much chocolate named Chocolate
A dachshund named Weiner......... no comment here.

Any of you had some good names? Or bad names?

Pet Peeves....

One of my greatest pet peeves.. People making hospitals out to be awful places!
Hello!! We take care of your pets! You're the one who calls us in a frantic when your poochie gets into poison, bites, fleas, ticks, etc. We are here for you, so please... be here for us!

Coming in five minutes to close... or calling five minutes to close.
I understand emergencies. I'm fine with that.

You dog has been having diarrhea for a week and you just need to get in now because you have been watching him all day trying to decide if you should bring him in or not? NOT COOL
We have lives, you have lives, there are 24 hour places.

Dr. Google.
Oh you know what your dog has and you have the cure?? Really? Tell me more about what you learned on the internet? You researched it for ten whole minutes?
Now you're arguing with my doctor because you are right and his fifty years of hands on experience and book work is wrong.
Come on people. It's our job to diagnose... not yours. Isn't that why you brought your pet to us in the first place????

Yes, you need an exam to get medication.
People call up and want pain meds or ear meds. We haven't seen your pet for three or six years.
The law says annual exams before prescribing any meds. It's the law and it's common sense.

Stop giving your pet your own meds!!!!!
Some human meds can be very VERY dangerous!!! Especially aspirin! They can cause ulcers and other problems! PLEASE call your vet and ask them what is safe!

Not sticking to the diet or medication directions
You think it would be common sense, but some people like to increase or decrease their pet's doses on whims. We prescribe meds and doses for a specific reason. Vets aren't quacks (well most aren't)
Changing your pet's dose without calling and asking can seriously affect your pet's health.

Not sticking to the diet either???? Strict diets are that...STRICT.
Need to help your pet's allergies? Feed him the diet and nothing else. He's allergic to chicken so we have him on this diet... yet you are feeding him chicken yums yums.. Yep, his skin isn't better because of it.
Your pet fat and needs to lose weigh but isn't?
STOP feeding him treats and table scraps.. also... trying going for walks here and there.

Retractable leashes
How the heck can you have control over your dog when it's thirty feet in front of you??!!
Those leashes wrap around everything and are horrible. I wish they were banned.

No leashes
Basically the retractable leash thing, but worse.. yes... worse.
You open the door and let whatever animal just run through the door.
You don't think.,.. hey there might be a dangerous animal in there.. or hey my dog might run to the back and interrupt them working.
Seriously. Leash or carrier people! LEASH OR CARRIER. Safe for you and your pet, relief for us.

DON'T BE MEAN OR RUDE!
Hey we all have good days and bad days. You've worked. You know how you feel when someone is awful to you. So why do you do it back? Just take a deep breath and try to be sensible here!
Life's too short to be a jerk. So smile. We'll smile back.


Just for your FYI, my next blog will be highlighting the good parts of my job. I swear to you there are some funny/ good moments.  

I'd rather muzzle the client

Some days you hit the lottery and have nothing but good pets and good clients.

Other days? You strike it worse than a pixie fairy in the rain surrounded by pixie eating trolls.

Last week was that day.

I entered a room and glanced at the dog with his KIll EM eyes on me.
The chart clearly said CAUTION WILL BITE

So I talked to the owner and remained as casual as possible with Killer.
"Aren't you going to listen to his heart?" the owner asked.
No, I'll have the doctor come in, we will put a muzzle on him and then do his exam.
"A MUZZLE?" she sounded appalled like if I just told her I had danced naked to a full moon the other night.
Yes, a muzzle.
"WHy on earth does my dog need a muzzle??!!"
He tried to bite last night.
I pulled the he's scared in the hospital surrounding and it's safer for him and us if we put it on.
"I will not have you put a muzzle on my dog! That is uncalled for! My other vet never did! Why can't you?"
I blinked and then told her we couldn't do an exam on the dog without a muzzle and left to let the doctor know.
She put up such a hassle about it the doctor decided to humor her a bit.
"I can hold him. He's fine!"
The dog was lunging and snapping at us.
The doctor told her it wasn't going to work and we weren't going to risk being bit. We can take him to the back where he's away from you and he may be better.
"No i'm coming too! Where he goes I go!"
To the back of the hospital where techs rarely ever want clients.
The woman was diligently at her dog's side until she saw other animals in the kennel then she trotted over to each kennel and attempted to pet and talk to each one.
Please don't touch the animals. I told her.
"Oh they won't bite me! They know I'm nice! They only bite you!"
I gritted my teeth and wanted to scream, but instead took the owner's distraction to my advantage and muzzled the dog. We did our exam and had the muzzle off before she even knew it.





Client 2

Had no clue why her dog had such bad behavior.
"She's just so aggressive." she said.
I stared at the chihuahua as it gave the death look and showed me its teeth.
"She's really sweet. I mean she'll snap at my children if they go to pet her or touch her food bowl. But she's sweet."
I gave her 101 training brochures but she left them saying her dog didn't need training.
The dog growled and snapped and the owner petted her.
"Good girl, it's ok sweety."
You're rewarding her for growling and biting.
"NO! I'm just assuring her that she's fine."
Fine to growl and bite.
"This is a scary place!"
I wanted to roll my eyes but I didn't. It's an animal hospital.
What do people expect???? They expect it to be a replica of your house where fun and happiness is a constant?

*Face palm*

Now from time to time we will get a face palm client in.

I have a very special client case when it comes to deaf pets.

Client 1

Brought in a 6 week old puppy for a first exam.
"I think he's deaf."
Why is that?
"He doesn't respond to his name. I named him Baby and he does not respond!"
The puppy looked at me and I looked at it then back at the owner.
How long have you had him?
"Three days."
I don't think he learned his name in three days.
"No he should have, he's a smart breed."
I nodded and ever so slowly walked out of the room.

Came back in with the doctor and the owner went on to tell the doctor that the dog had to be deaf.
"He doesn't pay any attention either! He's always running around and sniffing!"
Well he's a puppy.
"He also pees a lot. Do you think he has diabetes???"
WELL he's a puppy.
"He also chewed on my sofa, do you think he has teeth problems?"
WELL HE'S a puppy.
"He doesn't respond when I say sit or lay down, I think he has to be deaf."
WELL HE'S A puppy.
"He also cries a lot but I think that's because he can't hear himself. He gets rather loud at night in the kennel."
WELL HE'S A PUPPY!!!!

Final results was a thirty minute appointment explaining puppy behavior. The woman still didn't get it and asked for information on doggie hearing aids before leaving.
*facepalm*


Client 2

On a cool day it's 100 degree, warm 105 and hot 115.
Now it's pretty much common sense that when it's hot we keep ourselves and our pets cool and out of the heat.
Not client Mr. Sun and his big lab Heatstroke.
See he had a vaccine appointment at about 1 pm in the hottest part of the day.
He bring the dog in and the dog is panting and heaving and looking very stressed. 
The dog's temp is way over the limit and we quickly start to cool him down.

How long has he been out in the heat? Were you on a hike with him? I ask.
"No. I just walked him over here for his vaccine."
Where do you live?
"About twenty or so minutes away. I thought it'd be a nice day for a walk. It did get a little warm once we got to your door. Is he too warm?"
YES! He's overheated!
"Can I still get his vaccines? Can he be ready soon? We still need to walk back home in time for the game to go on."
*facepalm*


Client 4

An older man called up and asked me prices on exams and such. He was telling me about his dog Doom and all sorts of facts about Doom. suddenly the convo turned into a.
"So tell me... how much it gonna cost to put him down?'
Wait...excuse me?
"To kill him, you know?"
Didn't you just want an exam?
"Yes, but he's out of control and he scares my neighbors and I know this is the only way to keep him safe."
Euthanasia means he's dead... there's no keeping him safe in that.
"I know, but if I drop him down to the pound he's just going to get killed there."
I'm taking my time and thinking and thinking. processing, processing.
I told him the price and then asked what he meant by out of control.
"He chases everything and I can't keep a hold of him. I can't hold him back."
How big is he?
"About 10 or so lbs. He's a terrier mutt."
You can't control a 10 lb dog?
"I'll give you a call back when I decide."

I never did hear back from him.
*facepalm*

Client 5

"My dog keeps having diarrhea. I bring him to you and you guys treat him and then he has it back again!"
Do you keep him on his meds?
"Yes!"
What's his diet?
"His Doggy Dog food."
And that's it?
"Yep! Listen I don't want to keep paying for this if it doesn't work! I feel like you guys gave me sugar pills!"
No, they are anti-diarrhea pills. They should be working.
"Well I almost didn't give them to him at all the first time because he spit it out because it tasted bad."
I pause. There seems to be a hidden link that I needed to investigate.
How are you getting him to eat them then?
"Oh I put them in different foods."
Different foods?
"Yes first it was hotdog, but then he got smart so then it was porkchops, steak pieces, raviolis, bacon, bacon worked well, then lasagna, then chocolate."
CHOCOLATE???
"Yep, it was especially after the chocolate that his poops got even worse!"
*face....palm.*

It's never too late

Hey Viewers!
If you have any input on my blog please comment below! I read this stuff you know.



It's never too late, but then again you never say never. No this isn't a cheesy hip hop song.

There are a lot of instances of being too late. Like giving someone a birthday card on the date of their funeral. More like an Unbirthday card... or Deathday card.

Instance # 2

Stale poop.
Yep shit does get old, and you all know this!
A woman came in for her puppy exam. She had scheduled it three weeks back.
"I'm so glad I remembered to bring his vaccine record! I even brought in the poo poo sample you asked me for. Remember? I came in a month ago and you had asked me to bring it. Oh such a smelly job! Here it is! I double bagged it!"
I reluctantly took it and brought it to the back.
Then came the part of opening the bag to process it to submit to the lab.
Normally I hem and haw. Do I cut the bag open? Do I just untie it?
I untied it. Then untied another bag, then another, then I shit you not another. Finally I'm staring at a very very old stale turd. The thing looked older than Bob Barker.
It stared with hollowed eyes at me and I stared back.
I barely poked it with a stick and it crumbled into poop dust.
I went back to the room and asked when she had gathered the sample.
Yep you guessed it, after her appointment a month ago, she had went home and got the poop sample.
She was apparently very shocked that it still wasn't good.


Instance #3
One in the freezer and one dying

A woman had brought a very hairy looking critter in. Apparently it was a hamster??
The thing was ancient old, like 5. No hamster lives till five.
She said he had stopped eating and wasn't moving around as much.
She brought the thing in and placed the carrier on the table.
"Let's just get a weight."
I put the scale on the table and she placed it ever to carefully on it.
She told me it hadn't been doing well for few days. More like a week.
I went to pick the thing up them realized it as most certainly dead.
I looked at the owner, stricken with concern, then back at it, then back at the owner.
"It's dead." I replied.
"Did he just die?"
No. He died a few days ago or maybe longer.
She nodded and asked about cremation services. She was very interested in getting little Hammy's ashes back.
I told her the price. 
She asked if she could cremate two hamsters for the same price.
Sure, but I looked at the carrier and saw only one.
Then she explained to me that her other hamster had died months back and she had him in the freezer under the frost bitten peas.
I slowly nodded. The picture of a hamster clinging to a bag of peas distracted me.
She did end up bringing the other one in and they were both cremated together. Not the peas though. I heard she made a nice split pea soup with those peas... (ICK)

Poop & Vomit

One of the most un-glorified jobs of being a vet tech is the bodily fluid clean up.

I'm talking poop and I'm talking vomit.

You can have a day when you won't even catch a glimpse of the stuff and other days you're slipping and sliding in it.

Picture those Slip n slide commercials. Kids running, big smiles, jump and slide! YAYY!!

Now picture the water replaced with poop and vomit.. yayyyyyyyy.

On this particular day we had a giant rottie and a giant lab.
The rottie started it, to be fair.
The back of your neck tingles and you just know.
I walk back to locate the violator and see the scene.
Brown mush everywhere! EVERYWHERE!
The kennel floor, the walls, the ceiling! How the heck did it get on the ceiling???? THE CEILING?

I open the gate. The plan in my head was for the dog to run from his kennel into the adjacent kennel so I can clean.
He started to then something in his brain switched and he barreled right into me then the kennel. I did a comical slip slide motion as the poop from his feet covered the clean ground.
I didn't fall. You sick readers!
I cleaned it all up. Then left.
An hour later the back on my neck tingled and I trudged to the back to see the second kennel to be just like the first.
Another coworker peeked at the situation then tip toed away.
I moved him back to his original kennel and cleaned it up with the hose, a couple rolls of paper and a lot of cleaner. Like a Mega Bottle from Costco. 
I stepped back and admired my work and went to clean the rottie's poop sodden paws.
 Then the  lab started to make a horrible vomiting sound.
I glanced over and he was doing the weird vomit gesture.
Two seconds later he projectile vomited all over his kennel then proceeded to take a giant shit which started out firm then turned into soft serve them full on diarrhea.
He kept turning and slipping in it. Vomiting and shitting more and more and more until it was leaking out of the kennel, seeping all over the floor and reeking to high heaven.
I gagged a bit and trudged over to start cleaning. I slipped and caught the side of the kennel. The dog stared at me and wagged its tail. All happy of the rank swamp it had just created.
I waded closer, five rolls of paper towels in hand.
Other gags could be heard as I started to slop it all up and pitch it in a trash bag.
"OH god." someone cried out.

Oh I cleaned it all up. I moved the dog to another kennel, gave him a full on bath bath.
Then turned back around to see the rottie in kangaroo position, a turd just coming out.

Slip N Slide.. the Shitty version. literally.

Fleas and Ticks...

Now a majority of pet owners have a fear of fleas and ticks. Not sure what makes a tick found on a dog more of a emergency than a dog who just got hit by a car, but some how the owners who found the tick believe this to be true. After all, how could Fluffy the second have a tick on her?? Impossible! Preposterous! Absolutely ridiculous!

I've had a few owners who have come in to check for fleas. They say the dog it itchy. They'll bring in their dog who is covered with red rashes and bumps. It's obviously some sort of allergy or food allergy. Owner is convinced that it's fleas. Even with all our explaining and obvious proof that there are no fleas they still demand flea and tick preventative. Sure let me put this chemical on your itchy, raw dog's skin.

It's called peace of mind.

My best Tick story comes from a middle aged man who owns an old, old tick hound- no pun intended.
Calls up and says his dog is covered in ticks. Says he tried pulling them off but they are stuck fast. He then goes on to tell me he tried burning them off but the little suckers still hung on. He asked if he could come down and have us pull them off. I said sure.

Twenty minutes later in walks the man and his dog who looks very sad and confused.
"Where are the ticks?" I ask.
"One on his head!"
I looked and saw a wart. This? Yep. That's a wart. Oh.
"Well he's got more."
"Where?" 
He points to the dog's belly. "Under his belly see!"
I look, then blink and take a breath.
"You mean his nipples?"
"Really? That's what those are? What about that one?"
"That's a nipple too."
"But he's a boy dog!"
I just looked at him and I think it hopefully clicked.
He walked out with that sad dog.

Burning the poor dog's nipples and trying to pull them off thinking they are ticks.
I just wonder and shake my head.