Had a woman bring in her ferret for an exam and when I went into the room a second ferret poked its head out of her bag. In delighted surprise I exclaimed “oh you have two!” and she immediately responded “yes, I’m a small business owner”
Right now the top suspects are either HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza) or covid. If at all possible, avoid taking your dog to dog parks and day care, especially if your dog is older or already has difficulty breathing.
Where do people get this misconception that every single wildlife case at a vet clinic is euthanased so it's better to not take them in even if they're obviously hurt or sick and in need of treatment?!?!
Friendly reminder that a member of the public should not be able to easily pick up or catch a wild animal. We are not in a disney movie. If you can pick it up*, 80% of the time its extremely hurt or sick.
Wildlife, and most animals for that matter, do not show pain as humans do. That does not mean they are not in pain and suffering.
Veterinarians only euthanase wild animals that are suffering from extreme injury or illness, or animals that would stress themselves to death in a hospital setting that cannot be released and survive in the wild with their issue.
We do euthanase some animals, but that's because it's the best welfare decision for that animal and its specific problem.
Maybe trust the professionals trained in providing treatment to animals instead of some Karen on Facebook who demonises vets because she can't understand a bird with multiple wing and shoulder fractures is very unlikely to regain flight and return to the wild and her plan of keeping it means it will live a life of chronic pain and suffering.
*Disclaimer: If you live in a country where diseases such as rabies are endemic, you should not handle wildlife at all if you are not trained or vaccinated. This post is not recommending members of the public handle wildlife in any country.
Really interested to see black eye gannets in Orkney. Researchers at the Bass Rock think it's linked to bird flu survival post HPAIV infection. Black iris gannets had antibodies for HPAIV showing they had previously been infected and survived! Nothing out yet about how and why their eyes change like that, but very intersting
This is going to be an unpleasant post but I need to talk to y’all about heat stroke in dogs. I am an ER vet and I am seeing firsthand the death toll that this heat wave is taking on our pets. In the past two weeks, for every single weekend shift I have worked, we have had at least one DOA with a body temperature over 107 degrees. One of them had simply been on a 20 minute walk at 5pm. All of them were brachycephalic (short faced breeds like pugs and french bulldogs). Their owners were in shock that this could happen so quickly, and their grief lingers with me.
If you have a dog, and especially if you have a brachycephalic dog, you need to familiarize yourself with the signs of heat stroke. Do not take your dogs out in the heat of the day, be aware of the pavement temperature, and always have fresh water available for them. When I am outdoors with my dog I am checking on him constantly. This heat wave is extremely serious; I need you to keep yourself and your pets safe.
An update on the current uptick of canine infectious respiratory disease complex (CIRDC) in the US, posted December 5, 2023.
The good news is that we know it's not COVID or avian influenza. We're also relatively sure that it's not a new disease.
The bad news is that we're still not really sure WHAT the causative agent is. Current thinking is that it's a bacterial infection, which raises entirely new concerns like why it's not responding to current antibiotics. :/ It may be that we're seeing a new strain of antibiotic resistant bacteria.
The best defense for now is keeping up to date on vaccines.
Listen, if you haven’t been told before, let me be the first one to tell you:
If you are working in a vet clinic alone, all by yourself, you lock the damn door.
This is especially important if you’re young and female but should apply to everybody.
It does not matter if you’re just about to open and another staff member will be there ‘soon’. It does not matter if you are expecting a client any minute now. It does not matter if it is the middle of the day because the vet is on a house call.
You are sitting, by yourself, in a building full of cash and drugs. You lock the damn door.
You can sit yourself down somewhere that you can see the door and be selective about who you let in, but otherwise you lock the damn door.
You do not want to find yourself in a FNAF situation trying to avoid the person with ill intent who walked in looking for drugs while you were out the back, or hanging up washing. You don’t want to look up after feeding a cat to realise somebody followed you in when they saw only one car in the car park.