Nice Catch!

What could possibly go wrong with a 3 year old chocolate lab running around on a boat full of fishing gear? 😑🙃

June and I share a pillow at night and have been known to share the occasional fork. (Don’t judge... I've seen some of you kiss your pets right on the lips in an exam room.) I'm also pretty certain she played a part in hanging the moon 🌝 She brings me 100 loads of joy everyday... not including last Christmas when she made a snack out of my Christmas tree ornaments. (Somebody remind me of that when I start looking at lab puppies for sale.) She loves to hunt, run, and will be your fishing partner for hours. Swimming is her absolute favorite thing to do. June is a girl on the go, which isn’t a problem until you need her to STAY. She understands commands like “go, sit, no, shake, stay, etc..” but is a lab really a lab if it isn’t stubborn? 

Her latest fishing trip ended in a surprise visit to NAAH because believe it or not, she didn’t listen. As she roamed the boat scanning the water for a dead fish to bless the deck of the boat, she spotted a shiny, plastic fishing lure connected to two treble hooks instead. Ignoring every “NO” and “STAY”, she dove off of the deck and bit down onto the biggest lesson she’s learned in a while. Luckily for her, I clock in every week to an animal hospital full doctors that have dealt with far worse. Dr. Bonner was the lucky savior of the day this time (hopefully for the last time 😅.) Seeing my sweet “bad dog” as I always call her, in such a stressful situation was hard. I’ve been with my NAAH team for almost a year. It’s not always puppies and rainbows in “the back.” We’ve worked through some not so fun things in the short time I’ve been a part of the team. We have helped numerous pets and their owners through their own emergencies, and I think knowing what to expect played a significant part in how I handled my own pet's mini emergency. I knew she would have to be under sedation in order to cut the hooks out. I knew the medications she was given for sedation. I held off her vein for Dr. Bonner to administer them. I ran her wet ears through my fingers while she was snoozing and I talked her through the entire process. I told her next time to maybe be smarter and that real fish don’t have any hooks connected to them 🤣🤪. She got a couple sutures, a week's worth of antibiotics, and a couple cans of food for her sore mouth. The entire visit lasted 30 minutes max.

Initially, as soon as I saw her frantic eyes I panicked. Then I realized that I don’t need to because I know I can trust our staff and doctors. Crazily enough, I kept thinking throughout this hook cutting, smelly, wet dog mess of a situation that I am so fortunate for this to have happened under these circumstances because I am able to calmly stand with her from start to finish. I thought of every big or small emergency that I’ve been a part of at NAAH. To me, the hit by car, or attacked by dog appointment is a typical day to work through. Bring it on, let’s fix it!  Whether those pet owners were existing clients or people we had never seen before, they chose our staff with their pets care when they were in a panic. After dealing with my own situation, I can appreciate how difficult it is to hand over their pet to us when they are so full of worry and uncertainty. Maybe they are familiar with all of our faces or maybe they've never laid eyes on any of us before. Either way, I’ll always ask “Is it okay if I take your pet to our treatment area and have a doctor look at them?” Usually the answer is (sometimes reluctantly) yes. We may sedate, x-ray, or shave and clean puncture wounds on your pet... all while you wait worriedly in your exam room. Maybe you also share a pillow and the occasional fork with your pet. Maybe you wholeheartedly believe they hung the moon and gave the reluctant “yes” when I asked to borrow them. In some circumstances, we may have had to keep your pet overnight or even for a couple nights. Whatever the case, we understand. We understand the worry, the questions, the phone calls asking how Fluffy is doing every hour, and the anxiety that can come with having a sick or injured pet. We always will treat them exactly as we would want our own to be treated because most likely, they did help hang the moon ❤️🐶🐱.

June slept like a baby when she got back home and woke up the next morning like nothing ever happened. She is sharpening up on her listening skills and is very thankful for Dr. Bonner’s help and will be more careful in the future.

-Emilee, NAAH Veterinary Technician

        

              June (L) and Walker (R)                                  Poor June!
                              

The Waiting Game

I wanted to share with you all a case that we had recently at NAAH that really put everyone through a range of emotions. Christy is a 9 year old Labrador that began seeing us in 2017. She's such a sweet girl, and it's so exciting getting to see her when she comes by. She normally comes with her sister, Summer. They are both the sweetest dogs ever. Christy has these big brown eyes that draw you in to immediately pat her head or give her a scratch on the chin. Christy had gained a little weight in 2018 and her owner wanted help to get her weight down. When Christy came in for a dental cleaning in January, she had lost 15 pounds. Great, right? Well, I was pretty excited until I looked a little closer. What should have taken her 4 months to lose, had only taken her 2 weeks. Her labwork was totally normal. Given Christy's breed and age, I had a sinking suspicion something more nefarious was the culprit. An ultrasound of her abdomen confirmed what I had feared. She had a tumor about the size of a baseball coming from her spleen. 

Here's the deal -- when we find a splenic tumor in a patient, it's almost always best to surgically remove the spleen. This is because splenic tumors are at risk of rupturing, leading to bleeding in the abdomen.  With most cancerous tumors in dogs, we can know what specific type of tumor we are dealing with prior to surgical removal. This helps us and the owner know the pet's prognosis, survival time post surgery, etc. With splenic tumors, we can't do this prior to surgery. We have no idea what specific type of splenic tumor it is until after surgery. A benign type of tumor means a wonderful prognosis with a normal life expectancy, whereas an aggressive, malignant tumor is quite the opposite. So, until we perform surgery and send the tumor to a pathologist, it's an anxiety-ridden waiting game.

Christy's surgery was scheduled for 2 days later. Everyone was rooting for Christy on surgery day. From the client service reps greeting her when her owner brought her in, the technicians getting blood samples prior to surgery and basically anyone within arm reach of her, Christy got a reassuring pat on the head. Surgery went great and she went home the next morning. Now for the hard part -- waiting. For 4-5 days, we wait to hear back from the pathologist. The weekend passed and the next work week began. Finally on Wednesday, I got an email saying that the pathology results were in...the tumor was benign! What great news! I called the owner immediately and he was overjoyed. He was thrilled that Christy, his faithful friend, who had been a constant companion for him for a long time, would be around for a good while. 

Now that's something we can all celebrate.

Dr. T 

- Christy and her big brown eyes -

Family

Well it's been a while since we've posted on our blog and I thought we'd try to get it going again! Enjoy a little behind the scene look at life at NAAH! Please comment with any topics you'd like to see in the future!

Family. Family means a lot of different things to people. As one of our core values here at NAAH, the word family describes the relationship our team has with one another. When my 1 year old has been sick, I can count on a call or text checking on him. When someone's father is in the hospital, it's for sure going to come up as a prayer request at our daily morning huddle. We genuinely care about each other and can tell when somebody is having a bad day. With 1/3 of our life being spent at our job, it's important to have a solid support system at work. That's something that we are fortunate to have at NAAH. "Family" also forms the groundwork for the experience we strive to create with our clients and their pets. Going to the veterinarian can be stressful for the pets as well as their 2 legged owners. We aim to give both you and your pet a positive experience from the time you walk in the door to the time you leave the parking lot. Whether it's taking the time to thoroughly explain what's going on with your pet or taking a bag of food out to your vehicle, we really want to make our clients and their pets feel like they're part of our family, because they are!

Dr. Thompson 

2018 NAAH Christmas Party with our own families

Mr. Ben

Mr. Ben

Recent weeks for me have been a confluence of variations of mortality.  I celebrated an immortal and risen Christ with my family led by the sermon of my brother in law Josh.  It was inspiring.  Flowering shrubs and trees have waited patiently for their chance to usher in spring.  Patches of green grass can be seen.  Nature’s reminder that winter doesn’t last forever. I also felt the pain of mortal man with the loss of some truly wonderful people.  One a lifetime educator who saw good in all, the other a selfless mother of five.  Empty.  Bleak.  Dark. 

I felt like I could both curl up in a ball and run without tiring at the same time.  Like I knew that life was but minute long and also that I had the opportunity to “suck the marrow” out of the day.  Inspiration in such circumstances can be hard to find.  And sometimes it literally walks by your window. Such was the case when I finally met Mr. Ben Law.

Mr. Ben patrols the street in front of our office daily.  Rain or shine.  He picks up litter, prunes trees, and pulls weeds.  For free.  He champions no cause that I’m aware of.  He was asked by none to perform his job.  He simply saw an opportunity to make the world a better place and acted…..alone.  He seems oblivious to the cars passing by just feet from him.  I have seen him for years now and never had, or took, the chance to visit with him.  I feel very fortunate that I finally did and got to say thank you sir you are an inspiration!  Oh by the way, Mr. Ben is 83 years young.  I hope he does come in out of the cold one day to take me up on that cup of coffee. 

There have been tighter hugs in my house and I have told people “thank you” and “I love you” a bit more.  I have listened to my trainer friend more closely when he says “we get to do this today”.  We don’t really know much here on earth.  And furthermore we don’t get a lot of answers.  We might be 83 and find a new purpose, or leave loved ones far too early.  In either case, this day I’m going to truly live.

Dr. Y

My pets are no better than yours

I’m sure this is contrary to popular opinion, but my dogs are not anymore well behaved than yours.  In fact, if you ask my wife today, she might claim they are the most despicable, deplorable creatures that could have ever been thought of by the most demented individual that has ever roamed this earth.  I’m not quite there yet, but we’ll see what this week holds (its still early).  I have come to this conclusion through years of careful contemplation and review of too many to count “what the heck where they thinking” moments. 

Our first big event after we got married was getting my Labrador retriever, May.  Now if you don’t know May, she is a very sweet dog who does “know” commands (not sure she cares to follow them all the time), and loves my family.  But what you may not know is May loves tearing up fabric (I mean LOVES).  We went through 3 sheet sets as a puppy (mind you this was when we did not have a tremendous amount of money).  You might ask while we didn’t you keep her away from the sheets, well we tried.  She was kept in a crate beside our bed.  Because of our small living quarters, the crate had to stay in the bedroom. Now here is the amazing thing, the crate was a full 6 inches from the bed.  I’m still not sure how she reached them, and I’m really not sure how she was able to pull the entire sheet into the crate with her through the small opening, and then still how she was able to wrap herself in the sheet like a shawl to look like she was living in the Middle East.  She has chewed up too many dog beds, cushions, and pillows to count.  I don’t want to even guess how much they all cost. 

Like many of you, I spent those cold mornings out on the front lawn with icicles hanging from my nose; pleading, you would even say begging for just that 2 seconds of pee from your newly acquired spawn of satan (I mean loved one) so that you can go back inside and defrost your toes.  I have cleaned up numerous, I’ll just call them, odiferous presents after just returning inside from a walk around the block.  I’ve deep cleaned the carpet after someone decided it was a good idea to eat the entire bag of starburst, wrappers and all, and then evacuated their stomach on the carpet. 

Then if we weren’t insane enough at that point we “adopted’ a cat from the vet school.  I put the quotations there because you don’t adopt a cat, the cat tells you its ok for him to live with you.  And then to add to more fuel to the fire, we acquired a South African Boerboel (google it).  The cat really enjoyed cords (power cords, phone lines, remote control cords, shoe laces, draw strings, you get the idea), and the boerboel really enjoys wood furniture (pine, wicker, plywood, oak; he’s really a connoisseur you might say). 

It is actually a miracle that our house is still standing (well it was when I left for work).  I have racked my brain, thinking I must I have missed some sign or didn’t provide some structure or didn’t put the food in their bowl just right.  What did I do to lead them astray?  Where did I go wrong as a pet father?  I’m ashamed!!

…then I realized, they’re dogs and cats (mind you they are my four legged kids).  They just thought it tasted good or it was fun.  They were living in the moment.  Enjoying what life was at that point; mind you, I wish they would enjoy it in some other way.  I think we all could learn something from them.  Life is short, enjoy it.  This was not an invitation to come by my house and destroy anything thoughJ.

Dr. B

To Everything there is a Season

Ten and one half years ago when my wife and I moved to the Shoals, we were invited into a supper club with a few other couples.  Corks were pulled, dinners consumed, and friendships forged.  There was but one child amongst us at the time and she just an infant.  But pets, on the other hand, were plentiful ranging from 2 to 100 pounds.  Since that time, it has been my sincerest pleasure to have been their veterinarian.  And like us, our animal companions were young and spry and had no noticeable grey hairs.  Collectively we endured surgeries, holiday emergencies, late night calls and many happy wellness visits.  All of the pets were friendly and well mannered except a cat of my own that once attacked an unsuspecting jogger.  One had both knees repaired and another lost an eye to a BB gun (he also once passed a large portion of a beer can).  Their owners were always understanding and appreciative.  

My relationships with my patients are often times too short.  After all their life expectancy, albeit longer than yesteryear, is much shorter than our own.  And as such, many of that group have slipped into memory and no longer greet my friends at the door.  It saddens me greatly.  Last week I said goodbye to yet another after a long battle with kidney disease.  I was glad to have been with her when she died.  I would have wanted it no other way.  

That infant ten years ago is now a fifth grader and she is joined by 13 other children from that group of 5 families!  Some of the pets remain my patients today and there have been some new additions.  The pets, like us, do have grey hairs and wrinkles have gone where smiles began. And I love seeing them every time.  I am reminded each time I see my friends with pet and children in tow of the seasons of life.  I feel so fortunate to have been a part of the seasons of so many pets and people’s lives in my time here.  Thank you all from the bottom of my heart! Rest in peacemy old supper club boys and girls: Buck, Macy, Madeleine, Maya, Lucky, Savannah, Norma, and Richard Hyler.

Dr. Y

Every one needs a Kitten

If you haven’t come by the office recently and seen our new clinic cat, Buckwheat, you really should.  He is a 6 lb; black and white; long-haired; ball of mayhem, energy, and laughter.  We have had him for about 5 months and he has taken the role of clinic mascot since the passing of “Wildman” who may have been 20 years old.

It had been a few years since I had been around a kitten on a daily basis and I forgot how much fun they can be. 

Let me describe this beast for you.  The cat literally has no fear or concept that he should be scared of dogs/people/other cats, especially the ones that can shallow him whole.  He runs at and play attacks almost every dog that comes back to the treatment room, including pawing at legs (he is declawed) and grabbing their tails.  He has also successfully “killed” every cord (which we have a few) that is dangling from any of the number of machines we have (by the way, this is a good way to anger the people paying for them aka Dr. Y and myself). 

No dust bunny/hair ball goes unpunished under Buck’s dominion.  Any tantalizing shoe lace, mesmerizing neck tie, tempting stethoscope is sure to come under fire when Buck is on the prowl.  After he has been kept in his cat condo for the weekend, he spends the first 3 hours on Monday morning running non-stop making sure no one has moved anything without his approval.  He is the king of his domain and no attempt to usurp him from his throne will be left unchallenged, including by us (have a feeling most cat owners feel this way).  When you get on to him for doing something wrong, he looks at you with his head half-tilted to the side with the “whose place do you think this is, buddy” look, and you know you are in trouble.

For all his Napoleon complex personality traits, he really is a cute cat who is fun to be around.  You don’t realize how quick you find an attachment to them.  He is a barrel of monkeys/nest of hornets/pride of lions/pack of wild dogs (any other clichés you can find) rolled into one.  He makes it fun to come into work to see what he will get into next (usually the trash).

Every kid needs to experience the joy of owning a cat or dog, the responsibility of caring for it, and the unconditional love they provide (you thought you would get out of here without the plug for getting another pet??).  My kids help me feed my dogs every night, and boy, help me if I forget to let them help.  They really are part of your family and those memories you make last a lifetime. 

Dr. B