RIP Gnocchi

Hi All,

Libby here.

It's with a heavy heart and a heavier paw that I ask you to join me in saying farewell to a very special little pug named Gnocchi. 

The beloved pet of a wonderful Italian lady, fond of biscotti and even fonder of wrinkle-faced dogs, Gnocchi lived a good life. A well fed life full of delicious, home cooked, Italian meals.

Unfortunately, it was her insatiable appetite that ultimately did her in.

One night a few weeks ago, after finishing her evening meal (and still hungry for more), Gnocchi went on a search of the house, hoping to find something delicious to snack on. Ultimately locating a stray tampon and some dental floss, she ate with relish. 

Unbeknownst to her mother, after ingesting these two items, Gnocchi took ill. Looking for an explanation, her mommy brought her in to the PPAC for some tests and it appeared at first as though she had pneumonia. This assessment was based on her symptoms of a cough, a high white blood cell count, and a fever. There was also some reported vomiting. Working on his hunch, Dr. S did an X-ray and confirmed his diagnosis. He treated the pug until she stabilized. The vomiting subsided but she didn't appear to be making a full recovery. When her white blood cells began rising again, he sent her to VERG for further testing.

At VERG, it was discovered via ultrasound that Gnocchi had a problem with her intestines. She had exploratory surgery which revealed that she had ingested the aforementioned tampon and dental floss.

It was then determined that the pneumonia was a product of her vomiting, caused by the objects that she had eaten. She was taking vomit into her lungs (aspirating) which irritated them.

The vets over at VERG performed a long surgery and Gnocchi appeared to have made a full recovery. Sadly, three days after returning home, she began throwing clots to her back legs and into her lungs. She started spiraling downhill rapidly. To put her out of her misery, her owners decided to put the little thing to sleep.

Thus concludes the sad but true tale of a very sweet, beloved pug named Gnocchi. 

RIP my friend.

Til next time,

Libby

Oh My Aching Kidneys

Hi All,

Libby here. I am remiss. I took a winter vacanze and didn't write a post. I  didn't even send a postcard. But, I had a great time. Hope you didn't miss me too much.

Today we are going to to talk about a topic that may be unsavory to some but is pertinent to all. Peeing.

Now, I'm not trying to be gross or take this conversation in a scatological direction.  But, today's topic affects cats and dogs alike (and is in fact, quite common) and is therefore worthy of discussion.

We're going to talk about something called acute renal failure. For those who don't know what renal failure is, it's when the kidneys (the body's toxic waste filtration system), don't work properly and can't remove wastes from the body. When this happens, you may notice your pet suffering from some of the following symptoms: loss of appetite,vomiting, dehydration, depression, painful tummy, ulcerations in the mouth and decreased urination.

So how does acute renal failure happen? There are a number of different ways this condition can occur. And shockingly, they all involve eating (crazy, right that something involving your pet revolves around eating!) Specifically, ingestion of the following:

a. Certain types of rat posion
b. Antifreeze (watch out during the approaching winter months!)
c. Easter lillies
d. Raisins
e. Grapes

It can also be caused by an infection called leptospirosis. This infection is caused by drinking from stagnant puddles of water contaminated by raccoon or rat urine.

So, if you happen to see your pet eating any of these things and can't pry it from their jaws in time, the first stop would be your vets' office- they will induce vomiting immediately. If however your pet eats these things on the sly and begins to exhibit symptoms, bring them in for emergency care. If they have in fact developed acute renal failure, your vet will know how to treat it.

This condition is not to be taken lightly- not to scare you but this can result in the death of your pet. So if you notice any of these symptoms, act fast!

Til next time..watch what those pets of yours are eating!

Libby

Save the Pets!

Hi All,

Libby here.

I am just blown away by what happened with Hurricane Sandy. 

I was skeptical that all the hype would amount to anything. In fact, I spoke with Dr. S. last week about writing a post that took a more cynical approach to the whole situation, but he put that idea down real fast. Seeing the pictures of the death and destruction in Long Beach, The Rockaways, Island Park, and The Bowery, among others, I was completely cowed by my former skepticism. The pictures of these pooches are just a tiny indication of the plight of pets through this disaster.

Even though I never let my true thoughts air via internet, I still feel obligated to help out with disaster relief in whatever way I can, as a mea culpa. Lacking opposable thumbs, and being an indoor cat, keeps me mostly confined to the PPAC but, I figured it's not a bad idea to spread the word about how you all can help out. There are so many amazing organizations that are looking for volunteers and donations but, to keep it even more relevant to pet owners, here's a  list of animal related rescue ops that are going on.

1. The Huffington Post has a great article with general pet rescue information. Have a read, click the links and get to it!

2. Among other much needed human items like flashlights, batteries, food, clothing and personal items, the Rockaway Relief is also collecting donations of animal food. Visit them on the Upper East Side at 85th and 2nd outside of Molly Pitcher's Ale House to donate.

3. Financial donations- The easiest way to help out in any crisis, is to donate money. The ASPCA is accepting contributions here to help with animal search and rescue.

4. The Humane Society is coordinating animal search and rescue operations. Check here for resources.

5. And finally, keep up with Twitter #sandypets for trending topics on pet rescue!

I hope this proves to be helpful and keep in mind, this is just a tiny selection of all the volunteer opportunities out there. Hop online to learn more about how you can help.

Helping out, in any way, no matter how big or small, is amazing.

For those of you with opposable thumbs, keep on keeping on.

Libby