Siegel TLC

Chance, a beautiful 11 year old, mixed breed
dog, came into our office in June with her
owner, Mrs. Fran Jackson for her annual
check-up and vaccinations.
She had accumulated some dental tartar, had
acquired a few warts behind her ear and
she had a small, soft round mass under the skin
off her back. The mass most likely was a fatty
tumor, the vast majority of which are not
dangerous. Chance received the recommended
vaccinations and tested negative for intestinal
and blood parasites. Because 11 years for a
large dog are equivalent to 70 human years,
Chance is considered geriatric. 

Just like the year before I recommended a geriatric blood profile to make sure
that all her major organ systems were still working well. We agreed, if the
blood results were good, to schedule a dental cleaning and take advantage of
the general anesthesia required for the dental cleaning to remove the warts
and the small fatty mass on Chance's back.
Imagine our unpleasant surprise when the blood results came back from the lab
the next day and showed that there was a problem with Chance's liver. The
previous year her blood results had all been normal, but now all the liver
enzymes were elevated, indicating liver damage.
When I discussed the findings with Mrs. Jackson, she told me that Chance had a
stomach upset for about a week before she came in for the vaccines, but had
improved a few days before her visit.
It is certainly possible for any intestinal upset to affect the liver and we
agreed to repeat the blood test in another month to see if the liver values
were still high.
In July Chance came back in, she was happy, eating well and not showing any
signs of illness.
When the blood results came back a day later we were shocked to see that the
liver values were even higher.
Chance was scheduled for X-rays the very next day.
The X-rays showed what looked like a mass attached to the
liver. The other organs looked normal and there were no
signs of metastasis in the lungs.
To better evaluate the liver mass we decided to get an
ultrasound done of Chance's abdomen. This was done two
days later and confirmed that there was indeed a large
mass attached to the left side of the liver. Chance
would need surgery to remove the mass.
There is a possibility of internal bleeding right after
liver surgery, and patients need to be watched carefully
after wards. Because Siegel TLC is not a 24 hour clinic
I decided to refer Chance to Hollywood Animal Hospital
for the surgery, so that she could be monitored around
the clock post-op.
On 8/10/10 Chance had her surgery and Dr.Sessa of Hollywood
Animal Hospital removed the mass from the liver. She
recovered quickly and went home on the 12th. Biopsy showed
an adenoma, a benign liver tumor, which was causing the
liver damage by exerting pressure on the liver.
As of the latest report from Mrs. Jackson, Chance is back to herself!

" She is a great example of the  importance
of health screening. She had no symptoms of illness whatsoever, but  if Dr.
Baks had not found her elevated liver enzymes through routine screening,
there is a real possibility that we would not have known she had liver cancer
until she became ill.  By that time, it would have most likely been too
late for Dr. Sessa at Hollywood Animal Hosptial to remove the entire  tumor.
Chance fully recovered from her surgery within a few days and has  an
excellent prognosis.  Routine screening gave the doctors the opportunity  to save
her life and improve the quality of her remaining years.  Our  entire family
is very grateful to all the doctors and staff who took care of  Chance." 


Owner of Chance, Fran Jackson 

Ash'lee and Mr. Scott Shore

On July 12th Mr. Shore brought in his dog Ash'lee, a cute, six year
 old spayed female Shih Tzu.
Ash'lee had always been very good and never had accidents in the house,
but all of a sudden she was squatting a lot and urinating in the house.
Her small puddles of urine also smelled very strong.
Ash'lee's physical examination was unremarkable. Everything checked out
fine, but her bladder was difficult to palpate because it was very small
and nearly empty.
We were unable to collect a urine sample from her for urinalysis, but
blood was sent off to the laboratory to check her kidney function and
pending the results we started her on antibiotics for a presumed lower
Urinary Tract Infection. The next day the blood results came back.
Fortunately they were perfectly normal.

Unfortunately, a week later Mr. Shore called to tell us that Ash'lee
still had exactly the same symptoms as before.
I recommended he bring her back to the clinic so we could check her again.
Hopefully we would be able to collect a urine sample this time and sent
it in to the lab for culture and sensitivity testing. (We see more and more
resistant bacteria nowadays, especially in urinary tract infections, and this
way the lab tests which antibiotic will kill the specific bacteria that is
cultured from the urine.
I also wanted to take radio-graphs of her bladder to make sure she did not have
bladder stones.
On July 23rd Ash'lee was back, we proceeded as planned and lo and behold, the
X rays showed multiple bladder stones!
We scheduled her for surgery that afternoon and I removed six stones from her bladder.
She came through the surgery wonderfully and  went home the next morning to a very 
happy owner. Chemical analysis showed Ash'lee's bladder stones to be composed of
mainly struvite. She will have to be fed a special acidifying diet to prevent the
recurrence of the stones, but she was already symptom free a few days after surgery.


Bladder

Stone 1 of 6 

Emergency preparedness for your pets.

It is important for you to prepare now in the event that you will have to evacuate your home because of an emergency. It is important to avoid last minute surprise and confusion when a storm is approaching.

Your pet depends on you for food, water, veterinary care, exercise, and most of all, to keep him safe!

If you are ordered to evacuate, it is because officials are concerned that your home is in the danger zone.

Your pet’s life may be in jeopardy if you leave him behind.

It is imperative that your dog or cat wear an identification tag at all times, every day, whether the pet lives indoors or outdoors.

Also we strongly recommend that you get your pet “micro-chipped”, in case the pet’s identification tag should become lost. A “microchip ID” is a tiny microchip that is injected under the skin between a pet’s shoulder blades. Each microchip is encoded with a unique number that you need to register in your name in a national database. If your pet becomes lost and is taken to a shelter or a veterinary clinic, the pet can be scanned to determine the microchip number, and then the number can be used to find the owner in the national database.

A microchip is NOT a substitute for a regular identification tag, rather it is a back up in case the pet’s regular ID tag becomes lost. Identification is very important! Without it you may never be able to find your pet again if it gets lost!

If your home is a safe place

If your home is a safe place to be during a storm and officials have not ordered you to evacuate, then you and your pet should probably stay at your home until the storm passes. Hopefully you are prepared and have the supplies you need to weather the storm, including extra food and water and emergency supplies for you and your pets (see checklist). Be aware that pets will sense the change in the weather and changes in your daily routine. He or she may become nervous or stressed, characterized by excessive panting, whining, pacing and/or hiding. Pets have been known to try and run outdoors after being startled by lightning or other loud noises, as if they are trying to run away from the sound. To help lessen the pet’s stress, try to keep his routine as normal as possible (feed him at the same time, in the same bowl, in the same place, etc.) It may be comforting for the pet if you make a special cozy area just for him in a quiet area away from any windows (such as a utility room or bathroom) with a thick blanket to lie on, a few treats and a favorite toy.

If you feel that you will not be safe in your home during a storm or if you have been ordered to evacuate, take your pet and go to a friend or family member’s home in a safe area until the danger subsides. Be sure to bring the emergency supplies for you and your pet!

If you don’t know anyone in a safe zone, you could take your pet with you to a pet-friendly hotel in a safe zone. In advance, select several hotels (outside of the commonly-evacuated areas) and call to confirm their pet policies. Once you are certain that your pet will be welcome there, keep the phone numbers on hand in preparation for an emergency. Once a storm is approaching, hotels fill up quickly, so be sure to call and make a reservation as soon as you think you may have to evacuate.

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