Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Blog that I was interested in:
I have always been interested in Veterinary Medicine, and at one point I thought I might become a Vet, but instead I decided to read a blog about it.
The Blog I found is called Pet Peeves (http://petpeeves6003.spaces.live.com/), and it consists of anecdotes from an animal ER. The first story I read was about a puppy with parvo. It was a really heart warming story. It was about a little dog that came in vomiting with diarrhea. The vet tech on the blog explained that parvo is a highly infectious disease, and that dogs can get vaccinated, but if they are not and catch it, they will most likely die. Though this story was a happy one. The vet tech described how she stayed up all night taking care of the puppy and became very attached to it. The puppy in the end did make it which was great!
The next story was interesting but sad. It was about a 5 year old lab which had a testicle that remained in its abdomen instead of dropping out. It became cancerous and produced too much testosterone. The sad thing is that it would be treatable, but the owner did not have the money so the dog had to be euthanized. It was sad.
The other story I read was about a dog that stole a corn dog from its owner and ate the whole thing stick and all in one go. The owners brought the dog in because they new that the stick could puncture the dog’s gastrointestinal system. The vet ended up inducing vomiting and the dog threw up the entire corn dog intact with the stick still in it. What a story! They even had a picture and everything. COOL!
I also looked at a blog about an equine vet on a different site. She wrote about a horse that sustained a fracture in its right front leg. This was a really sad story because in the end the owner, trainer, and groom decided to put the horse down. My heart hurt as a read about how this magnificent animal had to be euthanized.

1 comment:

Amanda said...

Hey deb-
This blog sounds just like the one i would write. I've alot of cases just like these, but everyone i talk to about my job has to know about the tradegy that is vet bills. Working at a specialty clinic, i see higher vet bills than most places because our vets are all board certified and our procedures and intense and expensive. The largest bill i've seen has been around $10,000 and luckily the owners paid it! On average, our bills run from $2-6K for the initial visit and treatment (depending on the diagnosis of course).
Im actually taking a health care class right now and doing a project on Animal Health Insurance. It is becoming very popular but alot of people still do not know about it.
We also have what is called "Care Credit" for owners who can't afford the bills right now (since 1/2 bill needs to be paid up front). It's like a credit card that you can make payments on. With the help of these credit cards and insurance programs hopefully more and more animals will be able to be treated.