Mittens The Laundress

One of the really great things about my job is everyone that visits me has a funny or entertaining story about their pet that they share during their visit. Sometimes they tell me what they went through to get the cat in her carrier, or about their pets entertaining activities at home, regardless of the exact details, inevitably there is some kind of a story. These stories illustrate to me how much we value the companionship of our pets, how important they are to our families and how boring things would be without them.

Sometimes there are stories like the one about Mittens and her owner Julie. Julie and her husband, Tim, visited with me at a recent community event. Julie enjoyed talking about their dog, Mittens. Mittens was adopted as a puppy by her two sons and at the time they already had two dogs. Her sons were responsible for caring for Mittens and they developed an interest in training her. Mittens quickly learned the basics and then she learned how to skate board, pick up objects on command and retrieve. She seemed to have a real aptitude for learning and the whole family enjoyed her antics.  A few years ago Julie had extensive spinal surgery that left her with limited mobility. Bending and picking up even the lightest objects was a challenge. Julie quickly realized that Mittens was ready and willing to help pick things up. Mittens was not a service dog, nor were Julie and her family professional trainers, but together they were the perfect team. 

Mittens can remove laundry from the dryer (the video is attached above). Tim was so excited to show me the video, he went home to get his camera so we could see Mittens in action! Julie explained that Mittens enjoys tidying up so much that she picked up the parts her son had laying out in the garage while he was repairing a car and brought them to her! 

Mittens and Julie’s story reminded me of another patient. A few years ago, I treated an Australian Cattle dog named, Mason. Tom, his owner, explained that he had been a very busy executive, traveling around the world. However, he developed a severe seizure disorder and became housebound. He had always wanted a dog, but had never had the time for a pet. Tom said he thought, with everything else going so badly for him, he could at least adopt the canine companion he always wanted. So he went to the local shelter and adopted Mason. Mason had been surrendered because he had a few problems, but Tom felt they were a perfect match. Unfortunately, Mason was not the easiest to live with at first. But they became closely bonded in a very short time. Slowly, Tom began to realize that Mason could tell when he was going to have a seizure. This gave Tom the ability to intervene and avoid a seizure and gradually his seizures subsided. Tom and Mason began leaving the house. They walked more and more, getting further and further from their home, something Tom never thought he could do again. Soon, Tom and Mason were able to begin leaving their home for trips. Tom began driving and working, always with his friend at his side. He explained that he has been seizure free for years and he attributed his cure to Mason. Now Mason is a first class world traveler and Tom’s constant companion.

These stories make me wonder what forces conspire to bring these people and their companions together at just the right time. Maybe sometimes the helping hand we are looking for is actually a paw.

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Three Animal Stories........with happy endings!

The Rescue of Templeton The Rat

Our head technician, Dana , was walking her dog last week. They walk along the railway tracks near their house. Greves, her dog, kept sniffing at a container and refusing to move on with his evening stroll. Dana investigated and found a young, very inquisitive, hooded rat in a container. The container was similar to what you would get at the deli counter, small wholes punched in the top. Templeton was quickly taken home and placed in a proper cage with food and water that he ate greedily.
Fortunately, one of our other technicians, Matt, has a teenage son who has always wanted his own pet rat. It was a perfect match and Templeton is living happily in his new digs. Quite an improvement over the plastic deli container. How Templeton ended up at the railroad tracks, in a container, is another story.

Spanky, THE Biggest Looser

Here is Spanky's before photo - he weighed 49lbs.

Spanky is the constant companion of Sister Mary Leonard.Over the winter Sister Mary was taken ill and she could not care for Spanky. We have hopes that Sister Mary will be home soon, but in the mean time we had Spanky stay with us.Spanky is all beagle. He is spunky, curious, stubborn and a hedonist. He loves to eat and since Sister Mary loves Spanky so much, Spanky got to do what ever he loved the most.
When he arrived at the hospital he weighed 49lbs and just the idea of a long walk or playing ball was completely exhausting to him.You could see that spark though, that beagle-like twinkle in his eye.
Since Hills (The Science Diet Company) had donated a pre-measured, 1 month diet program, to the hospital to use as we wish, we thought Spanky would be the perfect project. Spanky was a very reluctant participant, initially shunning the high fiber biscuits (he got 3 a day) and his two meals of kibble. Slowly, though, he came around. By the 3rd week everyone was amazed by the amount of energy he had. Even friends of Sister Mary, who take Spanky for visits to Sister Mary's bed side, were surprised by his enthusiasm.
We are happy to report that today he weighs 39lbs, still about 8 lbs over weight, but boy does he look (feel) good.

Turtle Rescue Season has Begun!

Around our house and the hospital we are all avid turtle rescuers. Really, what possesses people to run over a turtle? Did it dart out in front of the car? I think not. So to all you motorists please watch out for our friends.

Our turtle rescue season began on April the 23rd when we rescued a Blanding's Turtle from our yard. Unfortunately, our dog found him first, but his sturdy shell protected him from her. Last weekend my children helped a misguided newly hatched turtle that was trying to get into our garage. We have had this happen previously. We suspect our house was placed in the midst of a 'migratory ' path. He/she was redirected and sent on its way.

Our best rescue story is of one of our clinics neighbors, Mr. Joerin. A wonderfully kind and gentle man that stopped traffic on the main road in front of the hospital and escorted a very large and very angry snapping turtle to the other side. Yeah!

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