Braveheart Of The Year
Here are the nominations for the 2009 Braveheart of the year award
Each month through out the year, Okeford nominate an animal who they believe has shown outstanding bravery throughout their treatment. It is now up to you to decide which animal deserves the overall Braveheart award for 2009.
The winner will be awarded with the Katie Bater Memorial Cup and a framed picture.
January- Bob Cole: New years resolution
Bob was made January’s Braveheart when he managed to get himself trapped under a 7.5 tonne manitou. He was immediately rushed into the surgery where he was given intravenous fluids and pain relief to prevent hypovolaemic shock. He was then anaesthetised and x-rayed to look for fractures of his spine or pelvis. Visualisation of his bladder was not possible so a urinary catheter put in place to see if any urine would drain back. A substantial amount returned, demonstrating to the vet that the bladder had not be ruptured. Unbelievably Bob had not sustained any fractures but had severe bruising. After a lot of TLC Bob finally took his first steps days later. Once he started, he could not stop and was soon back to his normal self, although he has decided his days of fighting farm machinery are over!
February- Roxy Chisolm: ‘ere ‘ere Roxy
Roxy was presented initially with an inflamed and an infected ear, the vet found she was suffering from a benign, pedunculated growth arising from a mucous membrane. Surgical removal was required, a general anaesthetic was given and Roxy was prepared for surgery. She was given subcutaneous fluids to help her through the anaesthetic. The decision was made to perform a total ear ablation, this is where the outer ear and the lining of the middle ear are removed. Roxy experienced some haemorrhage following the surgery so an ear bandage was applied. She was also suffering from a condition called nystagmus, flickering of the eyes. A couple hours after surgery Roxy was purring and enjoying a lot of fuss, even with her head tilt. Three days later Roxy was allowed home. Despite major surgery Roxy remained a bright and loving cat, even if a little deaf!
March- Bartok Hughes: Bartok’s acidic episode
Bartok has been treated for diabetes mellitus since the age of 10. Diabetes mellitus is a disease where carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism is defective due to a failure to produce or respond to insulin. The vet was called out to the cattery where he was staying after he began vomiting and became lethargic. The vet took a blood glucose reading which showed his levels to be extremely high. A comprehensive blood sample was also taken. This showed that he was lacking in potassium, phosphorous and sodium. A urine sample was also taken which showed a large number of ketones were being excreted. Bartok was suffering from ketoacidosis, this causes the body cells to become acidic, which in turn will have deterimental effects on the liver and kidneys. Bartok was placed onto fluids and given multivitamins and a slow infusion of potassium. Eventually with a lot of nursing and treatment Bartok began to improve. After 4 days he was allowed home with constant monitoring and lots of cuddles.
April- Jess Kozlowski: Jess beats the dreaded parvovirus
Jess suddenly fell ill as a seven month old puppy with a serious life threatening condition. Jess had been vomiting and passing frank blood in diarrhoea and had become extremely lethargic. Her owners rushed Jess into the surgery along with a faecal sample, this was tested in the practice laboratory revealing that Jess had contracted the deadly Parvovirus. She was placed directly into isolation on intravenous fluids and began a long list of antibiotics and antiemetics. Over the first few days Jess showed little if any improvement. Eventually several days after she had been admitted, she began to wag her tail and look like a puppy once again, including sulking when she didn’t get her own way! After a week Jess was allowed home to finish her recovery, where she would need to be house bound for three weeks. Her appetite and playful nature soon returned. If Jess had not been vaccinated the outcome could have been drastically different.
May- Thomas McKnight: Cant wee, wont wee
Thomas was presented at the surgery after his owner returned home from work to find him uncomfortable and walking stiffly. On examination the vet found his bladder to be extremely full, tight and uncomfortable. To release the initial pressure in the bladder a needle was placed through the body wall and the urine was drained out. If this had not been done Thomas’s bladder could have ruptured. A blood sample was then collected to see if kidney damage had occurred due to the blockage. A urinary catheter was placed and Thomas was hospitalised on antibiotics and intravenous fluids. A few days later the catheter was removed and Thomas was allowed home. Unfortunately the blockage returned. To prevent this from re occurring, the owners decided to go ahead with a procedure to redirect the urinary tract to a surgical incision below the anus, this procedure is very difficult and painful but with Thomas’ s urinary problems re occurring there was no other option. Although Thomas was slightly confused with why his wee was not heading in the way he aimed he soon returned to his cheeky self and was urinating freely!
June- Ernest J Jollop: Can wee, will wee
Ernest Jollop was diagnosed with diabetes insipidus after he became seriously ill during June. At the end of May, Ernest’s owner noticed that he was urinating excessively, his water intake also increased dramatically, up to ten litres in one afternoon! His weight also plummeted. Despite his frequent urination, Ernest’s bladder was still full. An ultrasound did not reveal any abnormalities except an increase in diameter of the bladder. Blood and urine sample were obtained and sent to an external lab. At this point the vet had managed to determine that Ernest could only have two conditions, psycogenic polydipsia (excessive thirst for no reason) or diabetes inspidius.
When an animal had diabetes inspidius it renders them unable to concentrate their urine. This is because the antidiuretic hormone released by the main hormonal gland in the body fails, or the kidneys do not respond to the hormone. The treatment for diabetes insipidus is supplementation of antidiruetic hormone by intranasal drops. Ernest responded to these drops and over the next few weeks returned to his normal cheeky extremely bouncy self.
Ernest no longer drinks the river dry, so for now there will not be a water shortage in the summer.
July- Humphrey Lawson: put your back into it Humphrey!
Humphrey was bought into the surgery in May with acute hind left leg paresis and circling almost like a stroke. The vet carried out a number of reflex tests including a proprioception test. Humphrey was unable to quickly place his left hind leg into a normal position. The vet’s initial concern was that Humphrey may be suffering from an intervertebral disc prolapse. X-rays revealed that Humphrey was suffering from spondylosis between the last lumbar vertebra and the first sacral vertebra. Spondylosis is the production of bony spurs along the bottom of the surface of the vertebrae. He was placed onto a steroid based medication. Over June the condition worsened with Humphrey abducting his leg away from his body when standing. The vet was now suspecting a nerve root compression. He was referred to Downs Referral Centre in Bristol. The MRI scan revealed a degeneration of the intervertebral disc. Humphrey underwent surgery called a dorsal laminectomy with bilateral facetectomy, this involved removing two pieces of the bony spine to relieve pressure on the spinal nerves. The surgery was successful.
Sadly Humphrey was put to sleep a couple months later due to an unrelated illness.
August- Millie and Otto: SNAP!
On the 11th of August , Millie and Otto, two 2 puppies of a similar age were admitted for orthopaedic surgery following fractures to their front left legs.
Millie had been rushed to the surgery on Sunday after trying to jump across a small stream. Unfortunately Millie had been a little over enthusiastic and perceived herself to be slightly larger than she actually was. This lead to her colliding with the wall on the other side! She suffered a supracondylar fracture to the humerus. The fracture was repaired using special surgical wire, screws and plates to prevent rotation of the fragment. Millie would have to kept on strict rest for one month post op and then lead exercise only for a further month.
Otto’s story is slightly different. Otto was playing with his little sister at the time of his accident. Being a little embarrassed that he had been beaten up by a girl he initially was putting on a brave face and was only slightly lame on his leg. As time progressed he became very lame and so was admitted for x-rays.
His x-rays revealed a fracture to the anconeal process of the ulna. This is a bony prominence where the humerus fits. A small piece of bone was removed to relieve the pressure and reduce the risk of arthritis. He too, would require a month of lead exercise and probably be lame for up to 4 months.
After a couple months rest, both puppies can return to bouncing around and causing trouble. This really was a case of snap!
September- Max Barr: Blued and two-ed to hospital
On Sunday the 20th of September the vet received an emergency telephone call from the police requesting her attendance at a serious road traffic collision on the A30. Upon arrival at the scene, some firemen from the two crews were keeping Max calm. Max’s owner was airlifted to hospital and Max was placed onto intravenous fluids, given pain relief and driven to the surgery. He had sustained a large skin wound over his right shoulder and left elbow, which were sutured the following day and a drain was placed in his right leg to prevent fluid accumulation. On recovery, Max began to vomit. This continued for the next 2 days, so the vet x-rayed Max’s abdomen and examined his oesophagus and stomach with an endoscope. No abnormalities were seen. Unfortunately, Max continued vomiting so an exploratory laparotomy was performed. Once his abdomen was opened, his greater omentum was found to be tightly wrapped around his intestines. The vet managed to unravel the intestines and suspected that the tangle occurred when Max was thrown around the car during the accident. Max and his owner improved each day with a lot of love and care from Mrs Matravers.
October- Milo Filer-Cooper: the wonder dog
Milo was awarded October’s Braveheart after he was knocked down whilst chasing cars. He was rushed to the surgery, suffering from severe shock, hypothermia and a wound on his stifle. He was immediately placed onto warmed intravenous fluids and given pain relief and antibiotics. His temperature, heart rate and respiration rate were monitored every 5 minutes and gradually during the afternoon, his core body temperature began to rise from 35C to normal (38.5C). During this period, his chest began to expand and his skin was making what can only be described as a crinkly noise, he was diagnosed with emphysema. The following day, the air under the skin continued to inflate but his condition was now stable enough to undergo x-rays. The x-rays revealed that Milo, despite jumping around and being extremely bright, had fractured 7 ribs. Milo underwent a procedure called a thoracocentesis, where the air was remove from the thoracic cavity. Over the next few days Milo greatly improved. He remained on his pain relief and was allowed home. For now Milo has restrained from chasing cars but knowing Milo, and being a typical terrier, it won’t be long before he’s chewing rubber again.
November- Five bundles of fluff
On extremely cold and wet day in November, six little two week old kittens were bought into the surgery after being abandoned by their mother. The kittens were suffering form severe hypothermia, malnutrition and were extremely weak and bedraggled. They were immediately placed into the incubator. A milk supplement was prepared using warm water. As the kittens temperature began to raise so did the noise, soon the kittens were screaming for food. As the days went on the kittens began to thrive, although the nurse who was looking after them and night feeding them every two hours was most definitely not! The kittens were bought into the surgery each day where they were fed, bathed and toileted. Slowly but surely the kittens extremely playful nature became to shine through, each with their own individual character. The weaning process was messy with not only feet in the bowls but bums and tums too! The kittens eventually took over Gemma’s house, dogs and her own cats. All were re-homed before Christmas and are continuing to thrive.
December- Lucy Spier: still going strong!
Lucy’s story is a little different from the others, Lucy is a 16 year old Jack Russell terrier who has a number of problems. She was diagnosed with a grade 4/6 heart murmur in September 2007, this was up graded to a 5/6 murmur in November that year. The highest grade heart murmur is 6/6. Lucy was beginning to show signs of exercise intolerance, constant panting and fluid gathering on the lungs. She was placed on to medication to help support her. In August 2008 Lucy was admitted for hospitalisation after vomiting frequently and becoming lethargic. A blood sample was taken which revealed that poor little Lucy had quiet severely increased liver and kidney enzymes; she had even lost her bite. She was placed on to intravenous fluids and given multivitamins and anabolic steroids. Slowly Lucy’s bite began to return! She went home later that day armed with medication and a special renal diet. She is monitored closely and her dedicated owners bring her in each month for repeat multivitamin injections. It has not been all straight forward since then mind! Lucy began to react to the multivitamin injections with her face swelling. This was overcome by giving her yet more medication; an antihistamine before the injection was administered. Lucy is still a bright lively little dog who enjoys her life, but unfortunately not visiting us!
You can vote for your favourite by filling in a form on our reception desk and posting it into the Braveheart voting box.
