ROUND TOWN
The Pioneer Spirit
VeterinaryTails
a family trip to Puerto Rico. Felix gland abscess, so both Felix and Elaine came to Connecticut and unfortu- got to take their antibiotics together nately brought canine distemper with for a few weeks. him. He was one of the 50 percent of A few summers ago, we had a client By Dr. Ryan dogs that survive distemper infection bring in a German Shepherd from Ehlinger and went on to lead a pretty normal Lockwood that had a pretty nasty first-world dog life, except for having rattlesnake bite. It had been going on a chronic problems with his anal glands. few days as the dog had ran away and One day, my client Elaine showed came back with a terrible looking right his months’ column is dedicated to all the folks out there who are She went online and watched a how-to-video. “do it yourself” when it comes to Then, she bought some gloves and some lube. veterinary medicine. Down at Main Street Vet, we lovingly call this the up with Felix. She had a very large hind leg. He was septic and dying. “The Pioneer Spirit.” We have literally seen it all when bandage over her right forearm, and His leg was black as shoe leather and it comes to people treating their pets held Felix under her left arm look- swollen up like an elephant leg. We managed to nurse him back to for various illnesses at home. While ing quite forlorn. I asked her what we love the frugal get your hands happened with her arm. She told me health over several days of hospitalizadirty mindset, we can’t say we always she was tired of paying for expressing tion and intense nursing care. We were love the results! So without further Felix’s anal glands. Then, she went all so happy to see him recovered and adieu, here are some funny stories online and watched a how-to-video. looking well, except for the remaining from the trenches involving the do She bought some gloves and some scar tissue. When the owner came in, lube. But when she went to do the rather than being ecstatic that his dog it yourselfers. Many years ago back in New En- job “I put my finger in there and that was alive and doing well, he was upset gland I was working with an owner crazy dog turned around and bit me about the bill. I told him it could be worse; he that had a mean little terrier cross three times!” named Felix that she adopted on It turned out Felix had an anal could have a large bill and a dead dog!
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by Ryan Ehlinger
We laughed about that a bit. He then proceeded to tell me about how he treated his other dog’s wounds. The dog had a large laceration over a foot in length from a run-in with a hefty boar on his property. He was worried the vet bill would be too much, so he put duct tape around the dog and then proceeded to pour hydrogen peroxide over the wounds twice a day for several weeks. At the end he said he took the duct tape off and it was “like new.” Obviously, we don’t endorse the duct tape approach to veterinary medicine, but that story certainly won the Pioneer Spirit Award for 2016! Dr. Ryan Ehlinger is the owner of the Main Street Small Animal Hospital in Templeton. A full-service small animal hospital serving the north county since 1988. Visit templetonvet.com for more info.
PASO Magazine, June 2018