vet.babble

I'd recommend you take your pup to the vet; that could be so many different issues!

Definitely see your local vet to get that sorted!

Pictured is a lateral radiograph of a cat’s abdomen. Chief abnormality: large amount of hard stool in the colon.

This cat, like many others, suffered from chronic constipation. This situation can occur for many reasons, nearly all of which involve dehydration and hardening of the stool to the point that the cat can no longer pass it. Conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, various cancers, metabolic illness, kidney disease, and more can result in a chronically constipated kitty.

If left unchecked, the condition can lead to megacolon (essentially a stretched out colon that no longer moves normally), anorexia, and eventual death.

The above cat had undergone manual feces evacuation under sedation multiple times already. He was on multiple medications with mediocre results. To complicate matters, he was an obese patient who, anorexic due to the constipation, had developed hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease). Because of the severity of his condition and its chronic nature, the owner decided to euthanize.

A recent radiograph of a dog's stifle (knee). This was a >10 year old lab mix that came in for a geriatric annual exam and an evaluation of a limp. The dog refused to put and weight on the affected leg, and palpation found subtle firm enlargement of that stifle. The radiograph showed a clear osteolytic lesion of the distal femur. Given the dog's age, presentation, and exam findings, the most likely diagnosis was osteosarcoma, a very serious, eventually fatal bone cancer. The location of the lesion also fit (the old saying for osteosarcoma is "away from the elbow, towards the knee"). While other differentials exist, such as fungal disease, testing would have to involve bone biopsy, if not leg amputation, to arrive at a concrete diagnosis. Given the probability of osteosarcoma, the dog's age, and the amount of pain she was in, the owner chose to euthanize.

Seen here is the heart of a deceased guinea pig. The pericardium, normally flush against the heart, has ballooned out due to accumulation of excess fluid between it and the heart (termed pericardial effusion). This guinea pig had died suddenly at home after exhibiting full body swelling, which turned out to be edema. While a gross necropsy could not fully confirm cause of death, edema alongside pericardial effusion suggests cardiac disease. Other possibilities include neoplasia, renal disease, or infection.

Pictured are two radiographs of a 10 year old female spayed St. Bernard's left hind limb, specifically the tibia and fibula. These rads were taken four months apart, with the one on the left being the initial. The patient initially presented with lameness in the left hind. Examination revealed swelling proximal to the tarsus. Radiographs found bony lysis (breakdown) of the distal fibula. Such a lesion in an older large breed dog brings real concern for cancer, such as osteosarcoma (even though this isn't a common location). The clients declined any further diagnostics and opted to palliate with pain medication. The dog re-presented today for increased swelling and lameness. The radiograph on the right shows dramatic destruction of over half of her fibula. Without further diagnostics, we can't tell exactly what the diagnosis is (cancer vs. severe fungal infection, for example), but given age, breed, and severity, cancer is unfortunately likely.

Last week, we had a chicken come in with severe periorbital swelling on her right side. The owners had been treating her with some antibiotics from the farm store, thinking she had some form if sinus infection. Unfortunately, she was just not getting better, so they brought her in. Long story short, the swelling turned out to be a large, deeply involved tumor that we were only able to debulk. The owners declined biopsy, so we'll likely never know what the tumor really was, but an impression smear suggested some form of lymphoid neoplasia, possibly due to one of the many viruses chickens can get.

The top image is a quick view of what generally clean, healthy dog teeth look like. In order to keep your dog’s teeth nice and healthy, regular brushing and dental care under anesthesia at your vet’s office is strongly recommended. 

The two pictures below are an example of what can happen if such measures aren’t taken. This dog had teeth so diseased that most of them were mobile and covered in so much filth, they weren’t visible.

A dog has 42 teeth. This dog was missing 10, and I pulled out 25. She went home with a grand total of seven healthy teeth left in her mouth. 

“Dog breath” is essentially a myth: if your dog’s mouth stinks (and boy, did this one!), then take them to a vet for a dental assessment and possible dental probing, radiographs, and care under anesthesia.

A couple other points:

Chewing raw bones is NOT recommended: I see a great many fractured teeth that require extraction due to raw bones. Not to mention the fact that raw bone chewing does nothing for disease under the gumline, which is what leads to tooth loss. Pretty teeth are not necessarily healthy teeth.

In addition, you may hear of “anesthesia-free dentals”: procedures where a dog’s teeth are cleaned while they are awake. These are NOT recommended either, for a number of reasons. First, one can never examine and clean teeth completely and well on an awake dog. Second, any pathology found during such a procedure cannot be immediately addressed. Third, putting sharp instruments in an animal’s mouth, particularly a mouth with possible hidden disease, is dangerous for both the operator and for the animal involved.   

These are radiographs of a savanna monitor who presented for generalized lethargy. Her abdomen is essentially filled to brimming with fat. She was morbidly obese because the owner, wanting to keep two monitors in the same enclosure for breeding, fed her excessively to prevent her from attacking her cagemate. In addition to a poor diet, she never received proper UVB lighting.

The result was a morbidly obese animal whose bloodwork showed severe inflammation/infection, high risk of hepatic lipidosis, and renal failure with possible gout. Unfortunately, her disease was too advanced, and she died.

Moral of the story: overfeeding lizards is not a solution for aggression.