| Our Patients' Stories Newt, a 20 year old Quarter horse used for team roping was presented to Red Oak Animal Hospital for evaluation. Newt had a unilateral (one-sided) foul smelling nasal discharge from his left nostril. Due to his age and clinical signs a tooth problem was suspected. Oral examination revealed a fractured premolar. (208)  Radiographs confirmed a fracture and abscess area. 
Tooth roots of some of the upper cheek teeth are located in the sinuses. When infection occurs it may cause a discharge from the nostril on the same side. Treatment of the condition was discussed with the owner, Derek Conrad. It was decided that extraction of the affected tooth was our best option. John Brochu, a certified Equine Dental technician assisted with the tooth removal. Mr. Brochu has worked with us at Red Oak Animal Hospital for 20 years.  The procedure was accomplished with the aid of standing sedation. The premolar was still very firmly attached in spite of infection. The tooth was removed intact.   
Newt had some residual nasal discharge which cleared up in about a week with antibiotics. He was roping again shortly thereafter. | |
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In May, “Bling Bling” delivered 10 Great Dane puppies to her owners Vince and Linda Cain. Everything went according to plan until when the pups were 8 weeks old and part of the litter went to have surgery that ‘crops’ their ears into a standing position. In order to train the ears to stand up correctly the pups had to have elaborate ear bandages. On July 25th the pup known as Hank was found to be missing a portion of his dressing and was vomiting and feeling poorly. Linda brought Hank in to Red Oak to be examined and x-rays showed a mass in his stomach. We successfully retrieved the mass using an endoscope- a special fiber optic camera that allows viewing inside the digestive tract- and a special grasping tool that fits down the scope. The mass turned out to be part of his bandage. Hank recovered easily and went home no worse for the experience. 3 days later Linda calls, Cosmo, another of the puppies is vomiting and even though they have all been separated to keep from removing each others bandages, Cosmo has managed to eat part of one. X-rays of Cosmo also revealed a mass in his abdomen, but unfortunately not close enough to be retrieved with the endoscope. Cosmo had to undergo surgery to remove a portion of bandage from his intestines. He also recovered well following his surgery. The good news is all the hard work and care paid off for the Cains. All of the beautiful pups managed to get through the rest of puppy hood without further serious incident. Two of them went on to win big at their national show. |   |
Jake’s Gift Jake presented to Red Oak Animal Hospital at the age of 10 with severe heart failure. His owners, after some difficult deliberation, decided it was in Jake’s best interest to put him to sleep. Jake was the last dog that they had over many years and they were not expecting to replace him. Jake had other plans! Two days after Jake’s death a dog showed up at their house. She was extremely thin, malnourished, and almost hairless, with oozing wounds on her face, legs, and body. It was amazing she was even alive. It took days just to gain her trust enough that she would eat food left out for her. It was even longer for her to take shelter in the barn. The owners called to see if there was any hope of saving her or if she would have to be euthanized also. We decided to do what we could and give her a chance. When she was finally able to be brought in for examination she weighed only 37 pounds, was covered in demodectic mange, and infected sores from itching. We began treatment hoping that she could handle the medication in her debilitated state. Ginny, as she would come to be called, thrived. After 4 months of daily treatment for mange, deworming, bathing, antibiotics, food, and massive TLC she would be unrecognizable from the dog who showed up in the yard if not for her exotic coat color. She is completely attached to the her new owners and a ver y well behaved companion, even around the grandchildren. Jake obviously knew right where to send this poor dog in her time of need. |   |
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Red Oak Animal Hospital | 22345 Antioch, Bucyrus, KS 66013-9462 913-533-2370 | information@redoakanimalhospital.com |
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