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South Bosque Veterinary Clinic
| "Molly" Motz |
Molly, a 13 year old terrier mix, was brought into South Bosque Veterinary Clinic on
February 5, 2009. The front doors had just been unlocked when Molly arrived in critical
condition. Molly had been involved in a dog fight the day before and was in need of
immediate care. The fight resulted in a large wound in Molly’s belly that left her
intestines exposed and Molly was in shock.
Since the clinic had just opened, the doctors had not yet arrived. A technician assessed
Molly’s condition and made a quick phone call to Dr. Johnston who was on his way. Due
to Molly’s critical state, Dr. Johnston instructed the staff to place a catheter and start
intravenous fluids in an attempt to stabilize Molly. When Dr. Johnston arrived, he
conducted a thorough exam confirming Molly’s life threatening condition. Molly had
suffered devastating wounds that left her intestines exposed outside of her body. The
exposed intestines were contaminated with leaves and other organic matter, putting Molly
at increased risk for serious infection.
Dr. Johnston spoke to Molly’s parents about the risk of surgery, as well as recovery, and
they decided they would do everything possible to save Molly. After stabilizing Molly, Dr.
Johnston performed emergency surgery to decontaminate and replace Molly’s intestines
back in her abdominal cavity. Molly was at serious risk of peritonitis, an infection inside of
the abdomen.
Molly was in and out of the hospital for the next 5 days taking strong antibiotics and
fighting extreme discomfort and nausea. Molly began to improve slowly and was finally
released to go home. At her final check up, on February 19th, all of her stitches were
removed and she was more than happy to wag her tail and give kisses. After 13 great
years, she still has many more to live and wasn’t going to let a dog fight stop her. We are
honored to call Molly our pet of the month for March.
February 5, 2009. The front doors had just been unlocked when Molly arrived in critical
condition. Molly had been involved in a dog fight the day before and was in need of
immediate care. The fight resulted in a large wound in Molly’s belly that left her
intestines exposed and Molly was in shock.
Since the clinic had just opened, the doctors had not yet arrived. A technician assessed
Molly’s condition and made a quick phone call to Dr. Johnston who was on his way. Due
to Molly’s critical state, Dr. Johnston instructed the staff to place a catheter and start
intravenous fluids in an attempt to stabilize Molly. When Dr. Johnston arrived, he
conducted a thorough exam confirming Molly’s life threatening condition. Molly had
suffered devastating wounds that left her intestines exposed outside of her body. The
exposed intestines were contaminated with leaves and other organic matter, putting Molly
at increased risk for serious infection.
Dr. Johnston spoke to Molly’s parents about the risk of surgery, as well as recovery, and
they decided they would do everything possible to save Molly. After stabilizing Molly, Dr.
Johnston performed emergency surgery to decontaminate and replace Molly’s intestines
back in her abdominal cavity. Molly was at serious risk of peritonitis, an infection inside of
the abdomen.
Molly was in and out of the hospital for the next 5 days taking strong antibiotics and
fighting extreme discomfort and nausea. Molly began to improve slowly and was finally
released to go home. At her final check up, on February 19th, all of her stitches were
removed and she was more than happy to wag her tail and give kisses. After 13 great
years, she still has many more to live and wasn’t going to let a dog fight stop her. We are
honored to call Molly our pet of the month for March.
| March 2009 |
14000 Woodway Dr. Waco, TX 76712 Phone: (254) 776-7738 Fax: (254) 776-4113 |
| April 2009 |
Boomer, a 7 year old feline, was brought into our clinic on January 29, 2009 with dramatic weight
loss and a poor appetite. Just 4 months prior she had weighed 12 ½ pounds, but had lost an
astounding 6 pounds since that date. Dr. Robert described Boomer as emaciated and severely
dehydrated.
Upon running blood work it was discovered that Boomer had a condition called Hepatic Lipidosis,
or “Fatty Liver Disease”. This is a condition seen primarily in cats, and occurs when a cat stops
eating and the body attempts to utilize the fat source by packing it into the liver. This results in
severe liver disease.
Boomer was admitted to the hospital and placed on IV Fluids to treat the dehydration, and an
esophagostomy tube was placed. This is a rubber tube that is surgically placed through the neck
and into the esophagus, leading into the stomach. This allowed us to feed Boomer directly through
the tube since Boomer refused to eat.
From January 29th to March 16th, Boomer’s health had its highs and lows. Boomer was in and out
of the hospital facing nausea, weakness, dehydration, and an infected tube. Thanks to Dr. Robert
and Dr. Hudspeth’s medical care and her owner’s continued effort, Boomer began eating on her
own and the esophagostomy tube was pulled on March 16th. Although she was extremely sick,
Boomer was incredibly stoic and continued to “make biscuits” when she was petted. Her strong
will to survive made it easy to name her our “Pet of the Month” for April.
loss and a poor appetite. Just 4 months prior she had weighed 12 ½ pounds, but had lost an
astounding 6 pounds since that date. Dr. Robert described Boomer as emaciated and severely
dehydrated.
Upon running blood work it was discovered that Boomer had a condition called Hepatic Lipidosis,
or “Fatty Liver Disease”. This is a condition seen primarily in cats, and occurs when a cat stops
eating and the body attempts to utilize the fat source by packing it into the liver. This results in
severe liver disease.
Boomer was admitted to the hospital and placed on IV Fluids to treat the dehydration, and an
esophagostomy tube was placed. This is a rubber tube that is surgically placed through the neck
and into the esophagus, leading into the stomach. This allowed us to feed Boomer directly through
the tube since Boomer refused to eat.
From January 29th to March 16th, Boomer’s health had its highs and lows. Boomer was in and out
of the hospital facing nausea, weakness, dehydration, and an infected tube. Thanks to Dr. Robert
and Dr. Hudspeth’s medical care and her owner’s continued effort, Boomer began eating on her
own and the esophagostomy tube was pulled on March 16th. Although she was extremely sick,
Boomer was incredibly stoic and continued to “make biscuits” when she was petted. Her strong
will to survive made it easy to name her our “Pet of the Month” for April.
| "Boomer" Bouse |
In early 2004, Puddles was brought into South Bosque for her first round of puppy shots. At that time she was a wiggly, 8 pound lab puppy that was so eager to begin her life! Six months later, while running routine blood work on Puddles prior to her spay surgery, we made a surprising discovery that her liver values were elevated. We postponed the surgery until further diagnostics could be ran. No one could believe that this happy, roley-poley puppy could really be sick! After running further tests on Puddles, Dr. Williams became concerned about the possibility of Puddles having a liver shunt. He then made the referral to Texas A &M for an ultrasound. Unfortunately, Dr. Williams was correct. Puddles was diagnosed with a portosystemic shunt, meaning that blood from the intestinal tract was bypassing the liver and going directly to the heart. This means that the liver wasn’t able to filter the blood and toxins could therefore build up in Puddle’s system. Puddles went through 3 surgeries at Texas A&M in an attempt to repair her shunt. Unfortunately, she continued to have liver issues throughout her life. Puddles was in and out of our clinic nearly every month for 5 years. On March 16, 2009, after a rough few days of battling anemia and seizures, Puddle's owners made the difficult decision to let her go. At every visit to our clinic, Puddles was always happy and looking for a hand to pet her. Many animals would have become fearful after some of the procedures she endured, but not Puddles. She touched all of our staff members and left us with fond memories of that wiggly lab puppy. We are honored to call her our Pet of the Month for May. |
| May 2009 |
| "Puddles" James |