Incredible But True III

This is a little segment I like write periodically about recent experiences that seem hard to believe. Whether funny, inspirational, despicable, stupid, or miraculous, as incredible as these short stories may seem, they are oh so true. . .

Unwilling patient

A client picked up a kitten that she saw thrown out the window of a moving car. The kitten amazingly did not seem very hurt, but there was some bleeding from the mouth and she wanted her looked at. On her way over, she let the kitten loose in the car while she drove, and the kitten proceeded out of fear to climb up into the dash board of the car, out of the reach of the client.

Upon arrival, two of my techs were unable to help this client get the kitten out of the dash, and one hour later, the client gave up. She said she would leave the windows open and let her come out when she is ready, perhaps try to lure her out with a can of food. This was last week, and I still have not seen the kitten or the client.

Terrible patient, delusional owner

A Sharpei came into my office for seeming to have been bitten by "something" in the back yard and was "freaking out" every time the area was touched by the owner. On the disposition line of the check-in form the owner had written, "very sweet." Despite the owner's assertion, in typical Sharpei fashion, the dog was extremely stressed and apprehensive when approached, snapping, and literally climbing the owner to get away from us. After we managed to get a muzzle on the dog, things did not get any better.

During the exam, the dog remained curled in a tense little ball and could not have been more stiff if it had been a corpse in rigormortis. I had to pry the legs apart, expending a considerable amount of force just to get a look at what turned out to be little more than a scratch on the skin. From the dog's reaction, however, one would have thought there was a compound fracture, as it screamed, clawed my assistant, and urinated all over itself (and us).

All the while, the owner kept saying "you are such a good boy!"

Too many health problems for one little dog

Three years ago, a wonderful owner of a young, cheerful little Bichon Frise came into my office for a chief complaint of a bad cough. I treated what was ultimately kennel cough successfully, but this was only a tiny blemish in what would be a future of a number of diseases that this dog would ultimately have to contend with.

Since then this dog has been treated for severe skin allergies, pancreatitis, diabetes, ACL tear in the knee, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma, ear infections, and is currently dealing with severe cataracts and chronically infected anal glands.

Fortunately for him, his Mom is fiercely dedicated his care, sparing no expense and painstakingly keeping up with all of his treatments. Fortunately for us, despite all he has been through and continues to go through, he remains sweet and amiable, and his owner is an absolute pleasure to work with, considered by the doctors and staff alike to be both client and good friend. Thanks to her, he remains alive with good quality of life and happy as a clam despite his constant health problems.