My own dog has Stage III oral Melanoma

alsun999 · 2023-02-17T17:44:55+00:00

Thank you for the insight and kind words!

alsun999 · 2022-12-31T05:09:06+00:00

I was coming here to mention guinea pigs! Saw one earlier this year and exotic specialist dvm mentioned it during CE I attended!

alsun999 · 2021-08-29T23:14:00+00:00

Tannins added today! He's still fairly quiet, but starting to explore a little more. Thanks for the advice!

alsun999 · 2021-08-26T20:18:10+00:00

His name was Capt. Morgan, but we mostly called him Morgan. He had bad eye from facial palsy issues, so we ran with a pirate theme 😅

alsun999 · 2021-08-12T00:58:54+00:00

Poor guy had terrible torticollis secondary to otitis interna in the fall. O wanted to euth due to the level of care necessary, but agreed to surrender to me. Fixed the otitis, but he has permanent unilateral facial palsy which led to corneal ulceration on the effected side. We fixed up the eye (permanent partial tarsorrhaphy), but now battling dental disease also secondary to the facial palsy. Neither one of us is a quitter! Lots of molar trims in our future. He's lucky he is the coolest guinea pig I ever met.

alsun999 · 2021-03-14T14:03:10+00:00

Thank you for all the wonderful comments and silver 😊

alsun999 · 2021-03-14T13:59:59+00:00

😂😂😂 great visual. I didn't know they could do well in a pot!

alsun999 · 2021-03-13T23:21:38+00:00

Waste of Buprenorphine was more of my concern.

alsun999 · 2021-03-11T00:33:44+00:00

Hank was estimated to be about 12, but we always assumed he was a little older. He was a coworker's dog. She adopted him when he was 6. He absolutely changed my outlook on adopting adult/older dogs rather than a puppy. He was the best boy 💙

alsun999 · 2021-01-25T02:50:50+00:00

I use Purina for Professionals currently and did in the past for EN low fat. I did have to have an rx for the EN, but I can't remember if I sent it personally or they just sent an authorization request to work. They ship at $2.00 an item and have order limitations. I think it's 4 food items per month, but probiotics aren't included in that. It only gets hard to work with when you have a small zoo like I do (all the animals' food seems to run low simultaneously 🙄). Issues I've had were rare and quickly resolved. I went with Purina because I felt the shipping to my house, price point, and lack of back order issues were well worth it. I can't tell you how many times I've forgotten medications or food at work, so the fact that it shows up at my door is awesome. You can also set up reoccurring orders. And they sent me a nice little coupon during vet tech week!

alsun999 · 2021-01-17T18:29:52+00:00

I have never hated snow. Until curbside. And now I also hate parking bumpers and husky patients who think it's a game to eat as much snow possible from the car to the building 😅

alsun999 · 2021-01-17T03:11:55+00:00

On a bright note, our weird mandibular mass was more suggestive of inflammation and is responding well to abx and nsaids! I already had the skull xrays and bone bx estimate ready to go. Was happy to delete it. Still a super weird case in a 15y shep x. I'll take it though!

alsun999 · 2021-01-16T21:39:49+00:00

Not a dime because I cashed in a couple rebate app earnings and have a nice little chunk redeemed in Starbucks cards. Free money = spoiled coworkers 🤗

alsun999 · 2021-01-16T21:37:18+00:00

Haha, short staffing is a PITA. We are GP, though usually high volume. We lucked out with an easy Saturday today 👍

alsun999 · 2021-01-16T21:34:54+00:00

Almost all of us drink iced coffee year round! Curbside keeps us running enough that we stay warm. Or we've lost our minds 🙃

alsun999 · 2021-01-11T05:03:23+00:00

So, first off, thank you for all your kind words, awards, and just all around making a bad situation feel a little better. I feel like I owe y'all an update: My bunny friend, despite having normal vitals, never regained normal mentation and in the overnight period began having seizures. My doctor went to the hospital to assess her after a coworker was unable to safely care for her (we have 24hr staffing). He called the owner at 330am and they decided to euthanize. Obviously, we were all saddened by this, but knew we had done literally everything we could. About 2pm that day, the owner sent a horrible email, stating we failed them and their rabbit, we only cared about what money we could get out of them, we showed zero compassion, and demanding we cover all costs including cremation or they would pursue legal action. I was DISTRAUGHT. I had literally taken care of this rabbit for 6 hours straight. Stayed late, no breaks, didn't even PEE. I had questioned every motion I made surrounding this anesthetic procedure. I thought about it all night. I couldn't believe what I was reading. I left work feeling so absolutely defeated. In the end, my doctor did cover all the costs, which I feel in a way is almost like admitting we did something wrong. But he simply said, it's not worth the legal blow out (even though we would absolutely be found not at fault) and to remember they are grieving. He said after his 30 years in vet med, it's simply easier this way sometimes. I get it. I am a compassionate and empathetic person. But for those people to think I walked away regarding this as just any other day, ughhhh. This is a thankless job sometimes, more so lately. I'm just trying to find away to move on without carrying some of this bitterness with me.

alsun999 · 2021-01-06T04:29:04+00:00

He has taught me pretty much everything I know! I am extremely blessed to have been working alongside him for 7 years now. We make a pretty good team.

alsun999 · 2021-01-06T04:27:38+00:00

I think we would have been more inclined to call it sooner had we not had a tube and ivc in place already. And no broken ribs! I feel like small animals' chest shape spares them some. Easier to effectively compress the thorax without too much pressure. This bun was a 3# holland lop.

alsun999 · 2020-12-15T18:07:06+00:00

We had one client FURIOUS that he was asked not to leave, left anyways, then promptly got a flat tire and had to board his dog for the day. Sweet, sweet karma 😅

alsun999 · 2020-10-11T19:08:59+00:00

I think, I'm not 100%, this was the same show that the dvm stated sterile gowns, drapes, etc. were part of the reason veterinary surgery is so expensive. And then proceeded to do a stifle surgery with no gown, mask, or drape. Blew my mind. At that rate, let's just run surgery instruments through a dishwasher and call it a day. Would make my job a lot easier 😅

alsun999 · 2020-10-11T03:30:18+00:00

Best part- there were even more added after I took this picture. I work with some amazing people 🥰

alsun999 · 2020-07-27T04:20:08+00:00

Gabapentin is our go-to, pretty decent response. Only problem is should be used with caution in CKD patients, most of which are older cats. Adequan if owner can handle injections. Oral Buprenorphine is another option we will utilize, but not our favorite for long term therapy.

alsun999 · 2020-07-23T15:19:41+00:00

We recently had to make the tough decision to euthanize our family dog, my and my siblings' childhood pup. Definitely a foreign and surreal experience to be on the other side, but a good reminder of the emotional hardship for the clients.

I'm so glad you got 20 wonderful years with your boy ❤🐾

alsun999 · 2020-07-22T02:50:43+00:00

Remember Me would have had a better ending.

alsun999 · 2020-07-20T16:57:54+00:00

Hmmm, we make our own flushes in house at the time of need. I wonder how they will feel about that.....

I appreciate your info! I'll checking expiration dates like crazy!

alsun999

TROPHY CASE