At the beginning of the week I phoned the vet’s asking if I could go today. Claire, the trainee nurse, made sure that Friday was fully booked, so that I could see as many consults as possible.
The first consult was a Schnauzer. He had been brought in because his owner had been having a lot of trouble with fleas. Despite having a look, Suzanne couldn’t find any. But the owner was advised to use Frontline rather than un-prescribed, shop brought flea treatment. Suzanne also gave the dog a vaccination against canine parvovirus, canine distemper virus, leptospirosis and infectious canine hepatitis. These are vaccinated against in the same inoculation.
During the second consult a Labrador was brought in with a lump under its eyelid. The lump may cause irritation to the eye and uneven distribution of tears, which may cause ulceration. Despite this the lump didn’t seem to bother the Labrador at all. Suzanne took a blood smear test by using a needle and taking samples of substance out of the lump. The results often take three-four days to get back to the vets.
The next consult was a Terrier who had been bitten around a week previously. The dog was very protective of its ear and wouldn’t let Suzanne near it. She kept her distance and only went towards the ear as soon as she thought it was safe to do so. Suzanne asked the owner to go back to the vet’s in 10 days just to make sure that there wasn’t any risk of gangrene.
Finally I saw a Labrador with an infected ear. The ear was “crusty” on the external area and it was swollen and red within the ear canal. There was also a small amount of puss within the ear. Suzanne prescribed an anti-inflammatory ear drop which needs o be dropped into the ear twice a day. The Labrador would need to be seen within the next 10 days to see whether it was clearing up. Also Suzanne asked the owner whether she could tell that the Labrador was in pain. The Labrador had painful joints, but she wasn’t vocalising her pain. Therefore she prescribed Previcox, which is a stronger and more expensive version of pain relief, such as Metacam.
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