This Month at Vetrica

10 October 2004

Latest News

This page contains the latest news from Vetrica and Vetrica OnLine. It updates at least monthly, and will also keep you up to date with the latest news about animal care and welfare.

An archive of previous months articles is also available.

Fireworks

Yes, it's that time of year again when children dress up as witches and demons...and let off fireworks as soon as they get home from school. For most of us this is just a minor annoyance, but for some dogs, it's the worst time of year. They get so frightened by the bangs and whistles that they turn into nervous, quivering wrecks. In the past we've given these unfortunate creatures tranquilisers to get them through it.

The DAP device looks, and works just like a plug-in air freshener.

This year though, things are different. We have a new "treatment", the dog appeasing pheromone, or DAP for short. DAP is a substance produced by lactating bitches, and is thought to impart a feeling of well-being to the new-born pups. DAP has now been produced synthetically, and is delivered to a dog by means of a device that operates in much the same way as a plug-in air freshener. It is odourless to humans.

The DAP device has been available for over a year now. At Vetrica, we were initially very sceptical about how well this product would work. After all, some dogs do get very distressed when fireworks are being let off, and in the natural state, DAP is only encountered by new-born pups. However, we had excellent feedback for the few dogs that we did try it on last year. A typical response was that although the dog was still disturbed by the fireworks; they didn't pace about, and hyperventilate like they normally do. In fact, the response was so good that this year we will be recommending the DAP device for all our patients that would normally have had tranquilisers.

Bat Rabies

On 28 September, DEFRA announced that another bat had been found with rabies in the UK. Although this particular case was in Staines, Surrey, it's worth remembering that a man died of rabies in Dundee two years ago, after contracting the disease from a bat bite.

The risk to human health is thought to be very low, but it's worth remembering there is a risk if you encounter an injured bat. Members of the public are strongly advised not to handle bats. According to DEFRA:

"Persons who find a sick or ailing bat should not approach or handle the bat but seek advice from a local bat conservation group, the Bat Conservation Trust Helpline on 0845 130 0228 or the Scottish SPCA on 0870 7377722."

The full press release can be found here.

Quote of the Month

Which leg is she limping on? ... I'm not really sure; it's either the right or the left.

This Month's Interesting Case

Sammy is a 1 year old Collie X Labrador. Sammy likes to chase sticks. In fact, he likes to chase sticks a lot. Like all collies he tries to anticipate where his owner is going to throw the stick, and heads off in that direction at top speed before the throw has even been made. Even with a good throw, he's rarely far behind when the stick hits the ground.

A large wound to the attachments of the tongue exposing the underlying muscle is present. The flap (X) that formed at the front of the wound was removed before repair.

One time though, Sammy arrived just as the stick did, giving him no time to do the "handbrake turn" that collies are so good at. He ran onto the stick at full speed, mouth open. His owner described the stick as "Disappearing down his throat."

When Sammy arrived at Vetrica, he was very distressed, drooling with heavily blood stained saliva. Under sedation the extent of the injury was revealed. A large tear in the attachments of the tongue, leaving a hole that extended approximately 10cm into his throat.

Such a large hole requires immediate treatment. Sammy was anaesthetised, the hole examined for any fragments of wood, and flushed out with a large volume of sterile salty water. Fortunately, in Sammy's case there did not appear to be any wood fragments present within the wound. Finally, a large, loose flap of tissue was cut away, and the front portion of the wound sutured. The back third of the wound was deliberately left open to allow any residual infection to drain into the mouth.

The front two thirds were repaired by suturing using a dissolving material. The back third is left open to allow the escape of any infection.

Oral stick injuries are quite common in dogs, especially collies that love to chase sticks, and move so fast that they don't have time to stop before running onto the stick. It's very important that they're treated promptly. Left untreated, the danger is that a piece of wood remains in the wound, which then becomes a focus for infection. A large abscess then forms around this, which can be very difficult to treat. Not all dogs with stick injuries have wounds as large as Sammy's, and they often show no immediate signs of ill health. The moral of the story is, don't throw sticks for dogs. Use a proper toy that can't injure the dog.