Joey’s Pet of the Week – Archie and the Passing of the Stone

By Scott Lackenby | Dated September 28, 2016

Hey everyone! How are you all? Haven’t we had some glorious spring sun? Sunshine just makes you happy, doesn’t it? You know what else makes me happy? Long weekends! Even though I don’t have to get up super early usually, I am looking forward to a bit of a sleep in on Monday. We’ll be open 10am – 2pm on Monday.

You curl up for a little nap and someone turns you into a pen holder!

My star this week is the mischievous Mr Archie, a 10month old Cavoodle from Wahroonga. Archie came in to see Dr Helen Burns because he had bee vomiting, was off his food and was quiter than normal. When Dr Helen felt Archie’s tummy, it was a little sore. Archie’s Mum said that Archie had a tendency to eat things he shouldn’t. Dr Helen was worried that Archie may have an intestinal foreign body so she admitted him for some Xrays.

The Xray revealed that Archie had a pebble in his colon. The good news was that it was positioned in a place and was a size that meant that it was likely to pass through on his own. Dr Helen gave Archie a mild enema to help speed up the passing of the stone and also gave him some pain relief, I don’t imagine pooing out a stone is terribly pleasant! Archie was sent home with some precautionary antibiotics and his Mum had the great job of checking Archie’s poo to make sure the stone had passed. Dr Helen also advised Archie’s Mum to paint a few stones with something unpleasant like tobasco sauce to try and discourage him from eating things like that in the future. The good news is, Archie passed the stone later that same day! Archie has also promised to try and stop eating he things he shouldn’t…..

Well, better go and enjoy what’s left of the afternoon sun. Meows for now, love Joey xoxo

PS – did you know that I’m not the only one who writes up interesting cases like this? Sometimes, when they aren’t too busy being Vets, the Vets here will post stuff on the website. There’s a heap of interesting stuff there. So when you are finished reading the genius that is my post, be sure to check out the other great articles on the website, www.gordonvet.com.au